Tracy Stone-Manning
Director, Bureau of Land Management
Tracy Stone-Manning was born in 1965 in Springfield, Virginia. She earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, and received a Master of Science in environmental studies from the University of Montana.
Stone-Manning served seven years as the director of an environmental protection organization, then joined the office of U.S. Senator Jon Tester, serving five years as a regional director and senior advisor.
She was appointed by Montana’s governor to be the director of the Montana Development of Environmental Quality, later becoming the governor’s chief of staff. She worked for the National Wildlife Federation as a senior adviser for conservation policy.
Stone-Manning was nominated by President Joe Biden to be the director of the Bureau of Land Management. She was confirmed by the Senate and began work in October 2021.
She is married to Richard Manning.
In the News…
The federal government began storing helium gas, which is useful for both military and space programs, about 100 years ago. The gas is also vital to operating MRI machines. In the 1990s, Congress authorized the Bureau of Land Management to begin selling off the nation’s stockpile, which it did at below-market rates.
America’s helium stockpile is located in roughly 426 miles of pipeline across Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas, with stockpile headquarters underground in Amarillo, Texas.
In 2013, Congress enacted the Helium Stewardship Act that authorized the sale of some of America’s helium stockpile in 2021. There have been delays in effectuating that sale.
Now, the Bureau of Land Management within the Interior Department of President Biden’s administration is selling off the stockpile, which accounts for 30 percent of the U.S. supply. The sale has yet to be finalized.
A statement from the Department of the Interior said, “Sale of the reserve to a private entity, as Congressionally mandated by law, is not expected to meaningfully change the availability of helium.”
Today, only four countries produce helium—the United States, Russia, Algeria, and Qatar—and its distribution is by only a handful of multinational companies. All four producing nations hold helium reserves.
A supplier of helium for MRI machines said the equipment needs the helium and that they are concerned about a shortage. Others claim that helium production could be harmed by the sale.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Director Stone-Manning today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable Tracy Stone-Manning, Director
Bureau of Land Management
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240
