Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Why Trump's pick to run the BLM can't be trusted
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Friday, February 28, 2025
Source: CSPAN, House Natural Resources Committee, 6/15/23 ([link removed])
President Donald Trump has nominated ([link removed]) long-time oil and gas advocate Kathleen Sgamma to lead the Bureau of Land Management, the agency that oversees over 245 million acres of national public lands.
Sgamma, a co-author of the energy section of Project 2025 ([link removed]) , is currently the head of the Western Energy Alliance, a trade association for oil and gas companies with operations across the West. For years, Sgamma has been one of the loudest voices advocating against protections for public lands and the environment. She has consistently twisted the facts to fit her agenda, including downplaying the existence of human-caused climate change. Additionally, she has taken positions that are inconsistent with laws set by Congress, like the BLM’s multiple use mandate and the requirement that the agency seek public feedback about land management decisions like leasing and drilling.
In a new blog post ([link removed]) , Center for Western Priorities' Communications Manager Kate Groetzinger digs into the reasons Sgamma is an unfit choice to run the BLM and an unreliable spokesperson for the agency. “If she can’t be trusted to tell the truth about drilling on public lands, she certainly can’t be trusted to regulate it,” Groetzinger writes ([link removed]) .
Podcast: Western voters reject Trump agenda on public lands
On the latest episode of The Landscape ([link removed]) , Aaron and Kate break down the results of Colorado College’s annual State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll ([link removed]) 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 from January 3-17, 2025.)
** Quick hits
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Judge blocks Trump administration's mass firings of federal workers
Washington Post ([link removed])
Three former EPA leaders: You'll miss it when it's gone
New York Times ([link removed])
Arizona bill would block 90% of wind energy projects across the state
Arizona Republic ([link removed])
Opinion: Tyrant Musk slashing public lands and their stewards
Jackson Hole News & Guide ([link removed])
Economics and public opinion favor a healthy National Park Service
National Parks Traveler ([link removed])
House votes to overturn rule implementing methane fee
The Hill ([link removed])
Podcast: What will Donald Trump do with public lands?
RadioWest ([link removed])
Opinion: Mass firings of U.S. Forest Service works will cut the muscle, not 'trim the fat'
Writers on the Range ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” We are at a pivotal moment in our country’s history that demands all of us to work together and make our country stronger. We can’t do this by gutting the very agencies we need to keep us safe.”
—Former EPA administrators William K. Reilly, Christine Todd Whitman, & Gina McCarthy; New York Times ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@usinterior ([link removed])
Meet North America’s tiniest rabbit: the pygmy rabbit. 🐰
Tiny but tenacious, these little hoppers are the only rabbits in North America that dig their own burrows. They thrive in dense sagebrush out West, which not only shelters them but also makes up most of their diet.
Unlike pikas, pygmy rabbits don’t store food and must forage daily. They’re also surprisingly agile, sometimes climbing several feet into sagebrush—an unexpected sight for anyone expecting to find them on the ground!
Photo by R. Dixon / H. Ulmschneider
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