Western Energy Alliance President Kathleen Sgamma has withdrawn from consideration to be the director of the Bureau of Land Management.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, announced the decision at the start of what would have been her confirmation hearing on Thursday. The Hill reported there was no immediate reason offered for the action.
Upon nomination to the position in February, Sgamma posted, “Honored to be nominated by@realDonaldTrump to serve as Director of BLM to help unleash American energy. I’ve worked on public lands issues for 20 years at @WesternEnergy1 & greatly respect the work BLM does balancing multiple uses w stewardship.”
Early Thursday, the Sierra Club and the National Parks Conservation Association posted statements about the nomination. The NPCA said, “Unfortunately, Ms. Sgamma has not shown a willingness to consider the full range of values of the lands BLM manages or an interest in how they connect to the health of national park lands, wildlife corridors, air and water quality and to natural and cultural resource protection.”
The Sierra Club’s Athan Manuel, who directs the club Lands Protection Program, said, “Kathleen Sgamma’s entire career has been focused on handing over our public lands to oil and gas companies. Placing her at the top of BLM would have been a disaster, but withdrawing her nomination doesn’t change this administration’s top goal – selling off those public lands to fund tax cuts for billionaires.”
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