WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, reports emerged that Donald Trump is expected to give the job of overseeing public lands to a fossil fuel lobbyist.
Ian Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Wednesday, reports emerged that Donald Trump is expected to give the job of overseeing public lands to a fossil fuel lobbyist.
According to an update on Congress.gov , Trump has nominated Kathleen Sgamma as director of the Bureau of Land Management. Sgamma currently serves as the president of the Western Energy Alliance, an oil and gas trade group that has sought to greatly increase fossil fuel drilling on public lands and slash protections across landscapes. Sgamma’s nomination is a clear indication that the Trump administration is moving full speed ahead with its polluter--friendly “drill, baby, drill” agenda.
Trump has had a fraught relationship with BLM, which oversees around 245 million acres of public lands across the United States, dating back to his first term in the White House. BLM was without a permanent director throughout Trump’s first term. Its final Trump-appointed leader, William Perry Pendley, was installed as acting director when it became clear the U.S. Senate would not confirm him as the permanent head. Trump also attempted to move the headquarters of the agency out of the nation’s capital and to Grand Junction, a city of about 65,000 residents in rural Colorado. The move was reversed by President Joe Biden.
In response, Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, released the following statement:
"Big Oil CEOs already had a friendly face in the White House, and now they have the BLM on speed dial. By naming Sgamma to run BLM, Donald Trump is betraying the American people and threatening our public lands, all to keep the promise he made to the corporate polluters at Big Oil – ‘if you raise a billion dollars for me, I'll let you do whatever you want.’ Our public lands make this country great and belong to all Americans, not just billionaire oil executives. This nomination makes it clear who Donald Trump thinks should have first dibs on our public lands, and it’s not the American people.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org .
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