Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** America's parks under attack from all sides
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Thursday, May 8, 2025
A park scientist conducts research at Big Bend National Park in Texas. NPS Photo ([link removed])
The National Park Service is by far the most popular government agency in America ([link removed]) . Its employees and the land it manages are also facing an unprecedented and simultaneous attack from the White House ([link removed]) , Elon Musk's DOGE operatives ([link removed]) , members of Congress ([link removed]) , and the Interior department itself ([link removed]) .
The New York Times reports that a DOGE employee assembled a spreadsheet of $26 million dollars in National Park Service grants ([link removed]) to eliminate, including the popular Scientists in Parks program that places students and early-career scientists at national park units to help protect ecosystems and historic landmarks.
The budget reconciliation package passed by the House Natural Resources Committee early Wednesday morning would zero out remaining money ([link removed]) that had been set aside in the Inflation Reduction Act to hire park rangers and perform ecosystem restoration in parks and on Bureau of Land Management lands. However, the House budget would provide $150 million for the Interior department to throw America a 250th birthday party in 2026, and $40 million for President Trump's planned statue garden of American heroes.
More pressing than 2026 budget concerns, however, is another round of layoffs ([link removed]) that are expected to hit the Park Service and Interior department as early as next week. Government Executive reports that NPS will fire around 1,500 employees, along with 1,000 at the U.S. Geological Survey. The Park Service layoffs are expected to fall heavily on national and regional offices, cultural resources, and science staff.
House land sell-off is even larger than first reported
In Wednesday's Look West, E&E News reported that the House reconciliation bill aimed to sell off at least 11,000 acres of national public land. However, backers of the measure refuse to give an exact number ([link removed]) , and analysis of the amendment, which was added to the bill in the middle of the night, suggests it would actually dispose of 500,000 acres or more.
The sell-off provision will be the first test of the new bipartisan public lands caucus ([link removed]) in the House, headed up by Rep. Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico and Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, President Trump's former Interior secretary. At a press conference on Wednesday ([link removed]) , Zinke said "I have told leadership before, I have told leadership since, that ... I strongly don't believe [land sales] should be in the reconciliation bill," but he stopped short of saying that he would vote against the final bill if the land sell-off was included.
** Quick hits
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'Staggering' cuts leave Forest Service looking for outside help
E&E News ([link removed]) | Aspen Times ([link removed]) | GovExec ([link removed])
Public land sale provision reveals rift in House GOP
E&E News ([link removed]) | Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | Newsweek ([link removed])
Heinrich raises concern about DOGE operative running Interior department
The Hill ([link removed])
Jackson Hole grapples with impacts of DOGE cuts to public lands
KHOL ([link removed])
Rescinding BLM Public Lands Rule could unleash extraction at the expense of public access
Mountain Journal ([link removed])
Poll: Vast majority of New Mexicans, Montanans oppose rolling back oil and gas policy
KUNM ([link removed]) | Missoula Current ([link removed])
Indigenous Tribes pitted against each other over a state bill to redefine land protection in California
Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
Water experts: Colorado River states need 'shared pain' to break deadlock
Aspen Public Radio ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” What the House is delivering here is a s**t sandwich of a budget in which normal Americans will lose access to the places where they hike, hunt, fish, camp, and recreate, the entire country will lose the ecosystem benefits like clean air, clean water, and abundant wildlife provided by those lands, and costs will increase across the entire economy, for everyone.”
—Wes Siler's Newsletter ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@grandcanyonnps ([link removed])
Janet Yazzie is a Diné (Navajo) Painter who draws her influence from her childhood and time spent with her grandmother growing up. Using bright colors to depict the landscape of the Southwest and the Milky Way, her memories come to life through her work.
Eileen and Nilford Yatsatti, from the Pueblo of Zuni, are known for their exceptional pottery. Using traditional methods, they harvest and process natural clays, make mineral-based paints that are applied with yucca fibers, and fire their pottery outdoors using dung instead of a kiln. All of their work reflects the rich spiritual culture of their Zuni heritage.
The cultural demonstration program is sponsored by @grand_canyon_conservancy ([link removed]) (NPS photos)
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