Doug Burgum

meant meant you know in sustainable use not just preservation because we saw what happened you know following the uh the the extremism that that landed around the spotted owl which is oh we've got to stop not just the harvesting of certain old growth timbers or it killed the timber industry in america and when we killed it back in the 1990s then And it's never come back.

And now what's happening 30 years later, because those timber companies that would get a lease from the federal government, they would have the responsibility for going in and thinning and cleaning and responsibly managing that. And they would send a check to the federal government. We'd have revenue. Instead of revenue today, we have expense.

And now what's happening 30 years later, because those timber companies that would get a lease from the federal government, they would have the responsibility for going in and thinning and cleaning and responsibly managing that. And they would send a check to the federal government. We'd have revenue. Instead of revenue today, we have expense.

We burn more board feet of lumber in this country every year right now than we are harvesting. Because of the wildfires. Because of uncontrolled wildfires. And then the uncontrolled wildfires are some of our biggest emitters, you know, in terms of CO2. You burn a tree, it releases the carbon. So again, the folks that wanted to... reduce emissions, save the planet, help the wildlife.

We burn more board feet of lumber in this country every year right now than we are harvesting. Because of the wildfires. Because of uncontrolled wildfires. And then the uncontrolled wildfires are some of our biggest emitters, you know, in terms of CO2. You burn a tree, it releases the carbon. So again, the folks that wanted to... reduce emissions, save the planet, help the wildlife.

We're actually doing the opposite of that. So we have to get back in the business of grazing our lands, managing our forests, developing our resources and our critical minerals. Getting back, we have to mine again in this country. Mining can't be, if we want to be a strong country, we've got to do that. And of course, oil and gas. You do all of those things that I just named, all of those involve

We're actually doing the opposite of that. So we have to get back in the business of grazing our lands, managing our forests, developing our resources and our critical minerals. Getting back, we have to mine again in this country. Mining can't be, if we want to be a strong country, we've got to do that. And of course, oil and gas. You do all of those things that I just named, all of those involve

Selling a lease to a private company, they send a check and then they develop the resource and then they send us a royalty. The little company that I just met with this morning out on the platform on the Gulf of America in its inception, this is a company with 450 people. They have sent $1.2 billion to the U.S. Treasury over the life of their company.

Selling a lease to a private company, they send a check and then they develop the resource and then they send us a royalty. The little company that I just met with this morning out on the platform on the Gulf of America in its inception, this is a company with 450 people. They have sent $1.2 billion to the U.S. Treasury over the life of their company.

You know, show me a tech company that's done that. I mean, impossible.

You know, show me a tech company that's done that. I mean, impossible.

Well, the lease and they lease it up front. So they write a check up front to have the opportunity to take the risk. They take all the risk. They build the platform. They hire the people. They do the seismic. They figure it out. And if they hit a dry hole, it's all on them. Taxpayer, nothing. But if they score, then they pay us a royalty. And what do we use that for?

Well, the lease and they lease it up front. So they write a check up front to have the opportunity to take the risk. They take all the risk. They build the platform. They hire the people. They do the seismic. They figure it out. And if they hit a dry hole, it's all on them. Taxpayer, nothing. But if they score, then they pay us a royalty. And what do we use that for?

We use it for, you know, we use it for paying down the deficit and the debt. We also use it for coastal restoration. along this beautiful Gulf Coast. You do coastal restoration with that. The dollars go back to the states. The largest funder of coastal restoration in this country is the oil and gas industry here in the Gulf.

We use it for, you know, we use it for paying down the deficit and the debt. We also use it for coastal restoration. along this beautiful Gulf Coast. You do coastal restoration with that. The dollars go back to the states. The largest funder of coastal restoration in this country is the oil and gas industry here in the Gulf.

So again, like I said, if you've driven on an interstate highway in your life or if you've gone to a public school, you should send a thank you note to the natural resource industries because they were helping to pay for that. But what's happened? If there's $100 trillion on the balance sheet, just say that,

So again, like I said, if you've driven on an interstate highway in your life or if you've gone to a public school, you should send a thank you note to the natural resource industries because they were helping to pay for that. But what's happened? If there's $100 trillion on the balance sheet, just say that,

And now, and you're a finance tech venture guy, you can say, okay, we'll allow the federal government to be the worst. You guys can have a 1% return on your natural assets. That would be $1 trillion. Okay. Last year, Interior brought in $22 billion. So we're off by a factor of 50 from having bad performance on getting a return on investment for the American people.

And now, and you're a finance tech venture guy, you can say, okay, we'll allow the federal government to be the worst. You guys can have a 1% return on your natural assets. That would be $1 trillion. Okay. Last year, Interior brought in $22 billion. So we're off by a factor of 50 from having bad performance on getting a return on investment for the American people.

Because we don't even know what the base unused resource is. I mean, we're trying to get our hands around, you know, what is our timber worth? What is our oil and gas? And that goes back to the core mission of the U.S. Geologic Survey. Its original core mission was to map.