In this episode of The Landscape, Aaron and Kate speak with Jim Pattiz of the More Than Just Parks newsletter about public lands news after the first year of the second Trump administration, including Jim and his brother Will’s list of 70 major public-lands setbacks in 2025 and CWP’s assessment of Project 2025.

Aaron also covers Steve Pearce’s confirmation hearing to lead the Bureau of Land Management and lawmakers’ concerns about National Park Service censorship and Freedom 250, including a judge’s order to restore Philadelphia displays about enslaved members of George Washington’s household and a leaked database of NPS materials flagged for review. Pattiz discusses short- versus long-term harms such as civil service attacks, logging mandates, land giveaways, and fast-tracked mining, and the group closes with hopes for coalition-building and rebuilding public lands governance.

• BLM nominee Steve Pearce waffles on public land sell-off
• Corruption, censorship take center stage at Freedom 250 hearing
• Confidential database reveals which items NPS thinks may ‘disparage’ America

Produced by Aaron Weiss, Kate Groetzinger, and Lilly Bock-Brownstein
Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
Music: Purple Planet
Featured image: Interpretive sign at Grand Canyon National Park, Wikimedia Commons

The post 2025 was awful for public lands. Is there hope? appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

In this episode of The Landscape, Aaron welcomes pollsters Lori Weigel from New Bridge Strategy and Miranda Everitt from FM3 to discuss the 16th annual Colorado College Conservation in the West Poll. The bipartisan polling team breaks down voter attitudes across eight Western states on public lands, conservation priorities, and the Trump administration’s funding cuts and policy rollbacks. The poll reveals consensus across party lines—including among MAGA voters—on protecting public lands, opposing sell-offs, and prioritizing renewable energy over fossil fuel extraction.

• Groups sue over Trump effort to ‘erase’ history, science in national parks – Washington Post
• Concessionaire Nominated To Run National Park Service – National Parks Traveler
• Water worries are top of mind for Arizonans, poll shows – Axios Phoenix
• Opinion: Senators, reject the Steve Pearce nomination – Santa Fe New Mexican

• 2026 Conservation in the West Poll – Colorado College
• Watch this episode on YouTube

• Produced and hosted by Aaron Weiss with production support from Lauren Bogard, edited by Lilly Bock-Brownstein
• Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
• Music: Purple Planet
• Featured image: David Korzillus, BLM

The post Unpacking the 2026 Conservation in the West Poll appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

In this episode, Kate and Aaron are joined by Professor John Ruple, a public lands law expert at the University of Utah and former attorney at the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), to discuss the Trump administration’s dismantling of the CEQ’s authority over NEPA regulations. He breaks down what the Trump administration means when it claims to have ended NEPA’s “regulatory reign of terror” and why removing uniform environmental review standards creates chaos for public lands.

• For $1 Million, Donors to U.S.A. Birthday Group Offered Access to Trump – New York Times
• Potential conflicts over celebrating America’s 250th anniversary spill out in congressional hearing – Associated Press
• Concessionaire Nominated To Run National Park Service – National Parks Traveler

• Watch this episode on YouTube

• Produced & hosted by Aaron Weiss and Kate Groetzinger, edited by Lilly Bock-Brownstein
• Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
• Music: Purple Planet
• Featured image: David Korzillus, BLM

The post What gutting the Council on Environmental Quality means for public lands appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.