‘Anti-Public Lands Zealot’ Pendley Will Lead the Bureau of Land Management Another Three Months
03 January
Politics
The man who once wrote that "the Founding Fathers intended all lands owned by the federal government to be sold" has had his time in charge of U.S. public lands extended.
<p>Interior Secretary <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/david-bernhardt" target="_self">David Bernhardt</a> signed an order Thursday leaving William Perry Pendley in charge of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) until April 3, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/476564-interior-extends-tenure-of-acting-blm-head-who-once-advocated?fbclid=IwAR1e4olPoGHlnZQqR45CyXom7PJ9g9fQRN12ocNbBhvg0JKWZzpcYr3KF1U" target="_blank">The Hill reported</a>. Pendley has been criticized for his support of selling public lands or opening them to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> extraction and other industrial uses, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interior-secretary-extends-the-tenure-of-federal-lands-chief----without-nominating-him/2020/01/02/0facd6fe-2da0-11ea-9b60-817cc18cf173_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a> reported. He also sued the Interior Department in support of oil and gas exploration and against <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> protections when he ran the Mountain States Legal Foundation. Despite this, he is now in charge of 245 million acres of public lands and 700 million acres of natural resources.</p><p>"Secretary Bernhardt's redelegation of the BLM director's authority to anti-public lands zealot Pendley is a slap in the face to all public land users and the U.S. Constitution," <a href="https://westernvaluesproject.org/" target="_blank">Western Values Project</a> Deputy Director Jayson O'Neill said in a statement reported by The Washington Post. "[Putting Pendley] in charge of the BLM again is the equivalent of the Trump administration openly putting America's public lands up for sale."</p><p>Bernhardt's decision came only days after 91 <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> and outdoor groups <a href="https://www.westernwatersheds.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Pendley-resignation-letter-final-2.pdf?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=71d323ab-3b7e-484b-81dd-563a59e94f11" target="_blank">signed a letter</a> to Bernhardt calling for Pendley to either resign or be removed.</p><p>One major concern raised in the letter is that Pendley is running the BLM without having been appointed by the president or confirmed by the Senate. Instead, Bernhardt appointed him "deputy director for policy and programs — exercising authority of the director" in July, according to <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/03012020/blm-director-william-perry-pendley-sagebrush-rebel-no-nomination-bernhardt-tenure" target="_blank">InsideClimate News</a>.</p><p>The BLM has not had a Senate-confirmed director during the Trump administration, and some critics are concerned the series of temporary leaders are part of an attempt to dismantle the agency.</p><p>"Only a Senate-confirmed Director or a Presidentially-appointed Acting Director would have legal legitimacy to lead the Bureau," the letter read.</p>
<p>The letter writers also raised concerns about Pendley's actions and opinions in and out of office.</p><ol><li>In November, he publicly expressed support for the views of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), an extremist public lands organization affiliated with armed militants Ammon and Cliven Bundy.</li><li>He has various conflicts of interests. He represented three Utah counties in their attempt to shrink Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments and still receives payments from former-employer the Mountain States Legal Foundation, which is still suing the BLM.</li><li>He is overseeing a controversial move of the BLM headquarters from Washington, DC to Colorado that has not been approved by Congress.</li><li>He holds controversial views. In addition to arguing in support of selling off public lands, he also thinks that wild horses are the biggest issue facing Western public lands, ignoring issues like fossil fuel extraction and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, the fate of the endangered greater sage-grouse and Gunnison sage-grouse and overgrazing by livestock.</li></ol><p>"Putting someone like William Perry Pendley in charge of what happens on these public lands is likely to just accelerate climate disruption," Shelley Silbert, letter signatory and executive director of conservation group <a href="https://www.greatoldbroads.org/" target="_blank">Great Old Broads for Wilderness</a>, told InsideClimate News.</p><p>The Interior Department dismissed the concerns of the letter writers.</p><p>"For this group of environmental extremists to call themselves sportsman and conservationists is as laughable as this letter. Mr. Pendley brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the Department and is committed to carrying out the Administration's priorities for the betterment of the American people," an Interior spokesperson told The Hill Monday.</p><p>But environmental groups argue that Pendley's positions are the extreme ones.</p><p>"William Perry Pendley is an ideological zealot with values that are deeply out of touch with the mainstream," <a href="https://www.wilderness.org/" target="_blank">Wilderness Society</a> conservation director Phil Hanceford <a href="https://www.wilderness.org/articles/blog/public-lands-foe-pendley-extended-acting-blm-chief?fbclid=IwAR0Q4-xTL3BbIClqc0eCPwoNSpqZ9ONI8O7tsfgxP_skPWZqLvTl1J-vUhM" target="_blank">said</a>.</p>
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With Nation Transfixed by Impeachment, Trump Admin Quietly Serves Offshore Drilling Companies a 'Sweetheart Giveaway'
04 December 2019
Politics
U.S. Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt (L) speaks as President Donald Trump (R) looks on during an East Room event on the environment July 7, 2019 at the White House in Washington, DC. Alex Wong / Getty Images
By Andrea Germanos
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt was condemned Monday for a proposed policy shift on offshore drilling panned as a "sweetheart giveaway" for a former client.
<p>The new extraction-encouraging proposal was announced last month in a <a href="https://www.bsee.gov/sites/bsee.gov/files/reports/shallow-water-report-01.pdf" target="_blank">report</a> by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), two agencies within the Interior Department and occurred, <a href="https://westernvaluesproject.org/oil-and-gas-favors-continue-during-trump-impeachment-proceedings/" target="_blank">according to</a> transparency group Western Values Project, "under the cloud of impeachment."</p>
<p>Bernhardt's announcement followed longstanding <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/27/senate-urged-reject-walking-talking-conflict-interest-david-bernhardt-run-interior" target="_blank">fears</a> that the former lobbyist would use his position in the federal government to serve the interests of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels">fossil fuel</a> lobby above those of the American people and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands">public lands</a>. The recommendations laid out in the report pertain to royalties for offshore leasing and drilling.</p><p>"Federal officials," as Louisiana's Houma Today <a href="https://www.houmatoday.com/news/20191119/feds-seek-to-boost-shallow-drilling" target="_blank">reported</a>, "are offering oil and gas companies a discount on the fees they pay the government to drill in the Gulf of Mexico's shallow waters."</p><p>If enacted, the policy to "ensure maximum resource recovery" would benefit the oil and gas industry National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), on whose behalf Bernhardt previously <a href="https://departmentofinfluence.org/person/david-bernhardt/" target="_blank">lobbied</a>, said Western Values Project.</p><p>Also noteworthy, said the advocacy group, is that the report was co-authored by BSEE Director Scott Angelle, who also <a href="https://morningconsult.com/2017/05/22/interiors-pick-lead-offshore-oil-regulator-industry-ties/" target="_blank">has</a> ties to the fossil fuel industry. Western Values Project said that, during the government shutdown, Angelle — who has NOIA's <a href="https://www.noia.org/noia-applauds-selection-scott-angelle-bsee-director/" target="_blank">stamp of approval </a>for his current position — green-lit 53 permits for offshore drilling for companies that sit on the board of directors for NOIA.</p><p>"Since day one, Secretary Bernhardt has operated as though Interior was his own personal lobby shop by doling out favors for his former clients with impunity. This offshore royalty rate reduction deal is short selling our shared resources and ripping off taxpayers," said Jayson O'Neill, deputy director of Western Values Project.</p><p>"With <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a>'s own corruption dominating headlines," he continued, "Bernhardt probably thought this sweetheart giveaway to his former oil and gas client would slip by unnoticed."</p><p>Oil giants like Chevron and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/shell">Shell</a> are already taking advantage of a loophole in federal law to avoid paying at least $18 billion in royalties on oil and gas drilled in the Gulf since 1996, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/24/climate/oil-lost-revenue-gao.html" target="_blank">reported</a> in October, citing a report from the Government Accountability Office.</p><p>The possible policy shift sparked environmental worries from New Orleans-based advocacy group Healthy Gulf, which <a href="https://twitter.com/HealthyGulf/status/1197680452372488198" target="_blank">called</a> the proposal "a recipe for disaster" in a tweet last month.</p><p>"This administration wants to lease areas of the Gulf for 'high-risk, small-upside opportunities' to smaller oil companies who don't have the resources to handle spills," the group said. "This proposal is as illogical as it is dangerous."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/12/03/nation-transfixed-impeachment-trump-quietly-provides-offshore-drilling-industry?" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Trump Admin Moves to End Protections for Endangered Fish Threatened by California’s Water Wars
23 October 2019
Politics
A young fingerling Chinook salmon leaps out of the water at Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay, California on May 16, 2018. Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
The Trump administration is rolling back protections for endangered California fish species, a move long sought by a group of wealthy farmers that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt continued to lobby for months before he began working for the administration, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
