Wyoming officials are happy about President elect Donald Trump’s pick to oversee federal lands in the U.S.
Last week, Trump nominated North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum to head up the Department of the Interior – which includes the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Wyoming’s Governor Mark Gordon said this is great for the Cowboy State’s economic interests.
“Doug has a deep understanding of the importance of energy development while maintaining valuable wildlife and outdoor recreation opportunities,” Gordon said in a press release, adding that he’s worked with Burgum on these types of issues for six years. “We see eye-to-eye on the importance of a domestically focused, all-of-the-above energy policy for public lands and minerals.”
Burgum is a supporter of oil and gas and has pushed for the boom in North Dakota. Only about four percent of the state is federally owned, so much of that development, such as the Bakken oil field, lies on private land. Historically, those heading up the Interior come from states with large swaths of federal lands.
If confirmed by the Senate, Burgum is expected to push through Trump’s federal land agenda, which likely means reversing current renewable energy and conservation policy, and expanding fossil fuel production. Wyoming wants that reflected in upcoming federal land and wildlife management decisions.
“Since almost half of Wyoming’s surface land and 67 percent of its mineral resources are managed by the federal government, the Secretary of the Interior is integral to Wyoming’s economic well-being and future,” said Gordon.
Several federal land management decisions in limbo are the BLM’s Sage Grouse plan and the Rock Springs Field Office Resource Management Plan.
Currently, drafts of those plans are more conservation focused, with less emphasis on energy development. Conservation groups in the area say it is key for protecting the habitat and slowing effects of climate change.
For example, the Wyoming Outdoor Council wrote about the Rock Springs Plan, saying it would have, “...enormous implications for the future of the world-renowned and beloved Red Desert, the largest unfenced area in Wyoming and home to some of our state’s most iconic wildlife.”
About a quarter of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions come from fossil fuels production on public lands and waters.
But, Wyoming is pushing for more state control and allowance for energy development in both plans. Gordon has said that the state is balancing all interests well.
If the U.S. Senate confirms Burgum’s nomination, he’ll replace the Interior’s Deb Haaland. She was the country’s first Indigenous cabinet member.
