After months of speculation, today president-elect Donald Trump nominated U.S. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wa) as Secretary of the Interior. With this appointment, sportsmen and women and all who use the outdoors will need to remain vigilant when it comes to our public lands.
The Secretary of the Interior oversees the Department of the Interior (DOI), which manages one-fifth of America’s public lands. That’s all of our BLM lands (approximately 13 million acres in New Mexico alone), national parks, preserves and monuments, wildlife refuges, 35,000 miles of coastline, and 1.76 billion acres on the outer continental shelf. DOI is also entrusted to honor our agreements with 562 Indian Tribes, and to conserve fish, wildlife, and their habitats, responsibilities that affect millions of sportsmen and women. DOI also manages national public lands and minerals, and is responsible for the endangered species conservation act, as well as other environmental conservation efforts. If confirmed as secretary, McMorris Rodgers will also oversee the Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation, and Enforcement.
Our public lands provide critical landscape scale habitat for fish and wildlife, and help keep our air and water clean. Our public lands make it possible for all Americans – no matter their gender, race, or socioeconomic status – to recreate and enjoy the outdoors. Simply put, they are part of our national and cultural heritage and a large part of what makes us Americans.
Areas that would been opened to drilling and development.
McMorris Rodgers is not a strong supporter of our public lands. While she has voted in favor of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, she also voted for a bill written by Utah Representative Rob Bishop which aimed to undermine the president’s authority to create new national monuments – the very authority which created New Mexico’s Rio Grande del Norte and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monuments. Additionally, she co-sponsored a bill that would take away management authority of National Forest areas from the Forest Service and prioritize logging over conservation measures. She also voted against an amendment that would have prevented efforts to sell off public lands outside the planning process, and co-sponsored a bill that would have directed the Secretary of Interior to dispose of more than 3 million acres of public lands to private interests. This bill would have hit home, as the legislation would have closed off 800,000 acres in New Mexico.
On matters of energy production, McMorris Rodgers has shown a willingness to oppose renewable energy development and efforts to protect public lands against the impacts of fracking. She has also taken considerable contributions from the oil and gas industry. The New Mexico Wildlife Federation is not against energy production and mineral development, but we strongly believe a balanced approach is needed when it comes to the management of our public lands and natural resources. It is crucial to make sure energy production/mineral development is expanded in a sustainable way that does not adversely impact critical wildlife habitat and watershed integrity. The Secretary of the Interior must look at the totality of our environment when it comes to choosing which energy resources to expand on. NMWF expects McMorris Rodgers to stand up to the oil and gas industry when necessary and embrace renewable energy.
Hunters, anglers, and all outdoor recreationists depend on America’s public lands. President-elect Trump recently said he will “honor the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt” by protecting our public lands. Sportsmen and women should demand McMorris Rodgers honor this pledge.
As New Mexico’s oldest sportsmen conservation organization, the New Mexico Wildlife Federation will continue to keep close tabs on all presidential appointments and speak up and advocate when we see threats to our public lands. As sportsmen and women – who represent all political parties – we are at the front lines of this fight. Contact U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich to voice your opinion about this nomination.