<p>The new policy, released early this week by the Commerce and Interior Departments, would allow more water to be pumped from the San Francisco Bay Delta to irrigate farms. Scientists in the past have found this would harm the delta smelt and West Coast <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/salmon" target="_self">salmon</a> species that swim in the delta, as well as the killer whales that feed on them. But the new "biological opinion" ruled that the fish would not be harmed by diverting more water to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/agriculture" target="_self">agriculture</a>.</p><p>"The servile Interior Department has hijacked and subverted the scientific process," Noah Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations, said in a statement reported by <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/10/22/772391421/trump-plan-weakens-protections-for-california-fish-diverts-water-to-farms?t=1571819836237" target="_blank">NPR</a>.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Breaking News! Today, the USFWS & NMFS released new <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/EndangeredSpeciesAct?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#EndangeredSpeciesAct</a> biological opinions for gravely <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/endangered?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#endangered</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/salmon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#salmon</a> & other native fish species that are affected by massive water project operations in the San Francisco Bay-Delta. Learn more: <a href="https://t.co/pAnXCmXzXZ">https://t.co/pAnXCmXzXZ</a> <a href="https://t.co/QSRMKKFPEW">pic.twitter.com/QSRMKKFPEW</a></p>— Defenders of Wildlife (@Defenders) <a href="https://twitter.com/Defenders/status/1186702517662633984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Bernhardt lobbied on behalf of Westlands Water District, a group representing around 1,000 large farmers in Central California, from 2011 to 2016, including pressing Congress to weaken <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species-act" target="_self">Endangered Species Act</a> protections for the delta smelt, according to The New York Times. Four months after he was confirmed as Deputy Interior Secretary, he phoned the Interior official in charge of delta smelt protections and asked him to conduct a new biological opinion.</p><p>President Donald Trump also signed a memo in 2018 asking for protections to be rolled back, <a href="https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2019-10-22/trump-weakens-endangered-species-protections-california-salmon-delta-smelt" target="_blank">The Los Angeles Times reported</a>. But in July of 2019, scientists with the National Marine Fisheries Service found that pumping more water to farms would put endangered winter-run Chinook salmon, threatened spring-run Chinook salmon, threatened Central Valley Steelhead and endangered Southern Resident killer whales at risk for extinction.</p><p>Instead of heeding this warning, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Southwest regional director Paul Souza, who was coordinating the reviews of salmon and smelt protections, discarded the document and put a new team together to write a new report. Two documents released this week then found that the increased pumping would not harm the salmon or the delta smelt.</p><p>The administration's new plan would create hatcheries to breed fish and monitor fish populations in real time so as to slow pumping only when they are nearby, according to NPR.</p><p>"We've been able to create a much smarter approach that focuses on real-time management," Souza told NPR. "Our commitment is that we will be as, or more protective than we have been in the last 10 years."</p><p>But environmental groups say that monitoring the fish this way is difficult, especially since their populations have already plummeted. Chinook salmon have lost around 90 percent of their spawning grounds to dams.</p><p>"These new biological opinions weaken virtually every protection required by previous decisions, eliminating clear, science-based habitat protections," Kim Delfino, California program director for <a href="https://defenders.org/" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife</a>, told NPR.</p><p>The new pumping rules could go into effect by January, according to the Los Angeles Times. But environmental groups are likely to sue to block them.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Trump administration is at it again to empower special interests with the release of new biological opinions based on junk science, threatening California <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/endangered?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#endangered</a> species, local <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAwater?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CAwater</a> supply, and thousands of jobs. <a href="https://t.co/9igJquNzhW">https://t.co/9igJquNzhW</a></p>— NRDC 🌎 (@NRDC) <a href="https://twitter.com/NRDC/status/1186756395141664768?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 22, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>"Given the level of political interference and the junk science that has been used ... it would be very unsurprising if these were not challenged and eventually overturned in court," Doug Obegi, a <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> attorney who beat back similar changes proposed by President George W. Bush, told the Los Angeles Times. </p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">"Literally before our eyes, we're seeing science suppressed by monied political interests" <a href="https://t.co/iFspHaivl6">https://t.co/iFspHaivl6</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/DeSmogBlog?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DeSmogBlog</a></p>— EcoWatch (@EcoWatch) <a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/status/1165005868871503872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 23, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Trump Advisory Panel Suggests Bringing More Private Business Into National Parks
16 October 2019
Business
California Yosemite River Scene. Mobilus In Mobili / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
An advisory panel appointed by Trump's first Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, has recommended privatizing National Parks campgrounds, allowing food trucks in and setting up WiFi at campgrounds while also reducing benefits to seniors, according to the panel's memo.
<p>The advisory committee, the Subcommittee on Recreation Enhancement Through Reorganization, passed its recommendations along to Interior Sec. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/David-Bernhardt" target="_self">David Bernhardt</a>. It is part of the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1892/made-in-america-rac.htm" target="_blank">Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee</a>, which Zinke to "advise the Secretary of the Interior on public-private partnerships across all public lands," according to <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/465416-committee-pushes-national-park-service-to-privatize-camp-grounds" target="_blank">The Hill</a>.</p><p>The draftees suggest that the Senior Pass, which is an $80 lifetime pass to people 62 and over and entitles them to a 50 percent discount on campgrounds, have some blackout dates that would void their discounts. The <a href="https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/sites/default/files/attachments/orac_reorg_sc_letter_9-24-2019.pdf" target="_blank">memo</a> also suggests generating revenue by renting out cabins and having vendors rent out tents and other camping equipment within the national parks.</p><p>The <a href="https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/sites/default/files/attachments/orac_reorg_sc_letter_9-24-2019.pdf" target="_blank">memo</a> lists food trucks and mobile vendors as part of its innovative management strategy and it suggests offering mobile connectivity throughout parks, not just at campgrounds.</p><p>The Federal government has a long history of not providing adequate funding to the National Parks System, which has created a $12 billion maintenance backlog, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/465416-committee-pushes-national-park-service-to-privatize-camp-grounds" target="_blank">The Hill</a>.</p><p>Drafters of the plan say their suggestions are a roadmap to a much-needed upgrade of deteriorating infrastructure that will attract a younger, more diverse audience.</p><p>Already, several private campgrounds and private businesses exist within the National Parks. Zinke expressed a desire to expand private business in the National Parks, arguing that he did not want his department in the business of running campgrounds, as <a href="https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2019/10/draft-recommendations-call-making-national-park-campgrounds-more-accommodating" target="_blank">National Parks Traveler</a> reported.</p><p>Bernhardt, a former Republican operative and corporate lobbyist and now the Secretary of the Interior, oversees all <a href="https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/national-park-system.htm" target="_blank">419 national parks</a>. He has argued for an increase in private enterprise in the national parks, since the money for maintenance is easily found outside the federal government, as <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/campgrounds-in-national-parks-set-to-be-privatized-in-new-trump-plan-090019066.html" target="_blank">Yahoo News</a> reported.</p>
<p>Derrick Crandall, president of the American Recreation Coalition wrote the <a href="https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/sites/default/files/attachments/orac_reorg_sc_letter_9-24-2019.pdf" target="_blank">memo</a>. He told <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/campgrounds-in-national-parks-set-to-be-privatized-in-new-trump-plan-090019066.html" target="_blank">Yahoo News</a> that it has been approved by the necessary committees and will be endorsed by Bernhardt soon. </p><p>However, A spokesman for the Department of the Interior, contradicted that assessment. "We have not received formal recommendations from the committee for the department's consideration. We'll review the report once we receive it and respond accordingly," according to <a href="https://news.yahoo.com/campgrounds-in-national-parks-set-to-be-privatized-in-new-trump-plan-090019066.html" target="_blank">Yahoo News</a>.</p><p>Critics were aghast at the suggestions in the memo, seeing it as a cash-grab that threatened the sanctity of America's national parks.</p><p>"Trump's scheme to privatize national parks means one thing: the park-going public's money will go to connected special interests and campaign donors instead of supporting the parks themselves. Selling out our national parks for Trump's own pork barrel political gains is something that Americans simply won't stand for," Jayson O'Neill, deputy director of the Western Values Project, a conservation group, in a release that <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2019/10/11/plans-privatize-national-parks-outlined-trump-admin-memo-would-enrich-donors" target="_blank">Common Dreams reported</a>.</p><p>Joel Pannell, Associate Director of Sierra Club Outdoors for All, was similarly critical of the recommendations.</p><p>"Now the Trump administration is trying to pass a fee hike under the radar, and pave the way for full privatization of our national parks," he said in a <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2019/10/trump-administration-plans-privatize-national-park-campgrounds" target="_blank">statement</a>. "Turning our national parks into profit centers for a select few vendors would rob our public lands of just what makes them special. Hiking fees and limiting discounts for seniors will shut out working families and elders on fixed incomes. We will not allow the embattled Trump administration to turn our national parks into playgrounds for the wealthy and privileged, or permit companies that financially support the Trump campaign to profit from privatization of our public lands. Park lovers and outdoor advocates across the nation will rise up in resistance."</p><div id="7ecfa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="4UQRYV1576661301"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1182734019173203968" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Trump plans to privatize #NationalPark campgrounds, hike fees, limit senior discounts. Just another profit grab by… https://t.co/nlrbnsoy8G</div> — Sierra Club (@Sierra Club)<a href="https://twitter.com/SierraClub/statuses/1182734019173203968">1570820738.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Ethics Investigations Opened into Actions of EPA Head Wheeler, Top DOI Officials
25 April 2019
Politics
Mark Wilson / Getty Images News
Ethics investigations have been opened into the conduct of senior Trump appointees at the nation's top environmental agencies.
