President Joe Biden has nominated a longtime environmental advocate and Democratic legislative aide from Montana as director of the federal Bureau of Land Management.
If confirmed by the Senate, Tracy Stone-Manning of Missoula would oversee roughly a quarter-billion acres of federally owned land in Western states.
The BLM has jurisdiction over vast reserves of oil, gas and coal and is set to play a key role in Biden’s commitment announced Thursday to cut climate warming emissions from fossil fuels by at least half by 2030.
Stone-Manning’s nomination is also the latest in a string of political appointments raising concerns among Republicans as Biden moves to curtail energy production from public reserves.