Zinke shake-up at Interior runs gamut
Tensions over land use come to forefront again
BILLINGS, Mont. — A year of upheaval at the U.S. Interior Department has seen dozens of senior staff members reassigned and key leadership positions left unfilled, rules considered burdensome to industry shelved, and a sweeping reorganization proposed for its 70,000 employees.
The evolving status quo at the agency, which is responsible for more than 780,000 square miles of public lands, mostly in the American West, has led to praise from energy and mining companies and Republicans, who welcomed the departure from perceived heavy-handed regulation under President Barack Obama.
But the changes have drawn increasingly sharp criticism from conservationists, Democrats and some agency employees.
Under President Donald Trump, the critics say, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has curbed outside input into how the land is used and elevated corporate interests above the duty to safeguard treasured sites.
The differing views illustrate long-standing tensions over the role of America’s public lands, an amalgam of pristine wilderness, recreational playgrounds and abundant energy reserves.
A year into his tenure, Zinke, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and Montana congressman, has emerged as the point person for the administration’s goal of American “energy dominance.” He’s targeted regulations perceived to hamper development of oil, natural gas and coal beneath public lands primarily in the West and Alaska.
He’s also made plans to realign the agency’s bureaucracy, trimming the equivalent of 4,600 jobs — about 7 percent of its workforce — and proposed a massive overhaul that would move decision-making out of Washington, D.C., relocating headquarters staff to Western states at a cost of $17.5 million.
The intent is to delegate more power to personnel in the field, who oversee activities ranging from mining to livestock grazing to protection of endangered plants and animals.
Staffing reductions would be achieved through natural attrition and reclassification of some positions to lower pay grades as employees are moved outside the D.C. area, Zinke spokeswoman Heather Swift said Monday.