Environmentalists’ “hopes and dreams are about to be crushed” if they think the court-ordered removal of the Bureau of Land Management’s chief will invalidate his actions, U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt said on Friday.

On Sept. 25, a federal district judge in Montana found that William Perry Pendley served unlawfully as the acting head of the BLM beyond the 210 days federal law allows, after Bernhardt continually delegated the authority of the director to him. The judge’s ruling about Pendley’s more-than-yearlong service has raised the possibility of his actions being voided because his appointment was improper.

“I think we’ll find any action Perry took was consistent with the law,” Bernhardt said in an interview with Colorado Politics. “I know there are advocacy groups that have hypothesized about how things will happen. What I would say to them is their hopes and dreams are about to be crushed.”

He added that the groups’ “inflammatory rhetoric” is “completely detached from the reality of the legal process.” Bernhardt said he would abide by the judge’s order unless it is overturned, and has the authority over all bureaus within the Interior Department, including to manage the BLM in the absence of a Senate-confirmed director.

Pendley, he said, would continue to serve as the deputy director of policy and programs, the position he has held even while serving as acting director. The secretary maintained that the continued appointments of Pendley were “necessary and appropriate, and in my 20 years of experience with the Department of the Interior, these authorities have been used consistently and regularly.”

“No legal authority exists for this kind of delegation from the Secretary,” countered Chief Judge Brian Morris in his opinion in the Montana case ordering Pendley’s removal.

Bernhardt also spoke to Colorado Politics about the massive wildfire spread in Western states this summer, and recognized that the fire season would grow longer and more intense.

“This year’s wildfire season certainly exemplifies a number of the reasons we proposed in our budget for this year that we begin to think about the way we manage and invest in fire prevention and treatment and extinguishment differently,” he said.

Interior’s proposal suggested fire crews work the entire year, rather than seasonally, alternately fighting fires and performing mitigation activities throughout the year. The budget request for the workforce expansion was $50 million.

In August, President Donald Trump signed the Great American Outdoors Act, which provides up to $1.9 billion per year for deferred national park maintenance and other infrastructure. Bernhardt said he met with National Park Service representatives on Friday to go over specific projects worth addressing, and is also compiling a list of conservation efforts to benefit from the law’s full funding of the Land and Water Conservation Fund.

“Between those two, I’m certain Colorado is going to see some significant projects, potentially in Rocky Mountain [National Park] and other facilities.”

Were Trump to win a second term next month, Bernhardt expected that the Interior Department would focus on enhancing recreational opportunities, and mentioned the president is pursing “a sound strategy on utilizing federal lands for energy and mineral development.” Earlier this week, Trump signed an executive order to boost domestic mining of “critical minerals” of which the U.S. currently imports a majority.