Denver – Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet released the following statement after Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt formally extended William Perry Pendley’s term as acting director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which manages nearly 250 million acres of public land, including more than eight million acres in Colorado:
“The American people deserve better. Mr. Pendley’s views simply do not reflect Colorado’s values and commitment to conservation. Only this administration would allow someone like Mr. Pendley – who has spent his entire career advocating for the wide spread sale of public lands – to lead an agency responsible for maintaining our nation’s public lands, and fail to put forward a permanent nominee for such a vital position. It is hard to imagine an acting director more at odds with how Coloradans think about our economy and western way of life. Mr. Pendley has no business leading the BLM.”
Last Thursday, Bennet led 11 Senate Democrats in a letter calling on the Secretary of the Interior to terminate William Perry Pendley’s authority as acting director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). In the letter, the senators outlined their concerns with Pendley’s advocacy for the widespread sale of public lands, his efforts to roll back key conservation laws, and his long-held disregard for the important role BLM plays in managing our public lands.