Zinke moving dozens of senior Interior Department officials

The officials who received notices include Interior’s top climate policy official, Joel Clement, who directs the Office of Policy Analysis, as well as at least five senior officials of the Fish and Wildlife Service — nearly a quarter of that agency’s career SES staff. Among the Fish and Wildlife officials are the assistant director for international affairs, Bryan Arroyo; the Southwest regional director, Benjamin Tuggle; and the Southeast regional director, Cindy Dohner.

Other moves include the transfer of the Bureau of Land Management’s New Mexico state director, Amy Lueders, to Fish and Wildlife, and the reassignment of Bureau of Indian Affairs Director Weldon “Bruce” Loudermilk, acting assistant secretary of Indian affairs Michael S. Black and acting special trustee for American Indians Debra L. DuMontier. Some National Park Service leaders also are being reassigned.

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SEA President Bill Valdez said in an email that “based on the limited information we have right now,” it appears the changes at Interior are “being executed according to applicable law and regulation.”

“SEA will monitor this situation to ensure that these personnel decisions are indeed being lawfully executed and are being made in the best interests of the government and taxpayers,” Valdez wrote.

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