August 29, 2020
On August 15th the Trump administration withdrew the controversial nomination of William “Perry” Pendley to head the Bureau of Land Management amid signs that the choice would hurt the reelection prospects of Republican Sens. Cory Gardner (Colo.) and Steve Daines (Mont.) according to an August 15, 2020 Washington Post report.
The nomination was controversial because Pendley, who previously was president of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, had 
once urged the sale of federal lands. And at the foundation, he had sued the Interior Department on behalf of an oil and gas prospector, sought to undermine protections of endangered species such as the grizzly bear, and pressed to radically reduce the size of federal lands to make way for development.
Pendley and the BLM, have struggled with the agency’s move to Grand Junction, CO. On July 11th the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel published a negative editorial addressing Pendley’s shortcomings – “Pendley doesn’t get it and can’t head-up BLM.”
Pendley remains BLM’s deputy director for policy and programs and has been acting as the bureau’s director since July 2019, overseeing the management of the nation’s federal lands.
White House and Interior officials said that Pendley would continue to serve in his current, lower-level deputy director position at the Interior Department, a job that effectively lets him continue to act as head of the BLM.
What this means to you
The Trump Administration has withdrawn William Pendley’s controversial nomination to head the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Pendley remains as Acting Director, but in an unconfirmed capacity.
MIRATECH can help
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