Group Accuses BLM Of Neglecting Science Favoring Politics

An environmental group accuses the U.S. Bureau of Land Management of neglecting science in favor of politics when it conducted a series of ecological studies covering millions of acres in the West. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility says the BLM ignored scientists' concerns by not evaluating livestock grazing as a cause of environmental change on public land. The group says the BLM feared backlash from the livestock industry. A complaint filed with the BLM on Wednesday centers on six ecological studies covering 12 mainly western states. The group says the studies overlook what it calls the massive effects of livestock grazing while considering low-impact activity such as rock hounding. Interior Department spokesman Adam Fetcher says the department will review the complaint under its scientific integrity policy.