A well pad located near the Island-in-the-Sky District entrance to Canyonlands National Park / Rebecca Latson file

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum's hard stance that the United States, already the world's leading producer of oil, must produce even more drew harsh criticisms Thursday from conservation groups concerned about how the nominee for Interior secretary under the Trump administration would manage public lands, including national parks.

During his confirmation hearing Thursday the governor said reduced domestic production would lead to greater production from countries such as Russian and Iran that "use their revenues from energy sales to fund wars against us and our allies.”

But his critics worried that Burgum's desire for increased energy production would take a toll on public lands.

“If Doug Burgum got any closer to the oil and gas industry, he’d need to wear a hard hat," said Athan Manuel, director of Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program. "From his history as a corporate executive to governor of North Dakota, Burgum has worked to advance the interests of Big Oil CEOs time after time, even organizing the infamous Mar-a-Lago meetup where plutocrats were asked to donate a billion dollars to Trump in exchange for gutting environmental protections. It’s clear who would benefit from him running the Department of the Interior. 

“For more than a century, our national parks and public lands and waters have been part of what makes us special as a country," Manuel continued. "The incoming Trump administration wants to give those lands and waters away to corporate polluters and billionaires. We need to protect every inch of our public lands from corporate interests and polluters so future generations can explore the treasured lands that connect us all.”

In Utah, where the state was rebuffed this week by the U.S. Supreme Court when it sought to file a lawsuit challenging federal land ownership directly to the high court, staff at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance said "[M]anagement of federal public lands in Utah requires a thoughtful, balanced approach, but during today’s hearing Governor Burgum made it clear that if confirmed, the scales will be wildly tipped in favor of extractive industry and fossil fuels. Utah’s red rock country and wildest places are national treasures and should be conserved, not exploited. We encourage the Senate to reject Governor Burgum’s nomination.”

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, told Burgum during the hearing that he hoped the governor, if confirmed, would protect public lands.

"There are some who argue that the very existence of public lands—places like Yosemite National Park or the Bitterroot National Forest—is unconstitutional,” Heinrich told Burgum. “But Americans know that idea of lands that belong to everyone, no matter where they live or who their parents are or how thick or thin their wallet is, is one of the foundational ideas of our nation. I hope you will join me in keeping public lands in public hands.”

The senator also expressed his belief that the Interior Department needs to work towards a cleaner approach to energy generation.

"As we make the necessary transition to a clean-energy economy, the land and water managed by the department will play an indispensable role in producing the energy we need—as well as facilitating the transmission lines that are essential to meet surging demand in electricity," said Heinrich. "From geothermal and hydrogen to solar and wind energy, the department’s work is at the center of our energy future."

Burgum has been soundly criticized for conflicts of interested during his time as governor and his personal ties to the oil industry.

When President-elect Donald Trump announced in November that Burgum was his choice for Interior secretary, Defenders of Wildlife said Trump had "selected a leading 'drill baby, drill' oil advocate to oversee the management and conservation of federal lands in the U.S. Trump has made clear his intentions to open federal lands to increased oil, gas and coal production, threatening vital wildlife habitat and setting back our nation’s climate goals, and Burgum will be his hand to enact this agenda.”

Earlier this week a broad coalition of outdoor recreation interests, from motorcycle and RV interests to ski areas and the sportfishing industry, endorsed Burgum, saying he has a "history of support for outdoor recreation, the outdoor recreation economy, and the protection of public lands and water."