In the chaotic first 100 days on the second Trump administration, public lands agencies have mostly been spared from cuts and firings affecting other federal agencies. Now the top levels …
Category: National Parks
Jemez Pueblo and the Valles Caldera National Preserve
The Valles Caldera National Preserve is a ninety-thousand-acre experiment in democracy and self-governance. This beautiful and complicated high-country landscape has deep intrinsic value of its wildlife, plants and waters. When …
Stop Firing our Rangers
The national parks in New Mexico and beyond are facing a growing crisis because of the Trump administration’s mass firings of federal employees. The first round of firings of rangers …
National Park Service in Crisis
The federal workforce costs taxpayers $350 billion per year. That’s about 5% of the $6.5 trillion budget. The US Department of Interior employs about 63,000 people nationwide. The bulk of the federal budget goes to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and the Department of Defense.
Trump’s Revealing Renaming of Mt. Denali
Trump ordered the government to rename Mt. Denali in Alaska, angering locals and republicans in Alaska.
Valles Caldera, and Other Parks Face Peril Under Trump/Musk
The November 5 election was a disaster for public lands and conservation. Clearly the American voters were focused on widespread economic insecurity and voted their pocketbooks. Other issues like climate …
Ancient Bison of New Mexico
Ancient bison, roamed New Mexico for thousands of years, even up into the forests and far down into the Mexican frontier. The animals looked like the bison of today, but they were frighteningly large, about 20% larger than today’s bison
Chaco Canyon and the Halls of Time
The Chaco great houses are huge, complex buildings with exquisite masonry. The more we learn about them, the less we seem to know about the people who built them.
Firefighter Shortage Threatens the West
According to the Forest Service, 45% of their permanent firefighting workforce has quit in the last three years.
Attacks on National Park Service Budget are Intollerable
Since $150 million is a copper pocket change in the federal budget, the drive to cut the Park Service must be ideologically driven.
