Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** White House “trash dump” lays out bleak new details of proposed public land cuts
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Monday, June 2, 2025
Northern Lights in Alaska’s White Mountains National Recreation Area. Photo by Bob Wick (BLM) ([link removed])
The Trump administration released new details of its proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget in a late Friday trash dump ([link removed]) on the White House website. The new 1,200-page document lays out massive cuts to programs and staffing across America’s public lands and national parks. Additionally, the budget proposes to raid the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) ([link removed]) , using non-taxpayer funds to pay for park maintenance instead of land protection. This would effectively rescind the Great American Outdoors Act ([link removed]) which Congress passed in 2020 to provide permanent funding for LWCF.
The Bureau of Land Management would be hit especially hard by the administration’s cuts, which propose slashing 75 percent of the agency’s funding from national monuments and conservation areas, 77 percent from wildlife habitat, and 63 percent from recreation management, leaving BLM with just $27 million to manage recreation for the more than 80 million people ([link removed]) who recreate on BLM lands every year.
“You can see why President Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum tried to hide this budget proposal in the dead of night—it’s indefensible,” said Aaron Weiss, deputy director at the Center for Western Priorities ([link removed]) . “When Secretary Burgum travels to Capitol Hill in a few weeks, I’m confident he’ll get a frigid reception from both sides of the aisle if he doubles down on this plan to eviscerate the lands he’s supposed to care for on behalf of our kids and grandkids.”
The proposed budget would also eliminate more than 5,500 full-time equivalent positions from the National Park Service and 4,600 positions from the U.S. Forest Service.
** Quick hits
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Trump plans to offload national park sites, but states don't want them
Bloomberg ([link removed])
Burgum's proposed budget would raid conservation fund, slash ecology program
E&E News ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]) | Center for Western Priorities ([link removed]) [Statement]
Crater Lake superintendent resigns as park staffing plunges
Washington Post ([link removed])
Targeting DOGE, labor group puts up billboards warning of deaths in national parks
NBC News ([link removed])
Former NPS director Chuck Sams to help spend Oregon's Monsanto settlement on restoration projects
OPB News ([link removed]) | The Oregonian ([link removed])
Using public land for housing in Nevada? It depends on the guardrails
Nevada Independent ([link removed])
Colorado warns anglers and families to limit eating PFAS-laden fish from popular lakes
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Fracking chemicals used in Colorado underreported under new state law
CPR News ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” I’m tired of waking up at 3 in the morning and not being able to fall back asleep because I’m concerned about how I’m going to navigate the latest staffing communiqué.”
—Kevin Heatley, former superintendent of Crater Lake National Park, Washington Post ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@grandcanyonnps ([link removed])
13 Helicopter Rescues in 7 Days
Yeah, it's been busy. As temperatures rise in the inner canyon, so do emergency calls. In just the last week, Grand Canyon National Park staff conducted 13 medevac missions — responding to heat illness, dehydration, hyponatremia (low sodium from overhydration), and lower leg injuries.
With more heat on the way and triple digit temperatures forecasted for this weekend, hikers and backpackers — especially those attempting rim-to-rim or other strenuous routes — should be self-reliant.
⚠️Start early and avoid hiking in the inner canyon between 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
💧 Carry enough water and food.
⏳ Help may be delayed due to limited staffing, high call volume, and safety protocols.
Your safety starts with your decisions. Hike Smart!
NPS Photos/J. Thompson
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