Trump taps US oil advocate to lead public land bureau

By Valerie Volcovici

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Trump administration has named Kathleen Sgamma, a vocal oil and gas advocate for Western states, to head up the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management, which manages the use of the country’s nearly 250 million acres of public lands.

Sgamma heads the Western Energy Alliance, which represents oil and gas companies that operate on federal lands, and had been critical of Biden and Obama administration efforts to set aside public land for conservation instead of opening more acres for energy development.

The administration also nominated Brian Nesvik, the recently retired director of Wyoming’s Game and Fish Department, to be the director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, who had been critical of the Biden administration’s decisions not to delist grizzly bears and other species from the endangered species list.

The two nominees will spearhead efforts to open up additional public acres to producing more oil and gas and mining, as well as more land for livestock grazing, hunting and recreation and other uses.

They will serve under Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who earlier this month unveiled a suite of orders aimed at carrying out President Donald Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda to maximize domestic energy and minerals production and slash red tape.

That order also called for revoking three Endangered Species Act regulations that were finalized under the Biden administration and roll back a rule protecting migratory birds from unintentional killing.

Conservation groups criticized the appointments, saying the nominees would damage environmental and wildlife protections in favor of more energy development.

“Everyone who treasures the outdoors should oppose her nomination,” said Taylor McKinnon, southwest director for the Center for Biological Diversity.

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici; Editing by Mark Porter)