Capital Watch

Target: Senator Cory Gardner Action: Tell Sen. Gardner to call for Pendley to be removed from office   There’s a fox guarding the henhouse at the Bureau of Land Management. Acting BLM director William Perry Pendley is an ardent advocate for selling off our public lands, espouses radical anti-science and anti-conservation positions, has a web of connections to corporate polluters, and has a history of bigoted actions, among many other reasons he must be immediately removed from his position. Not only is Pendley unfit and unconfirmable, he likely is serving illegally as acting director of [...]

Target: U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner Action: Ask our senators to protect NEPA   On June 4, President Trump issued an Executive Order that directs federal agencies to circumvent the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in order to fast-track damaging projects on our public lands. The Order requires the Interior Department and other federal agencies to claim unprecedented emergency powers to speed up oil and gas drilling, pipeline infrastructure and other projects, by minimizing or eliminating environmental review. This is the latest example of the Trump administration exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to sideline [...]

Target: Interior Secretary David Bernhardt Action: Oppose the BLM’s proposed rule to expand e-bike use in the backcountry - comments due June 9   The Department of the Interior is proposing to allow motorized mountain bikes, also known as e-bikes or eMTBs, on backcountry trails on our public lands - trails that human-powered recreationists such as mountain bikers and hikers have worked to keep non-motorized. This change threatens not only wildlife but also decades of collaborative efforts to designate quality, non-motorized trail opportunities in our local communities, and on public lands across the West. Please [...]