The two investigations focus on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler and six high-ranking officials in the Department of Interior (DOI), The Hill reported Tuesday. Both of them involve the officials' former clients or employers.
"This is demonstrative of the failures at the very top of this administration to set an ethical tone," Campaign Legal Center Ethics Counsel Delaney Marsco told The Washington Post of the DOI investigation. "When people come to work for government, they're supposed to work on behalf of the public. It's a betrayal of the public trust when senior political appointees seem to give privileged access to their former employers or former clients."
<p>Here's a run-down of the two investigations.</p><h2>Andrew Wheeler</h2><p>The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee is investigating Wheeler for failing to disclose that he lobbied for Darling Ingredients within two years of assuming his post at the EPA, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/24/politics/house-oversight-investigation-epa/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported Wednesday</a>.</p><p>The Ethics in Government Act mandates that all officials must disclose the sources of any money over $5,000 earned in the two years before their appointment, but Wheeler failed to disclose his work on behalf of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chemicals" target="_self">chemical</a> company in 2015 and 2016 while working for Faegre Baker Daniels Consulting. The committee cited Faegre's quarterly disclosure forms as proof that Wheeler had not listed the earnings.</p>
<p>"These documents indicate that you may have improperly omitted Darling from your financial disclosure, and they raise concerns that you may have failed to identify other clients who paid for your service as a lobbyist during the period covered by your disclosure report," House Oversight chairman Elijah Cummings wrote in a letter to Wheeler informing him of the investigation.</p><p>Darling supplies ingredients for fertilizers, fuel and pet and livestock food, among other products, according to The Hill.</p><p>Wheeler also met with Darling in June 2018, while he was serving as deputy administrator at the EPA, according to CNN, but an agency lawyer said this did not violate ethics laws. The EPA did not comment on the investigation to the media and instead said it would respond through the "proper channels," according to CNN.</p>
<h2>The DOI Six</h2><p>Six officials at the DOI are being investigated by the department's Office of Inspector General over meetings with former employers or clients on department-related business, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.</p><p>President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> signed an executive order early in his term saying all appointees must recuse themselves from matters involving former clients for two years. But the Campaign Legal Center sent a letter to the DOI watchdog in February detailing how six officials had violated that pledge. The Office of Inspector General <a href="https://campaignlegal.org/document/letter-office-inspector-general-clc-investigation-interior-ethics-issues" target="_blank">wrote back</a> to the center April 18 to say an investigation was in process.</p><div id="28930" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5ZAB5T1568219117"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1120760303078334464" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Interior's IG has confirmed that it is investigating six Trump political appointees for ethics violations following… https://t.co/QdLxawo6P6</div> — Brendan Fischer (@Brendan Fischer)<a href="https://twitter.com/brendan_fischer/statuses/1120760303078334464">1556045053.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"The department takes ethics issues seriously," Interior spokeswoman Faith Vander Voort told The Washington Post in an email.<br></p><p>The letter was sent three days after the Office of Inspector General announced it was opening an investigation into newly-confirmed Interior Secretary <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/david-bernhardt" target="_self">David Bernhardt</a> after receiving various complaints about his potential conflicts of interest, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/04/15/interiors-watchdog-opens-an-ethics-probe-into-bernhardt-four-days-after-his-senate-confirmation/?utm_term=.4598f1e137c8" target="_blank">The Washington Post reported April 15</a>. Bernhardt replaced <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke" target="_self">Ryan Zinke</a>, who <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/ryan-zinke-resigns-2623640472.html" target="_self">resigned</a> as Interior Secretary after an ethics investigation into his conduct was passed on to the Justice Department.</p>
Federal law requires officials to disclose any client over the past two years that paid them more than $5,000 ...Andrew Wheeler apparently failed to disclose a former lobbying client that paid him more than $5,000https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/440299-epa-administrator-failed-to-disclose-former-lobbying-client …
<p>Here is a brief outline of officials implicated in the most recent investigation, as summarized in <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/ethics-investigation-interior-department_n_5cbf32e5e4b0f7a84a759984?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaHVmZnBvc3QuY29tL2ltcGFjdC9ncmVlbg&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAALOPI_bMZEKXLvmbyrkz104m7wafK7jd3E8lhCu6PJbAbUlPhSAd3cC_bdeM8WrHgS_85EAeXA4rG2HS9uO15eVgC6kyRhn-jEAV1GGwR6IdZv2_cv_aJyhzZnHyXhFy3jdOhLLS71UEIdw4hMu2HTEE1HNAt54q_jWoxtvZDBVZ" target="_blank">The Huffington Post</a>.</p><ol><li>White House liaison Lori Mashburn, who attended two private events hosted by her former employer and right-wing think tank the Heritage Foundation</li><li>Senior Deputy Director for Intergovernmental and External Affairs. Ben Cassidy, who participated in agency meetings on issues he had lobbied the department about on behalf of the National Rifle Association, including <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trophy-hunting" target="_self">trophy hunting</a> and the designation of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-monuments" target="_self">national monuments</a></li><li>Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Doug Domenech, who met with his former employers, a Koch-link think tank called the Texas Public Policy Foundation, about issues over which the foundation was suing DOI</li><li>Former Energy Counselor to Zinke Vincent DeVito, who attended a meeting with a former energy client</li><li>Deputy Director of Interior's Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs Timothy Williams, who participated in a video call with his former employer, who is vice president of the Koch-funded Americans for Prosperity</li><li>Director of Interior's External Affairs Office Todd Wynn, who had a phone call with a committee member of the oil-funded Council of State Governments, of which he had also been a committee member before taking the DOI job</li></ol><p>"An agency's ethical culture depends on ethical leadership. Former Secretary Ryan Zinke and Secretary David Bernhardt, now under investigation himself for ethics violations, have failed to demonstrate adequate ethical behavior at the top of Interior," Matsco said in a statement reported by The Huffington Post. "We hope this investigation will answer whether these officials are working on behalf of the American people or on behalf of the interests that used to pay their salary."</p><div id="c3b31" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="UI9LZD1568219117"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1121489365081968642" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Federal law requires officials to disclose any client over the past two years that paid them more than $5,000 ...A… https://t.co/eyGYPLO60e</div> — Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics)<a href="https://twitter.com/CREWcrew/statuses/1121489365081968642">1556218875.0</a></blockquote></div>From Your Site Articles
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David Bernhardt arrives before testifying during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing on March 28, 2019 in Washington, DC. Zach Gibson / Getty Images
The Senate voted to confirm former oil-and-gas lobbyist David Bernhardt as Secretary of the Interior Thursday, despite calls from Democrats and government watchdogs to investigate his past conduct, The New York Times reported.
