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Certainly many of us over the years have wondered about the BLM and its illegal activity, and how they get away with such outright deceptive circumstances.  The only investigation, that this Journalist knows of, generated over 1,000 felony arrest warrants, and several hundred misdemeanors, as well as ethics violations and Supervisors letting staff know they were under investigation by undercover operatives.  Ironically, the investigation called off the night before the warrants for arrests filed.  Many of these folks still work at the BLM.

So with this in mind, and so much data and accounting available to the public over the Internet of today, it was  time to interview someone who could actually read and understand these budgets.  I chose a retired Accountant who had completed my books over the past couple of decades.

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Journalist:  “Sid, you’re a CPA?”

Sidney Harper:  “For 34 years — now retired.  You never went through an audit, right?”

Journalist:  “No.  Never did, happily.”  “Have you had a chance to go over the Federal Budgets of the BLM?”

Sid:  “Expectedly cumbersome, but yes, enough to see many inconsistencies up to this point . . . This is a type of Wild West form of bookkeeping, that’s for sure.  But the books are only as good as the incoming data.  The final responsible party is the GAO, and unless they say something as well, then it’s left in an arbitrary state of confusion.  In my perception that is what’s happening here.”

Journalist:  “Do you think there is illegal activity?”

Sid:  “No doubt.  It simply does not take any creative or intuitive situation to peruse the public documents from the BLM to understand the illegal activity.  Why there has been no investigation yet I do not know.  Obviously, no one in Justice or GAO has gone over the books associated with the BLM.  It appears, as most agencies do, they simply grab the budgets and print them for public access, to meet their legal requirements.  Ironically, BLM staff do not seem to understand the elements of the budgets out there, and how obvious the inconsistent numbers reflect illegal behavior.

Journalist:  “Rather than cover the technical aspects, could you explain an instance?”

Sid:   “Oh, yes.  The storage of the wild horses, for example.  It becomes obvious the BLM is not storing 45,000 horses, the accounting numbers attest to that situation.  It is questionable if 10,000 horses appear to exist in those holding pins what so ever.  Numbers do not lie.”

“Let me explain.  Let’s take an arbitrary number, such as the $52 million dollar budget for the overall storage and care of these supposed 45,000 wild horses in BLM custody.  The BLM staff only pays $10 million dollars for this same storage and care of those same horses.  But the pay-out is only enough to care for, probably, 5,000 to 7,000 horses, as the numbers attest to.  The remainder, or $42 million dollars is placed back into their financial stream.  This is what the BLM calls part of their profit base, even though it goes out to other projects more favorable to their clientele, as you have pointed out, specific Lobby Groups for example. . . the most obvious being to Cattle ranchers for their post-payment for water facility improvements on Public Lands, which by the way the payment and facilities, without a question and in accord with their Lease Contracts, meant for not only cattle but wildlife as well.”

Journalist:  “So this profit goes too . . .?

Sid:  “It’s common knowledge, after the Forest Service done it for decades, a profitable government agency is pretty much left alone to do whatever it wishes to do, without interference or scrutiny from the Department of Justice or awkward inspections toward legal or administrative methodology.  So the BLM shoves this balance of money into a large fund, showing legislators they do have a profit, and they impose that they indeed manage their agency quite competently.  Appearance is everything within this situation, and these numbers remain quite vulnerable, by the way, for scrutiny, which never happens.”

Journalist:  “Which brings about the legal questions, lawsuits?”

Sid:  “Then again, after perusing the budgets and payments made to the BLM, there is no way, short of illegal activity, that they can state truthfully they exceed a marginal profit base from their many agency activities.  Obviously they know there will be no inspection of their methods or financial data.  The court cases just within the past decade are easily considered quite costly, within the scope of millions of dollars.  These lawsuits have in reality taken away any or all of their mentioned profit, if any, to the point of placing yet another burden on the common taxpayer.  But who knows for sure, because the finances are not reported within any logical or procedural context or format.”

“The budgets that we as the public have access to are quite clear, and ironically truthful, but again left unnoticed.  Numbers can’t lie.  This financial data, once reviewed, will probably be the downfall of the BLM; that is, if anyone from the Department of Justice or the legislative investigators ever get around to perusing them.”

As Advocates we have no money, and with everyone being a volunteer.  This means there is no central focus, there exists no responsible party to answer to, and there is no chain of command.  There are disputes, and those who start the dispute or are in the middle of such should simply step aside and let those who are working continue, and basically shut the hell up!  In this Journalists mind this situation is perfect to combat a Government that is organized, but totally disorganized, shallow, and drone like.

Here is a short-agenda to approach the BLM / DOI Drones.  To start make them prove their EA’s; Demand Accurate Horse Head Counts and prove within the context of the EA; Demand and have them show “Provable Science” and “Valid Data Range Research” within the EA that shows beyond a doubt the harm done to the exact Range area discussed, supposedly by the horses, and where the correction is required (via provable range research and non-bias data).

FAA Law can work for Advocates

One law is FAA PART 91—GENERAL OPERATING AND FLIGHT RULES § 91.13 – Careless or reckless operation.⁴ The law is quite clear, yet ignored. This Journalist says “ignored” because there exists video taped evidence, in abundance, on the Internet, which is not edited what so ever. This is a felony, and as outlined in FAA Part 91–#91.13, as well as within many state and federal jurisdictions on Vehicular Assault upon people or animals.

