In a vote along party lines, the U.S. Senate approved Stevan Pearce as the new director of the Bureau of Land Management Monday. Pearce will lead the agency that oversees 245 million acres of federal public lands — roughly a tenth of the country’s land mass.
Pearce, a former Republican congressman from New Mexico, has been criticized by public lands advocates for his past support of selling-off or transferring ownership of federal lands. His confirmation comes during drastic budget cuts to land management agencies and growing interest in public land sell-offs led by Utah Sen. Mike Lee, and backed by other Republican lawmakers.
Barb Cestero with The Wilderness Society says Pearce’s nomination is concerning for the West, and Montana, which is home to more than 8 million acres of BLM land.
“This threat of selling-off and privatizing our public lands isn't over, and Mr. Pearce would be a willing partner in that agenda”
Montana’s all-Republican congressional delegation has supported keeping public lands as is. Rep. Ryan Zinke opposed Lee's amendments for public land sales in the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which were ultimately removed from the bill. Senators Steve Daines and Tim Sheehy supported Pearce’s nomination.
