Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Interior Secretary Burgum must personally approve all wind and solar projects
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Friday, July 18, 2025
Nevada Crescent Dunes solar energy project. BLM Nevada ([link removed]) , CC BY 2.0 ([link removed])
All solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters must now get Interior Secretary Doug Burgum’s personal approval, according to an internal memo obtained by Politico ([link removed]) . The directive puts clean energy projects under heightened scrutiny, potentially slowing energy project approvals and construction.
This change could delay some projects so much that they will not be able to qualify for federal tax credits ([link removed]) that are set to expire. “It absolutely will create so much bureaucratic process that no solar or wind projects are likely to move in a timely and efficient manner, if at all,” said Eric Beightel ([link removed]) , former executive director of the Federal Permitting Council. “For an administration so focused on eliminating unnecessary roadblocks, this is a clear attempt to use ‘the process’ to kill projects.”
The Interior department said in a statement ([link removed]) that Burgum’s order will “level the playing field for dispatchable, cost-effective and secure energy sources,” such as coal and natural gas. Meanwhile, the “Big Beautiful Bill” ([link removed]) mandates oil and gas lease sales, fast-tracks environmental reviews, and opens millions of acres of public land for coal leasing, all at the expense of the American taxpayer.
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** Quick hits
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Trump administration order requires interior secretary to sign off on all wind and solar projects
Associated Press ([link removed]) | Politico ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | Heatmap ([link removed]) | Reuters ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed]) | CNBC ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed])
EPA moves to reject key portions of a Colorado plan to close coal-fired power plants
CPR News ([link removed])
Visitors may not see the strain, but national parks are operating with thinner teams
RVTravel ([link removed])
House committee signs off on delisting grizzly bear
Daily Montanan ([link removed]) | Montana Free Press ([link removed])
A new hole has formed at Yellowstone National Park, geologists say
ABC News ([link removed])
Lake Powell forecasts show hydropower generation is at risk next year as water levels drop
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
The sagebrush rebel revival
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists ([link removed])
The Grand Canyon fire has North Rim residents wary of the future
New York Times ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” The Secretary of the Interior will apparently now be personally reviewing thousands of documents and permit applications for everything from the location and types of fences to the grading of access roads on construction sites across the country. This isn’t oversight. It’s obstruction that will needlessly harm the fastest-growing sources of electric power.”
—Jason Grumet, chief executive of the American Clean Power Association, Washington Post ([link removed])
** Picture This
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[link removed]
@organpipenps ([link removed])
The heat just won't quit! 🥵☀️
While we're waiting for the sweet relief of the monsoon rains, everyone here in the Sonoran Desert is doing their best to keep cool, including all critters large and small.
Many species have adapted to be crepuscular, meaning they are active only at twilight, when the before sunrise and after sun set. Lesser nighthawks, bobcats, and tarantulas are examples of animals that cool it during the day.
Other animals may remain active in the heat of the sun, like the desert spiny lizard pictured, but find relief in the shade of cacti or in deep burrows, the closest thing to a nice climate-controlled building.
Of course, those critters that are nocturnal avoid the extreme temperatures all together though, they have special adaptations that make traversing the dark less perilous.
How do you stay cool during the summer?
📸: NPS
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