Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Will the U.S. housing crisis be exploited for a massive public lands sell-off?
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Monday, April 14, 2025
Suburban development in Summerlin, Nevada. Ken Lund ([link removed])
A new report from the Center for American Progress ([link removed]) cautions against proposals that purport to address the nation's housing affordability crisis by selling off America's public lands. While some thoughtfully crafted land transfers could be beneficial as part of a comprehensive approach to housing reform, recent legislative proposals ([link removed]) and Trump administration actions ([link removed]) are simply a pretense to sell off public lands, putting America’s lands, waters, and wildlife at risk without meaningfully addressing housing needs.
Privatizing public lands on a large scale is not a viable way to create more affordable housing. The Center for American Progress looked at the 10 Western states with the most BLM lands and found that ([link removed]) less than 1 percent of those BLM lands are located within 10 miles of the states’ significant population centers, even before considering whether those lands are appropriate for sale and suitable for development.
Instead of pursuing reckless and extreme public land sell-off schemes, the report advocates for ([link removed]) comprehensive approaches, including expanded housing assistance, increased production of affordable rental units and starter homes, and regulatory reforms. Sacrificing America's treasured public lands will not solve the housing affordability problem and will come at a significant cost to the land, wildlife, and Americans' access to their public lands.
Trump considering plan to restructure wildfire response system
According to a draft executive order obtained by the Washington Post ([link removed]) , the Trump administration is considering restructuring the nation’s firefighting system to focus on the “immediate suppressing of fires,” including responding to wildfires within 30 minutes and changing aircraft regulations to accelerate response time. State and federal officials expressed concern that the plan erodes safety standards for aircraft involved in fire suppression and sets an unrealistic expectation for response time that could lead to firefighters taking more dangerous risks. Firefighters w ([link removed]) arned that ([link removed]) the order is counterproductive, does not prioritize proactive fire mitigation techniques like controlled burns, and ignores the fact that low-intensity fire
is a natural and necessary part of forest ecosystems.
** Quick hits
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More than ten percent of National Park Service workforce has left
National Parks Traveler ([link removed])
Trump halts Forest Service work supporting women in firefighting
Montana Public Radio ([link removed])
DOGE takes over federal grants website, wresting control of billions
Washington Post ([link removed])
Federal layoffs shut down registry that studied links between firefighters and cancer ‘indefinitely’
Boise State Public Radio ([link removed])
Opinion: We served national forests under both parties, and know today our public lands are in danger
Denver Post ([link removed])
Interior’s shift on Western oil leases reopens door to lawsuits
E&E News ([link removed]) | NBC Montana ([link removed])
Trump’s EPA plans to stop collecting greenhouse gas emissions data from most polluters
ProPublica ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed])
After a decade of failed attempts, Montana bill establishing Indigenous Peoples Day poised to become law
Montana Free Press ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” These fired employees, we know from experience, represent the best of America. Many gave up other potentially financially lucrative jobs to serve the public interest, many were military veterans. To see them treated the way they have been over the past few months is incompetence at best and mean-spirited at worst.”
—Former U.S. Forest Service chiefs Mike Dombeck, Dale Bosworth, Gail Kimbell, Tom Tidwell, Vicki Christiansen, and Randy Moore, Denver Post ([link removed])
** Picture This
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[link removed]
@usinterior ([link removed])
The Racetrack at @deathvalleynps ([link removed]) is a playa (a dry lakebed) best known for its strange moving rocks. A rare combination of ice, rain and wind pushes along the mysterious rocks. Some of them weigh up to 700 pounds and have traveled over 1,500 feet.
Caution: Rough and Remote Road:
When visiting the area, please remember to recreate responsibly and plan your trip with safety in mind! The road to the Racetrack is rough and remote, and good tires, 4x4 and high clearance are usually required. Travel on existing roads and do not move or remove any of the rocks. When the playa is wet, avoid walking in muddy areas and leaving ugly footprints. This helps ensure future visitors will continue to make lasting memories at this incredible place for generations to come.
Photo by Leslie Scopes Anderson
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