“A veteran, decorated Bureau of Land Management range specialist is in hot water for her efforts to end illegal cattle grazing in Colorado’s San Luis Valley; the headwaters to the Rio Grande. Three weeks after she laid out the problems to BLM’s de facto Director, William Perry Pendley and asked for his help, she was hit with a proposed two-week suspension, according to documents filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

For nearly 30 years, Melissa Shawcroft has been a BLM Range Management Specialist working in south-central Colorado’s San Luis Valley. Her primary duty is administering approximately 70 grazing allotments and 50 grazing permits, with a major goal of protecting the Rio Grande Natural Area from damage caused by livestock overgrazing. Citing her work, in 2012, BLM gave her its Outstanding Rangeland Management Specialist Award.”