White House Taps Conservationist to Lead Public Lands Bureau

The White House on Thursday said it would nominate conservationist Tracy Stone-Manning as director of the Bureau of Land Management.

The BLM, a division of the Interior Department, manages more than a 10th of the nation's surface area, overseeing permitting for energy development, grazing, timber harvesting and recreation.

The position will be central to the Biden administration's effort to address climate change through management of public lands, including a current review of the federal oil and gas leasing program.

Stone-Manning most recently was the senior adviser for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation, where she advocated against the Trump administration's push to maximize fossil fuel production on public lands at the expense of other land uses.

Prior to joining the NWF in 2017, Stone-Manning served as chief of staff to the Democratic former governor of Montana, Steve Bullock. She had also worked for Senator John Tester of Montana.

Also on Thursday, the White House said it would nominate Bryan Newland as assistant secretary for Indian affairs. Newland is a citizen of the Bay Mills Indian Community in northern Michigan and recently served as the tribal chairperson. He was a policy adviser for Indian affairs at the Interior Department during the Obama administration.