Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Protestors hang upside down flag on El Cap to call out attacks on public lands
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Monday, February 24, 2025
Fire fall in Yosemite National Park. Credit: Matthew Dillon via Wikimedia Commons ([link removed]) .
A group of climbers hung a giant upside down American flag from the face of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park on Saturday. The flag was displayed on the iconic 3,000 foot granite cliff as a protest against the recent wave of unwarranted firings of National Park Service workers, including eleven full-time employees ([link removed]) of Yosemite National Park.
The protesters told the San Francisco Chronicle they wanted to peacefully draw attention to the fact that “public lands in the U.S. are under attack. ([link removed]) ” The inverted U.S. flag is considered a sign of distress or an imminent threat to the country.
Gavin Carpenter, a maintenance mechanic with Yosemite and disabled military veteran who supplied the flag and helped hang it on Saturday, told the Chronicle ([link removed]) , “We’re bringing attention to what’s happening to the parks, which are every American’s properties. It’s super important we take care of them, and we’re losing people here, and it’s not sustainable if we want to keep the parks open.” The Trump administration has so far fired 1,000 National Park Service employees ([link removed]) as part of its broad effort to downsize the federal government.
A particularly high number of visitors ([link removed]) came to the park to see El Capitan on Saturday for a chance to witness the famous “firefall ([link removed]) ,” a phenomenon that only happens in late February when the evening sun hits the Horsetail Falls on the east side of El Capitan, optically transforming the falling water to look like fire.
“If the flag is for national parks, I am all for it,” said ([link removed]) Joe Amaral, a visitor to the park from Las Vegas. “We have been to 32 national parks. We think they are short on resources as it is, and now you want to take away more. It isn’t right.”
** Quick hits
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Protestors hang upside down American flag on the face of El Capitan in Yosemite to call out attacks on public lands
San Francisco Chronicle ([link removed]) | Explorers Web ([link removed]) | NBC ([link removed]) | CNN ([link removed])
Trump administration mass firings hit Utah national parks
Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
65 percent of Westerners oppose giving states control of national public lands
Outdoor Life ([link removed])
Lawmakers, public land advocates warn about consequences of land management agency job cuts
KSUT ([link removed]) | Salem Statesman Journal ([link removed]) | Denver Gazette ([link removed])
Trump paralyzes the U.S. wind power industry
Wall Street Journal ([link removed])
Wipeout: New Mexicans talk about what mass firings mean for the future of public lands
Source NM ([link removed])
Sen. Bennet girds for battle over public lands, oil and gas, mining, and cuts to federal workforce
Real Vail ([link removed])
Opinion: Let's ensure future generations can treasure America's national parks
Staunton News Leader ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” When I look at this poll, it shows that we need to have an uprising of people that say 'I didn’t vote for this.'”
—Land Tawney ([link removed]) , co-chair of conservation group American Hunters and Anglers ([link removed]) in reference to the 2025 Conservation in the West Poll ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@usinterior ([link removed])
peaceful morning in a quiet stretch of pine forest—a little timeline cleanse, courtesy of @CongareeNPS ([link removed]) .
In winter, the Congaree and Wateree Rivers flood the park’s wilderness, transforming the landscape into a surreal, water-filled world. Glide through the towering trees by kayak and experience the park’s ever-changing beauty—where the waters bring both renewal and reflection.
Photo by C. Lillard / NPS
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