Kate and Aaron talk to Sanjay Narayan, managing attorney of the Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program, about a lawsuit over the proposed Uinta Basin oil train that could have some major implications for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The case is set to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in December.

News

• With Ready Orders and an Energy Czar, Trump Plots Pivot to Fossil Fuels – New York Times
• BLM revives long-dormant wilderness protection policy – E&E News

Resources

• Supreme Court Takes Up Case Challenging Utah’s Uinta Basin Railway
• Follow us on Bluesky
• Episode transcript

Credits

Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss 

Feedback: [email protected]

Music: Purple Planet

Featured image: Oil and Gas fracking sand facility in Uintah County, Utah; arbyreed/Flickr

The post Choo! Choo! NEPA heads to the Supreme Court disguised as an oil train appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron are joined by Dr. Dominick DellaSala, Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage, a project of the Earth Island Institute. Dr. DellaSala came on The Landscape twice last year to talk about the Biden administration’s plans to protect mature and old growth forests. He recently wrote an op-ed for the Seattle Times in which he says the Forest Service’s is still planning to allow logging in mature and old growth forests. We talk about why that’s the case, how the Old Growth Amendment process plays into this, and what the Biden administration can do about it, then discuss recent headlines about wildlife connectivity in forests and carbon sink failure.

News

• Biden delivers “long overdue” apology in Arizona for Indian boarding school atrocities – CBS
• White House must redirect the Forest Service to preserve old forests – Seattle Times
• USDA Announces Department-wide Effort to Support Terrestrial Wildlife Habitat Connectivity – USDA
• Trees and land absorbed almost no CO2 last year. Is nature’s carbon sink failing? – The Guardian
• Group puts up fence, claims ownership over 1,400 acres of Colorado forest, sparking outrage – Colorado Sun

Resources

• Land Management Plan Direction for Old-Growth Forest Conditions Across the National Forest System – U.S. Forest Service

Credits

Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss 

Feedback: [email protected]

Music: Purple Planet

Featured image: Old growth forest, Oswald West State Park, Oregon; USFWS/Flickr

The post What Biden can do for America’s forests before he leaves office appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron are joined by Backcountry Hunters & Anglers CEO Patrick Berry to talk about why Utah’s lawsuit seeking control of over 18 million acres of national public land in the state would be terrible for sportsmen across the West.

News

• Other states urge Supreme Court to hear Utah federal land case – E&E News
• ‘A beautiful thing’: Klamath River salmon are spotted far upstream in Oregon after dam removal – Los Angeles Times
• Opinion: Risking Utah’s hunting heritage: Where’s the truth in Utah’s land transfer plans? – Deseret News

Resources

• Utah is not for sale – Backcountry Hunters & Anglers
• Sign the petition against Utah’s land grab lawsuit

Credits

Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss 

Feedback: [email protected]

Music: Purple Planet

Featured image: Bull elk, Blacktail Deer Plateau; Source: NPS/Flickr

The post How Utah’s land grab lawsuit could harm hunting in the West appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and guest host Sterling are joined by journalist and producer Marissa Ortega-Welch to talk about her new podcast series, How Wild, which was recently released by KALW and distributed by NPR. The podcast explores how the concept of capital W wilderness is changing due to climate change, technology, crowding, and shifting views on colonialism.

News

• Leaked recordings detail a major environmental agency quietly gutting its workforce – Vox
• New Federal Rules Aim to End Tax Confusion for Tribally Owned Businesses, Boost Clean Energy Projects – Native News Online

Resources

• How Wild podcast

Credits

Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss 

Feedback: [email protected]

Music: Purple Planet

Featured image: Eagles Nest Wilderness Area, near Vail; Source: PDTillman/Wikimedia Commons

The post How climate, crowds, and colonialism are complicating the concept of Wilderness appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Aaron and Kate are joined by members of the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe to talk about the proposed Kw’tsán National Monument in southern California.

This is part of our Road to 30 postcards series, in which we highlight local efforts to protect iconic landscapes around the country. A Tribal elder, a Tribal youth, and one of the leaders of the monument proposal talk about why it’s important to protect this desert region as part of a broader cultural landscape that connects Avi Kwa Ame National Monument and the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument.

News

• Two oil and gas companies orphaned a record number of wells in Colorado last year, records show – CPR News

Resources

• Sign the petition and learn more about the proposed Kw’tsán National Monument 

Credits

Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss 

Feedback: [email protected]

Music: Purple Planet

Featured image: Courtesy of Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe/Bob Wick

The post Meet the proposed Kw’tsán National Monument—a 390,000 acre landscape in the California desert appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron talk to Inside Climate News reporter Wyatt Myskow about an incredible story he wrote about what’s unfolding in Nevada’s Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, where the endangered Devil’s Hole pupfish is undergoing a rebrand from villain to hero.

