Hickenlooper Rejects Trump’s Latest BLM Nominee

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper released the following statement regarding his opposition to President Trump's nomination of former U.S. Representative Steve Pearce to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM):

"Americans deserve a BLM director who will be a true steward of the millions of acres under the agency's care.

"Steve Pearce is NOT that person. While in Congress, he attacked environmental protections and fought to sell off public land.

"His nomination is proof that the Trump administration still views our public lands as assets for sale.

"On behalf of Colorado, I will vote NO because our public lands are NOT for sale."

Pearce marked his time in Congress working to undermine environmental protections, open public lands for oil and gas operations, and sell public lands.

Hickenlooper is a former geologist and one of the only scientists in the Senate. He has been outspoken against Trump administration cuts to public lands and led an effort against the admin's plans to overturn the Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) Public Lands Rule. In March, he introduced legislation to reinstate the thousands of National Park Service and Forest Service workers the Trump administration illegally fired.

Hickenlooper also helped lead the fight against Senator Mike Lee's proposal to sell off more than three million acres of public lands. Hickenlooper first sounded the alarm back in April when he voted against the Republican budget resolution and introduced an amendment with colleagues to protect public lands from being sold to pay for Republicans' tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.

In May, Hickenlooper held a press conference in Estes Park with Congressman Neguse, public lands advocates, and local elected officials to call out the Trump administration's threats to Colorado's national parks and public lands, including Rocky Mountain National Park.

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