CALLING ALL UTAHNS!  Are you mad about Bears Ears and Grand Staircase? Tell your reps and governor.  Monday evening. See you there.

Both Congress and the Supreme Court have weighed in on multiple occasions to uphold the President's ability to designate landscape-scale national monuments, contradicting claims that Bears Ears and Grand Staircase are "too big" https://westwise.substack.com/p/utahs-case-against-bears-ears-and

The Antiquities Act was always intended to protect landscapes, not just dots on a map.  The author of the Act actually asked Congress to protect Bears Ears in 1906.  

Reupping this banger from @NWF in light of Trump's (and the Utah delegation and Kate MacGregor's) lies. 

How President Trump and Utah leaders lied and misled on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase open.substack.com/pub/westwise...

President Trump signed proclamations today shrinking Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments by about 90 percent each. Our statement here: https://westernpriorities.org/2026/07/trump-signs-orders-attacking-utah-monuments-based-on-false-information/

🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨 President Trump just signed two executive orders reducing Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments by a combined 3 million acres, according to media reports. Below is a statement from SUWA Executive Director, Scott Braden. Stay tuned for next steps.

President Trump is planning a secret attack on Utah's Bears Ears and Grand Staircase national monuments today at 4:30p ET. The signing is closed to the press. https://westernpriorities.org/2026/07/trump-plans-secretive-attack-on-utah-national-monuments-underscoring-unpopularity/

News outlets in Utah report that President Trump plans to sign an order Monday shrinking Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Our statement:  https://westernpriorities.org/2026/07/trump-plan-to-shrink-bears-ears-and-grand-staircase-escalante-is-illegal-and-defies-public-support/

BLM greenlights irresponsible Cadiz pipeline without full environmental review, as David Bernhardt’s firm lobbies for rebranded “Groundwater Bank” Our statement:  https://westernpriorities.org/2026/07/statement-on-ethically-compromised-cadiz-pipeline-approval-by-blm/

Members of the Western Governors Association were met with these images protected onto a rock wall in Big Cottonwood Canyon on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 in Salt Lake City

The House Natural Resources Democrats just released a bombshell report on Freedom250.  Hatch Act violations, wire fraud, obstruction, corruption... Freedom250 has it all.  Read on:  https://democrats-naturalresources.house.gov/imo/media/doc/freedom250_oversight_report2.pdf

President Trump and Doug Burgum today attended the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, North Dakota. Our statement:  https://westernpriorities.org/2026/07/trump-delivers-rambling-remarks-at-theodore-roosevelt-presidential-library-opening-in-north-dakota/

Lee is playing politics with the housing crisis again. In calling for mass deportations, he's doing the same thing he did last year when he tried to sell off public lands: using the housing crisis to push his extremist agenda

Nothing like celebrating a conservation icon while dismantling everything he did. It's giving Gilded Age. Here's how Trump and Burgum are treating Roosevelt's legacy: https://westwise.substack.com/p/teddy-roosevelt-ended-the-gilded

On the eve of Independence Day, the Trump administration has removed a mention of slavery from Independence Hall. 

A defense law is being rewritten to fast-track mining. Here's what you should know: open.substack.com/pub/westwise...

Hate to say "we told ya so..." But we did. Thanks to Congress, the mgmt of over 160 million acres of public lands are in limbo. 

Teddy Roosevelt:  ✅Conserved nearly 230M acres of public land Donald Trump: ❌Ended protections for over 100M acres of public land See more:

Trump has nominated Michael Chamberlain, a hyperpartisan political operative, to lead the Office of Government Ethics. Our statement here: https://westernpriorities.org/2026/06/trump-nominates-hyperpartisan-political-operative-to-top-government-ethics-job/

These were hung on the Interior department today.  Trump is using government resources to promote himself.  If it walks like a Hatch Act violation and talks like a Hatch Act violation....

Congress just passed a once-in-a-generation affordable housing bill.  Senator Mike Lee voted against it.  Guess he wasn't serious about solving the affordable housing crisis after all. 

The Interior department is beginning the process of updating its policies regarding designated wilderness, wilderness study areas, and lands with wilderness characteristics. Our statement:  https://westernpriorities.org/2026/06/interior-lays-the-groundwork-for-attacks-on-wilderness-and-wildlands/

Incredible reporting from @joanmeiners.bsky.social about why 320,000 acres of Arizona public lands are being leased even though geologists agree there's no oil there. Absolutely worth a read, it's a wild ride.

