Joint Press Release: Conservation Groups Call on Senate to Confirm Tracy Stone-Manning as Bureau of Land Management Director
This piece originally appeared as a press statement on June 7, 2021 via The National Wildlife Federation
By Mary Jo Brooks | 06/07/2021
WASHINGTON, D.C. — More than 100 conservation, Western, recreation, and public lands advocacy groups sent a letter urging Senators to confirm Tracy Stone-Manning, President Biden’s nominee to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Citing her career accomplishments as the chief of staff for Montana Governor Steve Bullock, director of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, senior advisor to U.S. Senator Jon Tester, and the National Wildlife Federation’s Associate Vice President for Public Lands, the letter backs Stone-Manning as a leader who has “demonstrated a firm commitment to making sure our lands and waters are managed for the benefit of all –and the future.”
Following four years without a Senate-confirmed leader, the BLM is in dire need of a permanent director with the experience and skills to fulfill the agency’s mandate to responsibly manage our nation’s public lands. The letter highlights some of Stone-Manning’s achievements, including overseeing day-to-day operations of an executive cabinet, managing staff, helping to broker bipartisan policy through the state legislature, and launching Montana’s first Office of Outdoor Recreation. With her history of driving balanced, collaborative policy solutions and managing large agencies, Stone-Manning has the expertise to manage our public lands for future generations.
The letter comes ahead of the Senate Committee on the Environment and Natural Resources’ hearing on Stone-Manning’s nomination.
Below are quotes from select signers of the letter:
“The West’s iconic public lands need a BLM Director who fights for the outdoor recreation economy and the full range and uses of those lands. As a Montanan, a long-time consensus builder, and a lover of our outdoors, Tracy Stone-Manning is a phenomenal choice to lead the Bureau of Land Management. Countless businesses across Montana and the West are impacted by the decisions made by the BLM, and having someone as qualified as Stone-Manning at the helm is crucial to supporting our outdoor economy and the jobs that depend on healthy, well-managed landscapes. We look forward to working with Stone-Manning as the new BLM Director implementing a solid conservation and public lands agenda, and encourage a swift confirmation by the Senate.” -- Marne Hayes, Director, Business for Montana's Outdoors.
“As a lifelong conservationist, who will prioritize the input of diverse communities and expand opportunities for hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation, Tracy Stone-Manning will bring balance and forward-thinking management back to an agency that has been adrift for the four years it has been without a Senate-confirmed director. As an avid sportswoman, she has a profound love of the land and a strong commitment to the communities that depend on those lands for their survival.” -- Camilla Simon, Executive Director, HECHO (Hispanics Enjoying Camping, Hunting and the Outdoors).
"Tracy Stone-Manning is a public lands champion and therefore our ideal candidate to lead the Bureau of Land Management. Stone-Manning will lead through listening — to recreationists, hunters, anglers, business owners, tribal communities, and, yes, veterans and military families. At Stone-Manning’s Bureau of Land Management, all stakeholders will have a seat at the table and all will play a part in finding new, collaborative policy solutions that will ensure the preservation of our public lands and waterways for generations to come." -- Mary Kaszynski, Director of Government Relations, Vet Voice Foundation.