** February, in brief
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Sign for Glacier National Park at the east entrance near St. Mary, Montana. Tony Webster, Wikimedia Commons ([link removed])


** Key news from February:
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* In his first day on the job, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum signed ([link removed]) six secretarial orders intended to further President Trump's “energy dominance” agenda. The Secretarial Order “Unleashing American Energy ([link removed]) ” calls for a 15-day internal review of oil, gas, and mining resources on public lands, including national monuments designated under the Antiquities Act. “The last time Trump attempted to shrink national monuments, his efforts were met with near-universal condemnation,” Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala said in a statement ([link removed]) . “They should stop now, before they upset millions of Westerners by illegally reducing or eliminating national
monuments.”

* Secretary Burgum fired more than 2,000 employees across the Interior department in what's being called the Valentine's Day massacre ([link removed]) . Nearly half of the terminated employees worked for the National Park Service, where the effects of the firings will be felt first by the public. The fired employees were in probationary periods, either new hires or veteran employees who had taken new positions within the past year. “Firing the next generation of America’s park rangers, scientists, and land managers is a recipe for literal disaster,” said Aaron Weiss ([link removed]) , deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities. “I don’t know whether we’ll see overflowing latrines, polluted streams, or deadly wildfires first, but Doug Burgum is already leaving a path of destruction
across America’s parks and public lands.”

* President Donald Trump nominated ([link removed]) Kathleen Sgamma, a long-time oil and gas advocate, to run the Bureau of Land Management. Sgamma has worked for nearly 20 years on behalf of oil and gas companies to help them strip away protections for public lands in the West. She also wrote the oil and gas section of Project 2025 ([link removed]) . “This appointment will hand the keys to our public lands over to oil and gas companies,”said ([link removed]) Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby. “Her appointment is a direct threat to Western communities and wildlife that depend on healthy landscapes, clean air, and clean water.”

* The Wyoming senate defeated ([link removed]) a proposed resolution demanding Congress transfer ownership of all federal public land excluding Yellowstone National Park to the state. The resolution ([link removed]) was introduced late last month by Senator Bob Ide, a commercial real estate developer, who argued ([link removed]) that the measure was necessary to counteract federal overreach and theorized that the U.S. Constitution requires the federal government to turn over the public land.The resolution failed despite two amendments to dilute the original proposal—the first excluded Grand Teton National Park from the demand, and the second excluded national forests, monuments, and historic
sites. These efforts add to the long list ([link removed]) of states' failed attempts to take over national public lands—efforts that remain deeply unpopular with the public ([link removed]) .

* The State of the Rockies Project at Colorado College released its 15th annual Conservation in the West Poll ([link removed]) . The survey found broad, increasing support for conservation, and strong bipartisan repudiation of the Trump administration's policies on public lands. 88 percent of Western voters supported keeping existing national monument designations on public lands—an eight point increase compared to 2017. 72 percent of Western voters, including a majority of self-identified MAGA supporters, prefer that elected officials place more emphasis on protecting water, air, and wildlife, while only 24 percent prefer elected officials prioritize the production of energy by maximizing the amount of public lands available for oil and gas production.



** What to watch for in March:
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* President Donald Trump will deliver ([link removed]) his first address to a joint session of Congress on March 4.
* Will the Interior department release the action plans required by Burgum’s secretarial orders?
* Will Katherine Macgregor and Kathleen Sgamma receive confirmation hearings in March?
* Will the government shut down?


** From the Center for Western Priorities:
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** Winning the West: Support for public lands gave candidates an edge in 2024
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Despite a national election cycle dominated by rhetoric focused on inflation and immigration, public lands broke through in Western Congressional and down-ballot races in 2024. Just as national campaigns found success in focusing on the direct impacts of inflation on voters’ lives, public lands, and natural resources proved to be an issue that gave candidates an edge, especially when the candidate effectively connected them to quality of life in the West and their role in Western identity.

Sixty five percent of Western voters say they visit public lands at least a few times a year. As a cherished and assumed aspect of life in the West, public lands have the ability to transcend political boundaries. The issues of public lands, water resources, and climate action continue to resonate with a significant portion of Western voters across the political spectrum.

In key races in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, and New Mexico, candidates who articulated clear positions on these issues reaped benefits. Even where candidates did not prioritize conservation over other issues, they still utilized the outdoors and landscapes of the West in their advertising to connect with voters. This underscores the continued importance of conservation as a political issue, albeit one that coexists with other pressing concerns in voters’ minds and the public dialog.

