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The Department of the Interior's Inspector General is evaluating a whistleblower claim filed by a Nevada BLM employee alleging that the Tonopah District Office has approved mining and drilling projects without adequate environmental reviews, and allowed the construction of recreational cabins for personal use on public lands under the guise of active mining claims. In particular, the complaint highlights the proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium mining project that is proposed by a foreign-owned mining corporation and has the potential to wipe out a rare species of plant only found in that area of Nevada.
Patrick Donnelly, the Nevada state director for the Center for Biological Diversity is familiar with the substance of the complaint and echoed many of the same concerns, stating “In this administration, we have seen the doors to our public lands be thrown wide open to industry by the BLM avoiding and subverting any environmental protections we have on the books. Sometimes that is through sweeping secretarial orders upending management of public lands but sometimes it’s just guys at their job trying to make the boss happy.”
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I continue to stand with the millions of Americans, including tribes whose ancestral sites reside within these monuments, who have called for protecting our public lands. We have a moral responsibility to defend and conserve these monuments for our children and future generations.”
