Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum's billionaire oil benefactor
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Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Left to right: Harold Hamm, Doug Burgum, Donald Trump, Elon Musk. CWP AI & photo illustration by Lilly Bock-Brownstein.
On Thursday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is expected to hold a confirmation hearing for Doug Burgum ([link removed]) , President-elect Trump’s pick to lead the Interior department. Unfortunately, senators may go into the hearing without financial disclosure and FBI background check information necessary to make an informed decision about Burgum’s nomination. Senator Mike Lee of Utah, the chairman of the committee, scheduled Burgum’s hearing even though the committee hadn’t received Burgum’s paperwork ([link removed]) as of Tuesday morning.
This matters because Burgum, a former software executive and governor of North Dakota, is a multi-millionaire, and is closely connected with, and has a track record of going to great lengths to help his billionaire benefactor, Harold Hamm. Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director Aaron Weiss gets into the details of why this is concerning in a new Westwise blog post ([link removed]) .
Hamm is the founder of oil and gas company Continental Resources. As governor, Burgum disclosed he has a land deal with Continental that includes oil wells on 200 acres of his land, with Burgum’s family getting 19 percent of the revenue from the oil that is drilled on his land. In March 2024 alone, the wells produced over 5,000 barrels of oil and thousands of cubic feet of natural gas. Meanwhile, Burgum has so far refused to reveal how much money Continental paid up front for the lease, or how much he’s made in royalties since the wells started producing.
Burgum also partnered with Hamm to hold a fundraiser for President-elect Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago with oil and gas executives at which it was reported that Trump asked the oil executives to raise $1 billion for his campaign ([link removed]) , and if they did, he would roll back environmental protections at the behest of the oil industry. Trump reportedly emphasized this would have been a deal given that the roll backs he offered would likely be worth $110 billion ([link removed]) , mostly from tax loopholes that President Joe Biden pledged to close in his second term, and that President-elect Trump wants to keep. Burgum has admitted he was in the room at Mar-a-Lago, but denied that Trump offered a quid-pro-quo ([link removed]) to the oil executives.
New polling: Utahns, Arizonans support keeping their state's national monuments
Utahns across the political spectrum want the state’s national monuments to stay protected, according to new polling ([link removed]) commissioned by the Grand Canyon Trust ([link removed]) . The poll surveyed 500 registered voters ([link removed]) across the state in December about their views on protecting public lands, finding that 71 percent of Utah voters support Bears Ears National Monument, and 74 percent support Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The survey also demonstrated that 75 percent of respondents support the president’s ability to designate national monuments using the Antiquities Act of 1906. The results fly in the face of Governor Spencer Cox and other state leaders who have worked to roll back protections for the two monuments since 2021 through a lawsuit
([link removed]) and proposed legislation ([link removed]) attacking the Antiquities Act.
A separate poll of Arizona voters ([link removed]) conducted for the Grand Canyon Trust found strong support for presidential monument designations ([link removed]) , including the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni–Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument designated in 2023 by President Joe Biden that protects nearly 1 million acres around Grand Canyon National Park.
** Quick hits
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Biden officially designates California's Chuckwalla and Sáttítla Highlands national monuments
Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed]) | NBC Palm Springs ([link removed]) | Desert Sun ([link removed]) | Reuters ([link removed]) | Washington Post
([link removed])
Interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum has a billionaire oil benefactor
Westwise ([link removed])
Poll: Utahns, Arizonans show strong support for keeping national monument protections in place
Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
What do the deadly Los Angeles wildfires mean for the city's wildlife?
High Country News ([link removed])
Facebook group representing ranchers demands to know details for next round of Colorado wolf reintroduction efforts
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
BLM, Forest Service finalize Bears Ears management plan
E&E News ([link removed])
How the Interior department balances conservation, development, and trust with Tribes
The Conversation ([link removed])
U.S. Supreme Court clears a path for climate lawsuits to proceed
New York Times ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” It’s an easy win for Utah’s politicians and for the incoming administration just to leave these monuments as they are.”
—Tim Peterson, cultural landcapes director for the Grand Canyon Trust, Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@mypubliclands ([link removed])
We have two new national monuments! And we're excited to manage one of them. The White House has designated Chuckwalla National Monument in southern California! 🎊
Spanning over 624,000 acres of public lands where the Colorado and Mojave Deserts come together, this area offers stunning mountains and canyons, important cultural and historic resources, rich biodiversity, and unique geological features.
🔗 Learn more at the link in our bio.
📸 Bob Wick
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