Can you say "conflict of interest?"

Crowdog · Post by **Crowdog** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 12:51 pm

September 16, 2003

Bureau of Land Management
Carson City Field Office
John Singlaub, Field Office Manager
5665 Morgan Mill Road
Carson City, Nevada 89701

Mr. Singlaub:

On my drive out to Sand Mountain this last weekend, I happened to witness a BLM vehicle fueling at Fox Peak gas station in Fallon.

As I am sure you are aware, the Fallon Paiute Shoshone tribe owns the Fox Peak gas station. Since the tribe is actively lobbying your agency to close down portions of Sand Mountain, I am sure you can see what appears to be an obvious conflict of interest.

It would be best for your agency to patronize another company that doesnâ€™t have such a clear agenda with regards to the management of Sand Mountain Recreation Area.

I would like to be notified, in writing, of your decision in regards to this matter.

Sincerely,

Derik Jarne
Auburn California, 95604
530-xxx-xxxx

Cc: Congressman Jim Gibbons
Bob Abbey, Neveda State Director BLM
----------------------------------------------------------

Here is the website for the Tribe:
http://www.fpst.org/foxpeak/foxcentre.htm

Crowdog · Post by **Crowdog** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 1:17 pm

Here is the BLM Field Office Manager's reply:

To: "Derik Jarne" <d_jarne@yahoo.com>
CC: Vinson.Guthreau@mail.house.gov
From: John_O_Singlaub@nv.blm.gov
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 11:38:28 -0700

No, Mr. Jarne, I do not see any "obvious conflict of interest."

There are thousands of gas stations across the United States that are authorized to accept government credit cards for service and fuel for government vehicles. BLM does not and will not discriminate against any of the owners of any of those gas stations based on their political beliefs, affiliations, ethnicity, or for any other reason.

The United States was founded on the basis of tolerance of beliefs and
acceptance of diversity of thought. Your zealotry and racism is contrary to those principles, and is totally inappropriate. We welcome everyone participating in the on-going dialogue about the future uses of the public lands at Sand Mountain, including you and including the Tribe. BLM will not be a party to discrimination based on anyone's point of view as you propose.

AlxCook · Post by **AlxCook** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 1:45 pm

I don't disagree with his response, but it sure seems like he is pretty defensive. I think the way Mr. Singlaub wrote the response is bad. The information is fine, but the way he presented it was very defensive. Maybe he is hiding something or has his is own special agenda???

Post by **Winston Cup** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 3:14 pm

Crowdog wrote:Here is the BLM Field Office Manager's reply:

To: "Derik Jarne" <d_jarne@yahoo.com>
CC: Vinson.Guthreau@mail.house.gov
From: John_O_Singlaub@nv.blm.gov
Date: Tue, 16 Sep 2003 11:38:28 -0700

No, Mr. Jarne, I do not see any "obvious conflict of interest."

There are thousands of gas stations across the United States that are
authorized to accept government credit cards for service and fuel for
government vehicles. BLM does not and will not discriminate against
any of the owners of any of those gas stations based on their political
beliefs, affiliations, ethnicity, or for any other reason.

The United States was founded on the basis of tolerance of beliefs and
acceptance of diversity of thought. Your zealotry and racism is contrary to those principles, and is totally inappropriate. We welcome everyone participating in the on-going dialogue about the future uses of the public lands at Sand Mountain, including you and including the Tribe. BLM will not be a party to discrimination based on anyone's point of view as you propose.

Well I didn't really have a problem with what appeared to Mr. Jarne as a conflict of interest, but this reply he received does concern me somewhat. The implication of racism and intolerance on Mr. Jarne's part by this particular BLM field office manager, based on Mr. Jarne's letter as posted above and assuming there has been no other correspondance, was totally out of line and uncalled for and this I feel needs to be addressed immediately.

Crowdog · Post by **Crowdog** » Tue Sep 16, 2003 3:55 pm

I am not aware of any other correspondance prior to what was posted above.

Jon

Desert_Rat · Post by **Desert_Rat** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 3:05 pm

The only one that mentions racism is John Sinlaub. Derik Jarne doesn't say a thing about it. Am I wrong to assume that Mr. Sinlaub might be managing Sand Mountain to avoid any appearance of racism rather than managing it for the good of Sand Mountain and "ALL" that use it.