|
A new poll released by the National Wildlife Federation finds Western voters overwhelmingly oppose proposals from Congress and the Trump administration that would roll back changes that brought balance to the nation's oil and gas leasing system on public lands.
New Bridge Strategy conducted the poll in eight states, and found that strong majorities in each state want to keep increased fees that companies pay for oil and gas development on public lands. Majorities of self-identified MAGA voters and nearly three quarters of independent voters are opposed to rolling back those protections, as well as proposals that would expand the use of eminent domain to take private property in order to build oil and gas pipelines, and reduce community input when the government makes decisions about public land use.
Burgum's close ties to "de-extinction" company he promotes
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has close ties to biotech company Colossal Biosciences, the company that made headlines last month with a dubious claim that it has revived the long-extinct dire wolf. Public Domain co-founders Chris D'Angelo, Roque Planas, and Jimmy Tobias uncovered records that show Burgum's connections to the company go beyond cheerleading. While Burgum was governor of North Dakota, the state's development fund gave Colossal a $3 million equity investment. Burgum has attended black-tie events with Colossal's CEO Ben Lamm. In April, Lamm posted a photo of him and Burgum at the annual gala for the Explorer's Club. Burgum's former commerce commissioner now serves as an unpaid adviser to Colossal, and Aurelia Skipwith Giacometto, who ran the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service during Trump's first term, is a member of Colossal's conservation advisory board.
At an all-hands meeting of the Interior department last month, Burgum heaped praise on Colossal, suggesting that "de-extinction" technology had made the Endangered Species Act unnecessary.
|
In a future where gene editing is increasingly prominent in biodiversity conservation — and companies like Colossal might create chimeric organisms with traits of endangered species but no direct connection with their inspiration — the risks of such ambiguity are growing. Would the release of a tankful of desert pupfish lookalikes meet the recovery goals for the species, one of the world’s most endangered fish? Would the propagation of transgenic, disease-resistant whitebark pines counteract the loss of their original lineage to the blister rust that now plagues the species? For now, the Endangered Species Act and the policies that shape its interpretation have little to say on the subject.”
