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Yesterday the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a confirmation hearing for former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum, President-elect Trump’s nominee to lead the Interior department.
Burgum pledged to emphasize fossil fuel development on public lands and waters, echoing a host of anti-public lands talking points on issues including national monuments and the use of the Antiquities Act, endangered species, and renewable sources of energy.
Burgum's comments throughout the hearing demonstrated his unabashed admiration of President Teddy Roosevelt, but as Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala pointed out in a statement following the hearing, “Teddy Roosevelt himself used the Antiquities Act to protect 800,000 acres in and around the Grand Canyon.”
Burgum argued that the Biden administration’s focus on renewables has left American consumers vulnerable, while acknowledging that his state has embraced wind power, and demurring on whether he would support offshore wind projects that Trump has criticized. As Rokala noted in her statement, “Perhaps the most striking thing from today’s hearing is how much distance Governor Burgum put between himself and President Trump. From Russia to wind energy to disaster assistance, Burgum tried to create daylight between himself and his boss.”
Utah representative, Bundy relative introduces bill to eliminate Antiquities Act
Representative Celeste Maloy of Utah introduced a bill seeking to end the power of the president to use the Antiquities Act to protect public lands. In Utah, presidential Antiquities Act designations are responsible for 12 national monuments and parks, including four of Utah’s “Mighty 5.” Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director Aaron Weiss said in a statement, “Leave it to a member of the Bundy family to lead an egregious attack on America's public lands, this time from within the halls of Congress." Given the popularity of the Antiquities Act, Weiss warned, “Anyone who signs on to Rep. Maloy’s bill will unleash the ire of America’s hunters, anglers, the outdoor industry, and Tribal nations.”
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This decision affirms the fundamental argument we have been making in federal court: that RMI has been mining and selling limestone from our public lands for end uses that aren’t allowed under its federal mining permit.”
