Our public lands need balanced — not extremist — leadership

[BuzzH]

BHA had a pretty strong and poorly worded initial response to the Monument decision, much like Patagonia, claiming the land had been stolen! I believe internally there was some mis-communication regarding what type of statement they should make on social media (call it a hunch). All FB posts after that initial post have been much more measured, which I appreciate.

I cant speak to that, I don't do facebook, twitter, or Instagram or any of that other chit...too much drama for me.

 

[1_pointer]

I was going to say that...and if I had to be on TV with Hannity, I'd be lucky to not be strangling the guy within 30 seconds.

Randy has a much better temperament for the TV gig, I've been told I'm not diplomatic enough. Not sure why???????

I bet you could get his mascara to run enough to make him resemble Tammy Faye!

 

[JDH]

What can be done to try and block Karen? She has to be confirmed by the Senate right?

My quick 5 minute search couldn't directly confirm that she needs to be approved but I did find this in an article
"The rumor mill on Capitol Hill suggests that Budd-Falen is pushing hard for this job, but her law office in Cheyenne, Wyoming, did not respond to Salon's repeated requests for comment. Whether Budd-Falen or someone else gets the job, that appointee will likely have to wait until the Senate confirms Bernhardt as deputy interior secretary, a process that has, as with many other Trump appointments, been moving slowly. But Budd-Falen's prominent role in the discussion offers further proof that President Trump's claim that he wants "to keep the lands great" is, like nearly everything else he says, patently untrue."

 

[Schaaf]

I cant speak to that, I don't do facebook, twitter, or Instagram or any of that other chit...too much drama for me.

To be honest, Twitter was practically made for you, Buzz.

 

[Ben Lamb]

To be honest, Twitter was practically made for you, Buzz.

If Buzz could get his thoughts down to 140 characters, we'd all be in trouble.

 

[noharleyyet]

If Buzz could get his characters down to 140 characters, we'd all be in trouble.

140 would be Buzz's introductory disparagements. Fact

 

[Big Fin]

140 would be Buzz's introductory disparagements. Fact

I don't care who you are, that right this is hilarious.

 

[el unit]

To be honest, Twitter was practically made for you, Buzz.

Awesome!

 

[Oak]

Cliff's Notes version, without the swamp/Zinke tangents.......

Karen Budd-Falen is a train wreck for public land hunters. No other way to state it. She has been anti-public land on most all of her cases, writings, and opinions. She is the darling of the Utah delegation.

A few points I think need some clarification on the continual "Zinke this, Zinke that" ramble. Making your points without the continual Zinke rants would be far more effective. You do no favors to the pro-public land position by making every topic a focal point for your hatred of Zinke. Avoiding the predictable "I hate Zinke and I'm here to prove it" diatribe and sticking to facts would be far more helpful.

Zinke is a Bureaucrat, a term he despises. He takes orders from the top. He comes from a military background, so he understands chain of command. He excels at taking orders better than most any "bureaucrat."

The folks at the top are handing over public land policy to the Utah delegation in exchange for them being good soldiers on all other topics; immigration, Russian investigation, tax reform, deregulation, lower air/water standards, etc. There is not a single person in the Utah delegation who holds public land positions that are good for the long-term interest of public land hunting.

This next sentence is not a defense of Zinke, but a fact we must deal with - Zinke has no say in that decision to reward Utah with the keys to the public land gate. He has no say in who is getting appointments in his agency, short of maybe the aides and administrative staff. He is not going to buck the chain of command and he will follow his orders. Getting all pissed at Zinke is fine, but what are we going to do that combats the source of the problem?

The guy at the top, Trump, has no interest in our issues; just a function of his life experiences of living in NJ and having his alter-residence in FL. He is probably considered good on issues for those want less regulation, lower taxes for some, isolationism, and other topics that rate higher on the list for his supporters than does public land hunting. His view of the outdoors being what he can see out the window of Trump Tower doesn't give him life experiences where he will understand the perspectives of those who hold these lands in highest regard. It is for that reason that he handed off the public land policy topics to others who find it more appealing; Utah and other anti-public land zealots. As such, it is not a surprise that he would view public land issues, conservation, clear air/water, as bargaining chips for other items that through the lens of his life experiences seem to be much higher priority than those dry desolate places he would never visit.

