On March 15, 2021, Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico was confirmed to head up the Department of the Interior (DOI)—an agency that manages roughly 500 million acres of America’s public lands. Haaland is the first Native American Secretary of the Interior and the first Native American Cabinet Secretary in U.S. history.
Haaland faced tough questions for two days in a hearing conducted by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, ranging from oil-and-gas leasesto public land access and grizzly bears. Despite opposition from committee members whose constituents depend on oil and gas and mining, Haaland received enough support from the committee, and members of the Senate, for confirmation.
“While we certainly have different views on some issues, her role in helping to shepherd the Great American Outdoors Act through the House will be beneficial to the Department’s implementation of this landmark conservation law, which I co-sponsored,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said in a recent press release.
In a March 11 address to the Senate, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said “I look forward to working with her to protect our public lands and ensure the responsible use of all our natural resources in a bipartisan manner.”
Slightly tangential, and we at KNIFE like to stay in our lane and away from politics. I just figured that there are enough hunters and fishermen who visit our website that it was worth a share. especially this later part:
Haaland grew up around hunting and fishing. In a document released by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee containing written questions from members and Haaland’s answers to those questions, she wrote, “I am a Pueblo woman. We have been hunting wild game for centuries. My dad, my grandparents, my brother, they all hunt. In fact, I was fortunate to harvest an Oryx from the White Sands missile range. It fed my family for about a year. I absolutely understand and respect the sportsman and the anglers and their traditions. If confirmed, I look forward to working to ensure that all Americans have the kinds of opportunities that my family and I have had.”
Leading up to her confirmation, Haaland met with and had the support of conservation groups and members of the outdoor industry. In that meeting, Land Tawney of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers (BHA) had a chance to get to know her and see what it might be like working with her in the future.
“She offers a strong and knowledgeable vision for the Interior Department, a vision that is informed by her earliest experiences with her family on public lands and waters and on successful hunts in the West,” Tawney said in a BHA press release. “She is approachable, capable, and a bridge-builder.”
I have my own issues with BHA, which are beyond the scope of this post. Haaland seems like she is a little gung-ho for closing down some public lands for species conservation. How much, versus how much she admits during confirmation questioning remains to be seen, but it seems like she will be at least receptive to the concerns of hunters and anglers. Target practice on BLM land is almost certainly under threat, which is not a good thing, but on balance I don’t think we could hope for a better Secretary of the Interior from this administration.
Hocky
I watched a recent episode of “60 Minutes” with a segment on an Apache holy ground which is coveted by a huge Australian mining company for the huge copper deposit that lies beneath it. I think it was “Oak . . .”; anyway, I am rooting for the Apache. Unlike Elizabeth Warren, I do not have any Native American genetic material. Just some co-mingled European genes that my nephew tracked back 9 generations!. I hope this Interior Secretary puts the kaboosh (sp?) on this attempt to denigrate sacred land. The mining company has “promised” the Apache that digging the copper from beneath the mountain will not affect the land . . .they told the Aborigines the same thing and now these indigenous people have a “crater” to worship.
Some things should just be left alone.