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BLM whistleblower reinstated in Nevada grazing dispute

Posted at 11:26 AM, Oct 21, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-21 14:26:29-04

A longtime government range specialist who claimed he was fired in retaliation for repeatedly reporting illegal livestock grazing on federal land in eastern Nevada has been reinstated as part of a settlement of his whistleblower complaint against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

An administrative judge for the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board had scheduled a hearing to begin Monday on the complaint filed in May by Craig Hoover. He worked for the bureau for 21 years before he was terminated from his job in Ely.

A lawyer for the watchdog group who represented Hoover told The Associated Press the hearing won't take place because Hoover has been reinstated to a new bureau position in Elko.

Peter Jenkins of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility says it's important to defend public servants who follow laws intended to protect the environment.