Why submitting a public comment still matters—and how to write a good one

Kate and Aaron talk to Nick Holshouser, a data analyst with Wandering Nature, LLC, who is analyzing the public comments coming in on the Trump administration’s proposal to repeal the 2001 roadless rule in real-time at roadless.org, and Blaine Miller-McFeeley, a senior legislative representative at Earthjustice, about public comment periods under the Trump administration. We cover why you should still submit public comments (even though the Trump administration probably isn’t interested in your opinion) and how to write a comment that requires an agency response and helps build the legal record against bad agency actions. News Trump is considering more data centers on public lands than previously known – The Washington Sun Forest Service adds comment period for PitCo’s Maroon Bells operations takeover – Aspen Journalism Resources Roadless Rule repeal live comment analysis Submit a comment on the proposed Roadless Rule repeal Watch this episode on YouTube (coming soon) Produced by Aaron Weiss, Lauren Bogard, Kate Groetzinger, and Lilly Bock-Brownstein Feedback: [email protected] Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Stand of Ponderosa Pines in Grassy Valley by Deer Creek on the Malheur National Forest in North Eastern Oregon; Source: USFS/Flickr The post Why submitting a public comment still matters—and how to write a good one appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Recorded live at Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre in Tucson as part of CWP’s Keep Parks Public campaign, Aaron interviews four experts about the current state of Arizona’s public lands: Matthew Nelson with the Arizona Trail Association, Russ McSpadden with the Center for Biological Diversity, Emily Burns with Sky Island Alliance, and Amy Juan from the Tohono O’odham Nation. We discuss the impacts of border wall construction on wildlife corridors and Indigenous sites, along with staffing and funding cuts at land management agencies and rollbacks of environmental protections, from Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge to Quitobaquito Springs. News Death Toll Rises in Grand Canyon Flood as Search Efforts Continue – New York Times Resources Keep Parks Public Tour Arizona Trail Association Center for Biological Diversity Sky Island Alliance Watch this episode on YouTube Produced by Aaron Weiss, Lauren Bogard, Kate Groetzinger, and Lilly Bock-Brownstein Feedback: [email protected] Music: Purple Planet Featured image: CWP photo The post LIVE from Tucson: Arizona’s Public Lands and the Border Wall appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron run through the weekly news, including the Trump administration’s plans to repeal the Roadless Rule and upend the Forest Service’s travel management planning process. Then, we play the first episode of On Common Ground: An American Inheritance, a new podcast from Eleven Dollar Bill studios, for you. In this first episode, host Bill Hedden traces how the fight we were allowed to win concealed the one we lost. Bill has spent half a century defending the public lands in southeastern Utah. He is joined by co-host John Leshy, former Solicitor of the Department of the Interior and our foremost scholar of public-lands law and history, along with voices from across the political spectrum. Together, “The Theft” lays out what was taken, how it happened, and why you weren’t supposed to notice until it was too late. News The Forest Service’s own review finds repealing the Roadless Rule could increase wildfire risk and harm communities – Westwise Roadless Rule repeal could cause more wildfires – KHOL ‘One-Two Punch’: After Attacking Roadless Rule, Trump Targets Off-Road Vehicle Limits – Common Dreams Resources Comment on the Roadless Rule repeal – regulations.gov Comment on the Travel Management Rule – regulations.gov Comment generator for Roadless – FUSEE Keep Parks Public Tour — RSVP to Tucson! On Common Ground: An American Inheritance Watch this episode on YouTube Produced by Aaron Weiss, Lauren Bogard, Kate Groetzinger, and Lilly Bock-Brownstein Feedback: [email protected] Music: Purple Planet Featured image:  Book Cliffs, Utah; Photo by Bob Wick The post Introducing: On Common Ground, a new podcast about the fight to maintain our public lands appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Recorded live at Nuckolls Brewing in Santa Fe as part of CWP’s Keep Parks Public campaign, Kate interviews four experts about the current stakes for New Mexico’s public lands. Charlotte Overby (Conservation Lands Foundation), Keegan King (Native Land Institute), Andrew Black (National Wildlife Federation/Earthkeepers 360), and Elaine Leslie (Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks) discuss the importance of defending New Mexico’s land, water, and wildlife from the current threats coming out of the Trump administration. Thank you to Nuckolls Brewing, REI Santa Fe, and New Mexico Wild for joining us at this event! Come see us at our next live show in Tucson! News Tribes decry two-week comment period tied to BLM proposal to strip Chaco protections — Santa Fe New Mexican Before-And-After Maps Show How Trump Is Slashing Utah National Monuments — Newsweek Interior Department Planning More Changes To National Park Service Staffing — Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks Lujan Grisham, Stansbury support 10,000-acre Sandia land transfer as Heinrich, NMWF oppose — Rio Rancho Observer Resources Keep Parks Public Tour — RSVP to Tucson! REI Cooperative Action Fund New Mexico Wild Conservation Lands Foundation Native Land Institute National Wildlife Federation Earth Keepers 360 Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks Center for Western Priorities Road to 30 Postcard: Caja Del Rio Watch this episode on YouTube Produced by Aaron Weiss, Lauren Bogard, Kate Groetzinger, and Lilly Bock-Brownstein Feedback: [email protected] Music: Purple Planet Featured image: CWP photo The post LIVE from Santa Fe: Defending New Mexico’s public lands appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron talk to Heather Hansman about her new book, Fierce Country: The Untold Story of Three Women Who Ignited America’s Love for the Wild. Plus, mining companies are staking an unprecedented number of claims in New Mexico. And we’re going on tour! Come see us in Santa Fe and Tucson. News By the #s: More mining claims filed in New Mexico in last 4 years than previous century – Source NM Resources Keep Parks Public Tour — RSVP to Santa Fe and Tucson! Buy Fierce Country Watch this episode