WASHINGTON, D.C. — A judge’s order barring William Perry Pendley from leading the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is long overdue and welcome news. The National Wildlife Federation commended Montana Governor Steve Bullock and all of the leaders and advocates who kept the heat on Pendley, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and the White House to fire Pendley.

“William Perry Pendley was an unmitigated disaster for the Bureau of Land Management and the Department of the Interior. Pendley’s long-overdue ouster — thanks to the leadership of Governor Steve Bullock and millions of conservationists who spoke out — is welcome news, but it comes more than a year after he was improperly installed and hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands have been degraded,” said Collin O’Mara, president and CEO of the National Wildlife Federation. “Every one of his decisions during his illegal tenure should be nullified to prevent our wildlife heritage and outdoor recreation economy from forever bearing the scars of his tenure.”