Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** The Trump administration’s latest attempt to resuscitate coal
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Tuesday, September 30, 2025
Coal transported by train. Scott Granneman ([link removed]) , CC BY-SA 2.0 ([link removed])
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced yesterday ([link removed]) that the Trump administration will ([link removed]) open more than 13 million acres of national public land to coal leasing, while also lowering the royalty rate that mining companies pay to taxpayers from twelve to seven percent. During his press conference, Burgum cited an AI “arms race” with China as justification for the giveaway.
“Once again, Donald Trump and Doug Burgum are trying to build a bridge to the 19th century,” said Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby ([link removed]) . “There’s no such thing as clean coal. This announcement is just a plan to pollute more and rip off taxpayers while insisting that power companies use a more expensive fuel that they don’t even want.”
Energy experts say ([link removed]) that any boost for coal during the Trump administration is likely to be temporary because natural gas is cheaper, and there’s a more stable market for renewable energy. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin also announced ([link removed]) that the agency would repeal dozens of rules, delay limits on coal ash wastewater discharges from coal plants, and reexamine the Regional Haze program ([link removed]) , which governs air quality and pollution from power plants.
** Quick hits
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Trump launches new bid to save coal
Associated Press ([link removed]) | Inside Climate News ([link removed]) | Roll Call ([link removed]) | The Guardian ([link removed]) | Reuters ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | Center for Western Priorities ([link removed]) [press release]
NPS study highlights economic benefits of parks as shutdown looms
E&E News ([link removed])
Study projects hundreds of wildfire smoke deaths a year in Colorado by 2050
Axios Denver ([link removed])
Oil and gas leases earn $22.8 million, but some taxpayers doubt benefits
Straight Arrow News ([link removed])
GAO report says Trump’s federal workforce cuts are stymying firefighter safety fixes
NOTUS ([link removed])
Oil and gas begins to push back against Trump chaos
Wes Siler's Newsletter ([link removed])
What happens to national parks if the government shuts down?
Mountain Journal ([link removed]) | Wes Siler's Newsletter ([link removed]) | NPR ([link removed])
Energy department adds ‘climate change’ and ‘emissions’ to banned words list
Politico ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” It’s unconscionable for the administration, after overseeing a 24-percent loss of the Park Service, to threaten another cudgeling that could mean thousands of additional Park Service personnel are fired. The Park Service is already struggling to take care of the resource and falling behind as they try to prioritize visitor services.”
—John Garder, National Parks Conservation Association, Mountain Journal ([link removed])
** Picture This
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[link removed]
@whitesandsnps ([link removed])
Here in the Tularosa Basin, we often experience cool and unusual weather phenomena. Thanks to the recent late monsoon rains, we've had a rare and striking visitor: cloud inversions!
A cloud inversion happens when the usual pattern of air temperature changing with height flips around. Normally, the higher you go into the atmosphere, the colder it gets. However, during an inversion, a layer of cold air gets stuck beneath a layer of warmer air. This setup traps moisture and can lead to cloud formation in the lower, cooler layer, while the warmer air above keeps the skies clear and sunny.
This phenomenon is seen in the Tularosa Basin because basins naturally collect cool air due to their low-lying, bowl-like shape. As the more dense and cold air sinks, it gravitates toward the basin floor, where it pools and becomes trapped. When the sun rises in the morning, it’s rays warm the surrounding air, creating a lighter, warmer layer that hovers above. The warm air acts like a lid and seals the cool air beneath it. The surrounding terrain of the basin, enclosed by the San Andres and Sacramento mountains, further prevents the cold air from dispersing, strengthening the temperature inversion and keeping the basin chilled and under the clouds.
These cloud inversions, born from the basin’s unique topography and the dance of monsoon rains, makes the already surreal landscape, even more incredible. As cold air pools beneath a warming sky, the basin becomes a canvas for low-hanging clouds that will drift between the dunes and the base of the mountains. In a place that is already otherworldly, this phenomenon reminds us that even the most familiar places can surprise us with moments of atmospheric wonder!
-Ranger Payton
NPS Photos/ Ranger Payton Szwaczkowski
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