U.S. Senate Confirms Biden’s Nominee to Lead Bureau of Land Management, According to Reuters

The U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to confirm Tracy Stone-Manning, a conservationist from Montana, as the new head of the Bureau of Land Management. Nominated by President Joe Biden, she received confirmation with a narrow vote of 50-45.

The Bureau of Land Management, part of the Interior Department, oversees more than 10% of the nation’s land area. In her role as director, Stone-Manning will play a key part in Biden’s initiatives to combat climate change through the management of public lands, including a review of the current federal oil and gas leasing program.

Stone-Manning previously served as the senior adviser for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation, where she opposed the previous administration’s efforts to increase fossil-fuel production on public lands at the disadvantage of other land uses. Before joining the federation in 2017, she was chief of staff for former Montana Governor Steve Bullock and also had worked for Senator Jon Tester.

Her nomination met resistance from some Republicans due to her connection to a decades-old tree-spiking incident, where a metal rod was driven into trees to deter logging. Senator John Barrasso raised these concerns in a Senate floor speech ahead of the vote. However, moderate Democratic Senator Joe Manchin defended Stone-Manning, highlighting her extensive experience as a public servant.