<p>The confirmation vote was 56-to-41, making Bernhardt—who has so many conflicts of interests he has to write them on an index card to make sure he doesn't deal with former clients—the least popular Interior Secretary in 40 years, the <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/" target="_blank">Center for American Progress</a> (CAP) told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2019/04/11/senate-confirms-former-oil-gas-lobbyist-david-bernhardt-secretary-interior/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.931df4c2cd3d" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>. The second least popular was <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke" target="_self">Ryan Zinke</a>, President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a>'s first pick to lead the Department of Interior (DOI), who <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/ryan-zinke-resigns-2623640472.html" target="_self">resigned last year</a> amidst a series of ethics investigations. A CAP analysis showed that Bernhardt bested his former boss in another respect: he has the <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/news/2019/03/15/467373/david-bernhardt-president-trumps-conflicted-cabinet-nominee/" target="_blank">most conflicts of interests</a> of all 31 Trump cabinet-level nominees.</p><p>"It still amazes me," New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer said of Bernhardt's nomination, as The New York Times reported. "Donald Trump campaigns on cleaning up the swamp and he does exactly the opposite when in office. An oil and gas lobbyist as head of the Department of Interior? My God. That's an example of the swampiness of Washington if there ever was one. And when are Donald Trump's supporters going to understand this?"</p><p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/who-is-david-bernhardt-2619898630.html" target="_self">Bernhardt worked for the DOI under</a> President George W. Bush, contributing to efforts to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development. He then spent seven years as a lobbyist with several <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> clients including Halliburton; another of his clients was the powerful California utility Westlands Water District. Trump nominated him to serve as deputy secretary at DOI in April 2017, he was confirmed in July of that year and he has been acting as interior secretary since Zinke's resignation in December of 2018.</p>
<p>Democratic lawmakers and watchdogs have called for investigations into three of Bernhardt's reported actions, according to The New York Times.<br></p><ol><li>While at Interior, he reportedly acted to weaken <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> protections for a California fish, an act that would benefit Westlands Water District.</li><li>He continued to lobby on behalf of Westlands Water District up through the month of his April 2017 nomination, despite the fact that he had told the federal government he was no longer lobbying at that time, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/climate/david-bernhardt-interior-lobbying.html?module=inline" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>.</li><li>He <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-interior-pesticides-endangered-species-2632923847.html" target="_self">blocked an about-to-be-released report</a> detailing the risks posed by pesticides to more than 1,000 endangered species.</li></ol><p>Democratic Senator Ron Wyden said he was shocked by that last revelation, reported in March. Shortly before, Bernhardt had come to Wyden's office and promised to abide by ethical standards.</p><p>"Why would you come to my office and lie?" Wyden asked Bernhardt during his confirmation hearing, The Washington Post reported.</p><p>Three Democratic Senators broke ranks with their colleagues to approve Bernhardt's confirmation: Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Krysten Sinema of Arizona and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.</p><p>Heinrich said that, since one-third of land in New Mexico is owned by DOI, it was important for the state to have a confirmed head of the agency, The New York Times reported.</p><p>"I need to be able to pick up the phone and talk to the Secretary of Interior on a regular basis. I'm not going to be able to get the Interior Secretary I wanted. We didn't win in 2016," he said, according to The New York Times. "But in New Mexico, I'm going to put my state and protection of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" target="_self">public lands</a> in my state first."</p><p>Heinrich had been the target of a campaign by the <a href="https://westernvaluesproject.org/" target="_blank">Western Values Project</a> urging him to change his mind.</p>
<div id="d5032" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="D7SGBE1576663802"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1115643449980534784" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Watch and share new ad urging Sen. @MartinHeinrich to vote against Trump’s Interior Secretary nominee @DOIDepSec Da… https://t.co/chq99zICGB</div> — Western Values Project (@Western Values Project)<a href="https://twitter.com/Western_Values/statuses/1115643449980534784">1554825100.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"Rushing to move forward with Bernhardt's nomination without clarification on his numerous ethical lapses and investigative requests is not only a disservice to the American people, but it also means that Interior will again be led by a secretary shrouded in scandal," Western Values Project Executive Director Chris Saeger said in a <a href="https://westernvaluesproject.org/senate-confirms-trumps-most-conflict-ridden-cabinet-nominee-to-manage-americas-public-lands/" target="_blank">statement</a> on Bernhardt's confirmation. "Make no mistake: a vote to confirm David Bernhardt for Interior Secretary was a vote against our American birthright and the viability of our public lands for future generations."<br></p><p>The group noted that Bernhardt already had a poor record on public lands. He has been instrumental in the push to open millions of acres of public lands to oil and gas development and oversaw the decision to keep <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-parks" target="_self">national parks</a> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/national-parks-conservation-trump-shutdown-2627304417.html" target="_self">open but understaffed</a> during the government shutdown.</p>
<div id="22d97" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="XX3FBC1576663803"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1110673148708446208" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Oil Execs Brag About Having ‘Direct Access’ to Trump’s Pick for Interior Secretary https://t.co/5s2wWE7TXr</div> — DeSmogBlog (@DeSmogBlog)<a href="https://twitter.com/DeSmogBlog/statuses/1110673148708446208">1553640088.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Senate Urged to Reject 'Walking, Talking Conflict of Interest' David Bernhardt to Run Interior
28 March 2019
Politics
A demonstrator wears a Creature from the Black Lagoon mask as David Bernhardt, President Donald Trump's nominee to be Interior Secretary, testifies during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing on March 28 in Washington, DC. Zach Gibson / Getty Images
By Jessica Corbett
Environmental activists are calling on senators to reject the nomination of former fossil fuel lobbyist David Bernhardt to lead the U.S. Department of the Interior.
<p>The calls come ahead of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's Thursday morning <a href="https://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/hearings-and-business-meetings?ID=35F3BA18-1860-4227-8C1B-A7C5891D14E1" target="_blank">hearing</a> to consider his nomination.</p>
<p>"David Bernhardt is a walking, <a href="http://www.davidbernhardt.org/" target="_blank">talking conflict of interest</a>," said Alissa Weinman, a senior organizer for the nonprofit Corporate Accountability. "Between his Big Polluter ties and corporate lobbying connections, it's clear Bernhardt will continue to serve the corporate interests to whom he owes his career, not the people or our public lands."</p><p>Bernhardt has been <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/07/25/walking-conflict-interest-fossil-fuel-industry-lobbyist-now-second-command-interior" target="_blank">under fire</a> for his fossil fuel past since the Senate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/07/25/walking-conflict-interest-fossil-fuel-industry-lobbyist-now-second-command-interior" target="_blank">confirmed</a> him as the agency's deputy administrator in July of 2017. He currently serves as the department's acting administrator, a position he has held since <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/11/19/rumors-mount-zinkes-days-are-numbered-warnings-about-man-behind-curtain-who-could" target="_blank">scandal-ridden</a> Ryan Zinke <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/12/15/facing-17-ethics-investigations-and-subpoena-house-dems-ryan-zinke-set-resign-end" target="_blank">resigned</a> in December. President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/02/04/promoting-another-puppet-corporate-polluters-trump-picks-former-oil-lobbyist-head" target="_blank">nominated</a> Bernhardt to the permanent post last month.</p><p>"David Bernhardt heading the Interior Department would be a dream come true for fossil fuel companies, but a nightmare for the American people," warned Greenpeace USA climate and energy campaign director Janet Redman.</p><p>Noting that "people who care about clean air, safe water, and a healthy climate have been sounding the alarm about Bernhardt's history" for the past two years, Redman charged that "he's done nothing since but prove he's not fit for this job."</p><p>A coalition of more than 160 conservation groups, including Greenpeace USA, <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2019/david-bernhardt-03-26-2019.php" target="_blank">sent</a> a <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/pdfs/Ltr-Oppose-Bernhardt-Int-Secretary-3-26-19.pdf" target="_blank">letter</a> to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), on Tuesday imploring them to oppose Bernhardt's nomination:</p><blockquote>In his 18 months serving as the Interior Department's deputy secretary, Mr. Bernhardt has been at the center of a culture of corruption that has been the Interior Department's hallmark under the Trump administration. He consistently puts private profit above the public interest, crafting policies to benefit past clients and rolling back longstanding rules to protect habitat, imperiled species, and public health. <br><br>These actions come straight from the fossil fuel and mining industry's wishlist, including some corporations for which Bernhardt used to work as a lobbyist and lawyer.</blockquote><p>The letter outlines the ways in which Bernhardt has helped facilitate a siege on science, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/23/leaked-audio-exposes-oil-gas-execs-laughing-joy-over-cozy-access-trump-officials" target="_blank">put fossil fuels first</a>, imperil wildlife, promote development in the Arctic Refuge, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/13/native-leaders-tell-congress-how-trump-trampled-spiritually-occupied-landscape-carve" target="_blank">harm</a> national parks and monuments, and <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/12/31/under-cover-shutdown-trump-admin-quietly-moves-deprive-american-people-their-right" target="_blank">block</a> transparency and oversight by Congress and the public.</p><p>Campaigners at various groups that signed on to the letter spoke out about Bernhardt's record and urged senators to reject him.</p>
<p>Nicole Ghio of Friends of the Earth denounced Bernhardt as "a fossil fuel industry hack" while Leda Huta of the Endangered Species Coalition called him "a prime example of the culture of special-interest, big-money, influence peddling surrounding this administration."</p><p>"His sorry record in protecting America's natural resources, wildlife, and waters makes Bernhardt uniquely unfit for the job," said John Bowman, managing director of government affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council.</p><p>Randi Spivak, public lands director at the Center for Biological Diversity, concluded that "Bernhardt has already shown us that he's the most dangerous person to be in charge of our public lands and endangered species."</p><p>Bernhardt has so many potential conflicts of interest due to his history as a lobbyist that, as the Washington Post revealed last year, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/11/19/rumors-mount-zinkes-days-are-numbered-warnings-about-man-behind-curtain-who-could" target="_blank">he carries around a pocket-sized</a> card listing all of them.</p><p>Public Citizen, another signatory of the letter, printed out a poster-sized version of the card and delivered it to senators voting on his confirmation. As the watchdog group put it, "An oil shill has no business overseeing our natural resources."</p>
<div id="58fc4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="RV4EQG1568219078"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1110947916758298625" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">DOI nominee David Bernhardt has so many conflicts of interest he literally carries a card to keep track of them all… https://t.co/KMalCWc3F4</div> — Public Citizen (@Public Citizen)<a href="https://twitter.com/Public_Citizen/statuses/1110947916758298625">1553705598.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/27/senate-urged-reject-walking-talking-conflict-interest-david-bernhardt-run-interior" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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Trump's Pick to Head Interior Blocked Report Warning of Pesticide Risk to 1,000+ Endangered Species
27 March 2019
Politics
Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt shakes hands with Trump. The U.S. Interior Department via Twitter
Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, who faces a Senate confirmation hearing Thursday after President Donald Trump nominated him to head Interior permanently, acted to block a report that found that two pesticides "jeopardize the continued existence" of more than 1,200 endangered species, according to documents obtained by The New York Times and the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD).
