Idaho Republican U.S. Sen. Jim Risch spoke up for his constituents’ “passionate, unified” support for public lands during the confirmation hearing for proposed Bureau of Land Management chief Steve Pearce on Wednesday.

Risch questioned whether Pearce, a controversial pick for his past sentiments to sell public lands, understood the director’s role. He also told Pearce, a former Republican congressman from New Mexico, that he is “a one-issue guy” on Pearce’s appointment.

President Donald Trump nominated Pearce for the Bureau of Land Management post in November. The agency manages 245 million acres across the country, including 12 million acres in Idaho.

Pearce’s nomination has drawn backlash from public lands, conservation and environmental advocates who scrutinize Pearce’s history of comments and support for legislation to dispense with public lands, particularly in the West. Pearce also has entanglements with oil and gas companies, which critics have said would be at odds with the BLM role, as the agency issues oil and gas leases.

As Risch questioned Pearce, he emphasized that Bureau of Land Management policy is a job left to lawmakers, not the agency director.

“I want to stress for people watching this today that we’re talking about a job that you’re appointed to manage the BLM,” Risch said. “And I stress ‘manage’ the BLM.”

“There is no authority for you, for that matter, the president, to sell off public land,” Risch continued. “Do you agree with that?”

Pearce said he agreed.

Risch told the former congressman that he believes Pearce is “very qualified” to manage the millions of acres the bureau oversees, but reiterated that any sale of public lands would be impossible without the consent of Congress, which Risch called “extremely unlikely at this point.”

The Idaho senator said public lands are an issue where 98% of constituents agree. Polling last month by Conservation Voters for Idaho, a local nonprofit that advocates for pro-conservation issues in politics, indicated that a majority of Idahoans disagreed with Pearce’s stated views on public lands.

“In all my decades of serving the state, I have never received such passionate, unified messages as I have on this particular topic,” Risch said. “Idahoans do not want their public lands sold. Period. Full stop. Public lands are really part of us and are sacred to us.”

Risch and fellow Idaho Republican Sen. Mike Crapo spoke out against the possible sale of public lands last year when the topic became a major issue as part of the federal budget reconciliation bill. Rep. Mike Simpson, also a Republican, spearheaded efforts in the House to thwart land sales.

Pearce told Risch he would defer to state leaders, who know their land and constituents better than Washington, D.C., politicians, and promised to “follow the law completely.”

But Pearce didn’t completely change his tune from past comments on the topic. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, asked Pearce whether there is too much public land in the West now, as Pearce had previously indicated in a 2012 letter to then-Speaker of the House John Boehner over budget concerns.

“I’m not so sure that I’ve changed (my mind), I’m not sure that I was not speaking out of sheer frustration,” Pearce said.

His confirmation hearing testimony earned more criticism from skeptics like the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation advocacy organization, which said the former lawmaker “waffled” on public lands.

In contrast, Risch earned praise from a local conservation nonprofit for his questioning. Rob Mason, Idaho director for The Wilderness Society, said Idahoans “can be proud of the leadership Sen. Risch showed” during the hearing.

“He was clear and direct with the nominee that we don’t want to see our public lands sold off,” Mason said.

“However, Pearce’s statements during today’s hearing did little to alleviate the central concern surrounding his nomination, which is his long record of advocating for the sale of America’s public lands,” Mason added. “If confirmed, Sen. Risch will need to hold Steve Pearce accountable for ensuring that public lands continue to remain in public hands.”

The Senate has not yet scheduled a date to vote on Pearce’s confirmation.

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