Ryan Zinke, Interior Secretary, Keeps Some Environmentalists Hopeful
Ryan Zinke, the recently appointed Secretary of the Interior, may prove to be a relatively reassuring presence for a number of conservationists.
President Trump’s cabinet, with its sizable number of individuals linked to the fossil fuel industry, has caused concern among some conservation groups in the country.
However, Ryan Zinke, the recently appointed interior secretary, may prove to be a relatively reassuring presence.
Among those seeing a potential ally in Zinke is Collin O’Mara, the president of the National Wildlife Federation, who told The Hill, “Throughout his career, Secretary Zinke has demonstrated a commitment to making conservation a top priority of his service…There’s going to be pressure on him for additional energy development, there’s going to be challenges in some of the regulatory programs. But it’s someone who we can talk to.”
Zinke hails from Montana, a state with a sizable amount of government-owned land, notes Billings Gazette.
Though he has a history of fighting for the preservation of some, he has also advocated for using others to, “the benefit of the people.”
On that matter, he once said, “That benefit side may include timber harvest, it may include oil energy production. It may include mining.”
While he also believes such efforts should be followed by restoring the land to its original splendor, Zinke has already made decisions some feel will be difficult, if not impossible, to reverse.
Among them is his halting of an initiative to diminish the lead content in bullets and tackle while expanding hunting and fishing on public lands.
According to the Washington Post, concerns have been raised about the long-term effects the often-damaging metal will have on the flora and fauna living in the nation’s parks.
President Trump’s cabinet, with its sizable number of individuals linked to the fossil fuel industry, has caused concern among some conservation groups in the country.
However, Ryan Zinke, the recently appointed interior secretary, may prove to be a relatively reassuring presence.
Among those seeing a potential ally in Zinke is Collin O’Mara, the president of the National Wildlife Federation, who told The Hill, “Throughout his career, Secretary Zinke has demonstrated a commitment to making conservation a top priority of his service…There’s going to be pressure on him for additional energy development, there’s going to be challenges in some of the regulatory programs. But it’s someone who we can talk to.”
Zinke hails from Montana, a state with a sizable amount of government-owned land, notes Billings Gazette.
Though he has a history of fighting for the preservation of some, he has also advocated for using others to, “the benefit of the people.”
On that matter, he once said, “That benefit side may include timber harvest, it may include oil energy production. It may include mining.”
While he also believes such efforts should be followed by restoring the land to its original splendor, Zinke has already made decisions some feel will be difficult, if not impossible, to reverse.
Among them is his halting of an initiative to diminish the lead content in bullets and tackle while expanding hunting and fishing on public lands.
According to the Washington Post, concerns have been raised about the long-term effects the often-damaging metal will have on the flora and fauna living in the nation’s parks.