Taxpayers are now funding the MAGA movement, according to a new Public Citizen report. Trump has spent nearly $103 MILLION on his MAGA “Freedom 250” events.  For more:

Clearly Doug Burgum still thinks selling off 2-3 MILLION acres of public land is a good idea. 🤦 https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/colorado/trump-cabinet-members-rfk-jr-burgum-pearce-visit-gj-for-health-and-outdoor-recreation-roundtable/article_54c7c889-84f2-4cec-8eb2-35ba90f1c898.html

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended Mike Lee's public land sell-off attempt at a roundtable yesterday.  https://www.gjsentinel.com/news/colorado/trump-cabinet-members-rfk-jr-burgum-pearce-visit-gj-for-health-and-outdoor-recreation-roundtable/article_54c7c889-84f2-4cec-8eb2-35ba90f1c898.html

This Congress has introduced 81 anti-parks bills that would: 🌲 sell off public lands 🛢️ auction lands and waters to dirty energy  🚯 weaken protections for parks, refuges, & monuments

Well that backfired... Trump asked national park visitors to snitch on signs in parks that tell the true story of our country. Visitors used the opportunity to tell the administration to get its hands off our parks. Read the full report: westernpriorities.org/resource/ana... #nationalparks

One thing is clear heading into this summer wildfire season: creating chaos and undermining preparedness benefits no one and puts lives and communities at risk. 🔥 Wildfire experts weigh in on a dangerous fire year: https://westwise.substack.com/p/wildfire-experts-say-trumps-attacks

USFS Chief Tom Schultz appeared in front of Congress today. He defended cuts to his agency and plans to vastly increase logging in national forests.  Here's our statement:  https://westernpriorities.org/2026/06/statement-on-forest-service-hearing-in-house-natural-resources-subcommittee-today/

The US Forest Service director Tom Schultz just denied human-caused climate change is real 🤦‍♂️

@joeneguse.bsky.social  shouting out our hazardous fuel treatment analysis in a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on wildfire today 👏 See the analysis here -> https://westernpriorities.org/resource/falling-behind-forest-service-fuel-treatment-gap-puts-communities-at-risk/

"The public deserves an Interior secretary who represents their interests, not those of his billionaire buddies at the Yellowstone Club." #publiclands #dougburgum westwise.substack.com/p/the-secret...

Trump just rescinded 2 EOs that balance OHV use on public lands.  This is bad - will increase habitat destruction & rec conflicts.

Higher fees could turn one of Colorado’s most visited public lands into a place only some people can afford #publiclands #maroonbells #hiking 

Our forests are TERRIBLY unprepared heading into what could be a detrimental fire season. 🔥 #wildfire #publiclands #forestservice #forest #nationalparks

Excellent piece by North Dakota columnist Mike McFeely for Inforum on what to watch for when Burgum shows up at the TR memorial library opening this summer https://www.inforum.com/opinion/columns/mcfeely-doug-burgums-very-bad-day #publiclands #northdakota #nationalparks

"Every American should care who leads BLM and oversees 245 million acres of our public lands. We can’t have someone who wants to sell them running the agency." — Senator Hickenlooper 

Trump's BLM nominee Steve Pearce is up for a confirmation vote tonight in the Senate. Pearce wants to privatize public lands. He should not be confirmed. 

Trump's "energy czar" doesn't seem to understand the concept of batteries. 🤔🪫 Source: HNRC hearing 5/13/26

Burgum appeared before Congress again today. It was rough.... Our statement here: https://westernpriorities.org/2026/05/burgum-struggles-to-defend-trumps-dc-vanity-projects-and-energy-dominance-agenda-in-house-hearing/

.@Rep_Magaziner just schooled Interior @SecretaryBurgum on batteries and renewable energy...  Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJZ61HLI8s0

Burgum on destroying a 1000-year-old Indigenous artifact: "this is a super unfortunate thing that happened" He then argues about exactly how much of the site was destroyed.

@secretaryburgum.bsky.social  does not know what matters to the American people

Once again @secretaryburgum.bsky.social doesn't seem to understand the concept of batteries

Burgum does not have answers about the $13 million reflecting pool contract... @neguse.house.gov

Interior @SecretaryBurgum is the face of high gas prices

Look West: Interior appointee admits conflict of interest on grazing policy https://mailchi.mp/westernpriorities.org/look-west-interior-appointee-admits-conflict-of-interest-on-grazing-policy?e=18359af333

We're asking YOU, Doug! 🤦‍♂️ #gasprices #i̇ran #howitstarted #howitsgoing #burgum