Public Lands

Senior Counsel

Jeff serves as Senior Counsel to PEER, where he specializes in civil service, scientific integrity, and whistleblower protection issues. Jeff was PEER’s Executive Director from 1997 to 2019 and its Pacific Director from 2019 to 2025. Previously, he was the Policy Director and a staff attorney at the Government Accountability Project, representing whistleblowers from both the public and private sectors. Before coming to DC, Jeff worked in California state government for 17 years, mostly in the State Legislature as counsel to various committees where he drafted hundreds of laws on topics ranging from energy conservation to the rights of employed inventors. Jeff served stints as a deputy district attorney and an appellate court clerk. He is a graduate of the California Correctional Officers Academy.

BLM Moves to Fire Migratory Bird Whistleblower  

by Susan Sargent | March 16, 2021
Reports on Raptors Dying in Big Wyoming Oil and Gas Project Spiked ...

BLOG | Can the Bureau of Land Management Shift Gears on Climate Change?

by Chandra Rosenthal | March 9, 2021
After years of mismanagement, does the Bureau of Land Management have the capacity to deliver on its climate change and conservation promises ...

Report | 2021 Bureau of Land Management Employee Survey

by Susan Sargent | March 1, 2021
PEER conducted a survey with current and former Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employees on the state of the agency, these are the findings ...

Webinar | A New Era for the Bureau of Land Management?

by Susan Sargent | February 25, 2021
Steps the Biden administration can take to strengthen the Bureau of Land Management and address its conservation and climate change goals ...

BLOG | Renewable Energy and Public Lands

by Guest Contributor | February 23, 2021
Tensions may emerge between the dual goals of protecting natural areas and reducing GHG emissions, particularly when it comes to public lands ...

BLOG | Social Distancing to Curb COVID-19 and Park Overcrowding

by Jeff Ruch | February 1, 2021
Biden Executive Order on COVID-19 protocols on federal property puts the National Park Service under a direct presidential order to do something it's resisted for years - manage overcrowding ...
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