Bureau of Land Management headquarters to return to Washington, DC

 Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced her plans Friday to return the Bureau of Land Management national headquarters to Washington, DC, after it had been relocated under the Trump administration.

The headquarters of the BLM -- which is part of the Interior Department and controls 245 million acres of federal lands -- was moved to Grand Junction, Colorado, during the last administration after having been in Washington for decades, with state-level offices spread across the country. As part of that Trump-era reorganization, the bureau moved some employees to the headquarters in Colorado, while others were moved to state offices.

That move, the Interior Department said Friday, "failed to deliver promised jobs across the West and drove hundreds of people out of the agency."

As part of the new plan detailed Friday, the current Grand Junction office "will grow and expand as the bureau's official Western headquarters," the department said.

Key leadership positions, including the bureau director, will be moved to the national headquarters in Washington "to ensure coordination with Congress, other federal agencies, and stakeholders that visit Washington, D.C.," according to the agency, while other senior personnel will work out of the Western headquarters...MORE

We knew this was coming. I'm surprised, actually, that it took 9 months to make the decision. 

Of interest, though, is the rationale(s) they would use to justify the reversal. What can this tell us about the new administration?

"failed to deliver promised jobs across the West and drove hundreds of people out of the agency."

When did it become the statutory mission of the BLM to create jobs?

"There's no doubt that the BLM should have a leadership presence in Washington, D.C. -- like all the other land management agencies -- to ensure that it has access to the policy-, budget-, and decision-making levers" ~~ Haaland

There is that jealousy again in "like other land management agencies."

In the end, budgets determine policy and many decisions, so clearly this is about money and BLM's access to it.

The headquarters transition will be conducted with a goal of minimizing further disruption to employees and their families. ~~ Haaland

The past several years have been incredibly disruptive to the organization, to our public servants, and to their families. ~~ Haaland

This is more about BLM prestige, acquiring larger appropriations and being "nice" to federal bureaucrats than it is about bringing efficient, effective and professional management to our federal lands.