The Landscape

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.

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, […] 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 […] The post Western voters reject Trump agenda on public lands appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron are joined by Tim Whitehouse, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, and Mitch Flanigan, a former ranger at Denali National Park, to talk about recent firings across Interior department agencies, including the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Managment, as well as at the U.S. Forest Service. Prior […] The post Layoffs at Interior are causing chaos and heartbreak appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Aaron and Kate are joined by Mark Squillace, natural resources law professor at the University of Colorado Law School. Professor Squillace provided legal counsel to the Interior Department under President Bill Clinton and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, and he’s a two-time veteran of this podcast. Today, we discuss the legality of President Trump’s executive orders […] The post Can President Trump even do that? Public lands edition appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Drew McConville, a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and an expert on public lands and energy, joins the conversation to unpack the immediate impacts of Trump's executive orders on the environment. He discusses the prioritization of fossil fuels over conservation, especially in relation to Alaska's ecosystems. The implications for indigenous communities and wildlife protections are alarming. Additionally, the episode highlights the potential dangers of rolling back environmental regulations and the complexities of nuclear waste management in local communities.

Lauren Bogard and Sterling Homard from the Center for Western Priorities dive into President Biden's conservation record, shedding light on his noteworthy achievements in public land protection. They discuss the implications of Doug Burgum's nomination as Interior Secretary, alongside legislative threats to the Antiquities Act. The duo highlights Biden's proactive initiatives, including new national monuments and advancements in renewable energy on public lands. They also explore public sentiment against changes to national monument designations and reflect on the future of conservation amidst political challenges.