John Barrasso Grills DoI Official On Resource Plan That Would 'Devastate' Constituents' Lives

3 months ago

During a Senate Energy Committee hearing prior to the Congressional recess, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) spoke about resource management plans in southwest Wyoming.

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Transcript

00:00Thanks, Mr. Chairman. I wanted to start with something you talked about early in your testimony,

00:04endangered species list, recovery and delisting. The greater Yellowstone ecosystem population of

00:10grizzly bears, fully recovered for 20 years. I understand why they went on the list initially,

00:16down to 100, now well over 1,000, spread way beyond the area that people were hoping they

00:21would stay and that we knew that they were not going to stay as they continued to grow.

00:24Grizzly bears are still listed as threatened under the ESA. The number of bears far greater

00:31than the number required for delisting by the Fish and Wildlife Service. Wyoming has played

00:36an important role as a state in leading this recovery. As Assistant Secretary, you'll have

00:41the authority over Fish and Wildlife Services. When can we expect the service to delist the

00:46grizzly bear? Thank you so much for this great question. If Mr. Daines joins us later, I think

00:51we'll get it again. It's such a good one. First of all, let me agree with you, Senator Barrasso,

00:57and congratulate Wyoming and everyone who's been working on bears for all these years,

01:03that the greater Yellowstone ecosystem recovery management area population has met its recovery

01:10criteria. You are absolutely right. It's met and exceeded its recovery criteria. That's fantastic

01:15news. It's not just greater Yellowstone, by the way, it's also Northern Continental Divide

01:19has met its recovery criteria, too. What does that tell us? It tells us bears are doing

01:24really well in important parts, particularly in Wyoming and Montana. There is a petition before

01:31us. Wyoming has petitioned us to delist the greater Yellowstone. They've asked us to find

01:35the population, a distinct population segment. That is the arcane part of the law that we're

01:42trying to work through. Congress has asked us to use that designation sparingly. We're also

01:48looking at our delisting criteria. What I would say to you, Senator, is that with the ESA,

01:57the question is delist, list. It's also the path you take to get to that decision matters

02:02when it comes to whether or not a court will overturn it or not or sustain it.

02:08It's really the path that we're working through, the path that Wyoming has asked us to follow. I

02:13appreciate the question. What I want to say to you is regardless of the outcome of my nomination,

02:17I will continue to work with Wyoming on that particular issue. In August of last year,

02:23BLM issued a draft resource management plan for the Rock Springs field office. This plan

02:29would block, severely restrict access to over three and a half million acres of federal land

02:34in southwest Wyoming. If finalized, the plan would devastate the livelihoods of the people

02:38and the communities in my state. The governor, the congressional delegation, state legislature,

02:44county commissioners, across the board, everyone strongly opposes what the secretary has come out

02:50with. So far, the department has done little to address any of our concerns. If confirmed,

02:57what would you do differently? Thank you, Senator. You're right. It's a BLM

03:03RMP process. I'm not involved in those processes, but I am very much aware of Rock Springs.

03:09I'm very much aware of the concern in Wyoming and the engagement in Wyoming and how important it is

03:15as a plan. It covers quite a large area. You're absolutely right. I also understand and I'm very

03:20grateful, just on behalf of the department, for the incredibly constructive input that folks in

03:26Wyoming have provided. In particular, particularly grateful to the governor for his leadership and

03:31in really facilitating that input. I have heard both the secretary and the BLM director say to

03:37this committee that when the final plan comes out that we expect that input to be reflected in

03:42that final plan. If I'm confirmed, Senator, depending on where the plan is, I would welcome

03:49if you think it's important and if I'm invited to come to Wyoming and talk to folks about how

03:54they're feeling about the plan. Well, we'd love to have you. Final question. In May, the Bureau

03:58of Land Management took steps to prohibit coal leasing in the Powder River Basin. Last year,

04:03the Powder River Basin, about 45 percent of all the coal mined and used in the United States.

04:10Ms. Stone-Manning has said that existing leases will be able to meet our coal demand in the future.

04:15I doubt that. She's capable of assessing our future coal demand. I don't think she's capable of

04:21doing an objective decision on this. Where do you stand on future leasing? Thank you, Senator.

04:28So, yes, I'm familiar with Powder River Basin, growing increasingly familiar and in preparation

04:35for this committee hearing. And, yes, coal, even as demand for coal falls, it is still part of the

04:42energy mix, particularly almost exclusively in the important sector of electricity generation,

04:49and I understand that. If I'm confirmed as deputy secretary, I would seek to understand

04:55at the appropriate level, at the deepest level, this argument about sort of, you know,

05:02Should the department end new leasing in the Powder River Basin? That's a fundamental question.

05:07Yeah, well, so, you know, I think if I'm confirmed, I'd need to understand the issue better,

05:14Senator, particularly as it relates to the debate you've just said, which is

05:18we have a lot of capacity in existing leases, and whether or not, you know, we believe that

05:22that existing capacity is adequate, you disagree, I would, as a deputy secretary,

05:27I would come to understand that debate better. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

John Barrasso Grills DoI Official On Resource Plan That Would 'Devastate' Constituents' Lives

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