 From 1947 to 1967 he was a member of the United States Civil Service Commission's Board of Examiners for Geology, concerned with the development and maintenance of standards in the selection of geologists for federal employment.He was an active member of the Survey's Pick and Hammer shows, which were presented annually to make fun of top Survey managers.In 1970, Pecora expressed his opposition to burying the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, as it would be unsafe to place an underground pipeline in Arctic land He was appointed to serve as Undersecretary of the United States Department of Interior by President Richard Nixon on April 1, 1971.