President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to head the Interior Department is drawing mixed reaction.
Environmentalists wasted no time in criticizing Montana GOP Representative Ryan Zinke for his mixed record on land management, support for fossil fuels and questioning climate science. But farm groups argue Zinke will bring more balance to Bureau of Land Management policies, with more practical land use methods, fewer lawsuits and fewer fights over endangered species.
Public Lands Council Director Ethan Lane says the appointment brings a chance for change…
Lane expects that to change under Zinke, who environmentalists actually credit for splitting with the GOP to oppose sale of public lands back to states. Lane charges the media’s focusing too much on the sale of lands, when there’s no clear-cut answer to the issue…
Lane argues a lot of the goals the environmental community has in conservation are not possible without the land management and stewardship ranchers provide.
After eight years and a record 83,000 pages of new regulations, at a cost to business of some two trillion dollars, The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the National Pork Producers Council, American Farm Bureau, National Corn Growers and others say it’s time for a new approach.
