Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Trump has implemented 80% of Project 2025 on public lands
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Friday, January 16, 2026
Center for Western Priorities ([link removed])
A new Project 2025 public lands progress report ([link removed]) from the Center for Western Priorities reveals that despite President Donald Trump’s frequent campaign trail disavowals of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 policy blueprint ([link removed]) , his administration has already implemented half of its unpopular recommendations related to public lands. Our analysis shows that during his first year back in office, President Trump has fully or partially implemented over 80 percent of the actions related to public lands outlined in the Project 2025 "Mandate for Leadership."
The report ([link removed]) details how the administration’s "energy dominance" agenda has mirrored the Project 2025 blueprint. To date, the administration has implemented 70 percent of recommended actions regarding fossil fuels, including the rescission of Biden-era climate priorities and the reinstatement of federal coal leasing. The report also highlights several additional key areas where Project 2025 goals are being realized by the Trump administration, including actions to limit environmental reviews, slash agency staffing, increase logging, and remove land protections across the West and in Alaska.
"By gutting federal agencies, fast-tracking logging, and locking in long-term drilling leases, the Trump administration is effectively turning our national public lands into sacrifice zones for private profit," CWP Communications Manager and report co-author Kate Groetzinger said in a statement ([link removed]) . "Let this report be a warning to those who care about public lands: opposing the sale of public lands is not enough—if the Trump administration and Heritage Foundation have their way, our public lands will be effectively privatized by the end of Trump’s presidency."
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
While it is no longer a fee-free day at our national parks, Look West will be observing the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday on Monday January 19th, and will be back in your inbox on Tuesday January 20th.
** Quick hits
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Documents detail Trump BLM nominee’s vast wealth, financial entanglements
Public Domain ([link removed])
Colorado oil and gas leases go unsold at federal auctions
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Forest Service proposes logging next to Glacier National Park
SFGATE ([link removed])
Utah seizes control of 8 million acres of your land
More Than Just Parks ([link removed])
Much of Nevada plagued by snow drought
Nevada Independent ([link removed])
New Mexico faces ‘looming groundwater crisis’ from climate change, overuse
Source NM ([link removed])
Trump admin, Congress are attempting ‘unprecedented maneuver’ to roll back Boundary Waters protections
Outdoor Life ([link removed])
Lawsuit filed against Trump admin for refusal to reveal efforts to erase history
National Parks Traveler ([link removed]) | SFGATE ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” A decision to allow this to move forward could have dangerous implications not only for the [Boundary Waters] but also for similar protections for wild landscapes across the country.”
—Lukas Leaf, Sportsmen for the Boundary Waters, Outdoor Life ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@utahgeologicalsurvey ([link removed])
Photo of the Week: Henry Mountains, Wayne County
Photographer: Adam Hiscock
The Henry Mountains, an igneous laccolith, rise above mesas consisting of the Cretaceous-age Mancos Shale. Studied by famed geologist G.K. Gilbert in 1872, the Henry Mountains were one of the last explored and named mountain ranges in the contiguous United States.
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