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.

Trillion Dollar Return on Public Lands – Harvesting Hot Air

by Jeff Ruch | July 2, 2025
The Burgum-backed plans for Department of Interior lands promote a frenzy of extraction, overuse, and hasty disposal ...

Stop the Great Public Lands Heist

by Chandra Rosenthal | June 20, 2025
PEER opposes any conveyance of public land in the budget reconciliation. We oppose all efforts to sell off our public lands and gut our public lands agencies ...

TELL CONGRESS | Stop Efforts to Sell Our Public Lands

by PEER |
Letter telling Congress to stop efforts to turn our public lands over to private commercial interests and environmental polluters ...

PEERMail | Help Save our National Parks

by PEER | May 28, 2025
Our country’s National Park System is under attack the likes of which this country has never witnessed before. In this edition of PEERMail, we are sharing with you some of our work from the past few weeks and how you can work together to help save our national parks ...

House Budget Bill is a Disaster for Public Employees and the Environment

by Tim Whitehouse | May 23, 2025
PEER condemns the budget reconciliation bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives as disastrous for our country’s fiscal health and our public lands, wildlife, and environmental protections ...