Click here for a transcript of this episode.

News

• The National Monuments Disinformation Brigade – Center for Western Priorities
• Proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary – NOAA

Resources

• As a Nevada Community Fights a Lithium Mine, a Rare Fish and Its Haven Could Be an Ace in the Hole – Inside Climate News

Credits

Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss 

Feedback: [email protected]

Music: Purple Planet

Featured image: Crystal Spring, Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, southern Nevada; Source: Wikimedia Commons/Stan Shebs

The post From villain to hero: the Devil’s Hole pupfish could save this desert community appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

In this episode of the Landscape, Kate and Aaron discuss Utah’s attempt to sue the federal government for control of over 18 million acres of federal public land with John Leshy, Professor Emeritus, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. Leshy served as Solicitor (General Counsel) of the U.S. Department of the Interior throughout the Clinton administration and served in the Interior department in the Carter administration. Leshy discusses the underpinnings of Utah’s legal argument and explains why it’s likely to fail in court, if the U.S. Supreme Court even takes it up, which he says is also unlikely.

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

News

• Utah lawsuit seeks state control over vast areas of federal land – Associated Press
• Bureau Of Land Management Announces Protection Of D-1 Alaska Public Lands – Alaska Sporting Journal

Resources

• Are U.S. Public Lands Unconstitutional? – John Leshy

Credits

Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss 

Feedback: [email protected]

Music: Purple Planet

Featured image: Red Fleet Trails in Utah; Source: BLM Utah/Flickr 

The post How nuts is Utah’s land grab lawsuit? We ask law professor John Leshy appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

For the 200th episode of The Landscape, we brought the whole Center for Western Priorities team together to talk about what brought us each into conservation work, and recount some of the most memorable moments we’ve had as public lands advocates.

Click here for a transcript of this episode.

News

• Utah lawsuit seeks state control over vast areas of federal land.- Associated Press

Credits

Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss 

Feedback: [email protected]

Music: Purple Planet

Featured image: The CWP team, left to right: Jen Rokala, Rachael Hamby, Lauren Bogard, Lilly Bock-Brownstein (with Wren), Sterling Homard, Aaron Weiss, Kate Groetzinger

The post Episode 200! (Behind the scenes at CWP) appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate talks to author Zak Podmore about his upcoming book, Life After Deadpool: Lake Powell’s Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River, which explores various aspects of Lake Powell’s emptying due to drought, from how to replace the loss of hydropower to how wildlife and plant life is returning to Glen Canyon as the lake recedes.

Click here to read a transcript of this podcast.

News

• US energy reform bill a ‘wishlist for the fossil industry’, say environmental groups – The Guardian
• In long-sought change, states must consider tribal rights when crafting water rules – Source NM

Resources

• Pre-order Life After Deadpool Lake Powell’s Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River – Torrey House Press

Credits

Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss 

Feedback: [email protected]

Music: Purple Planet

Featured image: Lake Powell and Glen Canyon Dam; James Marvin Phelps/Flickr 

The post The future of Lake Powell with Zak Podmore appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron talk to Syren Nagakyrie, founder and director of Disabled Hikers, a nonprofit group seeking to make the outdoors more accessible for people with disabilities. Nagakyrie has been outspoken about the tokenization of disabled hikers by U.S. Senator Mike Lee, who recently filed a bill called the Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act that encourages road building on public lands. Nagakyrie called the bill “a blatant attempt to scapegoat disability as an excuse to build more roads.” According to Nagakyrie, what disabled people really need to access the outdoors is good information and well-maintained trails. 

Click here for a transcript of this episode.

News

• Senators release statement on protections for Dolores River – San Miguel Basin Forum
• Plans to build more roads on public lands will help disabled Americans, Mike Lee says. Disabled hikers disagree – Salt Lake Tribune
• 50-year fight in Crested Butte ends as land swap forever blocks mining on Red Lady – Colorado Sun

Resources

• Disabled Hikers Trail Guides – Disabled Hikers
• Spoon Trail Rating System – Disabled Hikers

Credits

Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss 

Feedback: [email protected]

Music: Purple Planet

Featured image: Disabled Hikers founder Syren Nagakyrie; Credit: Eddie Bauer/Elise Giordano

The post Hitting the trail with Disabled Hikers founder Syren Nagakyrie appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Aaron and Kate talk to Dr. Hitesh Tolani, creator of the Gays of National Parks Instagram account, which is aimed at fostering community among LGBTQ people through a love of the outdoors. Hitesh began the account as a joke in 2022, but it has since grown into a community with over 15,000 followers. Hitesh talks […]

The post How an Instagram ‘joke’ turned into an outdoor LGBTQ community appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.