<p>In 2017, Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) scientists completed a report on the threat posed by three pesticides to endangered species. But before they could make it public that November, they were stopped by top political appointees including then-Deputy Secretary Bernhardt, who instead initiated a new process using a narrower standard for assessing risk, The New York Times reported. The Times' investigative report is based on more than 84,000 pages of Interior Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa" target="_self">EPA</a>) documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act requests by the Times and CBD.</p><p>One of the pesticides covered in the FWS study was the controversial <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/chlorpyrifos" target="_self">chlorpyrifos</a>, which Trump's EPA has <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/chlorpyrifos-food-epa-wheeler-2628274648.html" target="_self">separately fought attempts to ban</a> after its own scientists warned of its dangers to children.</p><p>"It's outrageous that Trump, Bernhardt and the industry hacks inhabiting this administration are speeding the extinction of nearly 1,400 endangered species by refusing to take any action on chlorpyrifos," CBD environmental health director Lori Ann Burd said in a statement. "If political appointees weren't stopping the government's own scientists from doing their jobs, this brain-damaging, wildlife-killing horror of a pesticide would already be banned."</p><p>The original study was part of a re-registration of the three pesticides, a process that takes place every 15 years. It found that chlorpyrifos put 1,399 species at risk while the pesticide malathion put 1,284 at risk and diazinon put 175 at risk. One species put at risk by pesticides was the San Joaquin kit fox, a five pound animal that had once been widely present in the California valley until pesticides like diazinon poisoned the grasses and birds it fed on. The FWS also found that the Cape Sable seaside sparrow in Florida was put in danger by the spraying of chlorpyrifos.</p><p>"For many vulnerable species, a single exposure could be catastrophic," the original report said.</p>
<div id="716fc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="A5KIBV1576663803"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1110522380550590464" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">EXCLUSIVE: Scientists at Interior Depart spent several years-& thousands of hours-studying impact 3 pesticides have… https://t.co/HMebrmBaNZ</div> — Eric Lipton (@Eric Lipton)<a href="https://twitter.com/EricLiptonNYT/statuses/1110522380550590464">1553604142.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The new standard being used to assess risk was "one that pesticide makers and users had lobbied intensively to promote," The New York Times reported. The New York Times reported that chlorpyrifos-maker Dow Agrosciences, which was recently renamed Corteva, had donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration committee. The company said the donation was not related to the policy change, but Corteva spokesperson Gregg M. Schmidt said the new policy would lead to "a better understanding of where and how pesticides are being used."<br></p><p>FWS staff wrote their original report assuming that the pesticides were being sprayed the maximum amount legally allowed on their labels, while the industry argued that they should base their findings on actual use. FWS staffers argued that historic usage data would not reflect how pesticides might be used in the future. Label limits are also legally enforceable.</p>
<div id="4e88b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7EPB5T1576663804"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1110528401742446593" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The staff had worked literally thousands of hours--for years. Four biologists. Four toxicologists at Fish & Wildlif… https://t.co/Qk0RpH47nB</div> — Eric Lipton (@Eric Lipton)<a href="https://twitter.com/EricLiptonNYT/statuses/1110528401742446593">1553605578.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p><br>Former EPA official Wendy Cleland-Hamnett, who left the agency in late 2017, said that the shift in policy at Interior was consistent with what she had experienced at the EPA during the Trump administration. "It is certainly similar to the pattern we saw in toxic chemicals as well, where the regulated industry had a more sympathetic ear in the new administration," Cleland-Hamnett told The New York Times. "And that resulted in a shift in approach as to how these issues would be handled."</p><p>FWS spokesperson Laury Marshall Parramore told CNN that the agency has "continuously refined (their) methodology."</p><p>"This has necessitated delaying the release of the draft biological opinions but will ultimately ensure that they are legally sound and based on the best available scientific information," she said.</p>
<div id="554ee" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="BR3VKA1576663804"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1097677194262921217" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">#Trump #EPA OKs 'Emergency' to Dump Bee-Killing #Pesticide on 16 Million Acres https://t.co/w8AVtDSyBU @bpncamp @pesticideaction</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1097677194262921217">1550541611.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Trump Nominates ‘Walking Conflict of Interest’ David Bernhardt to Permanently Replace Zinke as Interior Secretary
05 February 2019
Politics
Donald Trump, Mike Pence and acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in Washington, DC on Jan. 21. MANDEL NGAN / AFP / Getty Images
President Donald Trump officially nominated David Bernhardt—a former energy lobbyist environmental groups have described as a "walking conflict of interest"—to officially take over as interior secretary after Ryan Zinke stepped down in December 2018 following various scandals.
