With Bureau of Land Management Director Steve Pearce confirmed last week, Wyoming energy leaders are hoping long-vacant positions within the agency will finally begin to fill.
They say the need is urgent.
Oil, gas, and coal permits are backing up in Wyoming, where energy development depends heavily on federal approvals and where the BLM oversees more land and mineral production than almost anywhere else in the country.
“It’s very important that the BLM director gets his hands around the agency as soon as possible,” said former Assistant Interior Secretary Rob Wallace. “The need to get a state director is pretty pressing right now.”
No state feels the consequences of BLM dysfunction quite like Wyoming, he said, where the federal government manages roughly half the surface land and 65% of the mineral estate.
At the same time President Donald Trump is calling for a major expansion of domestic energy production, Wyoming’s BLM offices are grappling with staffing shortages worsened by federal hiring freezes and workforce cuts.
That contradiction has become increasingly apparent across the state’s energy sector.
BLM Caught Between DOGE Cuts, Energy Push
Trump ordered a hiring freeze for vacant federal civilian positions on Jan. 20, 2025, directing agencies to seek more efficient use of personnel and funding.
Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, oversaw reductions that eliminated roughly 800 BLM employees nationwide, according to Reuters.
Industry leaders say those cuts hit an agency that was already stretched thin.
“It’s a really critical issue right now,” Wallace said.
The BLM has long struggled with staffing and funding challenges, particularly in Western states like Wyoming where workloads are vast and highly technical.
Wyoming is one of the agency’s most resource-intensive states, with oil, natural gas, coal, trona, uranium, grazing, and wildlife management all competing for attention from the same field offices.
The Wyoming BLM administers federal oil and gas leases across more than 10 million acres — the largest area of any state in the nation, according to the agency.
The state also ranks first in federal onshore gas production and second in federal onshore oil production.
The pressure intensified this year after Trump signed executive orders aimed at rapidly expanding American energy production.
Permit Delays Growing
Wallace said permitting delays are becoming increasingly noticeable in Wyoming field offices.
“Things that would normally take a couple of weeks are dragging into months,” he said.
He said the agency needs leadership stability as much as manpower.
“Whether you have a state director or not, you need the director of BLM to look down and say we’ve got to get Wyoming back together,” Wallace said.
Travis Deti, executive director of the Wyoming Mining Association, agreed.
“We’re anxious to have him get to work,” Deti said of Pearce. “We’ve got a significant staffing shortage.”
Deti said staffing in the Casper BLM office is particularly important because many Wyoming coal leases are processed there.
Without renewed leases, coal companies can eventually lose access to federally leased reserves.
“When you look at where we’re going, we’re going to run out of coal pretty soon because we’re running out of leases,” Deti said.
“We need people to be working on those permits,” he added. “We want to start leasing again.”
Cowboy State Daily previously reported that oil and gas lease sales in Wyoming climbed sharply in 2025 after hitting record lows during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
In 2024, just two federal oil and gas lease sales were held in Wyoming, totaling 60,568 acres. About half the acreage offered was ultimately leased, generating just under $11 million in revenue.
Critics Say More Drilling Isn’t The Answer
Not everyone is pushing for faster permitting or expanded BLM staffing in the name of energy production.
Environmental groups argue the agency has historically prioritized extraction industries over conservation and recreation management on public lands.
Caryn Miske, director of the Sierra Club’s Montana chapter, criticized Pearce’s appointment in a statement.
“He is the perfect person to implement the Trump administration’s goals to put industrial-level drilling, mining, logging and grazing over all other uses of federal lands,” Miske said.
The Wilderness Society has also argued that fossil fuel companies profit heavily from public resources while taxpayers receive comparatively little in return.
The debate highlights the difficult political position the BLM occupies in Wyoming — criticized by industry for moving too slowly and criticized by conservation groups for approving too much development.
Leadership Questions In Wyoming
The staffing concerns come as Wyoming’s BLM leadership has remained unsettled for more than a year.
Former assistant state BLM director Kris Kirby took over as the acting BLM director after former state director Andrew Archuleta was placed on administrative leave following alleged ethics violations.
Cowboy State Daily previously reported that Archuleta allegedly accepted dinner and drinks at a Cheyenne steakhouse from the owner of a commercial sign manufacturing company, misused a government rental vehicle for personal purposes and treated his girlfriend to travel perks on the BLM’s dime.
Industry leaders say stabilizing Wyoming’s BLM leadership will be critical as the state faces increasing pressure to accelerate federal energy development while operating with reduced manpower.
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
