Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Doug Burgum confirmed as Interior Secretary
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Friday, January 31, 2025
Doug Burgum appears before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; Source: C-SPAN screenshot
The U.S. Senate voted 79 to 18 ([link removed]) yesterday to confirm former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum as Interior Secretary, after his nomination sailed through the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Burgum is largely seen as a reasonable pick to run the Interior department, despite his tight connections ([link removed]) to the oil and gas industry. In addition to helping Trump to secure campaign donations ([link removed]) from Big Oil, he held a dinner for fossil fuel executives ([link removed]) in North Dakota last year. He has repeatedly emphasized his support for "clean coal" ([link removed]) over the course of his confirmation process, as well as pushed the idea
([link removed]) that the U.S. has a deficit of "baseload energy" and a surfeit of "intermittent energy" as justification to pause renewable development and prop up fossil fuel extraction on public lands.
"Secretary Burgum has to decide if he will be a force for chaos or consistency on America’s public lands. When Donald Trump inevitably orders him to illegally revoke existing permits for renewable energy, will he have the spine to tell the president ‘no’? If oil and gas billionaires tell Burgum to ignore the bedrock laws that protect America’s lands, waters, and wildlife, will Burgum tell the oligarchs ‘no’?" Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala said in a statement ([link removed]) .
** Quick hits
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Former North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum confirmed as Interior secretary
North Dakota Monitor ([link removed]) | Politico ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed])
Energy Fuels to pay Navajo Nation for right to transport uranium through reservation
KJZZ ([link removed])
Trump tariffs would wreck U.S. oil refineries
Heatmap ([link removed])
Historic climate emissions bill clears first hurdle in NM legislature
KUNM ([link removed]) | Source New Mexico ([link removed])
Editorial: Will Rep. Hurd stand up for Colorado's national public lands?
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])
Senators push for reauthorization of Radiation Exposure Compensation Act
Nevada Public Radio ([link removed])
Bill establishing ‘how Utah goes nuclear’ gets unanimous committee approval
KUER ([link removed])
Debate rages over size of Colorado's new wolves
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” “Finally, each of the senators who voted to confirm Doug Burgum today need to ask themselves the same questions. Will they exercise their constitutional duty to perform oversight? America will be watching.”
—Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@Interior ([link removed])
Nestled far from any ocean, the St. Anthony Sand Dunes rise like a rolling sea of sand on Idaho’s volcanic Snake River Plain. Spanning roughly 35 miles in length and 5 miles in width, these vast, shifting dunes are the largest in Idaho, towering up to 400 feet high.
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