WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump on Wednesday nominated former Republican congressman Steve Pearce of New Mexico to lead the Bureau of Land Management, a choice applauded by Wyoming’s congressional delegation and booed by environmental groups.
The BLM, which manages 245 million acres of public lands including 18.4 million in Wyoming, is currently run by an interim director, Bill Groffy. Trump’s first choice for director, Kathleen Sgamma, withdrew from consideration in April amid the surfacing of online posts in which she had criticized the president.
Wyoming Republican U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis said Pearce will properly handle the BLM’s politically charged multiple-use mandate. That includes issuing leases for livestock grazing, timber harvesting and energy development such as coal, oil and gas, while also setting aside areas for conservation and recreation.
Pearce, 78, served in the U.S. House from 2003 to 2009, and again from 2011 to 2019. He flew cargo planes for the Air Force during the Vietnam War and once owned an oilfield services company.
‘Major Win For Wyoming’
“I am pleased that President Trump has nominated my friend and former House colleague, Steve Pearce, to serve as the next director of the Bureau of Land Management,” Lummis said in a statement.
“Steve's leadership will be invaluable in managing our public lands and wisely stewarding our resources. This nomination is a major win for Wyoming and the entire West, and I'm glad to see such a crucial role filled by someone so well qualified,” Lummis said.
Barrasso serves on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which will hold a hearing and a vote on the nomination, likely sending it to the full, GOP-controlled Senate. A Barrasso spokeswoman had no immediate word on a timetable.
“Decisions made by the [BLM] have a significant impact on Wyoming’s economy and our way of life,” Barrasso said in a statement. “Steve Pearce’s strong western ties make him a great choice to head the BLM. … Steve and I have worked side by side to unleash American energy and create jobs across the West.
“I am confident he will responsibly lead the multiple-use mandate of Wyoming’s and all of America’s federal lands.”
Blocking Access
Environmentalists said Pearce’s nomination will tilt the BLM too far in favor of the natural resources extraction industries, at the expense of conservation and recreation opportunities.
“We New Mexicans have had a front row seat to Steve Pearce’s pro-polluter career and rejected it, yet Donald Trump thinks he’s the right choice to oversee the millions of acres of public lands in New Mexico and across the West,” Sierra Club Conservation Director Dan Ritzman said in a statement.
“Pearce is a climate change denier, an ally of the oil and gas industry, and an opponent of the landscapes and waters that generations of Americans have explored and treasured,” Ritzman said.
The Center for Western Priorities said Pearce's nomination is another signal that Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum want to “sell off” public lands eventually. The BLM falls under the Interior Department.
“Steve Pearce’s nomination is even more proof that President Trump and Interior Secretary Burgum are determined to undermine, sell out, and eventually sell off America’s public lands,” CWP Executive Director Jennifer Rokala said in a statement. “Pearce’s entire political career has been dedicated to blocking Americans’ access to public lands while giving the oil and gas industry free rein to drill and frack anywhere they wanted.”
During the Biden administration, the BLM approved the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan, which critics said went too far in locking up energy resources. Tracy Stone-Manning, director of the BLM under Biden, is now president of The Wilderness Society.
The BLM last month proposed to amend the Rock Springs RMP in line with Trump’s agenda. The agency is taking public comments on the proposed amendment through Dec. 18.
The Rock Springs RMP includes approximately 3.6 million acres in portions of Lincoln, Sweetwater, Uinta, Sublette, and Fremont counties.
Sean Barry can be reached at sean@cowboystatedaily.com.
