Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** What Trump and Burgum's mining sell-out means for public lands
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Thursday, March 27, 2025
The Mission copper mine in Arizona, Joyce Cory via Wikimedia Commons ([link removed])
Last week, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to prioritize mining on national public lands. While mining has long been one of the many uses of public lands, and while some minerals and materials are important in advancing the transition to clean energy, Trump’s executive order seeks to prioritize mining profits and processing and abandons the multiple use principles that Congress requires.
In a new Westwise blog post ([link removed]) , Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby dives into the details of the Trump order. Hamby warns that if Interior Secretary Doug Burgum successfully implements the order, it will drastically reduce access to public lands and create giant toxic messes ([link removed]) for taxpayers to clean up .
The rush to mine public lands is already playing out in Oregon, where the Bureau of Land Management published its environmental assessment of the McDermitt lithium exploration project, which has been in the works since 2022. The assessment is 103 pages long, but the Trump administration is giving the public just four days to read and comment on it ([link removed]) .
Writing in The New Republic, Kate Aronoff notes that Trump's obsession with critical minerals is "leading to some weird places ([link removed]) ." The rush to mine means Trump is aggressively intervening in the private sector, which expands rather than shrinks the administrative state. But the Trump actions aren't likely to fix the problems facing America's mining companies.
How Elon Musk is trying to dismantle the Interior department
In the latest episode of CWP's podcast, The Landscape ([link removed]) , Kate talks to longtime public lands reporter Jimmy Tobias 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 DOGE's dismantling of the Interior Department at the new Public Domain ([link removed]) newsletter, and Jacob chose to leave his job ([link removed]) at the Interior Department last month in response to DOGE's mass firings. Listen now ([link removed]) or subscribe on Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) .
** Quick hits
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Trump's obsession with critical minerals is leading to weird places
The New Republic ([link removed]) | Westwise ([link removed]) | Aspen Public Radio ([link removed]) | Field & Stream ([link removed])
BLM gives public just 4 days to comment on lithium exploration project
OPB News ([link removed])
Judge reinstates Alaska state leases in Arctic wildlife refuge
Reuters ([link removed]) | Alaska Beacon ([link removed])
Trump halts historic orphaned well-plugging program
High Country News ([link removed])
As corner crossing opens 3 million acres to public, advocates urge caution
WyoFile ([link removed])
BLM shuts down wild horse adoption program after legal challenge
Nevada Public Radio ([link removed])
Rep. Raúl Grijalva remembered as 'powerful advocate' at Tucson funeral
Arizona Daily Star ([link removed]) | Arizona Republic ([link removed]) | AZPM ([link removed]) | KJZZ ([link removed])
Opinion: We need an army of Raúl Grijalvas to stop Trump's attacks
High Country News ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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”
American presidential history is littered with examples of corruption, influence peddling and outright criminality, from Warren G. Harding’s ostentatious corruption ([link removed]) — i.e., the Teapot Dome scandal — to the Bush-Cheney administration’s lavish oil and gas industry giveaways ([link removed]) , which then-rookie Rep. Grijalva battled ([link removed]) relentlessly.
And yet, in just its first 60 days, the second Trump administration has managed to outdo them all, launching an unmitigated assault on democracy, the rule of law, public lands, the federal government and the American people that is genuinely unprecedented in its scope and audacity.”
—Jonathan Thompson, High Country News ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@nationalparkservice ([link removed])
Our favorite part of spring is walking into spider webs and screaming every time. What’s yours?
A spiderweb sparkling in the sunlight can be a truly beautiful sight, but these webs have some additional surprises. Before running away, take a moment to appreciate the beauty and function of a web. The strength-to-weight ratio of the material is remarkable, and spiders seem to be able to rig a web just about anywhere. The webs also inform the spider when there is prey trapped inside. If you happen to walk into a web, no doubt it may leave you a bit panicked. The spider is clearly not on the back of your neck. Where’d it go? Leave a message and apologize to the spider. Manners.
Image 1: Morning dew on a spiderweb at @paloaltonps ([link removed])
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