False Claims Law

Make no doubt to the seriousness of false claims as well. The False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. §§ 3729–3733, also called the “Lincoln Law“) is an American federal law that imposes liability on persons and companies (typically federal contractors) who defraud governmental programs.

Felonies – The short list

Criminal Felonies each, by BLM / DOI employees and Private Contractors with an abundant explanation, as follows and predicated with . . . it appears that criminal violations of the following laws have occurred:

1. 18 USC 641; Public money, property or records; whoever receives, cancels, or retains the same with intent to convert to use or gain . . .
2. 18 USC 1512 (b); tampering with a witness, victim, or informant (Obstruction)
3. 18 USC 371; Conspiracy to commit offense or to defraud United States; conspiracy to obstruct a      criminal investigation . . .
4. 16 USC 1338 (a) (1); wild horses and burros: protection, management, and control; any person who sells, directly or indirectly, a wild free-roaming horse, or burro maintained on private or leased land. . .

More and more outright Felony situations

The highlights of current violation foreshadow previous investigations – ALL FELONIES:

1. BLM Management personnel have authorized the transportation of wild horses to group adopters at the expense of the government;
2. BLM management personnel have authorized the fee waiver and/or fee reduction of wild horses without delegated authority;
3. BLM management failed to inspect and prepare written reports for group adopter facilities and property prior to receiving adopted wild horses;
4. BLM personnel publicly and openly promoted the commercial us of wild horses, i.e., bucking stock and slaughter house;
5. BLM personnel in concurrence with BLM management, entered false information regarding the wild horse documents into BLM DPS-8000 (i.e. or current updated facility) data base;
6. BLM personnel through their government positions, arranged for special privileges and allowances pertaining to wild horse adoptions;
7. BLM personnel and management knowingly converted to the use of another, wild horses belonging to the United States;
8. Many, many more “lack of document” charges, especially in regard to the Wild Horse Herd Counts and the financial income and expenditures mandatory at each BLM facility, were not completed, lost, or unavailable for confirmation – in order to appropriate funding for each facility;
9. Several more listings expressed concern toward illegal activity, and lack of following directorial and mandated training and compliance of Inspectors, Wranglers, and Field Level Administrators of the Wild Horse and Burro Program.

Grazing Situations

So what is untrue, in a realistic ironic statement by the BLM, is this, “In managing livestock grazing on public rangelands, the BLM’s overall objective is to ensure the long-term health and productivity of these lands and to create multiple environmental benefits that result from healthy watersheds. The Bureau administers public land ranching in accordance with the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934, and in so doing provides livestock-based economic opportunities in rural communities while contributing to the West’s, and America’s, social fabric and identity,” Fact Sheet on the BLM’s Management of Livestock Grazing.

“The Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 (43 USC 315), signed by President Roosevelt, was intended to “stop injury to the public grazing lands [excluding Alaska] by preventing overgrazing and soil deterioration; to provide for their orderly use, improvement, and development; [and] to stabilize the livestock industry dependent upon the public range” (USDI 1988). This Act was pre-empted by the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA),” i.e. Taylor Grazing Act of 1934.

Conflict of Interest Law

“The first and perhaps most important point to emphasize is that SGEs are Government employees, for purposes of the conflict of interest laws. Specifically, an SGE is defined, in 18 U.S.C. § 202(a), as “an officer or employee . . . who is retained, designated, appointed, or employed” by the Government to perform temporary duties, with or without compensation, for not more than 130 days during any period of 365 consecutive days.” Precedent and Laws governing this situation can be perused here: CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND THE SPECIAL GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE. Again and without a doubt, all contracts abide by the Laws and ethics situations in accord with government law and policy.

“Each year OGE issues a survey of prosecutions involving the conflict of interest criminal statutes (18 U.S.C. §§ 202-209). Information on the prosecutions by U.S. Attorneys’ offices and the Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division is provided to OGE with the assistance of the Executive Office for United States Attorneys at the Department of Justice,” review: Conflict of Interest Prosecution Surveys.

Legal Violations cost the taxpayers money

I speak with my neighbors, they have never heard of some of this stuff.  But I will tell you here and now, when they find out they are pissed.  Another Advocate has been born.

James Sebastian, accountant/CPA, generated the following from a perusal of BLM expenditure, precisely the Wild Horse Roundups, holding corrals, and shipping:

1. $2.6 Billion Dollars BLM Horse Herd Management of Taxpayer Money Spent;
2. Benefits to Taxpayers while spending taxpayer money = $0;
3. Benefits to Local Area Ranchers/politicians/oil industry accumulative, pay-offs and continuing profit = $12.4 billion dollars and rising.

“This is significant,” Mr. Sebastian states, “. . . as this becomes, and has been, a slice of our public debt, and unfortunately hidden from the public at large. Taxpayers should know where their money is going, it should not be hidden. Right now it is hidden in the BLM, with no credibility or attempt to show the tax paying public the real figures and costs of the roundups. This compared to simply leaving the Wild Herds alone, at an approximate cost-field-management amount of perhaps $852,000.00 per year, for grassland management, horse management, and cattle grazing management.” (i.e. Grassland Management Principles) et al.

Conclusion

This is not meant as an article as such, rather a short synopsis of a few laws and policy situations for information only.  It is up to the individual Advocate to explore the variety of things and options available to everyone.  This is also meant to give the Advocate a slight understanding of the legal-speak required when filing a complaint with the FBI or other government agencies.  Further research is required before making a complaint.  More to come, as Note to WHHA, so this is not the definitive list, simply a short list, version 1.