More Changes In BLM Leadership, But Still No Director

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Originally published on June 13, 2018 2:24 pm

In another shuffle of department leadership, the Bureau of Land Management has a new Deputy Director of Operations. The agency, along with the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, still await Senate-confirmed directors. 

This is just the latest in a series of leadership changes and shuffles at these land management agencies. John Leshy is a professor emeritus at the University of California-Hastings College of the Law.  

"The shuffling of positions and moving people around in a seemingly arbitrary way sends a terrible signal that we don’t respect what these government public servants do, that we don’t respect the operations of these agencies and we’d be just as happy to see many of them fail," says Leshy.  

The BLM said it is looking for a permanent director of operations and spoke highly of the staffer who will be filling the position in the interim.  

In addition to the vacant positions at the top of these agencies, several positions like State BLM directors have not been permanently filled since the start of the Trump Administration. 

Find reporter Amanda Peacher on Twitter @amandapeacher.

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This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, Yellowstone Public Radio in Montana, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.

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