Earthjustice Statement on Announcement of Doug Burgum as Interior Secretary
"We can’t double down on drilling and habitat loss in the face of runaway climate change and extinctions."
Contacts
Geoffrey Nolan, gnolan@earthjustice.org
This week, President-elect Donald Trump announced North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum as his pick to lead the Department of the Interior. After the announcement, Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen issued the following statement:
“By picking Burgum, President-elect Trump is taking the first step toward unleashing a wave of oil and gas drilling on our public lands. The Interior Secretary is entrusted with protecting our shared lands and waters, now and for future generations, but Governor Burgum is poised to prioritize reckless development above all else. We can’t double down on drilling and habitat loss in the face of runaway climate change and extinctions. We stand ready to go to court to protect our wildlands and waters from extractive industries and safeguard the interests of Tribal communities threatened by development they oppose.”
![The terms of last week's budget agreement between the Obama administration and Congress were an achievement, but the fate of environmental "ideological riders" is yet to be determined.
(USCapitol/U.S. Government Work)](https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/whitehouse-uscapitol-flickr.jpg "The terms of last week's budget agreement between the Obama administration and congress were an achievement, but the fate of environmental "ideological riders" is yet to be determined.")
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Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people's health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.