The chatter of his son(s) being advocates for our cause are just that, chatter; a good head fake to keep hunters giving them the benefit of the doubt. I laughed when hunters were shouting to the roof tops when Trump and his sons impressed the hunting media with all their claims. Those claims will end up the same as "Mexico will pay for the wall...." Just a fact of the situation. I wish it was different, but his sons have very little say in the bigger policy issues, with public land policy already being the domain of Orin Hatch, Mike Lee, and Rob Bishop. His sons cannot swing enough power to overcome that deal, even if they had understanding of how most of us hunt. And looking at the hunting crew the Trumps sons have surrounded themselves with, I would opine that they are not a good cross-section of public land hunting advocates. Again, just a fact of the situation.

All of this is a predictable outcome. No surprises. Karen Budd-Falen, the chosen child of the Utah delegation, will get her position, and it will be bad news for those who value public lands, whether that public land user is an R or D or I.

This is not a discussion that benefits from "I hate Zinke" or the "Well, it could have been Hillary" rebuttals. Zinke is just a cog in the wheel. Hillary is not President. We find ourselves dealing with some difficult realities; the reality that public lands are in the crosshairs with the Utah delegation pulling the trigger, deals have been made with public lands as the bargaining chips, and the anti-public land train is heading down the tracks at a pretty good clip.

The question is, "What are hunters, an important group whose bell curve on the political spectrum peaks right of center, going to do to advocate for the long-term interest in public lands?" Dividing ourselves into camps that makes everything a personal attack or makes irrational defenses of bad public land policy hardly seems like a good strategy for the cause of public lands and the future of hunting those lands. Rationalizing any support for appointments such as Karen Budd-Falen is surely not in the long-term interest of public lands.

Karen Budd-Falen has been appointed Deputy Secretary at DOI.

 

[Chama Grande]

Karen Budd-Falen has been appointed Deputy Secretary at DOI.

View attachment 365361

I wasn't on HT when this thread started, it's an interesting one to revive. Oak, sorry I'm a little confused - where is this from, and are these confirmed or temporary positions? I've been trying to find the new asst. secretary to water and science but I haven't seen anything for Scott Cameron around yet

 

[Oak]

I wasn't on HT when this thread started, it's an interesting one to revive. Oak, sorry I'm a little confused - where is this from, and are these confirmed or temporary positions? I've been trying to find the new asst. secretary to water and science but I haven't seen anything for Scott Cameron around yet

I revived this thread because it was the most recent discussion we had about Budd-Falen.

Here's where that page I posted came from.

ARCHIVED - SO 3414 A4 - Amendment to SO 3414 Establishment of New Department Leadership Team and Temporary Redelegation of Authority | U.S. Department of the Interior

SO 3414 A4 - superseded by A5 on 4/10/2025

www.doi.gov

 

[Beignet]

It’s my understanding that she’s the Acting Deputy Secretary while Katharine MacGregor, the nominee for that position (again), awaits confirmation.

Once/if that confirmation happens Budd-Falen will seemingly stay on at Interior as the Associate Deputy Secretary, a permanent high level position that does not require confirmation. I believe that’s what she originally came back to Washington to do, but was bumped up to Acting Deputy Secretary so the administration could hit the ground running on whatever their plans might be. Atypical as incoming administrations usually keep on an agency careerist as a holdover while nominees wait to be confirmed.

MacGregor’s nomination was referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on 1/22/25.

It all seems pretty (deliberately?) opaque.

 

[Oak]

It’s my understanding that she’s the Acting Deputy Secretary while Katharine MacGregor, the nominee for that position (again), awaits confirmation.

Once/if that confirmation happens Budd-Falen will seemingly stay on at Interior as the Associate Deputy Secretary, a permanent high level position that does not require confirmation. I believe that’s what she originally came back to Washington to do, but was bumped up to Acting Deputy Secretary so the administration could hit the ground running on whatever their plans might be. Atypical as incoming administrations usually keep on an agency careerist as a holdover while nominees wait to be confirmed.

MacGregor’s nomination was referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on 1/22/25.

It all seems pretty (deliberately?) opaque.

Thanks for that context.

 

[Beignet]

There’s a Substack called “The Land Desk” that has a 3/7/25 post called “A Sagebrush Rebel Returns to Interior.” It offers even more context on Budd-Falen’s relationship to public land for anyone interested to seek out.

 

[Chama Grande]

I revived this thread because it was the most recent discussion we had about Budd-Falen.

Here's where that page I posted came from.

ARCHIVED - SO 3414 A4 - Amendment to SO 3414 Establishment of New Department Leadership Team and Temporary Redelegation of Authority | U.S. Department of the Interior

SO 3414 A4 - superseded by A5 on 4/10/2025

www.doi.gov

Lol sorry I wasn't criticizing the revival, I was reading through it and it was interesting. Thanks for the link