Elected Officials to Protect America’s Lands President, Marine veteran and former state representative

Zinke’s Resignation: Elected Veteran officials concerned Bernhardt is even more corrupt

Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has resigned. Zinke’s resignation means that Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt is going to take over. Take over as Acting Secretary of the Interior. So again that means Zinke’s resignation creates a place. A place now where he will be legally allowed to serve for 210 days. Yes, that’s without action by the President.

Bernhardt is too conflicted to even be Acting Interior Secretary.

Bernhardt can’t take care of our public lands. Especially after Zinke’s resignation. For starters, he is an ex-lobbyist. A lobbyist for extractive resource industries. He’s got other special interests. All with deep ties to corporate polluters. Bernhardt already had to recuse himself 26 times. That’s about deals involving old clients. Clients to adhere to the Trump administration’s ethics requirements.

But he breaks that promise all the time! He’s the one executing Trump’s vision. A vision fueling the nation’s dirty energy production.

In a year and a half since Zinke’s resignation, it’s so much easier for federal authorities to approve drilling projects. Projects on land and offshore. Zinke narrowed habitat protections for endangered species. Worst part is he’s pushing California to divert water. That’s more water to “agricultural interests”.

More importantly, cause Bernhardt has a longstanding relationship and a financial interest with Cadiz, Inc. That’s s company with plans for pumping groundwater from beneath the Mojave Desert. You know folks, public lands. Therefore as that conflict goes, Bernhardt served on Trump’s Interior Department transition team. Oy, the proposed Cadiz groundwater project made Trump’s “priority infrastructure project” list.

In conclusion and most noteworthy, 17 million acres of federal lands are opened for business. That’s open for oil and gas leases. So therefore those new wells are going to boost greenhouse gas emissions. As well, that’s while lining the pockets of company executives. Worst part, some of Bernhardt’s former clients.

Finally, when asked on climate change, Bernhardt said he has almost no legal obligation to act.