BLM Blames Problems on Laws, Funding

Conflicting and sometimes archaic laws, as well as chronic under-funding, were cited Monday by Bureau of Land Management officials as the primary reasons for Mojave Desert wildlife management problems cited by congressional auditors.

The problems were cited in a critical analysis by the General Accounting Office.

“BLM is doing a good job . . . with the manpower and money Congress provided us,” the bureau’s state office asserted in a written response.

The GAO criticized the bureau for failing to devote the resources needed to protect desert wildlife from human encroachment. It alleged that BLM’s failures were driving some species to extinction and permanently scarring the desert.

Some members of Congress have used the BLM’s problems to support efforts to create a new Mojave National Park.

The bureau, in turn, repeatedly blamed its problems on poor congressional leadership and funding.

“We are required to follow our legal mandates set by Congress, using the manpower and money provided,” the statement read.

Actually, former President Ronald Reagan and his Interior Department secretary, James Watt, slashed BLM’s budget for eight consecutive years. Congress partially restored some of the cuts.

“GAO in many instances factually pointed out BLM’s shortfalls in wildlife management,” the bureau conceded.

But, it added, “BLM is not only a wildlife agency; we are a multiple-use agency.”

Under the multiple-use mandate of Congress, the bureau said, it is required to balance the needs of wild creatures with recreation, the preservation of cultural resources, mining and livestock grazing.