Why Steve Pearce Is the Wrong Choice for Director of the Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees nearly 250 million acres of public lands nationwide, including 15 million acres in California—spaces that belong to all Americans. These lands support local communities and economies, wildlife, and outdoor recreation, and leadership at the BLM matters.

Unfortunately, President Trump has nominated Steve Pearce—a fierce opponent of public lands with a track record of anti-environmental actions—to head this agency. Pearce’s nomination is another major step in Trump’s long-term campaign to open up more public lands to destructive development, logging, and oil and gas drilling at the cost of our health, safety, and environment.

Pearce Has a Record of Selling Off Public Lands

Steve Pearce, or “Sell-Off Steve”, has consistently supported policies that prioritize corporate interests over communities and attempted to undermine the management of public lands seven times. During his time in Congress, Pearce:

• • Advocated for transferring federal lands to state or private control—a move that could open the door to widespread sell-offs.
  • Attempted to erase wilderness study areas and sell 60,000 acres of land.
  • Tried to bulldoze the Gila National Forest in New Mexico and bullied the nearby community, saying that their backyard is fair game to destroy.

This is the track record of someone who’s on the side of corporations and fossil fuel companies—not communities and families.

How Public Lands Protect Communities

Protected public lands and waters help ensure access to nature and also the continued biodiversity of plants and animals in the face of a changing climate. When environmental rights are stripped away, it’s not just wildlife that suffers: it’s people.

Public lands, like the 250 million acres of land across the United States that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) oversees, are essential to keep our communities healthy, safe, and affordable. BLM lands preserve biodiverse plants that filter our air and keep the air quality high and healthy for us to breathe. In the same way, waterways in BLM lands safeguard our water quality and access for communities and wildlife alike. And these lands offer free access to the outdoors for everyone, ensuring that nature is accessible for all to hike, camp, fish, and enjoy. BLM lands are critical for climate health and community resilience—and if someone like Pearce becomes the BLM Director and undermines these public lands, the consequences could be disastrous.

The Bureau Needs a Protector, Not a Seller

The next BLM Director should strengthen protections, improve land management, and ensure that decisions reflect the public interest—not the interests of Big Oil and corporate polluters. Public lands are places for everyone, not just for those who can profit from them. Pearce’s track record shows that he stands with fossil fuel companies and corporations, not the people.

What You Can Do to Stop the Pearce Nomination

Leadership appointments are not inevitable. Speak up. Tell Senator Padilla that we oppose Rep. “Sell Off Steve” Pearce’s nomination as Director of the Bureau of Land Management!

Public lands belong to all of us—let’s keep them that way.