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Two former directors of the Bureau of Land Management, Neil Kornze and Jim Baca, express their steadfast support for the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning to lead the agency. They shared their opinion in a piece published by the Salt Lake Tribune.
Based on their first-hand experience running the agency that oversees the management of activities on public lands that constitute 10% of the total land mass of the United States, the two former directors state, "We can tell you unequivocally that President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Bureau, Tracy Stone-Manning, has what it takes and will be an outstanding BLM Director." As evidence of their claim, the directors elaborate on the qualities that are embodied in Stone-Manning's leadership style, including that "People across the spectrum see Tracy as someone they can work with, and the BLM’s 'multiple use and sustained yield' mandate requires exactly the type of collaborative approach that she has been known for throughout her career."
Both directors lament the recently reported loss of a staggering 87% of BLM headquarters staff that left the agency as a result of the Trump Administration’s haphazard relocation strategy: "That’s 287 people, and it represents an incalculable loss of knowledge about how to manage our shared public lands and the nation’s largest, most complex natural resource agency." They share this distressing information as further evidence of the need for steady, confirmed leadership at the BLM: "We need someone strong and thoughtful to rebuild the BLM. It needs to be done with a deep Western sensibility and by a person known for having an open door, an open mind, and dusty boots. We need a leader who believes in public lands and what they mean to all Americans. Tracy is that person."
New podcast! Author Emma Marris on the Klamath drought and "Wild Souls"
This episode of The Landscape features a conversation with Emma Marris, author of Wild Souls: Freedom & Flourishing in the Non Human World. Marris also wrote about the Klamath water shortage in The Atlantic. Her earlier work includes Rambunctious Garden.
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We’re at a unique moment in our political history. We have an administration that has both the necessary authority via the Antiquities Act and the required ambition to make bold, long overdue, sweeping improvements to how our nation cares for the diverse land and people who form the backbone of this country. We call on this administration to exercise this authority by listening to the diverse communities across this country asking for protected public lands and access for all.”
