The Bureau of Land Management's new headquarters will be in Grand Junction, Colorado.

The Bureau of Land Management's new headquarters will be in Grand Junction, Colorado. By Paul Gana / Shutterstock.com

Interior Official: Land Bureau Relocations Are Not Intended to 'Drain the Swamp'

Department would like to retain all employees and has instituted a hiring freeze to ensure positions are available for those who don't want to move, official says.

The Trump administration on Tuesday defended itself against accusations that it is trying to shrink the size of the federal workforce by relocating offices out of Washington, D.C, saying it is instead looking to retain every employee. 

The decision to relocate the Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters to Colorado and move hundreds of additional positions to western states was based entirely on operational concerns, William Perry Pendley, the senior official currently serving as BLM director, said at a hearing before the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee. The Interior Department is taking great pains to ensure no employees are forced to leave, Pendley said, noting employees will receive official relocation notices next week. 

BLM and the entire Interior Department have implemented hiring freezes to ensure vacancies for bureau employees who do not wish to move west, Pendley said. He added Interior was “working aggressively” so that employees can either accept their relocation or find a new position within the department. 

“Our desire is to not lose a single employee,” Pendley said. He added, however, that BLM has conducted no analysis to determine how many employees will actually leave, aside from a “rough estimate” based on historical data suggesting 25% of impacted employees would retire or separate from the agency. 

He said in his time at BLM he has been “mightily impressed” with the agency’s career staff. 

“I could not be more pleased with their work or their performance,” Pendley said. “I do not want to lose a single one of them. I’m not trying to drain the swamp, I’m trying to make it more possible for them to do their job.” 

Pendley said the exact positions designated for relocation will be unveiled next week, with employees receiving notifications “promptly.” BLM will make Employee Assistance Program counselors available to staff and their families, and both EAP experts and human resources personnel will meet one-on-one with impacted workers to “be responsive to their needs.” Those who do move, he said, will benefit from a lower cost of living, shorter commutes, better access to recreational areas and “more fulfilling jobs.”

The Interior Department is planning to relocate about 250 Washington-based Bureau of Land Management employees to western states, including 27 who will serve at the agency’s new headquarters in Grand Junction, Colorado. Sixty-one employees will remain in D.C., moving from the current BLM building in Southeast D.C. to the Interior headquarters. 

Every Democratic member who spoke at the hearing voiced reservations about the move, with several suggesting the relocation was in reality an effort to shed federal workers and ultimately dismantle BLM. Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., cited acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, who said last month that relocating offices was a good way to shed federal employees. 

“It’s hard to consider anything this administration does in good faith when they are so transparent about what their true motivations are,” Grijalva said. “What better way to eliminate the BLM than to drive out its staff.” 

In defending the move, Pendley reiterated the benefits previously laid out by administration officials: the relocation will place decision-makers closer to the lands they manage, lower lease payments, reduce travel costs and generate savings by paying employees lower cost-of-living locality rates. He noted that half of BLM’s Senior Executive Service employees work in Washington, in addition to 70% of the General Schedule-15 workers. Moving career leaders west would benefit those workforces and enable BLM to address local issues more quickly, he said. 

“The ones giving advice to our secretary, should they be here in these hallways or should they be out in the field?” Pendley said. “We can solve problems earlier in the process if we see them earlier.”

He also suggested the move would help recruit new employees going forward. 

“I think we’re going to have an easier time hiring employees,” Pendley said. “It’s going to be better for the bureau.”

Several Republican members of the committee praised the decision for reducing power in Washington, D.C., saying they would applaud any effort to move federal workers outside of the nation’s capital. They agreed the relocations would better serve the needs of local communities in western states. 

The Interior Department is still feuding with Congress over its authority to move forward with the relocation. Democratic appropriators have accused the administration of circumventing congressional intent and its prerequisites to justify the move. Interior has countered Congress missed its deadline to object and it will move forward using already appropriated funds.

“Congress gave us $5.6 million [for reorganization],” Pendley said. “The secretary decided to utilize that to move and we’re on the march.” He added he was appearing before lawmakers in part to convince them to meet BLM’s future funding needs for the relocation.  

BLM also faced criticism for failing to consult stakeholders before the move, including Indian tribes. Tony Small, vice chairman of the Ute Indian Business Committee, who appeared at the hearing on behalf of 20 additional tribes located across six western states, said BLM’s claim that Interior held 11 consultations with stakeholders was misleading because those meetings did not involve the relocation specifically and no BLM employees were present. 

Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., called the relocation an “extreme proposal,” noting the Agriculture Department’s recent relocation of two bureaus to Kansas City led to 71% of employees declining to relocate. Ed Shepard, president of the Public Lands Foundation, a group composed largely of former BLM employees, said “many” bureau employees have indicated they will leave the agency. Some will seek jobs at other agencies, he said, while others will leave government altogether.

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.