By Gabrielle d'Ayr

Very soon, President Trump's nomination for Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt will come before the full Senate for a vote. For those of us who are concerned about protecting the wildlife that thrive on Nevada's public lands and our unique landscapes of open-space -- the reasons many of us call Nevada home -- this is categorically not the man you want in charge of conservation for the vast majority of the nation's federal lands and natural resources.

Over the past several decades, David Bernhardt has been a lobbyist for countless fossil fuel companies, amassing over two dozen conflicts of interest, and is now acting leader of the Interior driving President Trump's policies to expand drilling and strip wildlife protections. Critical for Nevadans is his retooling of existing sage grouse plans that were years in the making through the painstaking collaboration of diverse stakeholders. Bernhardt's revisions weaken the protections already placed, and greenlight oil and gas companies to drill on crucial grouse habitat. With the removal of the restrictions in place, Bernhardt's plans would once again make the sage grouse more susceptible to an ESA listing. Ironically, a listing would mandate considerably more restrictions that no one wants.

While on the surface it may appear the new plans are a genuine attempt to offer greater protection to the Sage Grouse, an analysis from the Center for Western priorities reveals some interesting connections: Bernhardt's former clients, which include major oil and gas corporations and trade associations, have a significant footprint in sage-grouse country. In fact, oil and gas companies with ties to Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt own a fifth of all federal oil and gas leases that overlap with sage-grouse habitat throughout five key Western states — Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming – all told 2,014,651 acres. A separate analysis shows that since Bernhardt rejoined the Interior Department in 2017, it has made at least 15 policy changes, decisions or proposals that would directly benefit Bernhardt's former clients.

The threats to the quality of outdoor experiences have caught the eye of veterans. Men and women returning from military duty find that the great outdoors is a natural remedy that helps to heal the emotional and physical wounds that come from serving. It's a place where they can experience a sanctuary free of stresses and uncertainties that can help them recenter. Coming home to their favorite outdoor places is a buffer that brings a release they haven't known for a long time, and is often what they need to begin life's next chapter.

Bernhardt is insisting that his actions are reasonable and balanced. I, for one, don't believe him and neither did a U.S. District Court who on March 19, 2019 rendered a decision that held the Trump administration accountable for ignoring how its Bernhardt-led, energy dominant agenda is negatively impacting climate change, calling into question the need for ramping up fossil fuel production across the country.

Further, according to the bipartisan 2019 Conservation in the West, nearly two thirds of Nevadans consider themselves conservationists and outdoor recreationists. 81% believe the outdoor recreation economy is important for the future of Nevada and the West. Indeed, the latest research from the Outdoor Industry Association tells us that outdoor recreation in Nevada sustains three times as many jobs (87,000) as the mining industry (29,000).

To hear David Bernhardt explain his pro-energy policies, the conservation values of Nevadans are totally safe. But I am listening to what's being said between the lines and so are other Nevadans committed to conservation of our public lands. His rhetoric is akin to watching your kid with their hand in the cookie jar while telling you unabashedly that s/he's not eating the cookie, s/he's saving it. The bottom line is that Bernhardt has had and will have no trouble skewing policy directives to favor his oil and gas ties at the expense of healthy conservation practices for Nevada's irreplaceable outdoors and wildlife habitat. I urge our senators to remember this time-tested wisdom when they vote: "Don't listen to what people say, watch what they do."

Gabrielle d'Ayr was an Aviation Electronics Technician / In-Flight Technician in the US Navy and lives in Las Vegas, NV.