March, in brief

Key news from March:

• The Trump administration identified 625 square miles (400,000 acres) of national public land across the West for possible sale, ostensibly to address the housing shortage. According to Jon Raby, the acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, the administration is considering selling lands as far as 10 miles away from cities and towns with as few as 5,000 residents. A radius that large is a recipe for sprawl, highways, and trophy homes near national parks, not affordable housing, explained Aaron Weiss of the Center for Western Priorities. The announcement came a week after the departments of Interior and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a plan to work together to identify public land that could be used to develop housing.
   
• President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to find ways to bypass endangered species protections and other environmental regulations to increase timber production across 280 million acres of national forests and other public lands. Trump also called to convene a committee nicknamed the “God Squad” that can override the Endangered Species Act so that development or other projects can proceed even if they might result in an extinction of a species.
   
• A federal judge ordered federal agencies to rehire tens of thousands of probationary employees who were fired by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The judge found the termination of probationary federal employees illegal because the Office of Personnel Management had no authority to order it. The ruling ordered federal departments including Interior and the Forest Service to immediately offer all fired probationary employees their jobs back, but it does not guarantee all workers will have their jobs back permanently. Federal agencies are reportedly finalizing their “reduction in force” plans, and still have the authority to implement those plans as long as they follow the correct procedures.
   
• President Trump may be planning to eliminate Chuckwalla and Sáttítla Highlands national monuments in California, according to reporting from the Washington Post and the New York Times. Both monuments were designated in January by President Joe Biden at the request of Native American Tribes. Due to an apparent miscommunication, the announcement was originally included in a White House fact sheet released late at night, then subsequently removed the following day. As of now, the monuments stand. “It’s telling that the president made this announcement in the middle of the night, in hopes that Americans might not notice,” said Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director Aaron Weiss in a statement.
   
• President 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 are important in advancing the transition to clean energy, Trump’s executive order abandons the multiple use principles required by Congress for the management of these lands. Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael 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 for taxpayers to clean up .

What to watch for in April:

• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Kathleen Sgamma on April 10.
• Admission to national parks will be free on April 19 in celebration of National Park Week.
• Earth Day is April 22.
• Will the Trump administration roll back protections for national monuments?
• Will more federal employees be fired?

From the Center for Western Priorities:

Kate and Aaron take a break from bad news to talk about what nature does to your brain. They speak to author Florence Williams about her book, The Nature Fix, which came out in 2017 but is just as relevant today. Her book looks at the science behind why nature makes us feel happier, healthier, and more connected to humanity. Qualities we could all probably use a bit more of these days.

Kate and Aaron are joined by Jimmy Tobias, a public lands reporter and contributor to the Public Domain substack, 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 changes inside Interior since President Donald Trump took office, and Jacob chose to leave his job at the Interior Department last month in response to the mass firings and changes implemented by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.

Protesters flood national parks to express outrage over job cuts

New York Times | 9News | BBC | NBC | Bozeman Daily Chronicle | Moab Times-Independent | KDVR | San Francisco Chronicle | Arizona Republic | CBS Colorado | Good Morning America
 

Podcast: How DOGE cuts may affect your summer vacation

The Assignment
 

Trump officials try to hide record park visitation

New York Times | Colorado Sun
 

Corner-crossing is now legal in six Western states. The ruling could have ripple effect across the country

NBC Montana | WyoFile | Colorado Sun | Washington Post | Spokesman-Review
 

Opinion: The places that hold our nation’s stories are not for sale

Tucson Sentinel
 

What old trees can teach us about modern wildfires

Washington Post
 

Fired public land employees tell their stories

Field & Stream
 

Rep. Raúl Grijalva remembered as 'powerful advocate' at Tucson funeral

Arizona Daily Star | Arizona Republic | AZPM | KJZZ | Tucson Sentinel
 

Butterflies in the US are disappearing at a ‘catastrophic’ rate

Washington Post
 

Trump wants to build homes on national public land. Here's what that would look like

Wall Street Journal

“He was unwavering in his work to protect air, land and water, and to protect tribal communities. He set a constructive tone for contentious hearings. He pointed out hypocrisy when he saw it. He led things in the right way and set up the ladder for others to climb, always in the name of those who can’t stand up for themselves.”

—Former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on the late Representative Raúl Grijalva, Arizona Daily Star