MDLT Responds to the Confirmation of David Bernhardt for Deputy Interior Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 24, 2017
Contact: Frazier Haney, conservation director, Mojave Desert Land Trust
Phone: 760-820-2275
Frazier@MDLT.org

Mojave Desert Land Trust Responds to the Confirmation of David Bernhardt for Deputy Interior Secretary

Joshua Tree, CA – Today, David Bernhardt was confirmed as Deputy Interior Secretary, the second ranking position in the Department of the Interior.

Bernhardt’s career as a lobbyist, and work at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck for Cadiz Inc, a company that aims to drain water from an aquifer in the Mojave Trails National Monument for use in coastal communities, makes his appointment a direct threat to the health and well-being of the Mojave Desert. As second in command at DOI, Bernhardt will have the power to ease regulations on the same interests he has been paid to represent.

“Today the public lands of America have been let down. Even after supposedly unregistering as a lobbyist, Bernhardt continued to advise California water companies, and make money off of his political connections. It is abundantly clear that he cares more about his own self interest than he will ever care about the Mojave Desert.” - Frazier Haney, conservation director, Mojave Desert Land Trust.

Recent Freedom of Information Act requests have revealed that Bernhardt continued to provide lobbying services for clients, even after he claimed to have stopped lobbying practices on November 18th, 2016. Hundreds of emails and other public documents show that from November 22nd through April 19th, Bernhardt provided political advice and lobbying services to the Westlands Water District, one of his key clients.'

“Bernhardt’s confirmation directly threatens the health and well-being of the Mojave Desert. His work as a lobbyist and on-going ethical conflicts prove that his interest in not in managing our national’s incredible land. His interest is in using our land to make profit; including draining the Mojave of it’s precious water so that Cadiz Inc can sell it to the highest bidder.” - Danielle Segura, executive director, Mojave Desert Land Trust.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust will continue to monitor DOI decisions that impact the health and well-being of the Mojave Desert and surrounding communities. In response to the recent executive order review of national monuments, the organization launched their Desert Defenders campaign, which works with thousands of local desert residents to fight for protection of Mojave Desert lands.

The Mojave Desert Land Trust (MDLT) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with the mission to protect and care for lands with natural, scenic and cultural value within the Mojave Desert. For more information, visit www.mdlt.org