Posted on 03/15/2020 9:34:51 AM PDT by rktman
Colorado boasts of being the ideal winter playground, with its world-class ski slopes, and the Rocky Mountains provide plenty of outdoor activities in the summertime as well.
Nevertheless, only about half of the employees of the Bureau of Land Management have agreed to move to Colorado as the agency moves from the nation's capital.
The news site Government Executive reports 173 workers at the agency received letters reassigning them to Grand Junction, Colorado, or other state offices.
But only 80 have accepted.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said the agency already is hiring replacements.
The BLM decided to move to Colorado because nearly all the land it manages is in the West.
(Excerpt) Read more at wnd.com ...
Trump administration officials also have explained the move will lower lease payments and cut travel costs, the report said.
"BLM employees have told Government Executive that even some of those who have accepted their reassignments are still looking for jobs in Washington and will come back home as soon as possible. Many employees have already found new jobs and left the agency. The workers all suggested morale at the Washington office has plummeted, mistrust of leadership has grown and a sinking feeling that the Trump administration is seeking to sideline important work has set in," the report said.
The Grand Junction Sentinel reported bureaucrats in the Government Accountability Office have raised objections to the Trump administration's decision to move the office.
The GAO claimed the BLM hasn't followed "key practices" in its work.
"Although BLM's reorganization is well underway, (the Department of) Interior has an opportunity to apply key practices for effective agency reforms as it continues to relocate BLM staff and considers reorganizing its other bureaus. Adopting effective practices for agency reform will help Interior ensure that the bureaus are well positioned to achieve intended reform goals and continue to deliver valuable services to the taxpayer," the GAO reported contended.
A Democrat and Trump critic, Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona, demanded the review.
He said, following the GAO criticism, that the Trump administration "cannot be trusted with the levers of power."
BLM officials said Grijalva's assertions were faulty.
There are about 40 jobs in Grand Junction's headquarters office.
So, let's see, keep a cushy government job or be an assclown stuck in the swamp. Hang on, I'm considering. How about, "Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out."
Most States don’t like you moving diseased, dead wood into the State.
Well, we are talking Grand Junction. If it were uber progressive Denver maybe they would have considered it. :-)
I guess they’re “non-essential government workers” then.
Where on the BLM totem pole are these people? Are they executives or regular run of the mill drones?
If their executives they should be fired and the position vacated until someone else is willing to move to Colorado and fill the position.
good! stay in DC...we don’t need more liberals...
Colorado? That was a gift! It should have been Nebraska or Mississippi (with no offense to Nebraska or Mississippi, just naming places more foreign to DCers).
Colorado does not want them either. We have enough of the invasion of ill-educated (but think they are actually smart) wise-*ssed know nothings who couldn’t manage the land in their front yard.
I’ll have to look at the map closely, but one might be able to live in Aspen and commute to GJ.
Or at least Glenwood Springs and take the Amtrak to work, like Biden
So shrink the lands “owned” by the BLM in the West proportionate to the progtrogs who won’t move.
Oh hell, just give all the land back to the States and let them sell it or open up to homesteading.
That’s beautiful country. Doesn’t sound like these naysayers in the BLM really like the land very much.
>>Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said the agency already is hiring replacements.
Why? Seems like a missed opportunity to downsize bureaucracy.
“How did you know I was in Congress?” the representative asked the rancher.
Easy,” the rancher responded, “you just used a billion dollars worth of satellite to tell me how many horses I have in the pasture, didn’t know they were actually cows, and the sheep you’re returning to me in the back of your absolutely spotless truck is my dog...”
So they will have to replace them with local people who care about BLM lands, of which Grand Junction is practically surrounded by. A win all the way around.
Probably. Although most normal people would jump at the chance to live on the western slopes.
These people are stupid. I really hope none of them go because we deserve better.
It may be that some BLM staffers have family in the area and don’t want to relocate.
Also, winters are significantly harsher in Colorado than they are in DC. What you can tolerate often depends on where you grew up.
I live in Virginia and would NEVER take a job in the metro DC area. The traffic is horrendous, and there are frequent accidents on all of the major roads.
It is also extremely expensive to live in the area.
It is a nice place to visit, though.
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