The Senate narrowly Approved, Tracy Stone-Manning, on Thursday, to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), capping months of efforts by, Republican Lawmakers, to Block her Confirmation because of her Connection to a decades-old tree spiking incident. Ms. Stone-Manning was Approved 50-45 along Party Lines.
She is the First Senate-confirmed Director of the Bureau of Land Management in Five years. Ms. Stone-Manning steps into an Agency, that has been stretched thin ever since the Trump Administration moved the BLM Headquarters to Colorado last year, its now back in D.C., and will soon be faced with Decisions over the future of Oil and Gas Leases on Federal Land in Western States.
The Agency, which is within the Interior Department, Oversees: Grazing; Logging and Drilling on 245 Million Acres of Public Land, about a Tenth of the entire U.S.; and Manages 700 Million Acres of Mineral Rights. It is responsible for: Balancing Oil, Gas, and Coal Extraction, with Recreation, and the Protection of Natural Resources.
It also is key to President Biden’s Goal of Phasing-Out Oil and Gas Drilling on Federal Lands. That Plan has been in Limbo since a Federal Judge, Ruled in June, that the Administration did Not have the Authority to Suspend Leases.
“Few agencies are as important for protecting and promoting America’s public lands, and in the years to come, the BLM. will play an even greater role in our government’s efforts to fight climate change,” Majority Leader, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), said on the Senate Floor. Schumer Denounced what he called Republican “histrionics” and Accused them of using Ms. Stone-Manning’s Nomination to launch “cheap, out-of-context attacks.”
Republicans have criticized Ms. Stone-Manning for Objecting to Trump’s “energy first” Agenda, which Prioritized the Production of Fossil Fuels, despite the Role they play in Heating the Planet.
But Republican Leaders also maintained that their Opposition was based on her Behavior during a Tree-Spiking Incident in 1989, not her Opposition to an Expansion of Oil and gas Drilling.
As a Graduate Student in Montana, Ms. Stone-Manning, now 56, Retyped and Mailed a Letter to the U.S. Forest Service Warning about a Plan to Insert Metal Spikes into Trees in Clearwater National Forest in Idaho. At the time, “tree spiking” was a Tactic used by some Environmentalists to Damage Logging Machinery. But it could also Harm or even Kill the Workers using that Equipment. Ms. Stone-Manning Testified in the Clearwater Case, helping to Convict Two of the Men Involved, and had described her Decision to Type the Letter as a way of trying to Warn the Authorities.
Republicans have Accused Ms. Stone-Manning of Lying about her Connection to the Incident and Branded her an “eco-terrorist.” “It’s hard to imagine a nominee more disqualified than Tracy Stone-Manning,” said Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. “Every Senate Democrat will be responsible for her confirmation.”
Democrats stood Unanimously behind Ms. Stone-Manning on Thursday. They noted that the Tree-Spiking Incident occurred, when she was in her 20s, and Argued that she was Aiding the Authorities. They described her as someone who spent the subsequent Decades building Bridges between Environmentalists, Ranchers, and Fossil Fuel Interests.
“She is someone who knows the value of collaboration, she is someone who can listen, who can reason, that knows our public lands, that’s recreated on our public lands her whole life,” said Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), who employed Ms. Stone-Manning as an Aide and has known her for Two Decades.
Most recently Ms. Stone-Manning was the Senior Adviser for Conservation Policy at the National Wildlife Federation, a Nonprofit Conservation Group. She has also worked as an Aide to former Gov. Steve Bullock (D-MT) and has served as the Head of Montana’s Environment Agency.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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