Jonathon Berman, jonathon.berman@sierraclub.org
Washington, DC -- Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has made headlines this week for all the wrong reasons. Speaking before the National Petroleum Council, on Monday, Zinke claimed that nearly one-third of the staff at the Interior Department are “not loyal to the flag.” He even went so far to claim that people at Fish and Wildlife Service “hated people to a degree.” Then, late Thursday evening, it was revealed that Zinke, like EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and several other members of the Trump cabinet, has taken a number of flights on private and military aircraft, including a $12,000 flight aboard an oil executive’s plane to attend a political event in his hometown in Montana.
In response, Sierra Club Our Wild America Senior Campaign Representative and Montanan Bonnie Rice released the following statement:
"This week shows that Ryan Zinke is all hat and no cattle. He may try to dress the part, but there aren't a whole lot of Westerners that spend $12,000 of the taxpayer's money on an oil executive's private plane. His use of private and military planes on our dime and his attacks on his own Interior employees are just the most recent examples of Zinke's failure to reflect Western values. Stewardship of public lands and public resources are nothing more than a talking point to him. At heart he's just another politician in the pocket of corporate polluters."
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3 million members and supporters. In addition to helping people from all backgrounds explore nature and our outdoor heritage, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.