Trump’s Attack on Public Lands Marches on with Confirmation of Pearce to Run BLM
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate is expected to confirm Steve Pearce to run the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) later today. The confirmation of Pearce, a longtime advocate of selling off public lands, is the latest in a series of Trump administration moves to undermine the management of national public lands. Alan Zibel, research director with Public Citizen, issued the following statement:
“Steve Pearce built his political career on advocating for the sale and stripping protections from America’s public lands. Unless you’re a fossil fuel or mining fat cat, his confirmation is a massive loss and a serious blow to anyone who cares about our nation’s extraordinary public spaces.
“Pearce is primed to exploit his role at BLM for profit. His business entanglements, including his longstanding involvement with an oilfield service firm, create such obvious conflicts of interest that he should have been disqualified from the role. The BLM deserves a leader who will be a steward of our public lands, not another Trump crony with a clear allegiance to extractive industries.”