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Indian Creek, Bears Ears National Monument / BLM

Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Representative Jared Huffman of California, both ranking members of their respective congressional committees on energy and natural resources, have called on Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to provide transparency on an “action plan” that could weaken protections for public lands.

Their request comes after the Department of the Interior failed to publicly disclose its plan to carry out President Trump’s energy and public land policies. The plan is expected to outline steps to suspend, revise, or rescind rules and orders related to national monuments, mineral withdrawals, and other safeguards that protect communities, landscapes, and waterways from oil and gas extraction and mining.

In their letter, Heinrich and Huffman expressed concern over the lack of transparency, stating that the continued delay suggests an effort to sidestep congressional oversight and public scrutiny. They warned that this secrecy raises alarms about potential moves to weaken protections and sell off natural resources without public input. The lawmakers pointed out that this contradicts the Department’s own stated policies, which emphasize public comment and peer-reviewed scientific analysis in decision-making.

They have requested copies of all reports, memos, or other documents related to the directive issued by Secretary Burgum and Trump’s executive order on public lands. As key members of congressional committees responsible for overseeing these issues, they emphasized their duty to monitor how federal agencies implement policies and ensure they align with public interest and legislative intent. They also asked for the names and titles of the officials currently leading the review and making final decisions on which conservation protections may be removed.

The lawmakers stressed that the American public deserves full transparency regarding these potential policy changes and committed to ensuring that the issue receives the attention it warrants. They are awaiting a response from the Department on this critical matter.

The full letter is below:

Dear Secretary Burgum:

On February 3, 2025, you issued Secretarial Order 3418 (S.O.) to implement provisions in President Trump’s Executive Order “Unleashing American Energy” (E.O. 14154). That E.O. directed all relevant agencies to prioritize energy development on public lands and waters above all other uses. It ordered a wholesale roll-back of policies, plans, and protections for public lands. These protections were put into place after years of public process, science-based analysis, and deliberation to protect sacred sites, land, waters, people, our heritage, and American taxpayers.

The S.O. directs assistant secretaries within the Department to review agency policies, including administrative withdrawals and national monuments, and within 15 days provide an ‘action plan’ to effectuate President Trump’s energy and public lands policy priorities and describe the “steps that, as appropriate, will be taken to suspend, revise, or rescind” a laundry list of rules and orders, including withdrawals protecting communities, lands and waters from oil and gas extraction or hardrock mining, and all national monuments.

One week after that deadline, that action plan remains undisclosed to the public and Congress. This delay suggests an attempt to evade Congressional oversight, public scrutiny, and accountability, fueling concerns that the Administration is moving to undermine public land protections and sell our natural resources to the highest bidders in secret. This directly contradicts the Secretarial Order’s own policy direction that includes “guaranteeing that all executive departments and agencies provide opportunity for public comment and rigorous, peer-reviewed scientific analysis.”

As the ranking minority members on the committees of jurisdiction for these topics, we have a responsibility to conduct oversight on the Department’s activities. Congress has both the authority and the duty to ensure that executive agencies faithfully execute the laws and operate in a manner consistent with congressional intent and the public interest. Congressional oversight includes reviewing, monitoring, and supervising federal agencies, programs, activities, and policy implementation. To that end, please provide us with copies of all reports, memoranda, or other documents produced in response to S.O. 3418 or E.O. 14154.

In addition, because there are no Senate-confirmed assistant secretaries in the Department at this time, we must insist on full disclosure of the names and titles of the officials conducting this review, as well as the names and titles of those responsible for final decisions regarding which conservation protections to eliminate.

The American people deserve a full accounting of these sweeping policy changes and we have an obligation to ensure that this issue is brought to light. We look forward to hearing from you on this critical matter.