Acting Bureau of Land Management Director William Perry Pendley, until recently a prominent Western property-rights lawyer, has identified dozens of former clients — including Utah’s San Juan, Kane and Garfield counties — whose dealings with the BLM could pose conflicts of interest in his new role as a politically appointed agency leader.
On Wednesday, he shared a list of 57 clients and current business associates with top BLM leadership, pledging to recuse himself from “particular matters” involving these entities for two years, only one year for the counties. These include mining, oil, gas, livestock and agricultural associations whose interests are deeply affected by BLM policies.