(Reuters) – The U.S. Senate voted Thursday to confirm Tracy Stone-Manning, Montana’s conservationist, as the Bureau of Land Management leader.

Stone-Manning was nominated and confirmed by President Joe Biden by a 50/45 vote.

This bureau is a part of the Interior Department and covers more than 10% of the country’s total surface. Stone-Manning, the bureau’s director, will play a central role in Biden’s efforts to combat climate change by managing public lands. This includes a review of federal oil and gas leasing programs.

Stone-Manning, who was previously the senior advisor for conservation policy at National Wildlife Federation (NWF), opposed Trump’s push towards increasing fossil fuel production on public lands to the detriment of all other uses.

Stone-Manning was previously the chief of staff for Steve Bullock, a Democratic ex-Governor of Montana. Her work also includes that of Jon Tester, Montana Democratic Senator.

Republicans were against Stone-Manning’s nomination because of her connections to an old tree-spiking incident. Tree spiking refers to hammering a rod of metal into a tree in order to stop logging.

In a speech given on the Senate floor before the vote, John Barrasso (Republican Senator) raised these concerns.

Joe Manchin, a moderate Democratic senator, expressed his support for Stonemanning and emphasized her years as a public servant.