on YouTube Produced by Aaron Weiss, Lauren Bogard, Kate Groetzinger, and Lilly Bock-Brownstein Feedback: [email protected] Music: Purple Planet Featured image: CWP photo The post Wild women with author Heather Hansman appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Forum of Fargo-Moorhead columnist Mike McFeely joins Aaron and Kate to trace Doug Burgum’s path from software tycoon to “opportunist” politician. McFeely outlines how Burgum abandoned his once-moderate image to become a die-hard Trump loyalist as Interior Secretary, all while chasing his future political ambitions and defending indefensible policies. In the news: On Monday, Trump slashed Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante by about 90% each (3 million acres total). SUWA’s Scott Braden joins the pod to explain the unlawful basis for the cuts, the elimination of the Bears Ears Commission, Tribal exclusion, and plans to challenge the reductions in court. News Day of Action on Monday, July 20th Trump Sharply Cuts the Size of Two National Monuments in Utah — New York Times How President Trump and Utah leaders lied and misled on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase — Center for Western Priorities McFeely: Doug Burgum’s very bad day — Forum of Fargo-Moorhead Resources Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) Mike McFeely’s column in Forum of Fargo-Moorhead Watch this episode on YouTube Produced by Aaron Weiss, Lauren Bogard, Kate Groetzinger, and Lilly Bock-Brownstein Feedback: [email protected] Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Burgum hearing ENR Apr 29 The post Who is Doug Burgum, really? appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Aaron talks with Tracy Stone-Manning, president of The Wilderness Society, former director of the Bureau of Land Management, and three-time guest on The Landscape, about how to rebuild federal land agencies after years of political disruption and why the current moment may be a once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink public lands law from the ground up. They discuss the Forest Service reorganization, the lessons Tracy learned rebuilding BLM after the first Trump administration’s failed relocation, the new Ground Shift initiative, and why aging laws like the 1872 Mining Act are long overdue for an overhaul. In the news: Aaron covers the ongoing fiasco at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, where a rushed, no-bid repainting job has devolved into peeling paint, algae, and an administration blaming phantom vandals. He also covers the tragic deaths of three federal wildland firefighters along the Colorado-Utah border and the questions it raises about whether staffing cuts are putting our fire crews in danger. News A bumpy beginning for the Great American State Fair — Washington Post The blue paint is peeling off the Reflecting Pool. Trump says vandals targeted it. — Washington Post 3 firefighters killed in Western wildfire were trying to shield themselves from flames — Associated Press Federal wildland firefighters report increased burnout, low morale — Federal News Network Resources Ground Shift The Wilderness Society Watch this episode on YouTube Produced by Aaron Weiss, Lauren Bogard, Kate Groetzinger, and Lilly Bock-Brownstein Feedback: [email protected] Music: Purple Planet Featured image: King Range National Conservation Area. BLM Instagram The post Tracy Stone-Manning on the future of public lands appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron talk to Jayson O’Neill, a longtime public lands watchdog and Montanan who previously led the Western Values Project and now heads up a campaign called Save Our Parks. Jayson explains how the Trump administration is using the National Park Service to funnel money into Trump’s vanity projects in DC, as well as how President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum subverted America250, an organization chartered by Congress to celebrate America’s upcoming 250th birthday. News National Park Entrance Fees Are Funding Trump’s D.C. Projects – New York Times Americans’ national parks passes will pay for Trump’s July 4 plans, documents show – Washington Post Mike Lee’s fast-track attempt to scrap this national monument’s management plan has failed – Salt Lake Tribune Judge orders Trump administration to restore signs changed at national parks – CNN Resources Save Our Parks website Analysis: Reporting signs that “disparage” American history – CWP Watch this episode on YouTube Produced by Aaron Weiss, Lauren Bogard, Kate Groetzinger, and Lilly Bock-Brownstein Feedback: [email protected] Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Photo of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool filled with algae; Source: Ali Khan/Wikimedia The post How Trump and Burgum hijacked the Park Service and America’s birthday party appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron are joined by Dr. Steve Feldgus, an independent consultant who served as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the Interior Department under President Biden. Dr. Feldgus talks about how to improve mine permitting in the US, a topic he worked on while at Interior. News Falling behind: Forest Service fuel treatment gap puts communities at risk – Center for Western Priorities Americans’ national parks passes will pay for Trump’s July 4 plans, documents show – Washington Post Wyoming’s ‘Path of the Pronghorn’ is a signature away from protections fought over for a quarter century – WyoFile Resources Red Tape is a Red Herring: Deregulation Will Not Speed Critical Mineral Development Watch this episode on YouTube Produced by Aaron Weiss, Lauren Bogard, Kate Groetzinger, and Lilly Bock-Brownstein Feedback: [email protected] Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Construction equipment at a bentonite mine on BLM land near Greybull, Wyoming; Source: Photo by Gretchen Hurley, Geologist, BLM Cody Field Office The post A former Interior department official explains what’s wrong with mining on public land appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Floodlight News reporter Evan Simon joins Aaron and Kate to break down a controversial Forest Service land swap in Montana’s Crazy Mountains that quietly gave Yellowstone Club — a private club for billionaires — near-exclusive access to what should be public land, and how Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s involvement in the club raises serious questions. […] The post How a private billionaires’ club took over the Crazy Mountains appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.