Last night, American voters made their voices heard. Protecting access to public lands and natural places were key issues in this election, as anti-public lands candidates found out all too well when they lost races all across the West.
Not only did public lands win big last night, but the new Congress provides important opportunities for members of the House of Representatives to conduct oversight into the anti-public lands actors of the Trump administration. We call on the new Congress to hold accountable Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Interior Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, and other Interior political appointees whose actions have undermined the public’s trust and hurt public lands for the past two years.
Last night’s defeat puts the Trump administration and its allies in the House and Senate on notice: their attacks on public lands are not only bad policy, they are also bad politics.
LAST NIGHT’S PUBLIC LANDS VICTORIES:
- NEVADA: In the Silver State, voters made their support for public lands resound loud and clear by defeating Dean Heller in his bid for a Senate reelection and by electing Jacky Rosen their new senator. Heller has a terrible lifetime score of 11% from the League of Conservation Voters, and earlier this year he toyed with proposing a bill to block future wilderness designations in Nevada. (Heller has yet to officially introduce the bill, seemingly due to constituent opposition.) In previous years Heller has introduced legislation to defund the Antiquities Act and to block the Antiquities Act from being used in Nevada, thereby undermining the president’s ability to protect public lands by establishing national monuments. Meanwhile, Jacky Rosen made access to public lands and public lands protection central issues of her campaign, and she has emphasized the importance that Nevada’s public lands play in increasing tourism. [Reno Gazette Journal, 06/04/18; Reno Gazette Journal, 07/16/18; Adventure Journal, 10/24/18; League of Conservation Voters, accessed 11/05/18; Modern Hiker, accessed 11/05/18; POLITICO, 02/19/11; Rosen for Nevada, accessed 11/06/18; KUNR; 10/22/18]
- NEW MEXICO: In New Mexico, Michelle Lujan Grisham handily beat public lands enemy Steve Pearce in the gubernatorial race. Steve Pearce believes that federal land should be “given back to the states” and has advocated for reversing the “trend of public ownership of lands.” As a congressman, Pearce voted against legislation to keep public lands from being transferred to private ownership, and for legislation to weaken the executive branch’s ability to designate national monuments. However, in her campaign Lujan Grisham highlighted New Mexico’s potential to expand its outdoor economy and spoke out against the Trump administration’s unprecedented attack on our public lands. [Youtube, 07/06/12; ThinkProgress, 10/09/12; New Mexico Wildlife Federation; 09/14/17; Albuquerque Journal, 03/18/18; Albuquerque Journal, 07/31/18; Albuquerque Journal, 08/14/18]
Also in New Mexico, pro-public lands Senator Martin Heinrich cruised to reelection, and in his victory speech promised to keep working for New Mexico’s outdoor recreation economy. [Associated Press, 11/06/18]
- COLORADO: In the Governor’s race in the Centennial State, Walker Stapleton came under fire, and ultimately lost, for his wishy-washy stance on protecting public lands. When he was asked if he would stand up to any attempts by the Trump administration to take away Colorado’s public lands, he refused to answer, which didn’t sit well with Coloradans. Meanwhile, Jared Polis, a stalwart public lands champion during his time Congress, made preserving Colorado’s public lands and strengthening Colorado’s outdoor recreation economy a central issue of his campaign. [Aspen Times, 08/05/18; Sky-Hi News, 08/08/18; Conservation Colorado; 07/11/18; Polis for Colorado, 01/26/18]
MONUMENTAL SUPPORT
Meanwhile, in San Juan County, Utah, home to Bears Ears National Monument and ground zero of Donald Trump’s unprecedented attack on public lands, monument supporters won. Earlier this year vehemently anti-Bears Ears San Juan County Commissioner Rebecca Benally lost her re-election bid to Kenneth Maryboy, a monument supporter and member of Utah Diné Bikeyah, the Native American-led nonprofit that has worked to protect Bears Ears. Yesterday Maryboy won his seat on the San Juan County Commission unopposed. [Salt Lake Tribune, 10/25/18; Utah Diné Bikeyah, accessed 11/05/18]
Last night, Willie Grayeyes, another Bears Ears supporter and Utah Diné Bikeyah board member, won his race to win a second seat on the San Juan County Commission. In a historic win, with Grayeyes and Maryboy on the Commission, two of the three commissioners are Native American and monument supporters. [Deseret News, 11/04/18; Utah Diné Bikeyah, accessed 11/05/18]
OVERSIGHT FOR THE NEW CONGRESS TO EXPLORE
Even though public lands won big last night, over the past two years they have suffered under the management of Donald Trump’s Interior Department. At almost every turn, Interior has made decisions that benefit special interests at the expense of the American taxpayers and public lands users. The extractive industries that Interior has the responsibility of regulating, have extraordinary access to political appointees. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has repeatedly misused Interior Department resources for personal and political gain.
The last Congress failed to fulfill their duty to conduct oversight of DOI. As a result, Secretary Zinke has largely acted with impunity, leading to at least 15 investigations by the department’s watchdog – and no meaningful reviews by Congress. Here are some of the top issues that the next Congress should review in a thorough and timely manner:
- Secretary Ryan Zinke’s possible involvement in sweetheart deal with the Halliburton Chairman, and in particular whether or not he abused his public office for personal gain;
- Secretary Zinke’s possible abuse of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior to benefit political allies;
- Whether Interior Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt violated his ethics recusal or the Trump administration ethics pledge by being involved in Interior decisions that benefited his former clients;
- Other instances where the former clients of Interior officials have received favorable decisions from the Interior Department.
While these are just a few of the most salient instances of corruption at Interior, there are undoubtedly more. We hope that the new Congress listens to the American people and investigates conflicts of interest and abuses of power by Interior officials and holds these public servants entrusted with protecting America’s public lands accountable.