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Following days of widespread public backlash, Utah Senator Mike Lee has reportedly withdrawn an amendment to a Senate appropriations bill that could have paved the way for the sale of national parks.
If passed, the amendment would have removed language that requires the federal government to protect and maintain the current boundaries of national park units. Despite Senator Lee's many previous attempts to dispose of America's public lands, Lee's office claimed that he never intended the change to allow for the sale of national park land, and that the original language was pulled because it would have inadvertently blocked routine land exchanges. “I categorically oppose selling national parks,” said Senator Lee in a statement to Utah News Dispatch.
The Senate left for holiday recess without finalizing the spending package after Colorado Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper held up the process by demanding protections for the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The delay keeps the bill open for further amendments when Congress returns in January.
Interior energy leader exits unexpectedly just three months after confirmation
Leslie Beyer, who served as Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the Interior department, abruptly left the agency just a few months after her confirmation in September. Interior did not provide a reason for Beyer’s departure. The role will be temporarily filled by Lanny Erdos, a former coal executive and the current director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement.
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The BLM’s mission is not exploitation. It is care. It exists to manage public lands for the benefit of all Americans, today and tomorrow. Pearce’s record reflects a worldview that treats land as a commodity to be carved up, rather than a trust to be safeguarded.”
