A year into his tenure, Zinke, a former U.S. Navy SEAL and Montana congressman, has emerged as the point person for the administration\u2019s goal of American \u201cenergy dominance.\u201d He\u2019s targeted regulations perceived to hamper development of oil, natural gas and coal beneath public lands primarily in the West and Alaska.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also made plans to realign the agency\u2019s bureaucracy, trimming the equivalent of 4,600 jobs \u2013 about 7 percent of its workforce \u2013 and proposed a massive overhaul that would move decision-making out of Washington, D.C., relocating headquarters staff to Western states at a cost of $17.5 million.<\/p>\n
The intent is to delegate more power to personnel in the field who oversee activities ranging from mining to livestock grazing to protecting endangered plants and animals.<\/p>\n
Staffing reductions would be achieved through natural attrition and reclassifying some positions to lower pay grades as employees are moved outside the D.C. area, Zinke spokeswoman Heather Swift said Monday.<\/p>\n
Zinke\u2019s actions have stirred dissent within and outside the agency \u2013 from his claim that one-third of Interior employees were disloyal to Trump to a proposal to allow more drilling off America\u2019s coasts while carving out an exception for Florida at the request of Republican Gov. Rick Scott.<\/p>\n
Along with Zinke\u2019s full-throated promotion of the Trump administration\u2019s new agenda came the transfer of at least 35 senior Interior employees. Among them was Matthew Allen, who was demoted from assistant director of communications at the agency\u2019s Bureau of Land Management.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s now in a new position, performing \u201cnonspecific duties\u201d in an Interior branch that oversees offshore drilling. Allen sued in December, challenging his reassignment as retaliation for his support of government transparency.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere appears to be a collective effort to suppress information being shared with the public, the press and the Congress,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
At the agency\u2019s highest levels, 11 leadership positions are vacant a year after Trump took office, including the directors of the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service.<\/p>\n
Panels such as the National Park System Advisory Board have languished, according to a letter submitted by board members who resigned last month. Board Chairman and former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles, a Democrat, complained that requests to engage with Zinke\u2019s team were ignored and members were concerned stewardship and protection of the parks was being pushed aside.<\/p>\n
When the Park Service in October proposed increasing entrance fees at 17 of the most highly visited parks \u2014 from Grand Canyon to Yellowstone and Zion \u2014 the board wasn\u2019t consulted, said Carolyn Finney, a University of Kentucky geography professor who was among those who resigned.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow do we make parks more accessible? It\u2019s cost,\u201d Finney said. She said the fee increase would hinder the ability of a \u201cmore diverse and wider group of the public to visit the parks.\u201d<\/p>\n
The board\u2019s charter expired in December after it collected comments from more than 100 experts on how parks should deal with climate change, increase visitor diversity and protect wildlife.<\/p>\n
Zinke\u2019s associate deputy secretary, Todd Willens, called the resignations a \u201cpolitical stunt\u201d because another meeting was planned and because the agency was working to renew the board\u2019s charter.<\/p>\n
Similar action has been promised for idled advisory boards at the Bureau of Land Management. Under Trump, the charters for 22 state-level resource advisory councils \u2013 composed of local officials, representatives of business and environmental groups and others \u2013 expired in January.<\/p>\n
Some expired months ago and at least 14 remained so as of Friday. Interior representatives did not respond to numerous requests for information on the status of the other councils.<\/p>\n
The councils make recommendations on activities on public lands, such as whether off-road vehicles should be allowed in wildlife habitat or whether logging could help prevent wildfires.<\/p>\n
Zinke suspended the panels for five months in May as part of a review of more than 200 boards and advisory committees. Some had not met in years. Congressional Democrats objected, saying the move would stifle non-governmental views on how U.S.-owned land is used.<\/p>\n
Swift said it was \u201ccommon practice\u201d to periodically renew and refine the panels\u2019 charters.<\/p>\n
Oil and gas groups in particular have embraced the concept of change for an agency once seen as an obstacle to drilling. The withdrawal or cancellation of Obama-era rules on fracking and methane emissions from oil and gas exploration were positive first steps, they say.<\/p>\n
Next comes getting Interior staff on board, said Kathleen Sgamma with the Western Energy Alliance, which promotes giving oil and gas companies\u2019 access to federal lands.<\/p>\n
U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, the House Natural Resources Committee\u2019s ranking Democrat, said Zinke\u2019s actions have made it easier to pollute federal lands and waters while giving special interest groups more influence.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s in over his head,\u201d Grijalva said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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