PUBLIC LANDS ALERT: U.S. Senate Approves Anti-Public Lands Advocate to Lead Agency Responsible for Largest Amount of Public Lands
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today’s approval by the U.S. Senate of Steve Pearce as Director of the Bureau of Land Management brings alarming indications for the future stability and durability of public land protections.
Statement from Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation, which represents a nonpartisan, national network of community advocates solely focused on the public lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management:
“Everyone who cherishes their access and the natural values of the country’s public lands needs to be on high alert and fully engaged moving forward. The Director of the BLM is tasked to be a neutral arbiter of our shared resources. Unfortunately, Mr. Pearce’s recent Congressional testimony, coupled with his past record in Congress supporting the sell off of America's public lands, and his efforts to reduce national monuments in his home state, demonstrate that he will be coming into this position with full bias against the public’s ownership and access to their public lands.
“The country deserves a BLM leader willing to manage public lands for multiple uses and who believes in their heart, and in practice, that conservation must be on equal footing with all the other uses of the lands. Mr. Pearce’s record clearly shows he is not that leader.
“Selling off, limiting the public’s access to, and eliminating protections of our public lands is wildly unpopular with the public. We’ll be harnessing this passion to hold Mr. Pearce accountable to the majority of people who live, work, and recreate on these lands and want them to remain healthy and accessible.”
About the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
The BLM manages nearly 250 million acres of public land–one in every 10 acres of land in the United States and approximately 30 percent of the nation’s minerals. These lands are managed for a variety of uses, including energy development, livestock grazing, recreation, and timber harvesting, while also ensuring the conservation of the country’s remaining natural, historical, and cultural resources.
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