** Pendley's illegal power play
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Thursday, August 20, 2020
Recognize this guy? Not only was William Perry Pendley's nomination to head the BLM pulled this week, but he also signed the document that keeps him in power | Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])
A new document ([link removed]) acquired by the Associated Press shows that acting Bureau of Land Management (BLM) head and anti-public lands extremist William Perry Pendley signed the succession order that made his own position the agency's default leadership post ([link removed]) , a method of keeping him in power that legal experts have concluded is very likely illegal ([link removed]) .

Pendley, who has effectively led the BLM for far longer than the 210 days allowed under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, was recently nominated to head the agency by President Trump. It was the administration's first nomination to the agency in 4 years, and Interior faces two lawsuits ([link removed]) from Pendley's extended stint. However, within weeks of the announcement, his nomination was withdrawn after it became clear that the Senate would have overwhelmingly rejected him due to his history of calling for the sale of public lands ([link removed]) and overt racism ([link removed]) . Nevertheless, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt intends to rely on a highly questionable succession order to keep Pendley in place
([link removed]) as de facto director of the agency ([link removed]) .

Legal experts from around the country have confirmed ([link removed]) that the recently uncovered ([link removed]) succession order is dubious and may violate the Constitution. Pendley was the one who wrote and signed the order that gives himself the authority to act as director indefinitely. “It is the ultimate in bootstrapping because Pendley, who is in my view not serving legally in this job, is naming himself at the top in the order of succession,” said Nina Mendelson ([link removed]) , a professor of law at the University of Michigan and an expert on administrative law.

Difficulties in acquiring succession orders also raise questions about the orders even existing in the first place: the National Park Service FOIA office stated that they had no responsive records for a similar succession order, and a FOIA request for Pendley's succession order is still pending. “I find it highly unlikely that the National Park Service wouldn't just have those documents,” said Anne Weismann ([link removed]) , chief FOIA council with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "It’s just not credible." The order now shows that it was signed just days ([link removed]) before Bernhardt announced that a department succession order allowed Pendley to remain in charge indefinitely.
Quick hits


** Growing outdoor voting bloc makes public lands a ballot-box issue
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Public News Service ([link removed]) | Westwise ([link removed])


** Oil and gas leases sales continue in New Mexico despite industry downturn and dropping rig count
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Carlsbad Current Argus ([link removed]) | Carlsbad Current Argus ([link removed])


** Push to block controversial Alaskan gold mine gains White House attention
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** Trump administration up against the clock to sell Arctic drilling rights by Inauguration Day
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** Ethics complaint against Interior Secretary Bernhardt alleges agency ‘unduly influenced’ confirmation process
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Law & Crime ([link removed])


** Fire becomes second largest in Colorado history, only 7% contained
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Colorado Sun ([link removed]) | Denver Post ([link removed]) | CBS Denver ([link removed])


** Another Colorado fire threatens water for the entire West, will increase sediment loads to detriment of fishing and rafting
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Google Maps will show wildfire boundaries in near real time as California governor declares emergency over fires, extreme heat
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The Verge ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
Quote of the day

Congress didn't intend for top positions at major agencies to go unfilled for years. When do stop-gaps go too far?”

—Anne Joseph O'Connell, Stanford Law Professor
on William Perry Pendley, T ([link removed]) he Hill ([link removed])
Picture this


** @U ([link removed]) SFWSRefuges ([link removed])
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“A little lower, a little lower...aah! That’s the spot!” Winning caption for this pair at Seedskadee #WildlifeRefuge ([link removed]) , WY. See all entries: [link removed] ([link removed]) /Tom Koerner, USFWS

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