Last month, a federal judge ruled to remove William Perry Pendley from his position as Director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) after Montana Governor Steve Bullock sued over Pendley’s succession order. In 2019, Pendley was appointed deputy director of the U.S. BLM, but there was never a confirmed director. Instead, he created a succession order which made him acting director during a vacancy.
During his time as director, Pendley approved two resource management plans which would reduce protections for fish and wildlife habitat, cultural resources, and recreational uses, while opening 95% of federal land in Montana to oil and gas development.
Pendley has been highly criticized by both Republicans and Democrats over his advocacy for selling federal public land and his support for rancher Cliven Bundy, who led the largest armed standoff against the federal government over the use of public land.
With over 27 million acres of Montana’s land under the BLM, the lawsuit was a big win for Montanans—but Bullock knows the fight is not over.
Gov. Bullock sued in order to protect Montana’s valuable public lands, which employs over 71k people each year and attracts millions of visitors. He also sued to protect the quality of the state’s air, land, and water.
Bullock has always been an advocate for public access to public land and water in Montana. He understands the state’s outdoor heritage, and even during his short presidential bid, he promised to expand access to public lands by boosting the number of free days and ensuring no price increases for entrance fees at National Parks.
Bullock has also advocated for a bipartisan plan to protect the greater sage grouse from the endangered species list, further the restoration and management of National Forests, and prepare Montana for an adequate response to global climate change.
Meanwhile, Montana Senator Steven Daines has cut funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is funded by offshore oil companies and not taxpayer dollars, by $300 million.
Daines' Controversial Positions on Public Lands
In 2015, Daines cast the deciding vote in favor of an amendment that would have enabled the sale, transfer, or exchange of several wilderness areas, wildlife refuges, national forests, and conservation lands.
He also voted for an amendment that would have stripped protections from over 600k acres of land in Montana and blocked the Blackfoot Clearwater Stewardship Act that 75% of Montanans supported. 89% of Montanans are against stripping protection from wilderness study areas.
Steve Bullock has fought for Montanans as Governor and now he is ready to fight in Congress.
Support Steve Bullock
Click here to learn more about the unusually-high spending in Montana this election cycle, here to learn more about Daines' position on the new Supreme Court nominee, and here for information on how to vote in Montana. See here for information on how Trumpy Daines is (spoiler alert -- he's very Trumpy).