The prospect of Karen Budd-Falen’s appointment to lead the Bureau of Land Management elicits strong reactions across the political spectrum. Conservationists and environmentalists fear that Budd-Falen — a Wyoming attorney who has spoken with Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke about the position — would bring a long career of anti-regulatory antagonism to the agency headquarters. They see her as the next in a long line of Trump appointees, such as Scott Pruitt at the Environmental Protection Agency, Rick Perry at the Department of Energy, and Mick Mulvaney at the Consumer Protection Bureau, selected to undermine their charges. Many go so far as to accuse her of inciting violence against federal employees and of supporting armed insurrection — charges she rejects. The ranching community, rural western politicians and multiple-use advocates meanwhile view Budd-Falen as a fearless legal champion who’s spent a career fighting for the common man, struggling under the heel of a distant and oppressive federal government. A third view holds that Budd-Falen, who specializes in western land-use conflicts, zealously represents her clients but is tarred with too broad a brush. Popular perceptions of her professional work are, some believe, too readily interpreted as her personal views. Which perspective is accurate? Budd-Falen did not respond to repeated requests for an interview. To learn more, WyoFile has examined her record, interviewed clients, legal opponents and compatriots. What emerges is a picture of a dedicated multiple-use advocate wrought from pioneer stock, steeped in a western ranching ethic and committed to giving a strong voice to neighbors of the federal government and others who make their livelihoods on property owned by all Americans. If nominated and confirmed, she would oversee 17.5 million acres of BLM land in Wyoming and more than 40 million acres of minerals estates here...more
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