Letter to the Editor - Push Daines to oppose Pendley as BLM director

Editor,

Having William Perry Pendley as acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, which manages more public land than any other federal agency, is like the proverbial henhouse-guarding fox — on steroids.

Pendley (whom I’ll refer to as WPP, which reminds me of WMD) has been a very public and strident opponent of public lands and has called for them to be sold off. His beliefs go against the interests of Montanans, who greatly value their public lands and want them to remain public. You don’t want them to become the domain of large corporations or extremely wealthy individuals, do you?

Because WPP was made an “acting” director by the former oil industry lobbyist who is now the secretary of Interior, this appointment doesn’t need Senate confirmation. But that doesn’t mean our two senators can’t speak out.

U.S. Sen. Jon Tester immediately expressed opposition. U.S. Sen. Steve Daines has called concerns about WPP “overblown.” Really?

I disagree. If you do too, please call Daines’ office in Washington, D.C., to let him know what you think.

Karen Datko

Havre