The Landscape

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 ski resorts to popular trails, see the public land Mike Lee proposes selling across the West – Salt Lake Tribune New report finds over 2,700 oil and gas-related spills occurred in West’s top oil-producing states in 2024 – Center for Western Priorities Resources The New Land Rush: Mining Claims Encroaching on National Parks – National Parks Conservation Association Episode transcript (to come) Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Mojave National Preserve; Jeff Hollett/Flickr 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 more to John Leshy, professor at UC Law and former Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior under President Clinton.  News DOJ finds Trump can abolish areas protected as national monuments – Washington Post Resources Episode transcript  Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Bears Ears National Monument – Indian Creek; Photo by Bob Wick, BLM 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 America’s public lands. We also cover the news that a provision to sell-off hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands in Utah and Nevada has been stripped from the budget reconciliation package. News Maloy’s public land sell-off struck from Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ – Salt Lake Tribune House GOP Passes Budget Dismantling Public Land Protections, But Stops Short Of Sell-Off – Public Domain The Wilderness Society selects new president to lead conservation efforts Resources Follow CWP on Bluesky Episode transcript Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Courtesy TWS   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 lands – Center for Western Priorities Zinke wants public land sales out of Republican megabill – E&E News Nevadans distance themselves from Nevada rep’s attempt to sell public lands – Center for Western Priorities Resources National Parks Traveler Podcast Subscribe to Look West Episode transcript (to come) Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: U.S. Dept of State/Flickr   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 how he’s advocating for public lands under the second Trump administration. Follow NativesOutdoors and Fin & Fur Films on Instagram for updates on the 2025 theatrical release of The American Southwest. News STATEMENT: White House proposes disposing of national park sites, national forests, and giving DOGE control over fighting wildfires – Center for Western Priorities Resources Subscribe to Look West Episode transcript Email us at podcast@westernpriorities.org Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: The Upper Colorado River; Source: BLM/Flickr 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. News Trump’s new goal: Revive a major climate pollutant that power markets have turned against – Politico Trump administration rolls back forest protections in bid to ramp up logging – Associated Press Trump nominee for public lands post withdraws after her criticism of Jan. 6 attack surfaces – Associated Press Federal judge orders immediate thaw of climate, infrastructure funds – Politico Resources Subscribe to Look West Episode transcript (to come) Email us at podcast@westernpriorities.org Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Logging in national forest; USFS 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 Western Priorities, covers Trump’s recent order seeking to ramp up mining on public lands. News Republicans weigh sales of public land in reconciliation – E&E News Anti-public lands bills take hits in Legislature – Missoula Current Resources Subscribe to Look West Episode transcript (to come) Email us at podcast@westernpriorities.org Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: The White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshire, USA; weesam2010/Flickr 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 since President Donald Trump took office, and Jacob chose to leave his job at the Interior Department last month in response to the mass firings and changes implemented by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. News Trump Executive Order Streamlines Mining Permits. Environmentalists Fear What Comes Next – Inside Climate News Interior, HUD to offer federal lands to build affordable housing – E&E News Plan to Sell Off ‘Underutilized’ Federal Land for Affordable Housing Is Ineffective and Inefficient, Experts Say – Outdoor Life Federal appeals court sides with corner-crossing hunters in Wyoming dispute – Montana Free Press Resources Subscribe to Public Domain  Episode transcript Email us at podcast@westernpriorities.org Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Interior Dept/Wikimedia Commons   The post How Elon Musk is trying to dismantle the Interior department appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

This week, we take a break from bad news to talk about what nature does to your brain. Kate and Aaron speak to author Florence Williams about her book, The Nature Fix, which came out in 2017 but is just as relevant today. Her book looks at the science behind why nature makes us feel happier, healthier, and more connected to humanity. Qualities we could all probably use a bit more of these days. News Trump orders swathes of US forests to be cut down for timber – The Guardian Labor board temporarily reinstates laid-off Forest Service workers’ employment – Montana Free Press Trump seeks minerals refining on Pentagon bases to boost US output – Reuters Trump, Musk Plan to Shutter Interior Offices Nationwide, Devastating Local Economies and Abandoning Tribes – Natural Resources Committee Democrats Elon Musk’s $1 Spending Limit Is Paralyzing Federal Agencies – Wired Trump just weakened one of the nation’s oldest environmental laws – Washington Post Supreme Court rejects red states’ bid to quash climate cases – E&E News Resources Subscribe to Look West Episode transcript Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Young tots and caregivers take a walk through a green forest looking for treasures. Photo by D. Coble, BLM Alaska    The post How nature makes us feel happier, healthier, and more connected to humanity appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Aaron and Kate break down the results of Colorado College’s annual State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll with pollsters Lori Weigell and Dave Metz. The poll found that voters in the West support preserving and protecting public lands more than ever before in the poll’s 15-year history. That’s right—just as President Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are working to open up public lands for unfettered drilling and mining—majorities of Western voters, including Republicans, are saying “We want those lands protected.” (The poll was conducted in eight Western states January 3-17, 2025.)  News ‘MAGA’ voters in the West still support federal management of public lands, poll finds – CPR Poll finds majority of Westerners support climate action and conservation – High Country News Mountain West voters overwhelmingly oppose federal public lands funding cuts, poll finds – Colorado Politics Resources 2025 State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll results – Colorado College Western voters reject anti-public land policies – Westwise Trump’s pick to run the BLM can’t be trusted. Here’s why – Westwise Episode transcript  Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Family hike at Zapata Falls; Photo by Allison Miller, BLM The post Western voters reject Trump agenda on public lands appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.