Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Lawmakers introduce bills to block DOGE attacks, mass firings
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Tuesday, August 5, 2025
White Sands National Park ([link removed])
On Monday, members of Congress introduced legislation ([link removed]) to block mass firings at the Department of the Interior, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Department of Energy. In response to proposed "reductions in force" (RIFs) across the Interior and Energy departments, as well as at the Forest Service within the Agriculture department, lawmakers in both the House and the Senate introduced bills that would require an immediate moratorium on what sponsors described as "abuse" of the RIF process ([link removed]) .
"Firing our scientists, engineers, and land management professionals does not save us money—it makes our government less efficient, costs taxpayers more in the long run, and weakens our nation's security and competitiveness," Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico said ([link removed]) in a statement. "You don't fix government by firing the people who make it work," said ([link removed]) Representative Val Hoyle of Oregon.
According to ([link removed]) the sponsors, the Interior department has already lost 11 percent of its staff, and the Forest Service has already lost 15 percent of its staff, between firings, forced retirements, and other attacks by Elon Musk's DOGE. "These dedicated professionals, and all Americans, deserve better," said ([link removed]) Representative Jared Huffman of California. "If Congress doesn't step in to stop this purge, the fallout will last generations."
** Quick hits
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'Help is not on the way': As fire season ramps up, thousands of Forest Service firefighting positions are vacant
High Country News ([link removed])
Yosemite employees worked for weeks with no pay before the government hired them
NPR ([link removed])
USDA proposes closing Forest Service offices while moving more workers to the Mountain West
KUNC ([link removed])
National parks are key conservation areas for wildlife and natural resources
The Conversation ([link removed])
The oil wells near the Denver suburbs worried her. The health risk alarmed her even more
Capital & Main ([link removed])
Colorado aims to fast-track clean energy projects before federal tax cuts expire
Colorado Newsline ([link removed]) | CPR News ([link removed])
Tribe, environmentalists seek ruling against Oak Flat copper mine as deadline nears
Arizona Republic ([link removed]) | Wall Street Journal ([link removed])
Opinion: The assault on public lands has a long, sad history with no end in sight
WyoFile ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” What they’re doing is just pushing more work down on fewer people at the field level. These are the same people that are trying to meet your timber target and provide for recreational services to the public.”
—Steve Ellis, National Association of Forest Service Retirees, KUNC ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@blmoregonwashington ([link removed])
Your public lands are looking gorge-ous✨
Kiger Gorge is a deep U-shaped canyon carved into Steens Mountain. Its creation is a dramatic chapter in Oregon’s geologic history!
This gorge, over half a mile deep and more than a mile wide in places, was sculpted during the Pleistocene by powerful alpine glaciers that advanced and retreated over the last 1.6 million years.
As glaciers flowed down the flanks of the mountain, they carved out wide valleys like Kiger Gorge, leaving behind steep walls, hanging valleys, and a sharp arête - locally known as the “gunsight” or "Kiger notch" - where two glaciers once diverged.
Today, Kiger Gorge is one of the most iconic glacial features in southeastern Oregon, framed by high-desert vegetation, expansive basalt cliffs, and the sweeping vistas of one of North America’s largest fault-block mountains.
📸BLM photo taken July 25, 2025
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