This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with the North Dakota Monitor. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. During Doug Burgum’s two terms as North Dakota governor,

WASHINGTON — Former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has cleared a vital step in his bid to become Interior secretary.

President-elect Donald Trump and his transition team named outgoing North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to lead the agency that manages the nation’s natural and cultural resources.

Doug Burgum committed to keeping wild horses in Theodore Roosevelt National Park and highlighted North Dakota examples of managing public lands and energy during his confirmation hearing to lead the Department of the Interior.

The former North Dakota governor told senators at his confirmation hearing that he saw limits on energy production as a national security threat.

Watch former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum's confirmation hearing for Interior Secretary under incoming President Trump.