Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Forest Service chief resigns with heartfelt email to workforce
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Thursday, February 27, 2025
Randy Moore is sworn in as the 20th Chief of the U.S. Forest Service on June 26, 2021. Forest Service photo by Tanya Flores ([link removed]) .
U.S. Forest Service chief Randy Moore announced his resignation in a heartfelt email ([link removed]) to the agency's 31,000 employees on Wednesday. Moore was the 20th chief of the Forest Service and the first African American to hold the position. He will retire on Monday, March 3rd after 45 years of employment with the federal government.
Moore's consoling message expressed both empathy for the staff as well as frustration. “The past several weeks has been incredibly difficult,” Moore wrote in his letter ([link removed]) . Nationally, roughly 2,000 probationary employees within the Forest Service have been dismissed, though the precise toll of the Trump administration's downsizing efforts on the workforce remains unclear. Moore encouraged downtrodden employees to take care of themselves and each other, writing ([link removed]) , “If you are feeling uncertainty, frustration, or loss, you are not alone. These are real and valid emotions that I am feeling, too.”
Moore shared his appreciation ([link removed]) for the vital services provided by national forests and the agency's workforce, including providing drinking water to over 80 million Americans. “You and the work you do is vital to the American way of life and you are a valued employee who has performed admirably.”
Heinrich, Huffman demand answers about Burgum's energy order
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking member Martin Heinrich and House Natural Resources Committee ranking member Jared Huffman sent a letter ([link removed]) to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum demanding answers about his secretarial order to “unleash American energy.” Burgum's Secretarial Order 3418 ([link removed]) was signed on February 3rd, and gave Interior staff 15 days to submit an “action plan” to slash regulations and rapidly scale up energy production on public lands. Heinrich and Huffman say Secretary Burgum is evading oversight since 22 days have elapsed since the order was signed and those plans have not been released publicly. “This delay suggests an attempt to evade Congressional oversight, public scrutiny, and accountability, fueling concerns that the administration is moving to undermine
public land protections and sell our natural resources to the highest bidders in secret,” the lawmakers wrote ([link removed]) .
** Quick hits
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DOGE's Man at DOI
Public Domain ([link removed])
Forest Service chief resigns with heartfelt email to agency workforce
WyoFile ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed]) | USA Today ([link removed])
Heinrich, Huffman demand answers about Burgum's energy order
E&E News ([link removed]) | National Parks Traveler ([link removed])
How seriously should we take the threat of selling public lands? Very seriously, experts say
Outdoor Life ([link removed])
Two Colorado historic sites fear they could become anti-diversity targets amid federal firings
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Interior department halts employee spending and travel
The Hill ([link removed])
Study: Mountain West is key for prairie dog conservation
KUNC ([link removed])
New plant species discovered in Texas' Big Bend National Park
KXAN ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” When the public thinks about these agencies they aren't viewing them through the lens of the federal government. They're viewing them through the lens of the resources they're protecting, and they think of them as people who are experts.”
—Dave Metz, partner and president of FM3 Research, KAWC ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@Interior ([link removed])
The Shoshone Mountains are among the longest mountain ranges in the Silver State, stretching 66 miles across the high desert of central Nevada. Spanning 400 square miles of public land, this rugged landscape offers vast, open spaces for exploration. Photo by W. O'Neill / @blmnv ([link removed])
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