FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2019
DENVER—On Monday, E&E News reported that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt is expected to announce a plan to move Bureau of Land Management headquarters, possibly to Grand Junction, Colorado. In response, the Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Executive Director Jennifer Rokala:
“Bringing jobs to a Western community like Grand Junction is a laudable goal, but this announcement is nothing but a PR stunt. More than 90 percent of BLM staff already work outside of Washington, DC, and the agency has dozens of offices across the West. Moving senior BLM leadership would only turn the agency into an afterthought, rather than a core piece of the Interior Department.
“Since Interior Secretary Bernhardt is stonewalling the congressional committees that would approve a spending request like this, it’s clear this is not a serious proposal. It’s merely an attempt to drain the Interior Department of career officials who have expertise in running the agency.
“Instead of spending millions to shuffle office locations, the administration should be fixing critical infrastructure needs at our parks and public lands.”
In the 2018 omnibus spending bill, Congress specifically warned Secretary Bernhardt that any reorganization, “especially those of significant national or regional importance,” would require separate approval by appropriators.
According to E&E News, the move could affect some 500 of the roughly 9,800 BLM employees across the country.