Pendley would be disastrous for BLM, public lands
In a time of public health and economic crises, and with a national discussion underway on racial injustice, the nation sorely needs mature leadership that finds common ground among all Americans. Arizonans want, and need, leaders of conscience and principle to lead us out of these crises and toward a more perfect union.
The nomination of William Perry Pendley by President Trump to be the Director of the Bureau of Land Management is of great concern. The Bureau manages 245 million acres across the American West, with more than 12 million acres of these lands in Arizona.
The agency oversees lands for many competing uses, including conservation, recreation, grazing, rights-of-way, cultural resource protection, wildlife habitat, and energy and minerals development, to name a few. With such a complex web of responsibilities, it is imperative that the person leading the bureau have a grounding in, and commitment to, America’s public lands and the many benefits they bring to people every day.
Pendley’s professional experience and personal commitment through the years is to selling off our public lands to the highest bidder.
As president of the Mountain States Legal Foundation, in Denver, for almost 30 years he has long advocated for disposing of public lands. Through his many speeches and articles he has taken the firm position that the Founding Fathers intended all lands owned by the federal government to be sold.
If you are a hunter, a birder, a hiker, a mountain biker, a rafter, or one of tens of thousands of Arizonans who contribute to or work in the more than $5 billion recreation economy, those should have a chilling effect.
The public lands in Arizona are treasures, both for their scenic beauty and as contributors to the Arizona economy. We are blessed with places such as the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area stretching south of Benson to the U.S.-Mexico border. This is a designated world class birding area with many visitors spending time and money in the local area.
The Wave near the northern border of Utah is an international attraction with people waiting for years to get permits to hike this special and fragile sandstone rock formation.
The Bureau of Land Management’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity and productivity of the public lands for the use, and enjoyment of present and future generations. This mission is clearly not one that Pendley has supported throughout his professional life.
Fortunately, the nomination has sparked outrage across the country, in particular from Western senators of
words both parties who have a keen understanding of their constituents’ love for public lands and Pendley’s views and confrontational style.
Arizonans can be grateful that Senator Martha McSally sits on the Senate committee that oversees the nomination of Pendley. Her vote to oppose Pendley’s nomination would effectively prevent his nomination from moving forward. Arizonans can and should weigh in with her office to ensure her “no” vote on his nomination and guarantee that Pendley will not have the opportunity to sell off our public lands.