Interior’s decision to allow drilling in the Alaskan Arctic skirts the law and sidelines science in order to make a wholly political decision. And that’s wrong. Read more >
Photo: Edwin Butter/Shutterstock
Interior Department Suppresses Study on Polar Bears to Plunder Alaska’s Arctic, Then Caves to Pressure
Andrew Rosenberg, director, Center for Science & Democracy
October 7, 2020 3:51 PM EDT
William Pendley was removed as acting director of the Bureau of Land Management after a federal judge ruled that he had been illegally serving in that role. Photo: Wikimedia
Pendley Is Ousted, but Interior Continues to Protect Its Illegal Hire
Maria Caffrey, Climate scientist
September 30, 2020 4:22 PM EDT
It should be celebrated that a man who once claimed that the founding fathers intended for all public lands to be sold and that climate science is “junk science” is no longer the acting leader of a federal agency that manages 10 percent of the US landmass, even if Interior is still keeping him on in a leadership role. Read more >
Migratory Birds vs. the Trump Administration: This Time the Birds Win
Maria Caffrey, Climate scientist
August 21, 2020 8:50 AM EDT
The Department of the Interior was dealt a serious blow earlier this month in its attempt to dismantle one of our most vital laws for protecting wildlife, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. A federal judge ruled that attempts by the agency to reinterpret the act to allow more bird deaths were unlawful, lacked any opportunity for public comment, and showed that “agency expertise is questionable at best.” Read more >
Acting BLM Director William Pendley at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on September 10, 2019 Photo: House Natural Resources Committee
William Pendley is Still Bad News—and Still Illegally Leading the Bureau of Land Management
Andrew Rosenberg, director, Center for Science & Democracy
August 18, 2020 2:00 PM EDT
Pendley never should have been nominated in the first place. His myriad conflicts of interest and his very opposition to the mission of the agency he was nominated to lead should have disqualified him from the beginning. That makes it all the more troubling that the administration is illegally continuing Mr. Pendley as the effective acting administrator of the BLM despite withdrawing his nomination. Read more >
President Trump walks into Lafayette Square after US Park Police and other law enforcement agents forcibly cleared peaceful protestors on June 1, 2020. Photo: The White House
The Clearing of Lafayette Square: Interior Park Police Chief’s Testimony Stains Agency’s Reputation
Maria Caffrey, Climate scientist
July 29, 2020 1:28 PM EDT
The allegation that park police misused their authority in violation of the first amendment and contributed to a possible slide toward autocracy makes me sick to my stomach. Read more >
