Albuquerque Journal’s (Dec. 30) editorial encouraging the Biden administration – and specifically Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s Bureau of Land Management – to prioritize managing the West’s public lands “for resiliency and sustainability” hit the nail right on the head.
The time has certainly arrived and, in reality, is long overdue for BLM to put the protection of New Mexico’s and our nation’s wildest public lands, the health of its crucial rivers and streams, and the integrity of its irreplaceable sacred sites and cultural resources on even footing with extractive industry.
As BLM director from 1993-94, I got a first-hand look at how the chickens rule the roost, with industry having an outsized voice in how public lands were managed. Fair and balanced it was not. In the intervening 30 years the BLM has suffered from underfunding, a significant brain drain as dedicated staff left or retired, and an aggressive attempt to leave it wounded beyond repair, all of which culminated in an aborted attempt to move BLM’s headquarters to Grand Junction, Colorado.
BLM must lead, prioritize meaningful conservation
The time has certainly arrived and, in reality, is long overdue for BLM to put the protection of New Mexico’s and our nation’s wildest public lands, the health of its crucial rivers and streams, and the integrity of its irreplaceable sacred sites and cultural resources on even footing with extractive industry.
As BLM director from 1993-94, I got a first-hand look at how the chickens rule the roost, with industry having an outsized voice in how public lands were managed. Fair and balanced it was not. In the intervening 30 years the BLM has suffered from underfunding, a significant brain drain as dedicated staff left or retired, and an aggressive attempt to leave it wounded beyond repair, all of which culminated in an aborted attempt to move BLM’s headquarters to Grand Junction, Colorado.
BLM must lead, prioritize meaningful conservation
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