Blake Moore and Morgan Brummund: The spirit of the American West is rooted in conservation

Last month, we joined nearly 400 young Americans, members of the Congressional Western Caucus, and multiple partner organizations in Salt Lake City for the annual American Conservation Coalition (ACC) Summit. Together we engaged in productive conversations about the conservative environmental movement and potential solutions to America’s diverse and unique conservation challenges.

The ACC Summit’s activists and speakers discussed the many challenges that hinder responsible environmental conservationism across the nation, particularly in the West. Water management, energy production, wildfires and forest management, farming, recreation and general rural American prosperity are all priorities of the West that ultimately require innovative collaboration in order to be successful. However, our time working in D.C. has shown us that there is an unfortunate disconnect between lawmakers on Capitol Hill and rural Americans working to keep food on our tables, energy in our homes and communities safe from wildfire. As Rep. Blake Moore discussed during a fireside chat with ACC President Benji Backer, we must bridge this gap if we want to craft meaningful legislation to address our most pressing conservation challenges.

The West is home to a variety of climates, which is not conducive to a one-size-fits-all energy production approach. We must turn instead to an all-of-the-above approach, meaning that Washingtonians should be able to utilize emissions-free hydropower just like Arizonans should be able to harness the abundant power from the sun. An all-of-the-above approach also recognizes the role that fuels — including natural gas and nuclear — play in the energy transition, providing critical base load generation that is available 24/7. Decisions made by bureaucrats in D.C. often hinder our domestic energy production capabilities, but it is essential that we prioritize efforts that allow us to harness the many energy sources available to us right here in the West to increase energy independence, create jobs and rebuild our economy.

Unfortunately, there are barriers that delay the deployment of new and modernization of existing infrastructure, many of which are most prominent in the West and required for clean energy production. For example, nearly fifty percent of the West is federally owned, and, in some Western states, the majority of land is considered public land. This means developers must meet burdensome requirements to start producing energy on that land. The BUILDER Act, which became law as a part of debt ceiling negotiations and the Fiscal Responsibility Act, is an important first step on streamlining the permitting process, but our work is not yet done. The West is home to the natural resources that will be critical to the energy transition and fighting climate change, but inefficient red tape frequently holds back domestic development and harms our ability to unleash American innovation.

To address these problems, Utah’s congressional delegation and the Congressional Western Caucus have taken action to ensure conservation policies introduced on the Hill represent and meet the unique demands of the West.

For example, Utah’s Great Salt Lake is reaching critically low water levels, creating challenges across the state and threatening one of Utah’s most cherished natural wonders and ecosystems. The Utah House delegation recently introduced the Great Salt Lake Stewardship Act to use extra funding from the Central Utah Project Completion Act to participate in water conservation efforts in the Great Salt Lake. By coordinating efforts on the state and federal levels, we can bring more solutions to the table and make a greater impact on the long-term health of our natural resources.

Congressman Moore also recently reintroduced the bipartisan and bicameral Forest Improvements through Research and Emergency Stewardship for Healthy Ecosystem Development and Sustainability (FIRESHEDS) Act for the 118th Congress. This bill would establish fireshed management areas and create wildfire hazard models to prevent wildfires. By equipping our land managers with the resources they need to analyze forest management practices, we will better protect our communities, habitats, infrastructure and landscapes.

The Western spirit is defined by hope, resilience and protecting the natural wonders all around us. The work of solutions-first, people-first organizations like the Congressional Western Caucus and ACC Action empowers communities and will usher in a new generation of environmentalism in the United States. The future of the conservative environmental movement is bright, and we are proud to be a part of it.

Congressman Blake Moore has represented Utah’s first congressional district since 2021.

Morgan Brummund, originally from northern California and Idaho, is the government affairs director at the American Conservation Coalition Action (ACC Action).