Democrats on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee sparred with Trump administration officials Thursday over bills that would withdraw thousands of acres of public lands from oil and gas drilling and mining.
The animated debate over the mineral withdrawal measures marked otherwise abbreviated Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining hearing that included only brief discussion on a handful of the 23 measures on the agenda — and largely skirted expected fights over offshore drilling and deep seabed mining.
Both Chris French, the Forest Service’s associate chief, and Jon Raby, director of Bureau of Land Management’s Nevada state office, testified that their agencies opposed several bills before the subcommittee aimed at withdrawing lands from oil and gas development in northeastern Nevada’s Ruby Mountains and two other measures in New Mexico to expand the boundaries of a national monument and to block a gravel mine.
“We do not support actions that limit our management flexibility or conflict with executive orders and other administration policies,” French said. “To this end, the administration does not support further mineral withdrawals by the federal estate, and/or additional wilderness or wild and scenic river designations that limit our management.”
