June, in brief

Key news from June:

• Utah Senator Mike Lee withdrew his controversial provision to sell public lands for development following widespread backlash from communities, hunters, ranchers, and members of his own party. His original proposal to sell up to 3.2 million acres of Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service land to private developers was flagged for violating Senate rules, and all his subsequent attempts to sell public lands faced insurmountable opposition. “The Trump administration and anti-public lands lawmakers should take note,” said Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala. “Clearly, selling off public lands is opposed by the vast majority of voters across the political spectrum and across the country.”

• The Trump administration announced plans to repeal the 2001 Roadless Rule, which protects nearly 60 million acres of designated roadless areas of National Forest System lands from logging and ecosystem destruction. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins framed the announcement as a way to preserve forests from devastating wildfires and to sustain the health of forests and grasslands, even though fire ecologists have said that logging does not prevent wildfires.

• President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring a consolidation of several wildland firefighting programs, despite warnings from former federal officials that it could be costly and increase the risk of catastrophic wildfires heading into peak season. Firefighting efforts are currently split among five agencies and two cabinet departments—Interior and Agriculture. The order aims to centralize these efforts, which would require shifting thousands of personnel from the Forest Service to this new agency with wildfire season already underway. “This executive order is nothing more than a performative gesture that will cause chaos just as wildfire risk is ramping up in the West,” said Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director Aaron Weiss.

• The U.S. Department of Justice released an opinion arguing that presidents have the power to undo national monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act, going against an almost 100-year-old interpretation of the bedrock conservation law. The White House specifically asked the office to examine whether President Donald Trump could revoke former President Joe Biden's proclamations creating Chuckwalla and Sáttítla Highlands national monuments in California, both of which were protected at the request of Native American Tribes. Lanora Pettit, the opinion's author, wrote, “We think that the President can, and we should.” This position is a strong departure from a 1938 Justice Department opinion, which found that presidential monument designations are irrevocable and unchangeable.

   

What to watch for in July:

• Will Trump nominate a new BLM director?

Report: Western Oil and Gas Spills Report 2024

Kate and Aaron talk to writer, photographer, and adventurer Josh Jackson about his new book, The Enduring Wild, which beautifully captures the variety and vastness of California’s public lands—with a particular focus on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Josh is also the man behind the @forgottenlandsproject Instagram account, which he uses to share photos and stories of “forgotten” BLM lands in California, and soon, Nevada. Kate and Aaron also break down the public land sell-off and Roadless Rule repeal news.
 

Kate and Aaron talk to experts at the National Parks Conservation Association about illegal mining inside of Mojave National Preserve and a recent uptick in mining claims on public lands, including those near national parks.
 

Trump’s Department of Justice released an opinion stating that the Antiquities Act gives presidents the power to shrink or eliminate national monuments at will. But what does that mean, for example, if Trump tries to undo Chuckwalla National Monument or shrink Bears Ears? Will this DOJ opinion stand up in court? We put those questions and more to John Leshy, professor at UC Law and former Solicitor of the U.S. Department of the Interior under President Clinton.

National park visitors slam Burgum instead of reporting 'negative' signage

SFGate
 

Column: Mike Lee flails as his public land sale triggers firestorm

Public Domain
 

Opinion: As Antiquities Act turns 119, Tribal nations face new threats on sacred sites

Native News Online
 

Trump administration says it will move to allow mining near Boundary Waters, after Congress pulls back

MPR News | Duluth News Tribune
 

US Forest Service chief asks wildfire employees who took voluntary resignation to ‘come back’

Vail Daily
 

Trump is freeing up public lands for Big Oil. It doesn’t want them

New Republic
 

Congress could sell off public land in Colorado: Here's what's on the chopping block

9NEWS
 

Historic land deal ends controversial mining fight near Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp

Associated Press | Washington Post | Florida Phoenix | Atlanta Journal-Constitution | WABE
 

Public land sale a ‘frontal assault on Tribal treaty rights’

High Country News
 

Rinella: Will Trump keep public lands in public hands?

The Free Press

“If we [preserve public lands], we’ll be able to bequeath the legacy of democratically held land to our great-grandchildren from a generation that loves them and wants them to enjoy what is rightfully theirs.”

—Rod Miller, lifetime Wyoming resident, WyoFile