There’s a battle raging in the West. A movement for local interests to take control of federal lands. It’s been gaining strength within the Trump administration and it’s culminating with the reorganization of the Bureau of Land Management, the agency charged with managing and protecting these lands, and with the installment of a staunch state’s rights proponent at its head.
It could be the beginning of the end for our public lands and the wildlife, including wild horses and burros, that live on them.
On July 15, William Perry Pendley, a conservative states-rights lawyer who has advocated for the selling off of millions of acres of public land, was quietly placed to oversee the BLM in an acting role, avoiding the Senate confirmation process and attendant scrutiny of his record.