A new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report claims the 2019 relocation of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) headquarters out West undermined the agency.
“BLM lacks reasonable assurance the agency will have the workforce necessary to achieve its goals in managing millions of acres of public lands,” their report concluded.
Predictably, media outlets like the Washington Post suggested the Trump-era policy was rooted in racism.
In September, Biden’s Interior Department announced it would transfer most operations back to the nation’s capital—despite opposition from Western governors and local stakeholders.
Why was BLM HQ originally moved out West, and was the decision rooted in racism? Is the move’s impact being overblown by critics? Here are the facts.