** Defying judge, Pendley claims he's still in charge
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FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2020
@sagebrush_rebel ([link removed])
William Perry Pendley, the head of the Bureau of Land Management who was recently removed by a federal judge for violating the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, claimed on Thursday that he's still running the bureau ([link removed]) .
"I have not been ousted. That is not true," Pendley told the Casper Star-Tribune. Earlier this week, Pendley told another Wyoming paper, the Powell Tribune, that the judge's order “has no impact, no impact whatsoever ([link removed]) .”
Pendley's statements not only defy the order issued by Judge Brian Morris, who ruled that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt could not use “a matryoshka doll of delegated authorities ([link removed]) ” to evade the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, but appear to contradict the secretary himself. An email sent to BLM staff late last month ([link removed]) said that the department would comply with the court order, and that "Bernhardt leads the bureau."
Pendley's defiance could put the Trump administration's land management actions in even more legal jeopardy. A coalition of 60 conservation groups have already listed dozens of land use plans and regulations ([link removed]) that could be nullified because they were approved with Pendley in charge.
Quick hits
** USGS head blocks study on how COVID could affect endangered species
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Wired ([link removed])
** Court strikes down Obama-era rule targeting methane leaks from public lands drilling
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The Hill ([link removed]) | Bloomberg ([link removed])
** Udall leads short list of candidates for potential Biden Interior secretary
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Bloomberg ([link removed])
** Land management head Pendley says he's still on the job despite judge's ruling
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Casper Star-Tribune ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed]) | Powell Tribune ([link removed])
** Trump's penchant for 'flexibility' from acting officials could sink his policies
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HuffPost ([link removed])
** Fish & Wildlife Service pulls proposal to protect wolverine under Endangered Species Act
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E&E News ([link removed])
** Alaska tribes sue Trump administration over mining road through national park
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | Anchorage Daily News ([link removed]) | Daily News-Miner ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** Why wildfire acreage is the wrong number to focus on
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NPR ([link removed])
Quote of the day
What a tangled web they have woven. All they had to do was get someone appointed and confirmed, and they chose to skirt the Constitution and the law. And there are going to be consequences.”
—Tracy Stone-Manning, National Wildlife Federation ([link removed])
Picture this
** @USFWS_PSW ([link removed])
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The desert tortoise spends up to 95% of its life underground, and can store more than 40% of its body weight in water. A common defense mechanism when threatened is to empty the bladder, leaving the tortoise at a considerable disadvantage during dry periods. #justtortoisethings ([link removed])
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