<p>"It's a humbling privilege to be nominated to lead a Department whose mission I love, to accomplish the balanced, common sense vision of our President," Bernhardt wrote in a tweet responding to the president's announcement, also made on Twitter Monday.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="39d91" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3TVJOG1576663068"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1092521879569686534" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">It’s a humbling privilege to be nominated to lead a Department whose mission I love, to accomplish the balanced, co… https://t.co/VHhYLGlHwN</div> — Secretary David Bernhardt (@Secretary David Bernhardt)<a href="https://twitter.com/SecBernhardt/statuses/1092521879569686534">1549312488.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>As deputy secretary, Bernhardt played an active role in the Trump administration's push to open <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" target="_self">public lands</a> to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> and mining interests, and he is expected to continue this work if he is confirmed to permanently take over the department he has been running as acting secretary following Zinke's departure, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-interior-bernhardt/trump-to-nominate-ex-energy-lobbyist-bernhardt-to-head-interior-idUSKCN1PT24V" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTE0Njk2Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTU1NTI0MH0.9dcWNf8UtANYy5EW-CcyWXTtLNYHdB16rvGXHZEMxz4/img.jpg?width=980" id="d441c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aedd65a177628837fd156c858675040e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt at a meeting of International Boundary and Water Commission officials from the U.S. and Mexico on Sept. 27, 2017</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usbr/37326894776/" target="_blank">Bureau of Reclamation</a></small></p>
<p>In 2017, around 150 environmental groups wrote a letter to the Senate urging it to block his nomination to the position of deputy secretary, arguing that his work as a lawyer and lobbyist for oil and water interests at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck gave him too much past history with entities that could stand to benefit from Interior Department decisions. Despite this, he was confirmed 53 to 43, and now famously carries around a list of all his potential conflicts of interest, as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/the-man-behind-the-curtain-interiors-no-2-helps-drive-trumps-agenda/2018/11/18/6403eb4c-e9ff-11e8-b8dc-66cca409c180_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.ac58511cf14d" target="_blank">The Washington Post reported</a> in November of 2018.<br></p><p>"David Bernhardt is a walking conflict of interest who has no business overseeing America's public lands," <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/home" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> Executive Director Michael Brune said in a <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2019/02/trump-nominates-walking-conflict-interest-david-bernhardt-be-interior" target="_blank">statement</a> opposing his permanent installation. "The Secretary of the Interior should be someone who respects the mission of the department and sees the value in our public lands and waters beyond their capacity to be drilled, mined, or fracked."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="0e7dc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ZVZ93Z1576663068"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1092531631917883392" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">David Bernhardt is a walking conflict of interest who has no business overseeing America’s public lands. https://t.co/jCJgnnDOPQ</div> — Sierra Club (@Sierra Club)<a href="https://twitter.com/SierraClub/statuses/1092531631917883392">1549314813.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>More recently, Bernhardt has come under fire for decisions made after he took over for Zinke as acting interior secretary. He was responsible for keeping <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-parks" target="_self">national parks</a> open to the public but understaffed during the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/government-shutdown" target="_self">government shutdown</a>, a move that put <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/government-shutdown-national-parks-2624954748.html" target="_self">both wildlife and visitors</a> at risk.<br></p><p>"Our National Park System is more expansive, diverse and reflective of the American story than ever before. But it's also a system facing many challenges, including threats from climate change, overcrowding, encroaching development and billions of dollars in needed repairs. And now, after the longest shutdown in US history, parks are dealing with a massive cleanup due to acting Interior Secretary Bernhardt's irresponsible decision to keep parks open with minimal staff," <a href="https://www.npca.org/" target="_blank">National Parks Conservation Association</a> President and CEO Theresa Pierno wrote in a statement opposing his nomination.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="ad23e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ARYRSC1576663068"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1092532572817629187" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">BREAKING: "We have serious concerns with the nomination of David Bernhardt for Interior Secretary and cannot suppor… https://t.co/xsxdk99reX</div> — National Parks Conservation Association (@National Parks Conservation Association)<a href="https://twitter.com/NPCA/statuses/1092532572817629187">1549315038.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>Bernhardt also signed a memorandum <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/shutdown-national-parks-entrance-fees-2625335019.html" target="_self">authorizing parks to use visitor fees</a> to cover maintenance costs and day-to-day operations during the shutdown, a move that some Congressional Democrats said was illegal.<br></p><p>As deputy secretary, Bernhardt also <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/zinke-bernhardt-interior-environment-2625021502.html" target="_self">promoted efforts</a> to weaken the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">Endangered Species</a> Act and open the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/arctic" target="_self">Arctic</a> National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="00bbd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6ZIGBB1576663068"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1092524470730919936" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Trump has selected yet another unqualified nominee to head the Department of the Interior. https://t.co/QUmDvPEed1</div> — Center for Bio Div (@Center for Bio Div)<a href="https://twitter.com/CenterForBioDiv/statuses/1092524470730919936">1549313106.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. NPS
Hats off to Delta Air Lines. The company's charitable arm awarded the National Park Service an $83,500 grant to help reopen the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta from Jan. 19 through Feb. 3 in honor of Dr. King's legacy.
The Atlanta-based airline was inspired to act after learning that some of the park's sites, including Dr. King's birth home, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Fire Station No. 6 and the visitor center, were closed due to the partial government shutdown, now on its 28th day, according to LinkedIn post from Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian.
<p>
"These historic landmarks represent the strength of our community and should always be made available for the public to enjoy," Bastian wrote in the post.
</p><p>
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is always observed on the third Monday of January each year. This year's occasion is particularly special as the civil rights icon would have turned 90 on Jan. 15.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="2a3da" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="CQC1XE1576662581"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1086058161654677504" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The Delta Air Lines Foundation is honored to give the @natlparkservice a grant to reopen the Martin Luther King, Jr… https://t.co/bKV0MeMYNX</div> — Delta (@Delta)<a href="https://twitter.com/Delta/statuses/1086058161654677504">1547771418.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Bastian also said he wants the landmarks to be open for travelers who will be in town for the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.
</p><p>
"For everyone visiting Atlanta for the big game, I highly recommend touring these inspiring sites," he wrote.
</p><p>
The grant from the Delta Air Lines Foundation will go towards clean up, administration, maintenance and operating costs of employees not covered under recreation fee funds, according to a National Park Service
<a href="https://www.nps.gov/malu/learn/news/deltagrant.htm" target="_blank">press release</a>.
</p><p>
"It is not possible to overstate our appreciation to The Delta Air Lines Foundation for ensuring the Martin Luther King, Jr. sites are accessible to the American people as we honor Dr. King on the 90th anniversary of his birth," said
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/david-bernhardt" target="_self">David L. Bernhardt</a>, acting secretary of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/department-of-interior" target="_self">Department of Interior</a>, in the press release. "This is yet another example of private organizations stepping up to ensure that our visitors from across the nation and around the world are able to have a meaningful experience at national parks."
</p><p>
<span></span>The National Park Service has contributed funds from fees paid by park visitors for entrance, camping, parking and other services. The Interior "has determined that these funds can and should be used to provide immediate maintenance assistance and services to parks during the lapse of appropriations," the press release said.
</p><p>
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/clean-energy-naacp-2524858478.html" target="_blank">The environment is a civil rights issue</a>. We can't talk about fighting for clean air, water and land without mentioning how people of color, low-income populations and other marginalized communities are disproportionately exposed to pollution and the harmful impacts of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_blank">climate change</a>.
</p><p>
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAAP)
<a href="https://www.naacp.org/latest/naacp-launch-solar-equity-initiative-mlk-national-day-service-kick-off-event/" target="_blank">wrote</a> last year before the launch of its <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/clean-energy-naacp-2524858478.html" target="_blank">Solar Equity Initiative</a>:
</p><blockquote>
Multiple NAACP studies and reports chronicle the disparities in exposure to pollution from fossil fuel based energy production in low income and communities of color. Communities of color and low income communities, as well as population groups such as women, consume the least energy, but are most disproportionately impacted, suffering poor health outcomes, compromised education, loss of livelihoods and loss of life as a result of exposure to toxins and the ravages of climate change.
</blockquote><p>
The ongoing government shutdown has caused disruption in air travel and could expose passengers to potential security vulnerabilities from air traffic controllers and TSA workers going without pay and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/04/politics/shutdown-tsa-screening/index.html" target="_blank">calling in sick</a>.
</p><p>
Bastian, Delta's CEO, said this week that the shutdown will cost the company $25 million in revenue in January alone because fewer government contractors and employees are traveling.
</p><p>
"We are seeing some pressure on our business," he said, according to
<a href="https://www.ajc.com/business/delta-says-federal-shutdown-takes-million-toll-airline/fwyefoIjVpzxoEOgDN2HcJ/" target="_blank">The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</a>. "We strongly encourage our elected officials to do their very best to resolve their differences and get the government fully open as soon as possible."
</p><p>
<span></span>Here is the Delta boss' full statement about re-opening MLK national park on
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6491816343027937280/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>:<br>
</p><blockquote>
"The time is always right to do what is right."
<br>
<br>
These powerful words spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. resonate stronger than ever as we celebrate his life and legacy this weekend. While his work in bringing people together can be felt worldwide, his influence is a constant presence in Delta's hometown of Atlanta. Upon learning that the #governmentshutdown meant Dr. King's birth home, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Fire Station No. 6 and the visitor center would be closed during the national holiday, we knew we had to take action. These historic landmarks represent the strength of our community and should always be made available for the public to enjoy. I'm honored and humbled that Delta Air Lines will continue supporting Dr. King's legacy by funding the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park, allowing these sites to be open January 19 through February 3. For everyone visiting Atlanta for the big game, I highly recommend touring these inspiring sites.<br></blockquote>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="51460" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="UEFEL71576662581"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="951996229323542528" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">'Clean energy is a fundamental civil right': Major campaign to expand access to solar https://t.co/YWeCnee6es via… https://t.co/biCsLqCpSL</div> — Climate Nexus (@Climate Nexus)<a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus/statuses/951996229323542528">1515808562.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt at a meeting regarding the Colorado River on Sept. 27, 2017. Bureau of Reclamation
By Emilie Karrick Surrusco
As 2019 begins, it's out with the old and in with the same old, same old. Scandal-ridden Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke released a brief farewell letter Wednesday in red marker. With Zinke's successor not yet named, David Bernhardt becomes acting secretary. The move swaps out one political insider closely aligned with deep-pocketed special interests for another.
Bernhardt, who became deputy secretary of the Department of Interior in August 2017, is "a walking conflict of interest" who served as the Interior Department's top lawyer under George W. Bush—and went on to a lucrative career as a legal adviser for timber companies, mining companies and oil and gas interests. Since returning to the Interior Department under Trump, he has quietly implemented policy decisions that benefit his former corporate polluter clients.
