Democrats in the U.S. House don’t like the Trump administration’s plans to move the Bureau of Land Management headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Grand Junction, Colorado.
They’ve ordered congressional hearings to be held in September. The House Natural Resources Committee chairman, Rep. Raul M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) scheduled a morning hearing for Sept. 10 on BLM’s plans to relocate some offices out West.
The hearing will “address the Trump administration’s failure to offer any meaningful justification for the move, the lack of consultation with stakeholders, and the impacts on public employees of such a hasty, poorly planned transition,” according to a Democratic committee notice.
The Bureau of Land Management Oklahoma Field Office manages 7.4 million acres of federally owned land and minerals in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. The Field Office administers the extraction, use, and sale of Federal minerals (primarily oil, gas, and coal). The Field Office also provides oversight to Indian mineral owners by ensuring oil and gas operations on Indian lands are conducted according to lease terms and conditions, approved plans, and existing laws and regulations.
The Field Office also administers an active Wild Horse and Burro Program that accounts for 20 percent of the annual adoption target for the entire Bureau. The Wild Horse and Burro staff conducts 12-15 satellite adoptions per year in locations throughout BLM New Mexico’s four-state jurisdiction resulting in the adoption of nearly 600 animals annually.