Environmentalists sound alarm over new pick to lead Bureau of Land Management

COACHELLA VALLEY, Calif. (KESQ) – The Bureau of Land Management now has a new director, and his confirmation is drawing the ire of local environmentalists.

Steve Pearce, who was confirmed as the Director of the BLM on Monday, is a former representative from New Mexico. He was nominated by President Trump late last year.

We first spoke with Colin Barrows with the CactusToCloud Institute, a nonprofit based in the Coachella Valley, when Senate hearings kicked off for Pearce in late February.

The nonprofit argued with Pearce leading the BLM, public lands across the nation – including here in the valley – could be at risk of being sold.

In a press release, CactusToCloud provided the numbers.

Across California, the BLM is responsible for 15 million acres of land, including 11 million acres in the California Desert District, which encompasses the Coachella Valley, Morongo Basin, and Imperial Valley. This includes part or all of places like Whitewater Canyon, the Coachella Valley Preserve, the Santa Rosa Mountains, Painted Canyon, and the Bradshaw Trail. These areas are popular for recreation, including hiking, birding, camping, and off-roading.

Barrows highlighted Pearce's track record prior to being named director as the reason for his worry: "He's spoken negatively about the idea of national parks, of national forests. To have somebody like that be put in charge is like the fox running the henhouse kind of a deal."

He worried that his stance will open the door to private interests looking to purchase federal land set aside for public use. Even in the Coachella Valley, where Barrows said there are no minerals, oil, or gas to be drilled for, there is now a risk public land could be closed off to the public and opened to those entities searching for resources.

That sentiment is worrisome for businesses that rely on public lands to function, like Red Jeep Tours, based in Palm Desert.

Kimberly Renee is the owner of the company that provides ecotours in places like Painted Canyon, the Indian Canyons, through Joshua Tree National Park, and along the San Andreas Fault.

She pointed to Painted Canyon as a prime example for lands at risk: it's located in the Mecca Hills Wilderness Area and is managed by the BLM.

"We rely on public lands for our bread and butter and so, you know, we're really concerned about what could happen under this new leadership," she explained.

She said her company has the benefit of also featuring tours on private land – but other tour providers in the valley aren't as fortunate. She added, "Other tour operators who they completely rely on those public lands. And if they were to be shut down, there would be a lot of businesses that were closed as a result."

She worried about the domino effect that could have on the valley's economy. With tourism as a leading industry locally, hotels and restaurants, which thrive on those coming to the valley to take in its sights, could struggle.

Worse still, Renee added public land was being abused before Pearce took up the director mantle. With cuts to the Bureau of Land Management, a limited number of staffing has opened the door to illegal activity that she has seen firsthand.

"There is such a shortage of BLM rangers and enforcement that even on these public lands, there's a lot of stuff that's happening that shouldn't be there's a lot of illegal offroading, dumping," she explained.

"Do you think that's going to get worse under Pearce?" we asked Renee.

"I do, because I think that one of his things that he will do is he will cut back on already inadequate staffing," she responded. "That shift away from wanting to protect public lands and open them up to drilling and other sort of industrial purposes, it sends the signal that they don't matter."

Next steps for environmentalists

Barrows admitted conservationists like himself in California had very little he could do to oppose Pearce's nomination and eventual confirmation in the Senate aside from getting the word out.

Pearce was confirmed in a Senate vote along party lines. Now that Pearce is Director, though, Barrows said the time was now to make local representatives aware of the importance of keeping public lands public.

Renee agreed. She was optimistic about how Representative Ken Calvert previously stood for the protection of public lands.

"I have met Ken Calvert at some events surrounding the creation and maintenance of the Chuckwalla National Monument, and I think that he is generally supportive," she recounted. "But political forces being what they are, you know, whether they will stand up to increased pressure... that's a big unknown."

Together, Barrows said everybody who benefits from access to public lands – from organizations and businesses to school groups and hikers – are standing together to make their sentiment known.

"People notice, and they stand up for it."