Biden admin pick called for population control in master’s thesis

President Biden’s pick to run the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) argued in her graduate thesis nearly three decades ago that Americans should have no more than two children and claimed allowing livestock to graze on public land was “destroying the West.”

Tracy Stone-Manning was already under fire from Republicans for her links to a so-called “tree-spiking” operation to sabotage logging efforts in Idaho in the late 1980s. Stone-Manning eventually agreed to testify against two people involved in the eco-terrorist operation in exchange for immunity from prosecution.

Stone-Manning’s thesis, which she used to obtain a Master’s degree in environmental science from the University of Montana and was first reported on by the Daily Caller, was formatted as eight PSAs dealing with environmental issues including logging, mining and overpopulation. The idea, she wrote, was that the environmental movement needed “advertising’s ubiquitous power … to capture mainstream America.”

One of the ads features an image of a toddler with the caption: “Can you find the environmental hazard in this photo?”

“That’s right, it’s the cute baby,” the ad reads. “Americans believe overpopulation is only a problem somewhere else in the world. But it’s a problem here too.”

“When we overpopulate, the earth notices it more,” the ad concluded. “Stop at two. It could be the best thing you do for the planet.”

Stone-Manning’s thesis also included a TV ad script in which a woman mulls having a third child.

Tracy Stone-Manning would control livestock grazing on 155 million acres of federal land if nominated.
Tracy Stone-Manning would control livestock grazing on 155 million acres of federal land if confirmed.
Rod Lamkey – CNP / MEGA

“I know it would be my third baby, but there’s not a population problem here like in Africa or India,” the woman says. “Besides, smart people like Bob and me should be the people having kids.” Her musings are followed by a montage of traffic, pollution and environmental disasters, over which a voiceover would urge viewers to “do the truly smart thing [and] stop at one or two kids.”

“The point is a simple one,” Stone-Manning wrote. “Harshly, the ads say that the earth can’t afford Americans. More softly, they ask people to think about how their family planning choices affect the planet.”

The proposal is an echo of Communist China’s “one-child policy,” which was in effect for 35 years before it was scrapped in 2015.

Another ad focused on livestock overgrazing on public land, saying: “If you saw what ‘real food’ does to our public land, you’d have a cow.”

“Most likely, the grasses won’t grow back, because the topsoil took flight,” she wrote. “Worse still, the government encourages this destruction. It charges ranchers under $2 a month to graze each cow and its calf on public land — your land … A mere 3 [percent] of America’s beef comes off public lands. We are desertifying the West for a pittance of our diet.”

If Stone-Manning is confirmed, she will lead an agency that manages livestock grazing on 155 million acres of federal land, according to the BLM website.

Republicans have lined up against Stone-Manning’s nomination over her link to the “tree-spiking” effort. Former BLM Director Robert Abbey, who headed the agency between 2009 and 2012, has also said she should withdraw her nomination.

So far, Biden is standing by his choice.

“Tracy Stone-Manning is a dedicated public servant who has years of experience and a proven track record of finding solutions and common ground when it comes to our public lands and waters,” the White House said in a statement to Fox News Tuesday. “She is exceptionally qualified to be the next Director of the Bureau of Land Management.”

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