Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. — Thomas Jefferson
There is a consensus among both Animal and Environmental Advocates and natural resource scholars that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is flawed. Many complaints about the agency existed during the Carter administration – an investigation, arrest warrants made, the night before issuing all 2,867 – the warrants and investigation was canceled. The problems existed also under the Reagan presidency – just as today.
Much of the literature on the Bureau of Land Management shows the agency’s weaknesses, as well as the need to either discontinue the agency, or make it much smaller. Perhaps separating into smaller agencies that specialize in certain land management – LEGAL – paradigms; This to hopefully discontinue the current criminality, money laundering, fraudulent disbursal of information, irresponsible handling of taxpayer money, and other odd excuses (i.e. lies) that exists today while they manage America’s Public Lands . . .
These reasons include (continued practice for decades and very unacceptable today, as America can no longer support such extravagant and irresponsible behavior from a government agency) concern about special interests’ involving corporations, while ignoring the American taxpaying public and their wants and needs. For example, the livestock and mining industries, for so long, been given favored treatment by BLM, that sometimes it is derisively referred to as the Bureau of Livestock and Mining.
Many of us also cite BLM’s weak legal (or ignoring U.S. Law all together) structure as a source of problems; as well as ignoring good science in favor of bad-science to favor corporations, or hunters, and obscure and small conservationist-groups supported by questionable corporations. . .
We also see the BLM as weak professionally, whereas, their science, range science and management, is not precise or well developed, and often important information simply left-out. Many of us, as well, see decisions based on either no science or fraudulent science. Their ESA, EA’s are a good example of this, and when combined with commonplace rhetoric rather than scientific facts simply becomes irresponsible, and quite costly to taxpayers. Good decisions based on the previous remains impossible and has been so.
The fact is improvement can only be accomplished by the Breaking-Up of the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Land Management, and shown to be the only acceptable remedy. . . As these government agencies have simply become too large to control and do not remain within the Laws of the United States currently . . .
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1. J.N. CLARKE & D. MCCOOL, STAKING OUT THE TERRAIN: Power DIFFERENTIALS AMONG NATURAL RESOURCE AGENCIES (1985); George Coggins, The Law of Public Rangeland Management (1981) (draft paper prepared for Workshop on Political and Legal Aspects of Range Management, Teton Village WY, Sept. 14-15, 1981); P. CULHANE, PUBLIC LANDS POLITICS (1981); S.T. DANA & S.K. FAIRFAX, FOREST AND RANGE POLICY (2d ed. 1980); S.K. Fairfax, Coming of Age in the Bureau of Land Management (1981) (paper prepared for Workshop on Political and Legal Aspects of Range Management, Teton Village WY, Sept. 14-15, 1981); P. Foss, POLICS AND GRASS (1960); and R.H. NELSON, Tim NEW RANGE WARS: ENVIRONMENTALISTS VERSUS CATTLEMEN FOR THE PUBLIC
RANGELANDS (1980).
2. There’s More Rhetoric Than Reality in the West’s ‘Sagebrush Rebellion,’ NAT’L J. 1928-31 (Nov. 17, 1979); S. DANA & S.K. FAIRFAX, supra note 1, at 344.
3. Robert McG. Cawley, The Sagebrush Rebellion 170 (Fall, 1981) (Ph.D. dissertation, Colorado State University, Ft. Collins CO). NATURAL RESOURCES JOURNAL Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA).’ In addition, Professors Clarke and McCool have convincingly demonstrated BLM’s weaknesses measured in manpower levels and funding dollars compared to other natural resources agencies.’
Photojournalist - Journalist 
grandmagregg
February 5, 2014 at 5:22 pm
“I think there is a terrible problem with the program and with government agents
placing themselves above the law.”
