After the abrupt withdrawal of my nomination as Director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), I basically took off the first part of the summer for a much-needed break after nearly 20 years at Western Energy Alliance. But I’m now refreshed and ready to get back at it.
As an aside, what’s been generally reported in the media is accurate about the events. I have so far only sat down with reporter Scott Streater, for his E&ENews article “Sgamma: ‘Not bitter’ over ill-fated BLM director nomination.” Colorado political analyst Eric Sondermann wrote a Substack piece about the implications for our politics today. I’m happy to discuss it further, for whatever lessons to be learned there may be, but that’s not my topic today.
Instead, I’m using my first blog post with my new company, Multiple-Use Advocacy, to embark on this new stage in my career. As I said in my withdrawal notice, I remain committed to President Trump’s unleashing American energy agenda and am ready to do what I can to get some things done in the energy and natural resources realm.
In preparation for my nomination, I reached out to a broad range of stakeholders—from conservation groups to wild horse advocates to other multiple-users of BLM lands—to listen to their concerns and get their input on what needs to be done to advance responsible multiple-use on BLM lands. Whatever we do on public lands, whether inside or outside the government, collaboration and cooperation are essential. BLM continues to need engagement from stakeholders, and I’m ready, willing, and able to contribute to not just unleashing American energy, but to ensuring a balance on federal lands.
I’ve launched my company in hopes of working with clients to not just navigate regulatory hurdles, but to assist BLM as one of many outside stakeholders. Consider me back and re-engaged.
