Sierra Club Statement on Confirmation of Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Interior

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Ian Brickey, ian.brickey@sierraclub.org

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead the Department of the Interior.

Burgum’s confirmation comes after a flurry of actions by Donald Trump to re-orient the department around energy extraction and undercut conservation efforts. On Day One of his second term, Trump issued numerous executive orders seeking to slash environmental regulations and open up vast swaths of public lands and waters, from Alaska to the Gulf coast, to drilling, mining, and other industrial-scale extraction. Just this week, Trump sent his own government into disarray with an executive order halting vast amounts of federal spending, including billions of dollars for conservation projects. That order has since been reversed, but confusion remains around the long-term plans for these programs.

In response, Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program, released the following statement:

“From Day One Donald Trump has made it clear who he thinks should benefit from public lands and waters – the corporate polluters who bankrolled his campaign, not American families. Every inch of our public lands and national parks belongs to the American people, and they are part of what makes our country special. Secretary Burgum should take inspiration from Teddy Roosevelt and steward these landscapes for the benefit of Americans, not a few Big Oil CEOs.”

About the Sierra Club

The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.