Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** BASE jumpers and brown water as parks go understaffed during shutdown
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Wednesday, October 22, 2025
Pinnacles National Park, Wikimedia Commons ([link removed])
With national parks open but operating with skeleton staffing during the government shutdown, problems are emerging across the park system. The New York Times highlights video footage of BASE jumpers illegally jumping from Yosemite's El Capitan ([link removed]) with apparent impunity, while others are taking advantage of the shutdown to take the permit-only cable hike up the back of Half Dome without permission.
At Pinnacles, California's newest and smallest national park, SFGate documented brown drinking water at campsites ([link removed]) being used by middle school students in an outdoor education program. The campsite is operated by a third-party concessionaire, but the camp host explained that the water pipes weren't getting flushed because of the government shutdown.
Despite these documented incidents, the Trump administration claimed that law enforcement is fully staffed at Yosemite and the Park Service hadn't received any complaints about the drinking water at Pinnacles.
How many people will Doug Burgum actually fire?
Monday's court filing listing more than 2,000 jobs ([link removed]) that the Trump administration plans to eliminate across the Interior department is "only a sliver ([link removed]) " of Secretary Doug Burgum's actual reduction in force plan. The judge in the case required Interior to list positions in groups that contained members of unions that had joined the lawsuit; but at the time, several large employee unions had not signed on. Last night, the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents around 160,000 government employees, asked to join the lawsuit ([link removed]) along with two other unions. NTEU represents workers across the federal government, including at the
Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service.
** Quick hits
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Interior department takes aim at employees across the West
Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) | KUTV ([link removed]) | Fox 13 ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed]) | Denver Post ([link removed]) | Outdoor Life ([link removed]) | KQED ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | High Country News
([link removed]) | USA Today ([link removed])
Burgum tells oil executives offshore wind is "bad for everybody"
E&E News ([link removed])
Demand for methane fuel is also boosting coal
Politico ([link removed])
Nevada delegation accuses Burgum of stalling solar projects
News 3 ([link removed])
Historians and librarians race to document park signs before Trump administration erases history
Boston Globe ([link removed]) | Save Our Signs ([link removed])
What are Colorado's wolves up to as they expand their territory?
Sky-Hi News ([link removed])
Sen. Mike Lee's new bill would allow "tactical infrastructure" inside wilderness areas
High Country News ([link removed])
A scenic tract of Texas public land is almost impossible to access. A group is trying to change that
Texas Monthly ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” Is [BASE jumping] any more legal right now? No, not at all. They’re just less likely to get caught, or at least there’s that assumption.”
—Yosemite guide Elisabeth Barton, New York Times ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@oregonstateparks ([link removed])
The whales are coming back, and we are excited to invite volunteers for another memorable season! 🐳 Winter Whale Watch Week begins on December 27. If you’d like to be part of the Oregon Whale Watch team and help educate others about these magnificent sea creatures, sign up through the 🔗 in @OregonStateParks ([link removed]) bio. You will learn from researchers and OPRD interpretive rangers how to identify common marine mammals along the Oregon coast. Volunteer registration closes on Dec. 1.
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