Republican lawmakers are calling for political appointees who have announced roles in outside environmental organizations next year to recuse themselves from pending business due to concerns of conflicts of interest. The Congressional Western Caucus, consisting mainly of Republicans, sent a letter to the Bureau of Land Management demanding that individuals planning to join environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) recuse themselves from current government roles. Specific attention was given to President Biden’s BLM director, Tracey Stone-Manning, who will be assuming the role of president of The Wilderness Society after leaving the administration. The letter cited concerns about potential conflicts of interest given the different missions of her current job and future role.
The Congressional Western Caucus expressed worry about the impact of Stone-Manning’s future role as president of The Wilderness Society on public lands, particularly in the American West. The Wilderness Society is known for its opposition to development activities such as mining and drilling on public lands, which the lawmakers believe would conflict with the multiple-use mandate of the BLM. The letter emphasized the negative consequences of policies implemented by the BLM over the past four years, which were seen to align with the goals of The Wilderness Society and prioritize preservation over multiple use of public lands. The lawmakers stressed the importance of BLM’s mission to fairly administer public lands for the benefit of the public.
Rep. Dan Newhouse, chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, along with Sen. Cynthia Lummis and other Republican lawmakers, led the effort to demand recusals from pending official business for political appointees at BLM who have accepted future positions at ENGOs. Newhouse emphasized that BLM’s role in administrating public lands for multiple use conflicts with the agenda of extreme environmental groups seeking to restrict access to and development of public lands. Other Republicans who cosigned the letter included Sens. John Barrasso, Steve Daines, and Mike Lee, as well as Reps. Doug LaMalfa and Ryan Zinke. The goal of the letter was to ensure that political appointees at BLM do not have conflicting interests that could compromise their duty to fairly administer public lands.
The letter to BLM, shared first with Fox News Digital, highlighted concerns about potential conflicts of interest arising from political appointees at the agency moving to leadership roles in ENGOs. The Republicans argued that this could lead to decisions at BLM favoring the agenda of environmental groups over the public interest in accessing and using public lands for various purposes. The lawmakers called for transparency from BLM in identifying individuals planning to join ENGOs and for those individuals to recuse themselves from pending business to avoid any conflicts of interest. The letter singled out Tracey Stone-Manning’s future role at The Wilderness Society as a specific conflict due to the organization’s opposition to certain development activities on public lands.
Fox News Digital reached out to BLM for comment but did not receive a response by press time regarding the concerns and demands raised by the Congressional Western Caucus in their letter. The issue of potential conflicts of interest among political appointees at BLM moving to leadership roles in environmental organizations adds another layer of complexity to the debate over the management and use of public lands. The Republican lawmakers are pushing for accountability and transparency in ensuring that decisions made by BLM are in line with the mission of multiple use of public lands, rather than being influenced by the agendas of environmental organizations. It remains to be seen how BLM will respond to these demands and whether any actions will be taken to address the concerns raised by the Congressional Western Caucus.