<p>"As Deputy Secretary and now as acting Secretary, David Bernhardt never intended to adhere to basic standards of ethics and accountability. Instead, he is hell-bent on continuing Zinke's work of dismantling bedrock environmental protections and selling off our <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands">public lands</a> to the highest bidder," said <a href="https://earthjustice.org/about/staff/martin-hayden" target="_blank">Martin Hayden</a>, <a href="https://earthjustice.org" target="_blank">Earthjustice</a> VP of policy and legislation. "This is business as usual for the Trump administration and Earthjustice will continue to fight them every step of the way."</p><p>The Interior Department is currently facing litigation from <a href="https://foe.org/" target="_blank">Friends of the Earth</a>, <a href="https://westernvaluesproject.org" target="_blank">Western Values Project</a>, and others for failing to release ethics documents under the Freedom of Information Act that could help explain why Bernhardt's former lobbying clients have received regulatory and policy decisions in their favor.<br></p><p>"It is noteworthy that many of the Deputy Secretary's former clients began receiving sudden and dramatic windfalls only months after his swearing in," the complaint reads. "By failing to respond to FOIA requests concerning Deputy Secretary Bernhardt, DOI has violated the law."</p><p>One month after Bernhardt took over as the No. 2 at Interior, the Bureau of the Land Management announced a change that made it easier for Cadiz Inc. to go forward with a controversial <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/water">water</a> project. Cadiz, a former client of Bernhardt's at the lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, has been trying for decades to push <a href="https://earthjustice.org/blog/2018-november/we-re-fighting-a-corporate-scheme-to-sell-the-mojave-desert-s-water" target="_blank">a dubious scheme</a> to sell possibly contaminated water from beneath the Mojave Desert in southern California. The plan would not only imperil the desert's fragile ecosystem, but also would endanger people who drink the water, which is <a href="http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-brooks-cadiz-project-water-mojave-desert-20170521-story.html" target="_blank">contaminated</a> with hexavalent chromium, <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/chromium-water-cancer/" target="_blank">a cancer-causing chemical</a>.</p><p>Now, thanks to the BLM's reversal of an Obama administration decision, Cadiz has cleared one legal hurdle that would allow them to build a pipeline to carry the water through the Mojave Trails National Monument to the Los Angeles area. </p><p>Bernhardt's old lobbying firm has already earned 200,000 shares of Cadiz stock for their involvement with the company, and stands to earn 200,000 more if the project is completed.</p><p>Bernhardt was also a <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-trump-bernhardt-20170517-story.html" target="_blank">lobbyist for</a> the Westlands Water District, a politically influential irrigation agency that has long battled the federal government on behalf of big <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/agribusiness">agribusinesses</a> in California's arid western Central Valley. Westlands has paid Bernhardt's firm <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/clientsum.php?id=D000058573&year=2016" target="_blank">$1.27 million in lobbying fees</a> since 2011. Its demands for increased water flows to farms <a href="http://earthjustice.org/features/the-california-drought" target="_blank">jeopardize endangered species</a> in the ecologically compromised San Francisco Bay-Delta Estuary, particularly in times of drought.</p><p>In October, President Trump signed a memorandum to review water regulations and speed up review of the rules about how water is pumped through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, in order to facilitate more water allotments for Westlands' large commercial farmers.</p><p>"What's happened there is disgraceful," Trump said of California's water situation, <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article220320230.html" target="_blank">according to the Sacramento Bee</a>. "They've taken it away. There's so much water, they don't know what to do with it, they send it out to sea ... They don't let the water come down into the Valley and into the areas where they need the water."</p><p>Westlands also is responsible for <a href="https://elr.info/sites/default/files/articles/15.10386.htm" target="_blank">an environmental disaster</a> in the early 1980s, when a half-finished irrigation canal built by the federal government carried tainted Westlands water directly into a wildlife refuge. Migratory birds were killed or hatched with birth defects caused by naturally occurring selenium and heavy metals in the water. A long-running legal battle over the disaster finally culminated in <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/congress/article132508639.html" target="_blank">a proposed settlement</a> between the Interior Department and Westlands in 2015, which put the onus on Westlands to deal with the aftermath of the pollution while forgiving its roughly $375 million debt to the government. Bernhardt represented Westlands in the negotiation of the settlement, which is yet to be finalized. A <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/1769?q=%7B%22search%22:%5B%22hr1769%22%5D%7D&r=1" target="_blank">bill introduced</a> in the House of Representatives last year would require the Interior Department to implement the proposed settlement.</p><p>Another former client, the Independent Petroleum Association of America, benefited when Bernhardt oversaw proposed revisions to agreements for the management of sage grouse habitat across 10 Western states. The revisions eliminate protections for the imperiled bird in favor of petroleum development. And while the sage grouse is not listed as <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered</a>, it has been protected by the Endangered Species Act, a law that Bernhardt has been dead set against since his time as the Interior Department's solicitor general in the early 2000s. </p><p>Bernhardt has continued his campaign against the Endangered Species Act since returning to the Interior Department, with proposals to allow regulators to consider the economic impacts in decisions about listing particular species, rather than just looking at available science. In a Washington Post op-ed authored by Bernhardt, he calls for "creative, incentive-based conservation" to bring "our government's implementation of the Endangered Species Act into the 21st century."</p><p>In a similar vein, Bernhardt has continued efforts to open the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/arctic">Arctic</a> National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to drilling. During his career as a lobbyist, Bernhardt represented the state of Alaska in controversial litigation that aimed to open the Arctic Refuge to development. Since assuming his position as deputy secretary, Bernhardt has described environmental review of drilling in America's largest wildlife refuge as "just nuts" and has led efforts to rush legally-required analysis of drilling in this pristine area. To this end, Bernhardt introduced a policy aimed at curtailing the National Environmental Policy Act—which dictates that all NEPA work must be completed within one year and be limited to 150 pages.</p><p>With his pro-polluter, anti-environment track record, Bernhardt is the wrong person to lead the federal department charged with natural resource conservation. We will work with our allies to continue to hold the Trump administration accountable in the courts.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="f4fb5" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5NFYLL1576661823"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1074660755314597888" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Ryan Zinke, ‘Worst Interior Secretary in History,’ Resigns https://t.co/HpFY6O4qre #Publiclands #Ryanzinke #Politics https://t.co/bHbvDZSI6a</div> — Renewable Search (@Renewable Search)<a href="https://twitter.com/RenewableSearch/statuses/1074660755314597888">1545054064.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Screenshot / YouTube
By Jeff Turrentine
Navy SEALS are known for their incredible endurance and superior ability to get out of tough, high-stakes situations. But ex-SEAL Ryan Zinke, our current secretary of the Interior, likely won't be able to climb, jump, swim or rappel his way out of the ethics mess he's gotten himself into.
