Can an Opponent of Public Lands Safeguard Them for Us?

When I’m hiking and photographing in one of the West’s national monuments, I sometimes see a fox out looking for food or just resting after a long night of hunting.

I admire foxes’ intelligence and beauty – but I don’t invite them back to my rural neighborhood to guard the chicken coops that supply us with eggs. Instead of guarding the chickens, they would be devouring them at the first opportunity.

I thought about foxes guarding chicken coops recently when the Trump administration nominated Steve Pearce to head the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The BLM oversees more than a dozen of the West’s most special places that are protected by designation as “national monuments.” While national monument designation usually does not provide the same protection that a national park enjoys, it does generally protect special ecosystems from mining, logging for commercial purposes, new grazing, or other development.

When Pearce was a member of Congress from New Mexico, he co-authored a letter to President Trump that called for abolishing or drastically reducing such national monuments as the Grand Canyon-Parashant in Arizona, Gold Butte and Basin and Range in Nevada, and Giant Sequoia in California.

Several presidents have declared, expanded, reduced, and redesignated national monuments, including both Republicans and Democrats, but Pearce would now be in charge of administering the same public lands he doesn’t think should be protected.

It’s no wonder that the Pearce nomination was immediately endorsed by the lobbying arms of large corporations in the oil and gas, cattle, and mining industries.

Before becoming a member of Congress with the financial backing of the oil and gas industry, Pearce owned a company that provided services to corporations in the oil business.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration proposed a 75 percent reduction in the BLM’s conservation lands system. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who will be Pearce’s boss, announced a review of the future of all national monuments. The White House also has issued a series of executive orders directing all federal agencies to prioritize the profits of logging, mining, and oil and gas companies over conservation of public lands.

If Pearce and his corporate allies tear up our public lands, these special places and the creatures that live in them may never recover, especially in this era of intensifying climate change. That’s what happens if, as the saying goes, a fox is called upon to guard the chicken coop.

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The Sierra Nevada Ally will sometimes publish essays from contributors throughout the American West who wish to share their perspectives on issues affecting life in our region. These essays do not represent an official stance or viewpoint of the Ally, and are published to help spur conversations among our community. Share feedback or submit your perspectives by emailing editor@sierranevadaally.org.