President Donald Trump has nominated Steve Pearce, a Republican former member of Congress from New Mexico, to lead the federal Bureau of Land Management, the White House announced Wednesday.

Pearce would be in charge of an agency that oversees 245 million acres of public lands, including for recreation, cattle grazing and extraction of oil and natural gas.

His nomination drew swift criticism from environmental groups in New Mexico and across the country. They urged Congress to reject Trump’s nomination.

“Pearce’s entire political career has been dedicated to blocking Americans’ access to public lands while giving the oil and gas industry free rein to drill and frack anywhere they wanted,” said Jennifer Rokala, executive director of the Center for Western Priorities, in a statement

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