"When William Perry Pendley started work today, he did so as something other than the Bureau of Land Management's leader for the first time in 427 days.
That's because Chief Judge Brian Morris of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana issued a scathing order late Friday that concludes Pendley has been illegally performing the duties of BLM's director for more than a year and bars him from continuing to do so (Greenwire, Sept. 25).
What happens next could have profound impacts not only on BLM's leadership, but also on signature Trump administration initiatives like the relocation of the bureau's headquarters to Grand Junction, Colo., and land-use plan amendments in Montana that could increase oil and gas leasing.
But make no mistake: Pendley remains BLM's deputy director of policy and programs, a position that ranks among the bureau's senior leaders and affords him the opportunity to continue wielding significant influence over the federal government's largest landowner."
Scott Streater reports for E&E News September 28, 2020.
SEE ALSO:
"Pendley Court Ruling Could Unravel Trump's Public Lands Decisions" (The Hill)
