More than two-thirds of public land in Nevada is owned by the federal government, giving the U.S. Department of the Interior (the government agency that oversees the nation’s natural and cultural resources) enormous influence over the state.

Likewise, the agency’s head has outsized influence over the fate of mining operations, conservation efforts, renewable energy development and oil and gas leasing in Nevada.

On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump announced that North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum would be named head of the Interior Department, where he will be tasked with fulfilling Trump’s campaign promise to “drill, baby, drill” and boost oil. Gas and coal production on public lands.

Nevada Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto said she plans to meet with Burgum to discuss “the importance of protecting Nevada’s public lands” before his hearing in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, where she chairs the Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining. We support our critical minerals and clean energy industries, according to a spokesperson from his office.

As governor of a state where less than 4% of more than 44 million acres are federally owned, Burgum’s approach to managing public lands is not entirely clear. But his past as governor of North Dakota offers some clues about his likely approach to Nevada’s public lands.

Oil and gas leasing

Burgum, a wealthy software executive and Republican governor, is a close ally of the fossil fuel industry and We filed some lawsuits He has run against the agency for which he may soon be a candidate, including his fight to open more oil and gas leases in North Dakota..

While Trump nominated Burgum to be Secretary of the Interior, he also said the governor would be appointed to lead the “National Energy Council.”The US path to ENERGY DOMINANCE by eliminating bureaucracy, increasing private sector investment in all sectors of the Economy, and focusing on INNOVATION rather than long-standing but completely unnecessary regulations.”

Burgum did not hesitate to chastise the Biden administration for policies he said have increased barriers limiting oil production and the natural gas industry despite the US produce more crude oil more than any other country in the last six years.

A more enthusiastic approach to oil and gas leasing could spell trouble for some of Nevada’s more beautiful public lands. During Trump’s first term, his administration proposed auctioning more than 500,000 acres of land in Nevada for oil and gas drilling leases, including nearly 54,000 acres of Nevada’s Ruby Mountains.

In response, Cortez Masto sponsored the Ruby Mountains Preservation Act, a bill that would divest nearly 450,000 acres of National Forest System land around Ruby Mountain from any oil and gas leases.

However, oil and gas production in Nevada has always been negligible, and both industry and environmentalists remain skeptical that significant production in Nevada will make economic sense in the near future.

renewable energy

Renewable energy industries are helping Nevada’s economic growth. Nevada ranks eighth nationally for new clean energy investments and sixth for new clean energy jobs spurred by federal clean energy policies, especially those authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Burgum opposed Biden’s signature climate bill, the Inflation Reduction Act.

Conservation groups in Nevada expect that with the Interior Department handed over to Burgum, the agency will stop investing in Nevada’s booming renewable energy industry and turn to “outdated, expensive, polluting technologies like gas plants.”

“When Burgum and Trump say they will ‘cut through the red tape’ on behalf of American Energy, it means they want to destroy our public lands and endangered species habitats and bypass community consultation and participation. OIivia Tanager, SierraClub Toiyabe Chapter manager, said fellow polluters are making profits faster than Nevada.

As governor of North Dakota, Burgum promoted an “all-inclusive energy portfolio” that would allow for renewable energy while supporting the development of oil, natural gas and coal operations that dominate the state’s energy production.

Burgun has not actively pushed for renewable energy production in his state. During his term of office, he focused on biofuel, carbon capture and storage projects, allocated approximately 25 million dollars Supporting “low emission technologies”.

Burgum has also proven to be an ardent supporter of coal-fired power plants. Succeeded as governor of North Dakota several pieces of legislation Supporting the long-term viability of the industry, including exempting coal-fired power plants from the state’s coal conversion plant tax for five years.

“Additionally, with Reno and Las Vegas being the first and second fastest warming cities in the country, continued reliance on fossil fuel extraction will mean more extreme heat and increased heat-related deaths across the state,” Tanager said.

lithium mining

Five days before the end of Trump’s first term, his administration approved the massive Thacker Pass lithium mine near the Nevada-Oregon border; It’s one of several projects being rushed to expand mining on public lands in the final days of the Trump administration.

Burgum expressed his excitement about increasing domestic production of minerals necessary for battery production. praise approval A nickel processing plant in his state reportedly received $144 million in federal funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.

Trump’s plan to appoint Burgum to head the Interior Department has alarmed other environmental and conservation groups in Nevada, who point out that the administration has accelerated massive mining projects in its first term.

“When Trump attacked our basic environmental laws during his first administration, Burgum stood and applauded,” said Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “If confirmed, Burgum will roll out the red carpet for the corporate polluters who brought Trump to power and plunder Nevada’s public lands for profit.”

A change in leadership could spell trouble for a local campaign urging the Home Office to implement it. Ban on new mining activities for 20 years It’s on public land surrounding Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, a critical wetland habitat that supports a dozen endangered and threatened species.

“We hope that the Department of the Interior and its agencies will continue to earnestly respect, listen to, and respond to the voices of those whose lives and livelihoods are most directly affected by these issues,” said Amargosa Executive Director Mason Voehl. Protection.