A fox guards our hen house.
Newly appointed William Perry Pendley now leads our Bureau of Land Management (BLM), entrusted with 8 million public acres in Montana. Those acres belong to the public, to us. We can relax, hike, fish, and hunt there.
But Mr. Pendley argues against public land ownership. Argues it should be drilled to profit the same oil industry he’s spent years lawyering for.
Imagine your favorite public fishing stream in Mr. Pendley’s private oil field.
Here at home, Mr. Pendley leads the effort to drill for oil in Montana’s Badger-Two Medicine country. “The Badger” is a glorious wild and Blackfeet-cultural landscape whose mineral access is managed by the BLM. As president of Mountain States Legal Foundation, Pendley sued the BLM and others to allow exploratory oil drilling in the Badger. That legal fight continues. Now Mr. Pendley is appointed to defend “the Badger” from his own lawsuit.
How will the fox guard our hens from … the fox?
Obviously, a fox shouldn’t be appointed to guard the hens. Obviously, Mr. Pendley shouldn’t lead the BLM. And clearly Mr. Pendley must be recused from matters relating to the Badger-Two Medicine.
Steve Daines is our U.S. senator, with oversight over federal agency appointments. Our other Senator, Jon Tester, objects to Mr. Pendley’s improper appointment. Mr. Daines stays quiet. Daines please represent us and our public lands. Please oppose Mr. Pendley’s BLM appointment, and please demand Pendley’s recusal from Badger-Two Medicine management.
Don’t hire the fox to guard our hens.
Kendall Flint, vice president
Glacier-Two Medicine Alliance