Central Wyoming News

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), delivered remarks today at a full committee hearing overseeing the Bureau of Land Management. The hearing featured testimony from Tracy Stone-Manning, Director of the Bureau of Land Management.

Senator Barrasso began his remarks by thanking the Chairman for holding the hearing and noted that it was the first time Stone-Manning had appeared before the committee in three years. He emphasized the significant impact that the Director's decisions have on Wyoming, stating, "The Director of the Bureau of Land Management has a profound impact on the people of my home state in Wyoming."

Barrasso recounted his recent meetings with local associations and officials, including the Wyoming Mining Association, Wyoming Stockgrowers Association, and county commissioners. He highlighted that nearly half of Wyoming's land and 70 percent of its minerals are federally owned and managed by the Bureau.

He expressed concerns about Stone-Manning’s record and her absence from previous hearings. "Since 2021, Ms. Stone-Manning has been busy making decisions which will crush Wyoming’s economy and lay waste to our local communities in the years ahead," he stated.

Barrasso criticized several specific actions taken by the Bureau under Stone-Manning’s leadership:

- In August 2023, a Resource Management Plan issued by the Rock Springs Field Office proposed locking up over two million acres of federal land from productive use.

- Last month, a proposal from the Buffalo Field Office aimed to end new coal leasing in the Powder River Basin.

- In March 2024, a Resource Management Plan addressed Greater-Sage Grouse conservation efforts but was seen as undoing state efforts while blocking access to millions of acres of federal land.

- In April 2024, a "Public Lands Rule" was finalized which Barrasso claimed undermines multiple-use principles for federal lands.

Barrasso also accused Stone-Manning of sabotaging her own Bureau’s oil and gas program by failing to hold quarterly lease sales, extending permit timelines, refusing to deliver leases to winning bidders, and issuing regulations that make exploration prohibitively expensive.

Concluding his remarks, Barrasso reiterated his opposition to Stone-Manning's nomination due to her perceived hostility towards those dependent on federal lands. "I’m glad today that this committee will finally call her to account," he said.

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