The acting director of the Bureau of Land management reaffirmed on Thursday the agency’s decision to move its headquarters to Grand Junction, despite the unhappiness of some employees.

“We are being as compassionate as we possibly can, but at the same time, we have a job to do and we want to get it done,” said William Perry Pendley – who himself will remain in Washington, D.C. – according to CPR.

At least 27 positions will relocate to Grand Junction, and bureau employees will have 30 days to decide whether to move after receiving notice.

Pendley also described as wrong the theory that the Trump administration is attempting to weaken the bureau by inducing employees with institutional knowledge to quit rather than to transfer to Colorado’s sixteenth-largest city.

“I’ve said to all the employees, ‘We don’t want to lose a single employee. We want to find work for you and we hope we can find work for you in the BLM,'” he said.

Pendley acknowledged that the decision would be “traumatic” for some workers, but reiterated that the agency should be closer to the lands it oversees – and Grand Junction provides a great quality of life, in his opinion.