Jeff Ruch, JD
Pacific Director
248 3rd Street, #331
Oakland, CA 94607
Tel: (510) 213-7028; Fax: (510) 763-8013
jruch@peer.org
Our Pacific Regional Office serves the five states of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and Hawaii. Located near the Port of Oakland, the office expands on the work of our California PEER office which has operated since 1998.
Former long-time PEER Executive Director, Jeff Ruch, operates the Pacific Regional Office. Jeff is a second-generation California native who worked for a number of years in California state government, mostly in the State Legislature as counsel to various committees where he drafted literally hundreds of laws on topics ranging from energy conservation to the rights of employed inventors. Jeff also served stints as a deputy district attorney and as an appellate court clerk.
This Field Office is projected to work with federal, state, and local government employees across a broad backdrop of issues, ranging from federal lands to marine conservation to anti-pollution enforcement.
NEWS FROM THE PACIFIC REGION
Cal/OSHA Inspectors AWOL During Pandemic
Growing Backlog of Workplace Complaints; Vacancies Remain Unfilled
BLOG | Trump’s Dangerous Salute to Toadyism at Mt. Rushmore
Trump plans to stage a dangerous distraction disguised as fireworks at Mt. Rushmore, risking both wildfires and potentially, public health from the crowds.
Yellowstone Wi-Fi Plan Driven by Corporate Wishes
Trees Felled in Proposed Wilderness and Historic Landmarks Penetrated
Trump’s “Sagebrush Rebels” Mull Latest Bundy Trespass
Prosecution Unlikely Amid Sharp Decline in Interior Criminal Enforcement
BLOG | National Parks Stumble Towards Reforms
In order for national parks to remain “America’s Best Idea,” park managers must move from merely maximizing crowds to actually managing them.
National Parks Irresponsible Refusal to Enforce Distancing
Disney World Will Embrace Public Health Measures NPS Eschews
BLOG | New Age of Impunity: Trump’s Relentless Attack on Oversight
Trump’s firing of the State Department’s Inspector General should send a shiver of fear down the spine of every oversight functionary left in Washington.
Can National Parks Practice Social Distancing?
The still-unfolding pandemic has underlined the public health risks that national parks and refuges pose both to the visiting public and their own employees. How can national parks dedicated to attracting crowds operate in a new era of social distancing?
National Parks Epitomize Trump COVID Inconsistency
As more than 100 national park units have closed, hundreds more remain open in an uneven handling of COVID-19 by the Trump administration.
BLOG: Trump’s War on Watchdogs
Trump conitnues war on watchdogs in latest firing of Michael Atkinson, the Inspector General for the intelligence community.
NRC Stages Swift Sweeping Rollback During Pandemic
Vast Amounts of Rad Waste Slated for Disposal by Unlicensed Operators
Federal Lab Biosafety Whistleblower Targeted
USGS Plagued by Mishaps Endangering Scientists, Experiments, and Animals
PEERMail: Trump’s Tree Huggers
Administrator Wheeler plays up a false facade of environmental commitments in op-ed entitled “One Trillion Trees Initiative will build on President Donald Trump’s commitment.”
National Parks’ Illegal “Non-Profit” Network
Audit Finds Residential Centers Operate without Charter or Oversight
More Than 500 New Antennas Slated for Yellowstone
Formerly Off-Limits Historic Buildings to Be Honeycombed with Wi-Fi
Don’t Disney-fy Denali
Big Recreational Development for Wonder Lake Would Pave Paradise
Chances of Seeing Denali Wolves in the Wild Now Remote
1% Viewing Success Record Low After State Eliminated No-Hunt Buffers
Treasure Island Superfund Denial Based on Misinformation
High Hazardous Rankings Overlooked on Assumption of Quick Easy Cleanup
National Parks Seek Ubiquitous Cell Coverage
Telecoms in Driver’s Seat as Cell Towers Sprout Across Park Landscapes
Wheels Coming Off Trump Arctic Refuge Drive
Haste to Roll Out Leasing Approvals Proves to be Their Undoing
