Burgum Tapped to Lead Department of Interior

WASHINGTON, D.C. - President-elect Trump has named Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota to lead the U.S. Interior Department.

Following is response from Manish Bapna, President and CEO of NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)

"The Interior Department is charged with protecting public lands that cover one fifth of the country, national parks used by nearly 320 million visitors each year and federal ocean waters. The Secretary is also entrusted to honor federal trust obligations for DOI-administered Indian lands. Our public lands are a public trust. We depend on the Department of the Interior to protect our wildlife and habitat, national monuments to our history and culture and the natural splendor of this country. We will hold the incoming administration to account for this mission.

"Trump has made no secret of his Project 2025 plan to open more public lands and ocean waters to the dangers of oil and gas drilling. That's the wrong direction for the country. Now he's tapped someone with close ties to the oil and gas industry to spearhead the scheme.

"It's time to reduce, not expand, the public lands, ocean waters and coastal communities exposed to the catastrophic risk and ongoing harm of oil and gas drilling. It's time to protect wildlife, habitat and communities from cascading climate disasters ranging from rising seas to raging wildfires, storms and floods. It's time to tackle the alarming decline of fish and wildlife across this country and make the nation's public lands and ocean waters part of the climate solution, not part of the problem."

NRDC(Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).