Former Forest Service leader on how Trump is hollowing out the agency

Kate and Aaron talk to Steve Ellis, a 38-year veteran of both the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management and current chair of the National Association of Forest Service Retirees, about what the Trump administration is doing, and trying to do, to the Forest Service, and what that means for everything from logging […] The post Former Forest Service leader on how Trump is hollowing out the agency appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron talk to writer, photographer, and adventurer Josh Jackson about his new book, The Enduring Wild, which beautifully captures the variety and vastness of California’s public lands—with a particular focus on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Josh is also the man behind the @forgottenlandsproject Instagram account, which he uses to share […] The post How do we protect BLM lands? We tell their stories appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron talk to experts at the National Parks Conservation Association about illegal mining inside of Mojave National Preserve and a recent uptick in mining claims on public lands, including those near national parks. News 250+ million acres of public lands eligible for sale in SENR budget reconciliation package – The Wilderness Society From […] The post Mining companies are knocking at the doors of our national parks appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Trump’s Department of Justice just released an opinion stating that the Antiquities Act gives presidents the power to shrink or eliminate national monuments at will. But what does that mean, for example, if Trump tries to undo Chuckwalla National Monument or shrink Bears Ears? Will this DOJ opinion stand up in court? We put those questions and […] The post The DOJ just told Trump he can eliminate monuments. Now what? appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron talk to Tracy Stone-Manning, former director of the Bureau of Land Management and current president of the Wilderness Society. Tracy tells us what it was like to inherit an agency that was decimated by the first Trump administration and what she’s worried about this time around—but also, what’s giving her hope for […] The post Tracy Stone-Manning on the biggest threats to public lands right now appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron talk to Kurt Repanshek, founder and editor of National Parks Traveler, about President Donald Trump’s proposed funding cuts to the National Park System as well as how staffing cuts imposed by Elon Musk’s DOGE are affecting the Park Service. News In the dead of night, House committee votes to sell off public […] The post How are the national parks holding up against DOGE and Trump’s attacks? appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron speak with Len Necefer, CEO & Founder of NativesOutdoors, a native owned outdoor media, apparel and consulting company. You may also know him as the man behind the Sonoran Avalanche Center Instagram account. Len talks about his latest project, a documentary film about the Colorado River basin titled The American Southwest, and […] The post New nature doc frames the Colorado River as an opportunity, not a crisis appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron nerd out with John Ruple, public lands professor at the University of Utah and a former member of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) about recent changes to how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is being implemented across federal agencies, like the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service. […] The post How the White House is making federal permitting less efficient appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron talk to two experts about recent executive orders that negatively affect public lands. Mitch Friedman, founder and executive director of Conservation Northwest, talks about how Trump’s executive order aimed at increasing logging in national forests squares with existing law and forest management plans, while Rachael Hamby, policy director at the Center for […] The post Unpacking Trump’s mining and timber EOs appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron are joined by Jimmy Tobias, a public lands reporter and contributor to the Public Domain substack, and Jacob Malcom, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Environmental Management at the Interior Department, to talk about Elon Musk’s attacks on the Interior Department and its employees. Jimmy has been covering changes inside Interior […] The post How Elon Musk is trying to dismantle the Interior department appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.