As the agency eyes a move West, critics say the change would be detrimental to public land policy.
Public lands
Posted inArticles
It’s time to move the Bureau of Land Management out of D.C.
(Most) of those living in the West have the public lands’ best interest at heart.
Posted inJune 24, 2019: Losing Lake Coeur d'Alene
Memorial Rock; osprey survivor; fooling fish
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inJune 24, 2019: Losing Lake Coeur d'Alene
The West’s worst fires aren’t burning in forests
Range fires get bigger every year, threatening sagebrush habitat and rural towns.
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Interior Department’s coal reboot ignores tribes and curtails public input
The Obama administration wanted to rethink coal leasing; now, Trump is rushing forward.
Posted inJune 24, 2019: Losing Lake Coeur d'Alene
Interior Department border deployments are mired in secrecy
Law enforcement agents guarding wildlife refuges have been sent to the border, leaving public lands more exposed.
Posted inJune 10, 2019: 'None of this happened the way you think it did'
After nearly going extinct, Washington’s pygmy rabbits need room to grow
Recovering the endangered rabbits will test society’s willingness to let nature reclaim a landscape.
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Public lands top Rep. Debra Haaland’s agenda
One of the first Native American women elected to Congress is fighting fossil fuel development on ‘the most pristine and beautiful places in our country.’
Posted inJune 24, 2019: Losing Lake Coeur d'Alene
Mining laws have long been used for recreation
In Idaho, a law meant to boost mining actually allows for its end as recreation transforms the West’s economy.
Posted inJune 10, 2019: 'None of this happened the way you think it did'
The key to endangered species recovery? Communication.
A retired federal biologist says Trump’s Interior Department is more business as usual than critics claim.
Posted inMay 13, 2019: Atomic Tourists
Bears Ears’ only visitor center isn’t run by the feds
With the monument facing stripped-down protections and sky rocketing visitation, a local nonprofit built its own guerrilla visitor center to educate the masses.
Posted inMay 13, 2019: Atomic Tourists
Designing for access in outdoor spaces doesn’t mean paving pathways
A reckoning with assumptions about who wants to spend time in nature.
Posted inArticles
Study finds 96% of national parks have hazardous air quality
Popular parks such as Yosemite and Joshua Tree have pollution levels that threaten visitors and wildlife.
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Interior secretary blames Congress for his inaction on climate change
There’s no law to make him address the climate and biodiversity crises, David Bernhardt said: ‘You guys come up with the shalls.’
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5 reasons to keep geotagging
Public lands face far greater threats than recreational overuse.
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Judge orders industries to pay royalties for public land extraction
Tens of millions more dollars will flow into Western communities after a federal court throws out the Trump administration’s industry-friendly deal.
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The Blackfeet Nation is opening its own national park
Members of the Blackfeet Nation want tourists to understand how the story of Glacier National Park is really the story of their nation.
Posted inMay 27, 2019: Public Pushback
Fire-starting ranchers get a new blessing from BLM
The agency hopes the Hammonds’ cows will reduce fire risk in eastern Oregon.
Posted inApril 15, 2019: Scene of the Crime
Country-life shooters; moose acceptance; Phil Lyman’s unpaid debt
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
Trump administration rubber stamps Arizona copper mine
An industry-friendly ruling contradicts years of concerns over potential damage to endangered species, water systems and Native American cultural sites.