<p>If <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/31/18044860/ryan-zinke-interior-investigation-ethics-justice" target="_blank">the rumors</a> are true and Zinke's days in the Trump administration <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/08/ryan-zinke-fox-news-956537" target="_blank">are numbered</a> (rumors that President Trump <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/11/09/us/politics/ap-us-trump-zinke.html" target="_blank">isn't doing much to dispel</a>), then Americans who care about the future of our national parks, national monuments and other <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands">public lands</a> should get to know his replacement. Meet <a href="https://departmentofinfluence.org/person/david-bernhardt/" target="_blank">David Bernhardt</a>, the Interior Department's current deputy secretary, whose long Washington résumé suggests that he would happily continue to carry out the Trump administration's war on public lands and federal waters—albeit with greater legal sophistication and fewer unforced ethical errors than his predecessor.</p><p>Like his current boss, Bernhardt grew up in the mountain West: in his case, Colorado's Western Slope. Unlike Zinke, who spent more than 20 years as a Navy SEAL before winning Montana's sole congressional seat in 2014, Bernhardt has been in Washington for nearly two decades, having first joined the Interior Department back in 2001 as deputy chief of staff to then-Secretary <a href="https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/government/norton-bio.html" target="_blank">Gale Norton</a>. Five years later, President George W. Bush named Bernhardt solicitor for the agency, a job that had him overseeing the legal staff that represents the department in court cases and directing its overall legal strategy. During this first go-round at the agency, Bernhardt worked to open up Yellowstone National Park to <a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2008/bush-administration-to-yellowstone-bring-in-the-snowmobiles" target="_blank">recreational snowmobilers</a> and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/12/21/AR2005122101252.html" target="_blank">oil and gas development</a>.</p><p>When the Obama administration came to town in 2009, the winds of change sent Bernhardt spinning through the Washington revolving door that deposits outgoing top-tier political staff into positions at DC's most powerful lobbying firms. (This door, in case you were wondering, is located in the proverbial swamp.) He spent the next seven years as a registered lobbyist whose clients included <a href="http://www.samson.com/" target="_blank">Samson Resources</a>, the largest privately held crude oil and natural gas company in the U.S.; <a href="https://www.halliburton.com/en-US/default.html" target="_blank">Halliburton</a>, the multinational oilfield services company where former vice president Dick Cheney once was CEO; <a href="https://tucson.com/news/local/years-later-court-battles-over-rosemont-mine-persist/article_a4a8599f-caf8-599a-aaa6-7555be1a5c90.html" target="_blank">Rosemont Copper</a>, a proposed copper mine near Tucson that's been the subject of an 11-year legal battle with Native American tribes and environmental groups; and the <a href="https://www.ipaa.org/about/" target="_blank">Independent Petroleum Association of America</a>, a consortium made up of thousands of oil and gas producers scattered across the country.</p><p>Bernhardt's client list was heavy on fossil fuel interests, but one of his biggest lobbying jobs was for the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-20150920-column.html" target="_blank">Westlands Water District</a>, the largest agricultural water district in the country and the chief provider of water to farmers in California's Central Valley. After rejoining Interior last year as its deputy secretary, Bernhardt became Zinke's point man on an <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/water-and-drought/article217013095.html" target="_blank">agency-led plan</a> for "maximizing water supply deliveries" to the Central Valley—even if such efforts were found to violate wildlife protections under the Endangered Species Act. Westlands strongly supports such a plan, a fact that has <a href="http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-bernhardt-endangered-20180813-story.html?int=lat_digitaladshouse_bx-modal_acquisition-subscriber_ngux_display-ad-interstitial_bx-bonus-story_______" target="_blank">already raised questions</a> about Bernhardt's independence from his former client. Last year the Campaign for Accountability, a good-government watchdog group, sent a <a href="https://campaignforaccountability.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/Berhnardt-Complaint-Final-7-20-17.pdf" target="_blank">highly detailed letter</a> to the U.S. Attorney's office, urging it to investigate whether Bernhardt "has continued to lobby despite formally withdrawing his registration in 2016."</p><p>If Bernhardt is worried about conflicts of interest or the appearance thereof, he's certainly not letting on. In August he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/at-interior-were-ready-to-bring-the-endangered-species-act-up-to-date/2018/08/09/2775cd8e-9a96-11e8-b55e-5002300ef004_story.html?utm_term=.c6d7aebc1b3f" target="_blank">penned an op-ed</a> for the Washington Post painting the Trump administration's <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/pro-extinction-policies-do-not-sit-well-americans-whatever-their-stripe" target="_blank">dreadful proposal</a> to weaken protections for threatened wildlife as a means of bringing the Endangered Species Act "up to date." The changes he has in mind could very well result in the ceding of critical wildlife habitat to corporate interests.</p><p>Such as regional water districts, for example. Or perhaps oil and gas companies. Or maybe copper mines.</p><p>Sec. Zinke <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/kabir-green/zinke-suppressed-science-gut-national-monuments" target="_blank">had a plan</a> to shrink and sell off our public lands to the highest bidder, and he was actually making good on that plan until his own penchant for <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/week-74-move-over-pruitt-zinke-weeks-king-corruption-0" target="_blank">penny-ante corruption</a> got in the way. If he manages to keep his post into the new year, it will be only to see himself <a href="https://www.outsideonline.com/2357951/what-democrats-raul-grijalva-plan-do-about-zinke" target="_blank">the subject of investigations</a> brought by Democrats as soon as they take control of the U.S. House of Representatives come January.</p><p>Zinke <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/fire-ryan-zinke" target="_blank">needs to go</a>, but not just because of his shady real estate deals and pricey travel habits. He deserves to lose his job over what he's done to public lands such as <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/sordid-backstory-behind-bears-ears-and-grand-staircase-decisions" target="_blank">Bears Ears and Grand Staircase–Escalante</a>—shrinking their borders and imperiling sacred lands to appease industry—and to our federal waters, 90 percent of which <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/experts/nrdc/zinke-adds-oceans-chopping-block" target="_blank">he wants to open up</a> to oil and gas drilling.</p><p>But if Americans think they'll be getting a better secretary of the Interior once Zinke's out, they're sadly mistaken. They'll just be getting a shrewder one.</p><p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/who-david-bernhardt-and-why-every-environmentalist-should-care" target="_blank">onEarth</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
One hundred and fifty conservation groups sent a letter Wednesday urging U.S. senators to oppose the nomination of energy lobbyist David Bernhardt as top deputy in the Interior Department, citing his efforts to enrich corporations at the expense of the environment.
<p>Bernhardt's confirmation hearing is set for Thursday before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Today's letter says Bernhardt's "conflicts of interest, industry ties and questionable judgment make him ill suited to lead the Department."</p><p>If confirmed as the chief deputy to Interior Sec. <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke">Ryan Zinke</a>, Bernhardt would play a key role in directing the management of hundreds of millions of acres of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-parks">national parks</a>, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-antiquities-act-bears-ears-2379688298.html">monuments</a>, forests and refuges as well as <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife">wildlife</a>, including <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species">endangered species</a>.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed"></p><div id="16e90" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="FP0PCT1524750038"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="860556932234575872" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">.@Patagonia to Zinke: 'Conserve Our Shared Public Lands for Future Generations' https://t.co/HAbsQ6NWND @NRDC @SierraClub @nwf @Wilderness</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/860556932234575872">1494007735.0</a></blockquote></div><p></p><p>"Bernhardt has been called a 'walking conflict of interest' for good reason. He represents everything that's wrong with the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump administration</a> and the revolving door of politics," said Randi Spivak, the <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity's</a> public lands director.</p><p>"It's clear he'll put the interests of oil, mining and agribusiness above the interests of the American people, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands">public lands </a>and wildlife. From <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/scott-pruitt">Scott Pruitt</a> to Ryan Zinke, and now David Bernhardt, Trump has assembled the most anti-environmental administration in history."<br></p><p>Over the past 20 years, Bernhardt has taken full advantage of the revolving door between industry and government—including a stint as Interior's top lawyer under the George W. Bush administration. At the law firm of Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber and Schreck he represented big agriculture, oil and gas, and mining companies. If confirmed, he will oversee the agencies that decide whether or not to allow mining, fossil fuel and other <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/national-monuments-oil-drilling-2401250520.html">extractive projects on public lands</a> to proceed. </p><p>Bernhardt's lobbying firm has a significant financial stake in the Cadiz project, which would pump groundwater beneath California's fragile desert and sell it to Southern California urban water agencies. Pumping would dry up the springs that feed Mojave National Preserve and Mojave Trails National Monument and harm bighorn sheep, bobcats and other wildlife. Bernhardt's lobbying firm could gain millions of dollars in additional stock if the Interior Department approves the permits necessary for Cadiz to move forward.</p><p>"David Bernhardt is absolutely the wrong choice for deputy secretary of the Interior. All you have to do is look at his record," said Bob Dreher, <a href="http://www.defenders.org/" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife</a> senior vice president of conservation programs.</p><p>"His work for the oil and gas industry and western water interests presents irresolvable conflicts with his responsibilities as deputy secretary, and casts doubt on his commitment to stewardship of the nation's lands, resources and wildlife. His past tenure at the Department of the Interior demonstrates a similar disregard for acting in the public interest to protect our shared natural heritage. We urge Congress to reject this nomination."</p><p>Another former client of Berhardt's is pushing to develop a massive open-pit copper mine in the scenic Santa Rita Mountains in Arizona. The Rosemont copper mine, now owned by Hudbay Minerals, would bury parts of the Coronado National Forest in toxic mine tailings. Bernhardt has also represented Cobalt International Energy, which was sued in 2014 for bribing foreign officials to obtain oil concessions.</p><p>When Bernhardt represented the Westlands Water District, he lobbied for legislation that would weaken water quality in the California Bay Delta to benefit large agribusiness interests in California and harm endangered species, including steelhead, salmon and the critically endangered delta smelt. </p><p>If confirmed, Bernhardt would be in a unique position to undermine the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's efforts to follow the best available science and implement proper conservation measures. </p><p>During Bernhardt's tenure as Interior's top lawyer in charge of ethics and legal compliance, the department was rocked by a series of high-profile scandals. Department staff interfered with the scientific integrity of the Endangered Species Act, and others were caught using cocaine and having sexual relations with members of the oil and gas industry. In addition, during that time a high-ranking <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/26/AR2007062601472.html" target="_blank">department official</a> was convicted of lying to the Senate regarding former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. </p><p>In addition to the Center for Biological Diversity and Defenders of Wildlife, other groups opposing Bernhardt's nomination include the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>, <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/" target="_blank">Union of Concerned Scientists</a> and the <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a>. Collectively, these groups represent millions of supporters.</p>
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