Candidates who successfully balanced economic development with environmental stewardship often found favor with voters. At the same time, those who took more extreme positions on either end of the spectrum struggled to gain broad support. Looking ahead, it’s evident that conservation can play a key role in elections, even in cycles dominated by national issues, so long as candidates tie conservation to quality of life, Western identity, and local economies.

—Jennifer Rokala, Executive Director
Read the report ([link removed])


** Report: Don't Drill Here
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In a new interactive report ([link removed]) , the Center for Western Priorities highlights special landscapes with high recreational, ecological, and cultural value that were wrongfully nominated for leasing by oil and gas companies, but rightfully deferred—or removed—from lease sales by the Bureau of Land Management.

The report, titled Don't Drill Here ([link removed]) , showcases examples in which companies sought to drill on the doorsteps of prized landscapes, like Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota and Chaco Canyon in New Mexico. The report demonstrates that when oil and gas companies nominate lands for leasing that are inappropriate for drilling, the Bureau of Land Management's ability to remove those lands from leasing in response to bipartisan public protest is critical.

These types of conflicts are likely to reemerge as President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum attempt to remove “burdens” on oil and gas development on public lands, handing the keys to the leasing process over to the oil and gas industry.

“Reducing conflicts while still allowing oil and gas companies the opportunity to drill in appropriate areas should be the goal of the Bureau of Land Management,” said ([link removed]) Communications Manager Kate Groetzinger in a statement. “Not enriching oil and gas CEOs at the expense of rural communities and national parks.”
Read the report ([link removed])
[link removed]


** The most insidious items in Doug Burgum's day one secretarial orders ([link removed])
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A few of the less-obvious ways the new Interior secretary puts drilling and mining above all else

[link removed]


** Trump’s Interior secretary is laying the groundwork to settle petty political scores - by trashing America’s public lands ([link removed])
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[link removed]


** Western voters reject anti-public land policies
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Results from the 15th annual Conservation in the West Poll show broad support for conservation, even among self-identified MAGA voters

[link removed]


** Trump’s pick to run the BLM can’t be trusted. Here’s why ([link removed])
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Kathleen Sgamma has consistently twisted the facts to serve the oil and gas industry at the expense of the environment and the American public

[link removed]

Kate and Aaron are joined ([link removed]) 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 to joining PEER, Tim was a senior attorney at the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Mitch recently lost his job as the assistant manager of Denali National Park’s sled-dog kennel.
[link removed]

Aaron and Kate break down the results ([link removed]) 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.)
Best Reads of the Month


** Toilets, trash, and trails: How Trump cuts could affect your next visit
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Politico ([link removed]) | Nexstar ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed]) | Federal News Network ([link removed]) | TIME ([link removed]) | Mountain Journal ([link removed])


** Editorial: Keep public lands in public hands, a refrain
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Durango Herald ([link removed])


** Protestors hang upside down American flag on the face of El Capitan in Yosemite to call out attacks on public lands
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San Francisco Chronicle ([link removed]) | Explorers Web ([link removed]) | NBC ([link removed]) | CNN ([link removed])


** Westerners rail against Trump plans to erase or shrink national monuments
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The Landscape ([link removed]) | Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | Montana Free Press ([link removed]) | NBC News ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]) | Hungry Horse News ([link removed])


** Trump's contradictory agenda won't achieve 'energy abundance'
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Grist ([link removed])


** Indigenous communities push back on bill to strip presidents of power to designate national monuments
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Nevada Public Radio


** Column: Forget Trump’s wrecking ball. Here’s how to treat America’s public lands
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** These 13 national monuments may be ‘at risk’ of losing federal protections, advocates warn
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USA Today ([link removed])


** ‘It’s demoralizing’: Trump’s climate funding freeze leaves Tribes and community groups in limbo
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Grist ([link removed])


** Forest Service freeze, layoffs increase wildfire risk
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WyoFile | Stateline | New York Times | The Guardian | ProPublica | San Francisco Chronicle ([link removed])
Quote of the month


** “You're losing people that are keeping the bathrooms clean, the trails maintained. You're losing people who are teaching youth the value of protecting and preserving these places for current and future generations.”
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** —Brian Gibbs, fired environmental educator at Effigy Mounds National Monument, CNN ([link removed])
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Picture this
[link removed]


** @greatsanddunesnps ([link removed])
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Snowfall doesn't just cover the dunes - it transforms them into an ethereal world of light and color. In winter, the park is quieter and the pace is slower, allowing more space for wonder.

Photo: NPS/Patrick Myers 2025

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