Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt is heading to Colorado today to keynote a political fundraiser for the Colorado GOP, Politico reported, while tensions rise concerning Interior’s plan to move and disperse the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
“We would all be better off if David Bernhardt used his position to defend our public lands instead of trying to reward his old lobbyist friends, special interests and political pals like Cory Gardner. But while Bernhardt’s out West, we encourage him to visit some of the vital public lands and parks projects that he proposed zeroing out in Interior’s most recent budget,” said Jayson O’Neill, Deputy Director of Western Values Project. “Maybe then Bernhardt will start to understand how he and his allies are hurting our Western way of life.”
Bernhardt recently announced that the BLM will be “relocating” its headquarters to Grand Junction, Colorado and dispersing other Washington, D.C. based employees across the West despite the fact that 97 percent of BLM employees already work in states across the country. While Senator Gardner celebrated the move, claiming that Grand Junction, CO would see many of the jobs associated with a new BLM headquarters, it turned out that the office would only be receiving 27 of the 550 employees that were evaluated for relocation.
“Bernhardt and Gardner’s plan to move BLM isn’t an effort to bring jobs out West, it’s an effort to gut the public lands bureau so it will better serve their special interest allies,” continued O’Neill.
The move has been widely criticized, leaving unanswered questions that lead to concerns by members of Congress. The department has even failed to meet deadlines in telling current BLM staff where they will be moving. Recently, Western Values Project was forced to file suit against the Trump administration for violating the law by failing to release public documents related to the relocation decision.
Senator Cory Gardner is also slated to attend the political fundraiser. Gardner claimed to be one of the orchestrators of the controversial BLM move, celebrating the decision. Yet, when concerns have been raised, he has only offered political talking points.
Throughout his career, Gardner raked in millions in campaign donations from high-profile special interest donors, including the Koch Industries PAC and oil and gas CEO Harold Hamm while campaigning during the Congressional summer recess. Bernhardt’s former lobby firm, Brownstein Hyatt Faber Shreck, has already donated over $39,000 to Gardner’s re-election campaign through their partner network and Political Action Committee.