** BLM employees face relocation deadline
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Thursday, December 12, 2019
Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])

Top career staff at the Bureau of Land Management in Washington D.C. have until today to tell the agency ([link removed]) if they are willing to relocate to offices in the West, including the new headquarters in Grand Junction, Colorado. The move, which was planned and executed by political appointees, including Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and Acting BLM Director William Perry Pendley, will force career staff away from decisionmakers in Congress. The plan also will cause a massive "brain drain" within the BLM, as the vast majority of staff directed to relocate are expected to leave the agency rather than move ([link removed]) .

During a press conference, House Natural Resources Chairman Raúl Grijalva announced ([link removed]) that the Government Accountability Office will look into the administration's plans to move the BLM headquarters, assessing how the efforts were conceived and executed. “Our committee has seen no analysis, no planning, no budgeting besides the back of the envelope guesses and a promise that this administration knows best," Grijalva told ([link removed]) members of the press.


** Podcast: Trump vs. the California Desert
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In the latest episode of CWP’s Go West, Young Podcast ([link removed]) , Kim Delfino, California Program Director at Defenders of Wildlife, tells us about the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, which is in the Trump administration’s crosshairs even though it debuted to widespread praise just three years ago.
Quick hits


** Glut of natural gas is causing companies to shut down rigs, file for bankruptcy
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New York Times ([link removed])


** Government Accountability Office to open probe into planned BLM relocation
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The Hill ([link removed]) | Colorado Public Radio ([link removed]) | Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])


** Colorado air-quality regulators announce plans to consider changes to oil and gas regulations, residents voice support
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | Durango Herald ([link removed])


** Today, top Bureau of Land Management employees face deadline on move to new Grand Junction HQ
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | Westword ([link removed]) | Deseret News ([link removed]) | KUER ([link removed])


** Groups sue National Park Service over plans to allow e-bikes in parks
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KRCC ([link removed])


** Interior taps former Chevron and White House attorney as senior counselor
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Yellowstone National Park officials review proposal to boost Wi-Fi in the park
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Montana Public Radio ([link removed])


** Opinion: Why a proposal to move some “bureaucrats” out of Washington is actually a grave threat to the BLM
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Politico ([link removed])
Quote of the day
The current plan by the department is radical, it’s unnecessary, it’s not well thought out. It’s being dictated by political officials without regard for the long-term consequences and will harm public land management for many years.”
—Former BLM Deputy Director Henri Bisson ([link removed])
Picture this
Bighorn sheep address their issues head-on. When horns meet, the resounding crash echoes through the valley at the National Elk Refuge. | @Interior ([link removed])

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