It was a tough day at the office Thursday for Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning.
Stone-Manning, appearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for the first time since she won confirmation in 2021, faced a rapid-fire barrage of criticism from Republicans on recent public lands and energy policy decisions that reinforced the deep partisan divide on mining, renewable energy and other uses of federal lands.
She also faced fierce questioning over her involvement in a decades-old tree-spiking case that nearly derailed her confirmation. Stone-Manning did not sabotage any trees and ultimately helped to convict the two men who did.
Here are some takeaways from the hearing: