Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Daines opens the door to land sell-off
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Thursday, June 5, 2025
Sen. Steve Daines speaks at the signing of the Great American Outdoors Act in 2020. White House photo ([link removed]) .
E&E News reports that Sen. Steve Daines of Montana is negotiating to sell off public lands ([link removed]) as part of the budget reconciliation bill making its way through Congress. The news is a flip-flop for Daines, who previously supported the Great American Outdoors Act and had pledged to never support the sale of public lands ([link removed]) .
But Daines now says he is working with Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, who is determined to include a sell-off to help pay for President Donald Trump's tax cuts ([link removed]) . The current version of the bill is projected to add $2.4 trillion to the federal deficit ([link removed]) over the next 10 years.
Daines was non-committal on what size of a sell-off he would find acceptable, telling E&E ([link removed]) “It’d be very, very narrow in scope … I told him I’m gonna have to see some significant changes in what he has.”
Lee said he'll reveal which public lands he wants to sell as soon as next Monday, adding that the provision would not be identical to what was added to the House version by Reps. Celeste Maloy and Mark Amodei.
The news of Daines aligning himself with Lee puts Daines at odds with his fellow Montanan, Rep. Ryan Zinke, who led a successful bipartisan push ([link removed]) to strip the Maloy/Amodei sell-off from the House bill.
** Quick hits
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Federal staffing cuts threaten fragile ecosystems on public lands
Audubon Magazine ([link removed])
Former Crater Lake superintendent says he quit to protest 'unconscionable' staff cuts
OPB News ([link removed]) | KGW8 ([link removed])
Analysis: Cutting the Park Service budget won't fix the deficit
The Trek ([link removed])
Sen. Jeff Merkley fights Trump reversal on plastics in national parks
Oregonian ([link removed])
Trump cabinet pushes gas pipeline during Prudhoe Bay tour
Alaska Public Media ([link removed])
Lessons in Forest Service regs await nominee who's fought agency he wants to lead
E&E News ([link removed])
BLM Nevada hedges on whether agency is ready for fire season
News 4 Reno ([link removed])
New coastal trails in California mountains to open on BLM land
NBC Bay Area ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” Will we have enough resources for fire? That's a different question, because when it's busy, it takes everybody that we have. All of our state partners, our local partners, it's really all hands on deck when fire season gets going.”
—Brock Uhlig, BLM Nevada Fire Management Officer, News 4 Reno ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@nationalparkservice ([link removed])
They call it puppy love….
Why are there puppies at @denalinps ([link removed]) ? Mushing is a cultural tradition across Alaska that dates back thousands of years. It also provides the National Park Service the most effective available means to patrol vast areas of designated Wilderness during the long winter season.
Managers of the historic Denali sled dog kennels take great care in breeding for qualities suitable for the challenges and responsibilities of a Denali sled dog. This year’s litter was born on May 3, 2025 and the puppies are just beginning to explore their surroundings. The Kennels and the National Weather Service celebrated 100 years of weather data collection by the mushing rangers of Denali in 2024. In honor of this milestone, the Weather Litter puppies are named after the diverse and sometimes dramatic ways water influences our weather: Storm, Squall, Graupel, Fog, and Dew.
🐶 Puppy Cam is live! Check back often to watch them grow at go.nps.gov/puppy
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