Biden's public lands director named to lead environmental group

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A senior official in President Joe Biden's administration who oversaw its contentious efforts to address climate change by curbing oil drilling on federal lands while expanding renewable power was named Tuesday as the next president of a prominent environmental group.

U.S. Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning will become president of The Wilderness Society effective next February, the Washington, D.C.-based group announced.

Stone-Manning's 2021 nomination by Biden was bitterly opposed by Republicans who labeled her an “eco-terrorist” over her past ties with environmental extremists. Senate Democrats pushed through her confirmation on a party-line vote.

The land bureau has jurisdiction over almost a quarter-billion acres (100 million hectares) of land, primarily in western states, that is used for oil exploration, mining, livestock grazing, recreation and other purposes.

Under Stone-Manning, it sharply reduced oil and gas lease sales and raised royalty rates that companies must pay to extract the fuel. It also issued a rule elevating the importance of conservation, by making it a “use” of public lands on par with drilling or grazing.

That marked a sharp departure from the land bureau's longstanding reputation for favoring commercial development over environmental preservation.

The moves drew pushback from the energy, mining and ranching industries and their Republican allies in Congress. They have vowed to undo actions taken by Stone-Manning when the GOP assumes control in Washington next year as a result of its 2024 election wins.

The land bureau also approved new solar and wind power projects and opened more public lands to renewable energy development under Biden.

Before joining the administration, Stone-Manning worked as a senior aide to Montana Democrats U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and Gov. Steve Bullock. Her nomination by Biden sparked intense Republican opposition because of Stone-Manning's involvement in a 1989 environmental sabotage case.

As a 23-year-old graduate student at the University of Montana, Stone-Manning sent a letter to federal officials in 1989 saying spikes had been inserted into trees in Idaho’s Clearwater National Forest. Spiking trees involves inserting metal or ceramic rods into trunks so they can’t be safely cut down, and the tactic has sometimes been used to halt timber sales.

Two men were charged in the case, and Stone-Manning later testified against them, saying she mailed the letter at the request of one of the men and to prevent people from getting hurt. She was given immunity to testify and was never charged with any crimes, although an investigator later said she had stonewalled the criminal probe.

During the debate over her nomination, GOP lawmakers called her a dangerous choice. She was confirmed with backing from moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia.

President-elect Donald Trump nominated Republican North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to be secretary of the Interior, which includes the Bureau of Land Management. His selection for the land bureau director has not yet been announced.

During Trump's first-term, the bureau went without a Senate-confirmed director. The Republican instead used acting directors who did not have to go before the Senate to advance his agenda to increase U.S. energy production.

The bureau's headquarters were relocated to Colorado under Trump, leading to the resignation or retirement of hundreds of employees before it was returned to Washington, D.C., under Biden.