Chicago City Wire

Last week the St. Louis Law School Chapter of the Federalist Society met with former Reagan Administration Secretary of Natural Resources Becky Norton Dunlop to discuss natural resource policy, an issue that Dunlop called "in the purview of the left for many years."

"[Democrats] seem to have claimed [natural resource policy] as their own and their view was 'if the federal government's not doing it then it can't be done right," Dunlop said in the interview. 

The activist explained that the belief that Republicans don't care about the environment and natural resources is a common misconception. 

"I am here to tell you it just not the case," Dunlop said. "We as conservatives are interested in conserving what's beautiful. The good, the true and the beautiful in many ways and in many areas, particularly natural resources."

Dunlop said that natural resource and environmental solutions cannot be considered "one size fits all" solutions; what is happening in Virginia, she said, is going to be different than what happens in Chicago, St. Louis or Los Angeles.

"So what the liberals and the states want is to manage everything with a one-size-fits-all law or regulation from Washington, D.C,. where they can actually pick winners and losers, who they are going to prosecute, who they are going to leave alone," Dunlop said. "We conservatives on the other hand understand the site and specific nature of natural resources and how they are affected. And that is where we’d like to see any role the government has played out at the state level."

Dunlop is the Heritage Foundation's Ronald Reagan Distinguished Fellow and has been with the think thank since 1998. According to the foundation's site, Dunlop manages special projects, travels as an ambassador and participates in grassroots efforts.