Click to access GrandJuryInv-4-97-Mendoza.pdf
I believe the investigation into the BLM that you mention was when the Dept. of Justice refused to make arrests and follow through with a discovery of massive illegal activity by BLM employees, that included selling hundreds of our wild horses and burros to illegal slaughter. Who was powerful enough to “quiet” the Department of Justice?
kitty
February 5, 2014 at 7:38 pm
Thank you so much for posting this, I am in agreement 100%. They are very abusive and remind me of a gang. We don’t need them, we as the people are far better at management our own land and wildlife. How can we teach our kids and other young people to engage carefully with nature, when the BLM and other so called, Land agencies, don’t care, don’t take care, and are easily bought by special interests. Thank you for speaking the truth and taking the time to write and report what you are passionate about.
rcatheron
February 6, 2014 at 3:30 am
BLM is rogue, and completely above the law. There is no one to stop them. There’s too much money at stake, whether it’s for pipelines, cattle ranchers, or election campaigns.
Louie C
February 6, 2014 at 5:15 am
http://www.dailyastorian.com/news/northwest/captivity-deadly-for-some-wild-horses-in-oregon/article_58d3aeed-3459-5b74-adf4-278002d8d2a8.html
Captivity Deadly For Some Ore. Wild Horses
Deaths in Corrals
Once horses make it to the BLM’s short-term corrals or long-term holding pastures, it’s generally accepted that the horses will live longer than they likely would in the wild. They get hay and fresh water and face none of the competition they would on the range.
However, corral life is deadlier than many people realize.
BLM’s “Dead and Destroyed” reports, obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, show that 199 horses died in the Burns corral between 2010 and 2013.
That figure “seems very high to me, and troubling,” says Beckstead. He was particularly surprised that 81 mustangs were simply found lying dead in the corrals, 41 from unknown causes.
That means, Beckstead says, “they found the horse and don’t know the cause and never figured out what the cause was. That’s pretty disturbing.”
Comparisons to survival of free roaming horses are nearly impossible. The BLM does not track how many horses die while living on the range.
This story originally appeared on Oregon Public Broadcasting.
jadeh22
February 6, 2014 at 4:33 pm
I want to know when we are going to realize that our tax dollars are paying the salaries of the BLM, plus the cost of care ($78 million??), and then we STILL have to come up with money out of our pockets to FIGHT this government agency? Do they, or don’t they WORK FOR US? Name me one business in this country that would tolerate this sort of behavior from it’s “employees” for even one day? What is wrong with us (the American “public”) that we cannot seem to come together and take our government back (which is suppose to be BY& FOR THE PEOPLE)???? This is so insane it makes me want to bang my head on the desk when I read this – and I’ve been involved just for the last 5 years! This has been going on longer than that!
Elaine Brown
February 8, 2014 at 7:42 am
Well, now we are talking! What can we do to help get this done? Not only the deconstruction of the DOI and the BLM, but the return of the WH&Bs to their designated lands. How many of them need to have farrier and medical help to get back on the range? I know we will find a way if we can find the means to return them. Believe!
Rachael Bannister
February 17, 2014 at 5:04 pm
Make enough noise all at one time in the media in Washington and on the streets.
Spread the word to your Counties Political Party head quarters that as a group in mass we are going to inform voters of the parties about the politicians in our districts who support this and make their names and actions public to the voters and work to make sure they are unseated in the next election.This doesn’t take much money if you are active in your communities only a little time in getting the word out to the public in your area.
wyoming Bullrider
April 15, 2014 at 3:34 am
my feeling on all of this is all these agencies the BLM EPA etc who are trying to kill people, kill and hurt animals etc should be put out of business and be no longer. homeland security also. thiese agencies are nothing but a waste of tax payer money, and now they are so large they think they an do and say what ever they please under the direction of an illegal president. its time we take our country back and get rid of these non sense agencies who think they are above and beyond the laws of our constitution. enough is enough
The WiZaRd
August 14, 2015 at 5:06 am
I think the BLM, DOI, and FWS ought to be dissolved
and its officials arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced
to the maximum penalty for their abuses of office for their
own personal and political gains, and high treason against
the American people the nation.