For Immediate Release
August 28, 2019

Contacts
Katie McKalip, Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, mckalip@backcountryhunters.org, 406-240-9262
Whitney Tawney, Montana Conservation Voters, whitney@mtvoters.org, 406-254-1593

Ted Brewer, Montana Wilderness Association, tbrewer@wildmontana.org , 406-461-1427

Montana’s Conservation Community Sounds Alarm Following Controversial Pendley Interview
Pendley doubles down on anti-public lands platform on Montana talk radio as Daines stays quiet 

(HELENA, Mont.) – In response to Tuesday’s Montana Talks radio show, during which Acting BLM Director William Perry Pendley repeated his desire to develop public lands while also saying his past support for the sale of our public lands is ‘irrelevant,’ Montana conservation leaders are reinforcing their criticism of Pendley’s appointment and Senator Steve Daines’ support of him:

“Senator Daines told us he ‘has not found a reason’ to be concerned by Mr. Pendley’s record of crusading against public lands,” said Whitney Tawney, Deputy Director of Montana Conservation Voters. “We hope Senator Daines has lots of reasons after this alarming interview, and we hope he joins Montanans in realizing Mr. Pendley is not fit to lead the BLM.”

“Montanans need Steve Daines to do the job he’s supposed to be doing as our senator and as a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and that is to make sure that our public lands and our outdoor way of life are protected,” said Ben Gabriel, Executive Director of Montana Wilderness Association. “His comment, that our concerns about Pendley are ‘overblown,’ suggest that Sen. Daines is more interested in providing cover for an administration determined to sell out our public lands to oil and gas and other special interests.

“We’ve said from the beginning that the rapid ascension of William Perry Pendley to the top position at the Bureau of Land Management is untenable,” said Ryan Busse, Backcountry Hunters & Anglers’ North American Board Chair. “Sen. Daines, we ask you now to stand with Montana public land owners and use your influence to remove Mr. Pendley from his role at the BLM – or, at the very least, have him answer to Congress in the form of a full committee hearing.”