The Colorado River basin is entering a nightmare that responsible policy makers have warned about for more than a century. With a severe drought facing the entire basin and 40 …
Category: public agencies
Western Governor’s Association Target of Massive Protest
On Monday, June 23, at least a thousand New Mexicans gathered outside the Western Governor’s Conference to protest public land policies championed by Trump cabinet secretaries inside the Eldorado Hotel …
Plans Afoot to Divest Most National Parks to Locals and Private Interests
Think about what happens to you when you finally pry yourself out of your routine, out of the comfort of home and stores and go outside. If you are lucky …
Trump Begins Big Attack on Interior Department
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 …
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.
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 …
Into the Sewer with Trump
Donald Trump is an angry man. He doesn’t laugh and he doesn’t smile. Why? He came from wealth and despite bankruptcies, he has maintained wealth and lives in a …
Firefighter Shortage Threatens the West
According to the Forest Service, 45% of their permanent firefighting workforce has quit in the last three years.
John Wesley Powell Wanted to Denude the Rocky Mountains
In line with his singular focus on water for farms and towns, Powell opposed the creation of the forest reserves, the precursors to the national forests. He worried that a Forest Service would compete for money with his US Geologic Survey and didn’t want the Forest Reserve designation to prevent dams from being built to feed farms water.
Killing Eagles in the Jemez Mountains
In an unusual chain of events, the Pueblo of Jemez, a Native American community in Sandoval County, New Mexico, was granted a permit to kill one eagle on the Valles …
