Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** With CRA vote, Congress is opening Pandora's Box on public lands
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Wednesday, September 10, 2025
Livestock on the Snake River-Mormon Basin Back Country Byway. Photo: Greg Shine, BLM ([link removed])
Congress is considering a move that could upend how hundreds of millions of acres of America’s public lands are managed. By using the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn resource management plans from the Bureau of Land Management, the Senate risks opening the door to legal and regulatory chaos across the West ([link removed]) .
As Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director Aaron Weiss explains in a new blog post ([link removed]) , if courts interpret this action broadly, every management plan written since 1996 could be challenged in court—potentially invalidating oil and gas leases, grazing permits, and threatening public access to trails and campgrounds.
This regulatory limbo threatens not just energy and ranching, but the entire recreation industry that fuels local economies across the West. Without modern management plans, land managers would be forced to revert to outdated frameworks from decades ago, written before today’s recreation economy took off. Outfitters, guides, and businesses that depend on reliable access for rafting, off-roading, and other outdoor activities could face years of uncertainty, permit delays, and costly litigation.
The Senate’s vote could mark the start of a new era of instability for public lands. For a closer look at the potential legal and economic ripple effects, read the full analysis on CWP's Westwise blog ([link removed]) .
National park employees flag ‘disparaging’ material
Employees inside the National Park Service are assisting with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum's effort to whitewash American history ([link removed]) . The National Parks Conservation Association obtained internal information showing the Park Service is reviewing books about slavery for sale in gift shops, and exhibits that name slave owners. At Sitka National Historical Park in Alaska, a park employee flagged an interpretive panel about missionaires who tried to remove Alaska Natives from their land and destroy their language.
“Pretending that the bad stuff never happened is not going to make it go away,” said Alan Spears ([link removed]) , a senior director with NPCA. “We need to be able to talk about these things if we’re going to have any hope of bringing people together.”
** Quick hits
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Trump administration hobbles conservation funding
Missoula Current ([link removed]) | CPR News ([link removed]) | Jackson Hole News & Guide ([link removed])
Trump's former Interior secretary rakes in corporate cash at new lobbying firm
Public Domain ([link removed])
Colorado groups sue Polis administration over lack of oil and gas pollution enforcement
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Grove of giant sequoia trees burn in Sierra National Forest
Associated Press ([link removed])
Opinion: Boosting timber harvests while cutting oversight won't solve America's wildfire problem
The Conversation ([link removed])
BLM review finds no big problem with lithium mine expansion
E&E News ([link removed])
Mule deer could lose half their northeast Wyoming habitat to cheatgrass without help
WyoFile ([link removed])
Patagonia CEO: We must protect our public lands from Trump
TIME ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” We know protecting nature is a winning issue ([link removed]) across political beliefs, but it’s on us to remind this administration how harmful this decision could be. As we saw when a few congresspeople attempted to sneak public land sales into the budget, we can rally together to protect the places we love. Elected officials like Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke came to public lands’ defense before, and we’ll need their support and that of citizens again—and again and again for as long as this continues.”
—Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert, TIME ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@saguaronationalpark ([link removed])
Too cute to boop…seriously, do not boop. The snoot is cute, but a boop would make you droop.
The babies are here, baby rattlesnakes that is! Rattlesnakes in and around Tucson arrive between late July and early September. These small slithers are hard to see but can pack a mean punch if they bite. While the young rattlesnakes are no more toxic than their adult counterparts, they lack the fine motor skills to control how much venom they release. Similarly to how an infant human needs to learn how to grab with proper pressure, baby snakes have to learn how to use their Compressor Glandulae (the muscles surrounding the venom glands). Unlike the adults, they lack the skills necessary and usually end up releasing as much venom as they can. This, along with fast strikes, can lean to a dangerous encounter.
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