The Bureau of Land Management has leased office space for its , and one public lands watchdog isn鈥檛 pleased with who the agency鈥檚 leadership will be sharing the elevator with.

The building at in Grand Junction houses a corporate office for Chevron, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, as well as a company in the natural gas exploration business.

鈥淵ou can鈥檛 physically get in bed with industry, but Secretary Interior Bernhardt did the second best thing by moving in next door to oil and gas corporations as well as special interest lobbying groups,鈥� said Jayson O鈥橬eill of the nonprofit .

O鈥橬eill鈥檚 among the many critics of the Interior Department鈥檚 plan to move BLM鈥檚 top brass away from Washington, D.C., where they work closely with decision makers and other agencies such as the Forest Service.

鈥淎nd now the agency that is really tasked with protecting public lands for balanced use will be rubbing elbows with oil executives as well as extractive interest allies,鈥� O鈥橬eill said.

In a statement, a BLM spokesperson said 鈥渢o suggest the lease agreement was chosen to afford unethical access to select special interest groups is flagrant and ironic鈥� and that 鈥渢heir process to procure the lease was open, competitive and fair.鈥�

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