Op-Ed: Rep. Dan Newhouse: The Biden-Harris assault on western America must end
There’s no better example of this than the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Conservation and Landscape Health final rule. Earlier this year, the BLM finalized a regulation that elevates “conservation” as a multiple-use under the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA). The multiple-use mandate requires federal land to be managed by balancing ‘uses’ — such as grazing, timber harvesting, recreation, and resource production — to achieve sustainable yield. By allowing, and prioritizing, conservation leases, the BLM is locking up federal lands through preservation, rather than balanced management.
The extreme Biden-Harris environmental agenda has additionally limited the potential of the West through its constant attacks on American energy production. For example, in January, the Biden-Harris administration announced a pause of pending approvals of liquified natural gas (LNG) export terminals under the guise of climate change — an excuse the administration has used all too often for their regulatory assaults.
This move will have detrimental impacts on producers that operate on federally managed land across the West who supply affordable and reliable natural gas. The impact of these anti-energy policies raises gas prices, ensures food is nearly unaffordable, and jeopardizes our national security by selling out to foreign adversaries.
A major factor driving this administration’s anti-Western policies is the outsized influence of extreme environmental activists who seek to preserve, rather than conserve, our natural resources. A prime example is the worsening wildfire crisis in our National Forests. Rather than actively manage forests through mechanical thinning, restoration projects, or prescribed fire, the United States Forest Service oftentimes does not complete the necessary work due to litigation threats from the activist community.
The result is wildfires that burn faster and hotter, causing destruction to communities across the West. We must proactively manage our forests to help mitigate the damage caused by these disasters.
The Biden-Harris administration’s policy decisions make it clear that it cares more about its friends in the environmental lobby than it does the hard-working rural Americans across the West. In contrast, the Congressional Western Caucus has been doing our part to advocate for rural America in the halls of Congress.
If you’re a dairy farmer in California’s Central Valley, a rancher in Wyoming, or a miner in Arizona, you’ve felt the impact of this administration’s energy and lands policies over the past three and a half years. As leaders, we should be searching for ways to make life easier for those who power our country, not harder.
As Chairman, I’m proud of the work we’ve done to defend the multiple-use mandate for public lands, unleash American energy and support communities across the West. We will continue to defend private property rights and local control, while pushing back against the Biden-Harris administration’s anti-West agenda.
Rep. Dan Newhouse represents Washington’s 4th District and serves as chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus.
