“Steve Pearce … has a record of threatening New Mexico’s public lands, putting profits over people, and neglecting the needs of our state,” she said in a statement. “He routinely sides with billion dollar companies that exploit our people, destroy our landscapes, and pollute our water and land.”
Additionally, critics see this as an early stress test over where federal public land priorities sit relative to traditional oil and gas industry development expectations.
Senate reaction remains divided
New Mexico U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, the state’s senior senator and a Democrat commented he would consider the nomination the same as he would any other.
“With all nominations, I look at whether they will faithfully uphold the law,” Heinrich said in a statement. “And for the position to lead the Bureau of Land Management, I want to know whether they will respect the public land protections we have in New Mexico and across the West. We need a person in this position who will be a good steward of our public lands for all of us, not divvy them out as political favors.”
The state’s other U.S. Senator, Ben Ray Lujan wasn’t so accommodating about the nomination.
“Steve Pearce opposed protecting the Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument in his own congressional district,” he said in a statement. “His record makes clear he would not stand up for New Mexico’s public lands — especially after Republicans already tried to sell off millions of acres earlier this year.”
Western support base pushes back against opposition
But the nomination had the support of others including Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, chairwoman of the Senate Western Caucus.
“Steve’s leadership will be invaluable in managing our public lands and wisely stewarding our resources,” she said in a statement. “This nomination is a major win for Wyoming and the entire West, and I’m glad to see such a crucial role filled by someone so well qualified.”
Among those who came out in support was Melissa Simpson, president of the Western Energy Alliance which represents independent oil and gas industry firms in the West.
“As a westerner coming from a state that’s nearly 20 percent BLM land, he understands the bureau’s mission,” alliance President Melissa Simpson said in a statement. “As a former congressman and chair of the Congressional Western Caucus, his record shows he’s been a champion of multiple-uses of public lands.”
Environmental groups escalate warnings
Environmentalists had an opposite view including Dan Ritzman, director of conservation at the Sierra Club.
“We New Mexicans have had a front row seat to Steve Pearce’s pro-polluter career and rejected it, yet Donald Trump thinks he’s the right choice to oversee the millions of acres of public lands in New Mexico and across the West.”
He called Pearce a climate change denier and an ally of the oil and gas industry.
The Center for Biological Diversity’s deputy Southwest region director, Brian Nowicki was equally stinging of his criticism of Pearce.
“Installing a notorious public lands hater like Steve Pearce to run the BLM shows Trump’s utter contempt for the wild places that Americans love,” Nowicki said in a statement in which he also called Pearce a fossil fuel-funded climate denier.
Additionally, conservation groups warn the BLM directorship holds real influence over leasing, wildfire mitigation posture, reclamation enforcement strategy, and climate resilience within Western policy oversight.
Pearce background
Pearce is a decorated combat pilot who served in the Vietnam War and also served as chairman of the Republican Party in New Mexico for six years.
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