Tracy Stone-Manning (born 1965) is an American environmental policy advisor who is the current director of the

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...

in the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...

Early life and education

Stone-Manning was born in

Springfield, Virginia Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs includ ...

. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in radio, television, and film from the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

, and a Master of Science in environmental studies from the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fal ...

Career

From 1999 to 2006, Stone-Manning was the director of the Clark Fork Coalition, an environmental protection organization based in

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ; fla, label=Salish language, Séliš, Nłʔay, lit=Place of the Small Bull Trout, script=Latn; kut, Tuhuⱡnana, script=Latn) is a city in the U.S. state of Montana; it is the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula Cou ...

. She joined the U.S. Senate office of

Jon Tester Raymond Jon Tester (born August 21, 1956) is an American farmer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Tester is the dean of Montana's congressio ...

, serving as his regional director from 2007 to 2012 and acting state staff director and senior advisor in 2012. From January 2013 to November 2014, Stone-Manning served as the director of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality. From November 2014 to December 2017, she was the chief of staff for Montana Governor

Steve Bullock Steve, Steven, or Stephen Bullock may refer to: *Steve Bullock (British politician) (born 1953), first directly elected mayor of the London Borough of Lewisham *Steve Bullock (American politician) (born 1966), 24th Governor of Montana (2013–2021) ...

. Since 2017, Stone-Manning has worked for the

National Wildlife Federation The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) is the United States' largest private, nonprofit conservation education and advocacy organization, with over six million members and supporters, and 51 state and territorial affiliated organizations (includin ...

, first as associate vice president for public lands and then as a senior advisor for conservation policy.

Interior Department Nomination

President Joe Biden nominated Stone-Manning for director of the

on April 22, 2021. Hearings on her nomination were held on June 8, 2021. The committee deadlocked on her nomination on July 22, 2021, forcing the entire Senate to discharge the nomination. On July 27, 2021, the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

voted 50–49 on the motion to discharge her nomination from the

Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and recla ...

. On September 30, 2021, the Senate confirmed her nomination by a vote of 50–45. Those who had voted against her were uniformly

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

; some stated that her earlier connection to what they claimed to be "eco-terrorism" was disqualifying. She started work on October 7, 2021, and was sworn in on October 27.

Personal life

In 1989, a friend of Stone-Manning's, and fellow environmental activist, was involved in

tree spiking Tree spiking involves hammering a metal rod, nail or other material into a tree trunk, either inserting it at the base of the trunk where a logger might be expected to cut into the tree, or higher up where it would affect the sawmill later proces ...

in Idaho's

Clearwater National Forest Clearwater National Forest with headquarters on the Nez Perce Reservation at Kamiah is located in North Central Idaho in the northwestern United States. The forest is bounded on the east by the state of Montana, on the north by the Idaho Panhandl ...

. At the friend's behest, Stone-Manning wrote an anonymous letter to federal officials, informing them of the tree spiking and warning that "a lot of people could get hurt" if logging were to continue. In her 1993 federal court testimony, Stone-Manning admitted that she had retyped, edited, and mailed the letter. She received

prosecutorial immunity In United States law, absolute immunity is a type of sovereign immunity for government officials that confers complete immunity from criminal prosecution and suits for damages, so long as officials are acting within the scope of their duties. The Su ...

in order to testify against the activist. The activist was found guilty and sentenced to 17 months in prison. As of 2021, Stone-Manning lives in

with her husband, author, and journalist

Richard Manning Richard "Dick" Manning is an American environmental author and journalist who writes about music, neuroscience, and agriculture. Career Manning is the author of 11 books and has worked as a journalist, reporter and editor for more than 40 year ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stone-Manning, Tracy 1965 births Living people Biden administration personnel Bureau of Land Management personnel State cabinet secretaries of Montana People from Missoula, Montana People from Springfield, Virginia University of Maryland, College Park alumni University of Montana alumni