{"id":16460,"date":"2021-10-01T18:11:03","date_gmt":"2021-10-01T22:11:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=16460"},"modified":"2021-10-01T18:12:39","modified_gmt":"2021-10-01T22:12:39","slug":"montana-free-press-controversial-nominee-confirmed-at-bureau-of-land-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2021\/10\/01\/montana-free-press-controversial-nominee-confirmed-at-bureau-of-land-management\/","title":{"rendered":"Montana Free Press: Controversial nominee confirmed at Bureau of Land Management"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\n\t\t\tSenator Tester Delivers Floor Remarks On The Confirmation Of Tracy Stone Manning\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana): Floor Remarks On The Confirmation Of Tracy Stone Manning<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n
Senate confirms Missoula\u2019s Tracy Stone-Manning to lead BLM<\/div>\r\n
Montanan to take the helm of 245 million acres of federal land.<\/div>\r\n
Friday, October 1, 2021<\/div>\r\n
By Amanda Eggert<\/div>\r\n
Montana Free Press<\/DIV>\r\n
montanafreepress.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe U.S. Senate voted 50-45<\/a> Thursday to approve the nomination of Montanan Tracy Stone-Manning<\/a> to lead the Bureau of Land Management. In that post, she\u2019ll oversee management of 12% of the United States\u2019 landmass.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nStone-Manning, of Missoula, previously served as an adviser to Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana, and as director of the state Department of Environmental Quality under former Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock. After two years in that post, she became Bullock\u2019s chief of staff. More recently, she\u2019s advised the National Wildlife Federation on conservation policy.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nStone-Manning\u2019s nomination was supported by Tester and opposed by his Republican counterpart in the Senate, Steve Daines, who sent a letter to president Joe Biden July 14<\/a> urging him to rescind her nomination. Ten Republicans on the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources signed the letter, which centered on Stone-Manning\u2019s role in an investigation into a tree-spiking incident on the Clearwater National Forest in 1989 that ultimately resulted in the indictment of four men.

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Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) speaks in opposition to Tracy Stone-Manning to serve as director of the Bureau of Land Management.Barrasso is the highest-rank…<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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C-SPAN Video: Senate Republican opposes Bureau of Land Management nominee<\/a>\r\n<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nAfter heated debate about that incident and discussion of Stone-Manning\u2019s record on energy development, the energy committee arrived at a deadlock vote on her nomination July 22,<\/strong> with all 10 Republicans opposed and all 10 <\/strong>Democrats in favor. Under Senate rules, that meant her nomination could advance before the full Senate. The nomination was in a holding pattern for several months while the Senate debated a $1 trillion infrastructure package and then broke for its August recess.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nDuring remarks on her nomination Thursday, Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyoming, said Stone-Manning lied to the energy committee about her involvement in the tree-spiking incident.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nBarassso called her a \u201cdangerous choice to be put in charge of America\u2019s public lands\u201d and said her nomination was opposed by a long list of policy leaders and organizations, including two former BLM directors, logging groups, and sportsmen\u2019s groups. He encouraged Democrats to break ranks and oppose her nomination.

<\/P>\r\n\r\n\u201cEach and every senator who votes to confirm her will be held personally responsible for that vote,\u201d he said.

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Public lands are a way of life in Montana, and Tracy Stone-Manning is a tireless advocate for the outdoor spaces that fuel our economy and make our state the Last Best Place. Tracy is the right choice to lead @BLMNational, and I was proud to vote in support of her nomination. https:\/\/t.co\/VBRvan5IxS<\/p>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/div>\n\t

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<\/p>\r\nDuring his remarks, Tester said he welcomed responsibility for his vote. \u201cDamn right \u2014 hold me accountable for Tracy Stone-Manning,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve worked with her. I know what she does. I know she can get the job done. She can bring people together from all political ilks, and she can do what\u2019s best for the American people, in this case with our public lands.\u201d

<\/P>\r\n\r\nThe chairman of the energy committee, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-West Virginia, also spoke in support of the nomination. He said he looked carefully into allegations that she lied to the energy committee and examined records of the trial, but found no evidence that she spiked any trees or mischaracterized her role in the investigation of that crime.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nThe vote fell largely along party lines with Democrats in favor and Republicans opposed.

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Tracy Stone-Manning. Photo courtesy National Wildlife Federation<\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThough the tree-spiking incident has dominated senators\u2019 discourse about Stone-Manning, many of the senators on the energy committee keyed in to her views on hot-botton energy and land management issues during their June 8 questioning, during which she fielded questions about her views on the Keystone XL pipeline, the Rock Creek Mine in northwestern Montana, and public land transfer.

<\/P>\r\n\r\nThe BLM manages 245 million acres of federal land and approximately 30% of the nation\u2019s subsurface mineral estate. Stone-Manning\u2019s new boss, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, has called the federal oil and gas leasing system \u201cfundamentally broken\u201d and advocated a different approach that will give American taxpayers a \u201cbetter return on their investment.\u201d

<\/P>\r\n\r\nAs part of Biden\u2019s climate change agenda, he signed an executive order<\/a> directing the Interior Department, which oversees BLM, to pause federal oil and gas leasing while it conducts a review of the climate costs of the program.

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