Grazing

Senator Lee introduced the State Grazing Management Authority Act, which would allow a state to administer grazing programs on eligible allotments of federal land, and to take the lead on required NEPA analysis, if it so desires. Given the success of states in managing grazing rights, the federal government should seek to partner with them in these efforts. Senator Lee presented his grazing proposal in a recent hearing before the Senate ENR Committee:

Tracy Stone-Manning

Tracy Stone-Manning, President Biden’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management, lied under oath to the Energy and Natural Resources committee about her involvement with an eco-terrorism plot to spike trees in Idaho’s Clearwater National Forest. Senator Lee detailed his fierce opposition to Ms. Stone-Manning’s nomination in recent a line of questioning to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland:

Antiquities Act Abuses

Senator Lee has advocated for years against presidential abuses of the Antiquities Act. He introduced the Protect Utah’s Rural Economy Act (PURE) Act to prevent further abuses, which would prohibit the president from establishing or expanding a national monument in Utah unless the proposed monument has been authorized by an act of Congress and the state legislature: 

Drought

The impact of the ongoing drought in Utah has been severe. Utah needs greater flexibility in managing and developing water storage projects in order to more readily address drought issues. Senator Lee highlighted the severity of the drought and his plan for innovative solutions in a recent hearing before the Senate ENR Committee:

Defending Domestic Mining

Senator Lee is fully committed to ensuring our mining industry can remain competitive in domestic and international markets. In a recent committee hearing, he defended the importance of the nation’s critical mineral suppliers and stressed the potential devastating impacts of current Democratic proposals on Utah’s mining industry:

Reducing Parks Crowding

Utah has some of the most-visited National Parks in the entire nation, which can occasionally lead to crowding issues during peak visitation times. Rather than a one-size-fits-all reservation system mandate, the National Park Service should take a strategic approach to visitor use management led by local communities. Senator Lee highlighted the East Zion initiative as a great example of a locally-led solution to crowding issues in parks:

Responsible Forest Management

Those advocating for increased carbon sequestration and those advocating for increased timber harvesting are often thought to be at odds. In a hearing before the Senate ENR Committee Senator Lee emphasized the need for active forest management in preventing wildfires and sequestering carbon from the atmosphere: 

Protecting Agricultural Competition

The pandemic has exposed troubling vulnerabilities in our meat supply chain that are harming Utahans. Meat prices for consumers are at an all-time high, but many livestock producers are operating at negative margins. In his position as Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, Senator Lee called on the DOJ to investigate potential anti-competitive practices in the meatpacking industry:

Clean Energy

Senator Lee recently introduced the Geothermal Innovation Act, which expedites the administrative review process for geothermal projects with a permitting mechanism previously only offered to oil and gas producers. A one-pager of the bill can be read here.