The Trump administration is preparing to move the public lands management bureau out of Washington, DC to Colorado. It makes perfect sense because the vast majority of public lands are out west.
It’s a great tactical move as well. One of the best ways to drain the swamp is to decentralize federal agencies by getting them out of the swamp.
Some employees are not happy about this and are quitting rather than moving to Colorado. It’s almost like what they really care about is living in DC, and not public lands management.
The Associated Press reports:
Opponents warn of staff exodus as US breaks up lands bureau
Opponents of the Trump administration’s plan to break up the Washington, D.C., headquarters of the country’s public lands bureau are warning of a brain drain, saying many staffers who are being reassigned are opting to quit rather than move out West.
U.S. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt defended the move Friday. Opponents have projected that the number of Bureau of Land Management staffers agreeing to move from headquarters could be as low as 15%, which Bernhardt said was “not consistent with what I’ve seen.”
Speaking at a Las Vegas conference on Colorado River water supplies, Bernhardt said he did not immediately have firmer figures, however.
“A year from now … you’re going to find out that it worked really well,” Bernhardt told reporters.
The Trump administration says the plan will save taxpayers millions of dollars, lead to better, faster decisions and trim a “top heavy” office in Washington. Moving the bureau out of Washington is a long-cherished goal of Western state politicians who cite the preponderance of public lands in their part of the country and their lack of access to decision-makers.
The deadline for most staffers to notify the land bureau, which is overseen by the Interior Department, whether they intended to move was Thursday. But the bureau had not yet compiled a count for how many staffers had so far agreed to relocate, spokesman Derrick Henry said.
Some conservatives are noting the irony on Twitter:
These Beltway bureaucrats love the nation’s public lands and those who use them so much they don’t want to be anywhere near either of them. https://t.co/3CYvMzGBZL
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) December 14, 2019
This is working exactly the way it should. https://t.co/vje4lxe1ZB
— Nick Searcy, ESCHEWER OF MALARKEY AND STAR (@yesnicksearcy) December 14, 2019
We should move the Department of Justice headquarters to Wyoming. https://t.co/sOvekLxGxJ
— Charles Flemming (@ChasFlemming) December 14, 2019
Makes perfect sense. Almost all the BLM land is in the west. Management should improve. Or they should turn it over to the states. https://t.co/V1oFlPNEQ5
— Mark Starrett 🇺🇸 (@MTStarrett) December 14, 2019
Some of these bureaucrats are obviously in DC for the cocktail parties and being near the levers of power. If they don’t want to keep their jobs by moving to Colorado, that’s fine.
Colorado has a population of almost 6 million people, many of whom will be more than happy to fill these positions.
(Image:Source)