North Dakota Gov. Burgum, who is President-elect Trump's nominee for Interior secretary, has acknowledged that national parks — including Theodore Roosevelt National Park in his own state — are underfunded/NPS file

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, a fierce proponent of fossil fuels, has been picked by President-elect Donald Trump to head the Interior Department and its portfolio of land-management agencies, a selection that has quickly elicited concern over how that will impact public lands, including the National Park System.

Reaction has been both muted and full-throated from conservation groups.

“The President-elect has selected a leading 'drill baby, drill' oil advocate to oversee the management and conservation of federal lands in the U.S.," said Robert Dewey, vice president of government relations for Defenders of Wildlife. "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.”

Over at the Outdoor Recreation Roundtable, an organization that lobbies for the growth of the outdoor recreation economy and outdoor recreation activities, officials were more tempered in their remarks.

"Earlier this year, ORR was proud to support Governor Burgum in announcing North Dakota as the 22nd state to establish an Office of Outdoor Recreation, which came on the heels of the governor’s attendance at our National Outdoor Recreation Executive Forum in Washington, D.C.," said Jessica Turner, the group's president. "Governor Burgum has shown a commitment to supporting outdoor recreation as an economic driver and a meaningful way to connect communities. As an avid outdoorsman who hunts, sails, skis, rides horses and more, we are hopeful that the governor’s long-time admiration of Teddy Roosevelt and deep understanding of business will help support and grow the recreation economy.

"The success of the $1.1 trillion outdoor recreation economy relies on the Department of the Interior managing, safeguarding and maintaining America’s public lands and waters, infrastructure and increasing access so we can pass on the lifelong benefits of time in nature to our children and all future generations," Turner added. "ORR will seek to work diligently with the next administration to advance a sustainable and thriving outdoor recreation economy for the benefit of all Americans.” 

Burgum has been vocal in criticizing the Biden administration's approach to energy development: “What would be the No. 1 thing that President Trump could do on Day 1? It’s stop the hostile attack against all American energy, and I mean all,” Burgum was heard saying at a Trump fundraising event in a recording obtained by the Washington Post .

Whether that was political rhetoric or a blueprint for the second Trump administration remains to be seen, though analysts say that under the Biden administration the United States has produced more oil and natural gas than ever before.

Burgum's "cozy relationship with big oil spells danger for America’s taxpayers and the great outdoors,” said Accountable.US Executive Director Tony Carrk. “Americans deserve leaders who prioritize protecting public land for everyone, not for oil and gas profiteering.” 

According to Accountable.us, "As governor, Doug Burgum slashed taxes that oil companies pay to develop public minerals in North Dakota. ... On the campaign stump, Doug Burgum attended a meeting where Donald Trump asked for a $1B contribution from CEOs in exchange for industry-friendly policies."

At the National Parks Conservation Association, President and CEO Theresa Pierno said that, "National parks are America’s common ground and NPCA looks forward to working with Governor Doug Burgum to protect these special places."

But Pierno also pointed out that Theodore Roosevelt National Park, one of three park units located in North Dakota, "is one of the parks most threatened by oil and gas drilling. But this isn’t the only national park facing this dangerous future. Eleven more parks face serious and immediate threats from oil and gas drilling. Rampant development on park borders can spell disaster for the wildlife, water and clean air that makes parks so beloved by so many Americans."

"All our national parks are threatened by the impacts of climate change and funding that has not kept pace with rising visitation. We are prepared to face those challenges together, just as we have for over a hundred years," she added. "Parks unite Americans even in divided times and stand as symbols of the history and values we share as a nation. We look forward to working with Governor Burgum to keep parks from Theodore Roosevelt to the Grand Canyon protected for future generations.”

Burgum is aware of the tourism draw of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and spoke out against a National Park Service proposal to remove feral horses from the park.

"...wild horses were already established in the North Dakota Badlands when President Truman signed the bill creating Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park in 1947 and when it received official national park status in 1978," the governor wrote in a January 2023 letter to then-Superintendent Angie Richman. "For decades upon decades, these horses have coexisted peacefully with the national park and, in the process, have become a hugely popular attraction and an indelible symbol of the untamed character of the Badlands. ...Removing these horses from the park, or reducing the herd size to a level that fails to support genetic diversity and longevity, would strike a blow not only to park visitation, but also to the economic vitality of Medora, nearby communities including Dickinson, and our entire state."

That letter also underscored that Burgum is well aware that the National Park Service has been underfunded, writing that "the park is often underfunded despite trillions of dollars in federal spending."

Whether he will fight if confirmed to see that underfunding alleviated remains to be seen.