Risch must stand with Idahoans against BLM nominee | Opinion

Idahoans made one thing abundantly clear last summer: we’re deeply opposed to proposals to sell off public lands that are being pushed by some members of Congress under the guise of affordable housing or deficit reduction. From the Boise Foothills to the Owyhee Canyonlands, we are fortunate to have access to public lands for hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, and spending time with our families.

In fact, recent polling showed more than 95% of Idahoans support keeping public lands in public hands. And this is a state in which the GOP holds every statewide office and member of Congress. In this era, with this level of deep political divides, no issue has such strong, nearly unanimous support across party lines. (Don’t mind the lonesome outlier, Rep. Russ Fulcher)

Our own U.S. Senator Jim Risch stood with his constituents and opposed the proposed public lands sell-off in the federal budget bill last summer, playing a key role in helping ensure it was snuffed out.

Now, we face a new and imminent threat to our public lands, and we need Risch to continue that leadership. Risch sits on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, so we need him to do everything in his power to ensure that the new Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) champions protecting our public lands, not selling them off. Trump’s current nominee, Steve Pearce, is not that person, and Risch must fiercely oppose his nomination.

If appointed as Director of the BLM — the largest federal land management agency in the country — Pearce would oversee more than 245 million acres of land and more than 700 million acres of mineral estate through the federal leasing program. This includes nearly 12 million acres of land across Idaho, places where Idahoans have made memories and built livelihoods for generations.

So what would managing these treasured landscapes look like under Pearce’s leadership? With his deep history of supporting the large-scale selloff of public lands, it’s very possible that they would be sold and closed off to Idahoans — and all Americans — forever.

As a member of the U.S. House from New Mexico, Pearce pushed bills to mandate the sale of public lands by federal agencies. He’s called for slashing national monuments, including the highly popular Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks in his old congressional district.

In 2012, Pearce and a fellow member of Congress wrote a letter to the Speaker of the House pushing for the sale of public lands, stating, “Over 90% of this land is located in the western states, and most of it we do not even need.” He made it clear that he saw all extractive industries as better uses of public lands than any consideration for wildlife, clean water and public recreational opportunities.

His deep ties to the oil and gas industry — including through an oil services company he owned and profited from — throws into question his glaring conflicts of interest in managing our federal lands, waters and the public wildlife that lives there.

Pearce has even taken part in protests against public lands. He joined the “sheriff’s first” movement, calling for local sheriffs to have employees arrested who manage our National Forests and BLM lands. And in 2011 he illegally took a chainsaw and cut trees in the Lincoln National Forest, a defiant move meant to stoke anger at the U.S. Forest Service.

With such a blatant hater of public lands on deck to lead the BLM, Risch’s choice should be simple: voting NO on Steve Pearce’s confirmation, and actively urging his colleagues to do the same.

This decision in Congress is coming up soon. If you value your public lands here in Idaho and want to take a meaningful step to preserve them, please call or email Risch today and tell him to oppose Steve Pearce’s appointment as BLM Director. Let’s keep our precious public lands open to all in America, not just polluting industries or a wealthy few.

Lisa Young is director of the Idaho chapter of the Sierra Club.