Natural Resources
As an attorney, I fought to return control of natural resources to local entities, not far-away federal bureaucrats. I am honored to serve on the Natural Resources committee to continue this work from the halls of Congress. I also have the privilege of chairing the Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs, working with tribal and territorial leaders on issues important to their communities.
More on Natural Resources
Legislation to remove the grizzly bear from the Endangered Species List in the Greater Yellowstone and Northern Continental Divide Ecosystems, took a big step forward last week.
U.S. Representatives Bill Johnson (OH-06), Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Harriet Hageman (WY-AL), and Dan Meuser (PA-09) will lead the Congressional Coal Caucus for the 118th Congress. The Congressional Coal Caucus plays a key role in facilitating legislative and policy debates relating to the coal industry:
Washington, DC – Today, the House Natural Resources Committee advanced H.R. 1245 – legislation sponsored by Congresswoman Harriet Hageman, to direct the Secretary of Interior to remove the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem population of grizzly bears from the federal list of endangered and threatened wildlife.
Democrats lined up to voice their objections to my bill, the Grizzly Bear State Management Act. Time after time, they proposed amendments to the bill, claiming that my bill would strip tribes from a seat at the table for delisting discussions and leave agencies unprepared.
The Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bear met its recovery goal 20 years ago, but environmental activists and bureaucratic intervention have prevented its delisting, in line with Endangered Species Act guidelines.
The supposed purpose of the Endangered Species Act is to help animal populations recover to sustainable numbers, at which point they are delisted. Yet only 3% of all species placed on the endangered list have been delisted.
While Democrats cry out that climate change is destroying our forests through devastating wildfires, the reality is much simpler. USDA policies such as the Roadless Rule claim to preserve our wilderness, but instead hamper our ability to thin forests, treat invasive and destructive species like the Rocky Mountain Region Bark Beetle, and rapidly respond to wildfires when they first begin.
As President Joe Biden issues an executive order for all federal agencies to pursue what he calls “climate justice” and simultaneously advances regulations to force Americans to transition to wind and solar energy and electric vehicles (EVs), critics say that these same policies also foster child labor in Africa, feature enormous wealth transfers from the poor to the rich, and will bring “energ
Are we actually "saving the environment" or have we over regulated to the point that we are not only not saving the environment, but are making it harder for humans to live?
In a continuation of my questions for Interior Secretary Haaland, she admitted that she both did not know the recovery criteria under the Endangered Species Act for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly population (which was 600-700) and the number alive in the population (over 1100).