Ethan Lane, senior executive director of the Public Lands Council and NCBA Federal Lands, says the confirmation of David Bernhardt as Secretary of Interior is good news for livestock producers.
“We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Secretary and are glad he can finally focus on the Department of Interior’s critical work,” Lane says.
“While we celebrate the new Secretary’s confirmation, several senior positions at the Interior Department remain vacant.”
Lane says they’re asking the administration to get those vacant spots filled as quickly as possible.
In the meantime, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall says Bernhardt reinvigorated multiple-use management of America’s public lands while serving as Deputy and then Acting Secretary.
“This included regulatory efforts to reform implementation of the Endangered Species Act, streamlining the National Environmental Policy Act, as well as promoting outcome-based grazing across our nation’s rangelands,” Duvall says.
“He also implemented policies to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires in the West.”
Duvall says they look forward to working with the new Secretary on behalf of all farmers and ranchers.