Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Iconic pronghorn migration corridor gallops toward protection
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Friday, September 12, 2025
Pronghorn buck on Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, Wyoming. USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Flickr ([link removed])

The Wyoming Game and Fish Commission rejected a plan ([link removed]) that would have taken away proposed protections for part of an iconic pronghorn migration corridor in the state.

The decision comes after hunters, wildlife advocates, and retired biologists came out against ([link removed]) a recommendation by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department to remove two segments from the proposed Sublette Antelope Migration Corridor, also known as the Path of the Pronghorn. The proposed migration corridor consists of 10 segments, and extends roughly 160 miles ([link removed]) from Grand Teton National Park to Rock Springs.

Energy development was a popular topic for proponents of the migration corridor. “I know how fast these developments can occur and what damage they do to the landscape,” said Bruce Lawson, 69, a lifelong resident of Casper who worked in bentonite and uranium mining for 40 years. “Even if we reclaim them, we never reclaim them back to what they were.”

The commission voted unanimously ([link removed]) to recommend all 10 segments of the proposed migration corridor for designation by Governor Mark Gordon.

Ryan Busse on how billionaires are locking up land in Montana

On the latest episode ([link removed]) of The Landscape podcast, Kate and Aaron talk to former Montana gubernatorial candidate, public lands hunter, and Substack author ([link removed]) Ryan Busse about how billionaires are cutting off access to the outdoors in Montana and a whole lot more. We also briefly touch on the news that the Trump administration is repealing the Public Lands Rule and give an update on the Roadless Rule repeal comment period.


** Quick hits
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How free-roaming bison are reshaping Yellowstone's grasslands

NPR ([link removed])

Wyoming wildlife commission seeks to protect full 'Path of the Pronghorn'

WyoFile ([link removed]) | Jackson Hole News & Guide ([link removed]) | Cowboy State Daily ([link removed])

Opinion: One year after dams were torn down, an Indigenous writer sees a healing Klamath River

Los Angeles Times ([link removed])

Trump agencies push ahead to repeal roadless rule, halt public lands conservation

Arizona Republic ([link removed])

Rescinding the Roadless Rule threatens these 13 climbing areas

Climbing ([link removed])

Climate activists cite health hazards in bid to stop Trump from ‘unleashing’ fossil fuels

Montana Free Press ([link removed])

New Mexico lawmakers call on Forest Service to explain how agency is buying out 5,000 employees

Source NM ([link removed])

EPA official wants to loosen cleanup standards at Superfund sites

E&E News ([link removed])


** Quote of the day
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” We used a nature-based solution to heal an ecosystem, and by doing so, you not only heal ecosystems, but you heal people, you heal culture and you heal economies.”

—Amy Bowers Cordalis, a Yurok Tribe member, lawyer, author, and environmental advocate, Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** Picture This
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@usinterior ([link removed])
Behold: the majestic chonky loaf.

Bears aren’t the only ones fattening up for hibernation. Yellow-bellied marmots spend summer and early fall building fat reserves to last them through nearly 200 days of hibernation. 💤

Nicknamed “whistle pigs” for their sharp alarm calls, yellow-bellied marmots are rodents about the size of a house cat. They live in colonies across the Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada, and other western landscapes, where they forage on plants until it’s time to snooze.

Photo by Ashton Hooker

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