Biden's BLM Chief, Former Spokesperson for Extremist Group, Investigated for Eco-Terrorism
Tracy Stone-Manning, Biden's new head of the Bureau of Land Management, has been accused of her involvement in a plan to spike trees in 1989.
Tracy Stone-Manning, appointed director of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) by President Joe Biden, has ties to an eco-terrorist group called Earth First.
Back in the 1980s, Stone-Manning was a spokesperson Earth First. This extremist group was allegedly behind the 2020 Aspen gas pipeline attack in that cut off heat for 3500 residents in the dead of winter. Earth First members have torched a ski resort lift, sabotaged a uranium mine, and attempted to cut power lines, all of which they’ve described as “dress rehearsals for attacks on nuclear plants.”
In 1989, Stone-Manning allegedly sent a threatening letter to the U.S. Forest Service warning that someone had spiked trees in Clearwater National Forest in Idaho.
Her letter concluded: “You bastards go in there anyway and a lot of people could get hurt.”
During the subsequent federal investigation, Stone-Manning received immunity in exchange for testifying against two of her fellow Earth First members. Both were convicted.
At the time, U.S. Forest Service criminal investigator Michael Merkley wrote:
“Ms. Stone-Manning was extremely difficult to work with; in fact, she was the nastiest of the suspects. She was vulgar, antagonistic, and extremely anti-government.”
Stone-Manning maintained that her role was peripheral. She says she only re-typed the letter, and her intention was to notify authorities.
John Barrasso, a retired Forest Service investigator in Wyoming, disagrees, calling her “an active member of the original group that planned the spiking.” Merkley quoted a witness who “recounted a conversation she had overheard wherein Ms. Stone-Manning along with other co-conspirators planned the tree-spiking and discussed whether to use ceramic or metal spikes in the trees.”During her Senate confirmation hearing, Stonening was asked whether she had ever been the target of a government investigation. She answered no.
In a letter to the Senate Energy Committee, Merkley claimed this was a lie under oath. He said Stone-Manning knew she was under criminal investigation during the 1989 incident. He said he was afraid to come forward to the committee because of the death threats he has received from Earth First members.
Mike Lee, Senator from Utah, told FOX News that Stone-Manning’s actions supported terrorists by “conspiring with criminals to make vile threats. She also lied to the Senate about her involvement with that. She’s not fit to run the Bureau of Land Management.”
Bob Abbey, director of the BLM under President Barack Obama, opposed her nomination. “As a 30-year BLM career employee, I don’t take her actions lightly, nor should anyone else,” he stated. “If Stone-Manning participated in any aspect of planning, implementation, or cover-up in the spiking of trees, then she should not be confirmed.”