Doug Burgum, former North Dakota governor and a vocal critic of federal land regulations, is poised to become the secretary of the interior, raising concerns about the future of public lands and conservation efforts.
Mary Steurer reports for the North Dakota Monitor and Mark Olalde reports for ProPublica.
In short:
- As governor, Burgum backed lawsuits challenging federal rules on public land management, methane emissions and other regulations.
- He supports expanding oil, gas and coal production and has criticized renewable energy subsidies.
- Conservation advocates and tribes have raised concerns about his ties to the fossil fuel industry and potential impacts on public land protections.
Key quote:
“Supporting that lawsuit suggests that he’d be willing to support large-scale sell-off or giveaways of federal public lands, which, for most of us who live in the West and are concerned about the future of those public lands, is a very extreme position.”
— Michael Carroll, director of the Wilderness Society’s Bureau of Land Management campaign
Why this matters:
The Interior Department manages vast public lands and resources critical to conservation, energy policy and tribal rights. Burgum’s history of opposing federal authority over land and his industry ties signal shifts in priorities, including increased fossil fuel energy exploitation and weakened environmental protections.
Learn more about Burgum: Doug Burgum pushes for fossil fuel expansion as Interior nominee
