Author: Becky Edwards
In the West, our dramatic desert landscapes, snow peaked mountains and sparkling streams are part of our way of life. They are where we go to seek refuge, they fuel our economy with billions of tourism dollars and they are why many of us moved here or chose to stay.
For families, this is where we bring our children to play outdoors in the fresh air and build generational appreciation for the public lands we all cherish.
From Arizona’s saguaro-studded deserts to Colorado’s mountain bike trails to Montana’s trout-rich streams, public lands are the heart of the western United States. They are what make our western states unlike any other place on Earth.
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Over the last four years, we have had a public-lands champion at the helm of the Department of Interior. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has lived her mission of protecting public lands for future generations. She has worked to find balance in managing the diverse public lands, protecting our natural resources and managing policies that impact the environment and indigenous communities.
The progress made by Sec. Haaland, the first Native American cabinet member in the U.S., is under threat by her potential successor.
President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for Secretary of the Interior, Doug Burgum, has no public-lands experience. His record stands in stark contrast to the progress we have made under Haaland’s leadership.
Where Haaland values balance, conservation, and long-term thinking, Burgum promotes drilling, pipelines, and unchecked development. It is anticipated that Burgum will continue the work he started as the governor of North Dakota by furthering opportunities for wealthy oil and gas executives to make money off our public lands.
But now, it is not just North Dakota that he could be overseeing; it is the 500 million acres of public lands across the U.S.
Burgum will not only turn back the clock on how we treat our public lands and work together to find solutions as unique as these landscapes, we can also expect that he will turn back the clock on energy production. Burgum’s nomination comes with a clear directive to put oil and gas drilling above all other uses of public lands.
Trump also announced Burgum as his “energy czar,” tasked with overseeing energy policy across the federal government.
For years, we’ve been saying the time is now to focus on renewable energy. Under Burgum, that time may never come. That’s bad news for the western United States, where climate change poses a great challenge. Rising temperatures exacerbate droughts, intensify wildfires and threaten the snowpack. These changes threaten our already fragile ecosystems and the livelihoods of ranchers, farms and outdoor enthusiasts.
Burgum has supported policies that favor the expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure, like pipelines and drilling projects, rather than investing in renewable energy. His time as governor gives us little hope that he would advance policies to mitigate climate change and prioritize sustainability if he is confirmed as Secretary of the Interior.
As Mountain Mamas, it’s our mission to protect public lands, water, air and the climate for future generations. Moms know the importance of having wild places for our kids to get outside and explore, not only to learn about nature and the amazing world they will inherit, but for the incredible developmental benefits our children gain from spending time outdoors.
That is why we cannot sit idly by as the keys to our treasured public lands are turned over to someone who only sees the potential for more money to line billionaires’ pockets.
We urge our representatives in Washington, D.C., to not support Burgum’s nomination. We urge you to protect our western way of life and the public lands and climate that are available to all of us, not just a privileged few.
Becky Edwards is the executive director of the Mountain Mamas, a national nonprofit organization with chapters in Arizona, Colorado and Montana. Learn more about how you can help protect public lands by visiting www.mtnmamas.org.
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