"Interior: With 287 Staffers Gone, Should Biden Return BLM to D.C.?"

"Interior Department data showing that the Bureau of Land Management's relocation of its Washington-based headquarters staff out West prompted 87% to leave the bureau could bolster arguments to move BLM's headquarters back.

But would doing so help BLM in its mission to manage 245 million acres of federal lands? And is it worth the time and trouble of doing so?

The answer is yes, according to several BLM insiders, most of whom talked to E&E News on condition they not be named for this story.

This despite the fact that BLM lost 287 employees out of the 328 positions reassigned by the Trump administration to the bureau's new headquarters in Grand Junction, Colo., and state offices across the West."

Scott Streater reports for E&E News January 29, 2021.