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Bernhardt was a top lobbyist for the oil and gas industry before serving as Interior Secretary.
(DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP)
Article August 12, 2019

Cuts to Animal Protections Aren’t Surprising to Anyone Who Knows David Bernhardt

As a former oil and gas lobbyist, Interior Secretary David Berhardt has a long history of proposing regulations that benefit industry at the risk of species extinction.

Bernhardt has served as acting Interior Secretary following the departure of former Secretary Ryan Zinke.
(David Zalubowski / AP)
Press Release March 8, 2019

Earthjustice Statement on Nomination of David Bernhardt

Nominee for Interior Secretary has longstanding ties with corporate polluters

Bernhardt was a top lobbyist for the oil and gas industry before serving as Interior Secretary.
(DAVID ZALUBOWSKI / AP)
Press Release April 11, 2019

Earthjustice Condemns Approval of Former Oil and Gas Lobbyist Bernhardt to Lead Department of the Interior

The future of our national parks, forests, water, and wildlife are in peril

The U.S. Department of the Interior Building in Washington, D.C.
(Cliff via Flickr / CC BY 2.0)
Press Release July 24, 2017

Earthjustice: David Bernhardt Is A Walking, Talking Conflict of Interest

Newly-confirmed Deputy Secretary of the Department of the Interior joins growing ranks of lobbyists appointed to high-ranking positions in Trump administration

Map of D-1 lands in Alaska (The Pew Charitable Trusts)
From the Experts: Victory August 30, 2024

Protecting 28 Million Acres of Public Lands in Alaska is a Big Victory!

Earthjustice joins Alaska’s Tribes and conservation groups in applauding the Department of Interior’s decision – and the thorough study and public process that informed it.

David Bernhardt, a former lobbyist for major polluting projects, is taking over as acting Secretary of Interior.
(David Zalubowski / AP)
Article January 2, 2019

With a Stroke of Red Marker, Zinke Leaves Interior to His Deputy

The new acting Interior Secretary, David Bernhardt, has been described as a "walking conflict of interest."

document May 17, 2017

Opposition To David Bernhardt For Deputy Secretary of the Interior

Sign-on letter to the senators from 150 groups expressing strong opposition to the nomination of David Bernhardt for deputy secretary of the Interior.

The Department of the Interior will be swamped with potential conflicts-of-interest if President Trump’s nominee for deputy secretary, David Bernhardt, is confirmed.
(Cliff via Flickr / CC BY 2.0)
Article May 18, 2017

Fossil Fuel Lobbyist Picked for No. 2 Post at Interior

The Department of the Interior will be swamped with potential conflicts-of-interest if President Trump’s nominee for deputy secretary, David Bernhardt, is confirmed.

document May 12, 2017

Letter to White House Counsel On Nomination of David Bernhardt

Expressing grave concerns over Trump administration's continued flouting of its own ethics guidelines regarding the appointment of lobbyists to serve as political appointees

feature March 26, 2021

How one company almost got away with draining the Mojave Desert

Thankfully, the arm of the law is longer today than it was a century ago.

Press Release July 15, 2019

1.8 Million Americans Speak Out Against Stripping Federal Protections from Wolves

Federal proposal would halt wolf recovery, allow more wolf killing

El águila calva, una de las especies incluidas en la Ley de Especies en Peligro de Extinción.
(Shutterstock)
Press Release August 21, 2019

Demanda Impugna Ataque de la Administración Trump Hacia la Ley de Especies en Peligro de Extinción

Grupos ambientalistas se dirigen a la corte a raíz del plan de extinción de Trump y Bernhardt

Press Release August 21, 2019

Lawsuit Challenges Trump Administration Attack on Endangered Species Act

Environmental groups head to court over Trump-Bernhardt’s extinction plan

An adult delta smelt.
(Dale Kolke / California Department of Water Resources)
Article: Victory February 13, 2019

Trump Official Working to Steer California’s Water to a Greedy Few

The Supreme Court upheld protections for a tiny fish, preserving an important tenet of the Endangered Species Act. Now the Trump administration wants to undo that victory.

U.S. Congressman Ryan Zinke of Montana speaks at the 2016 Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland.
(Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0)
From the Experts October 24, 2018

These Are the Industry Cronies Actually Running Trump and Zinke’s Department of the Interior

Little-known officials are remaking policy in ways that threaten environmental health for the benefit of their polluting friends.

Grizzly 610 walks down a park road with her three cubs in springtime, April 13, 2012.
(Photo courtesy of Thomas D. Mangelsen)
Press Release August 12, 2019

Trump Administration Finalizes Sweeping Rollbacks to Endangered Species Act Regs

Interior Administrator Bernhardt chips away at bedrock conservation law as a hand out to industry

In the News: The Hill January 13, 2021

Endangered Species rollback faced early pushback within administration, emails show

David Henkin, Attorney, Mid-Pacific Office, Earthjustice: “Interior under Dave Bernhardt is just gunning to gut the ESA, and the fact that clearly they were proposing things that were a bridge too far even for the Trump NOAA and National Fisheries Service is pretty telling.”

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke's conduct is the subject of over a dozen federal investigations.
(Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0)
Press Release December 15, 2018

Trump Administration Likely Trades One Industry Shill for Another with Zinke Departure

Zinke’s attacks on environment, public lands harmful to U.S., likely to repeat with new Secretary