Utah Congressman Rob Bishop, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, has made no secrets about his disdain for America’s foundational conservation laws.
On the Endangered Species Act: “I would be happy to invalidate [it].”
On the Antiquities Act: “It is the most evil act ever invented.”
On the Land and Water Conservation Fund: it is a “slush fund” and we should instead “plow some money back into [the oil and gas industry] to make sure that it’s there.”
(See the bottom of this post for for a summary of each law and its importance to American conservation.)
Even though these positions are extremely unpopular with voters across the West and the American public, Congressman Bishop has built his political career proudly working to undermine national public lands and weakening or invalidating a slew of environmental laws.