On this episode of The Landscape, Leah Sottile joins Kate and Aaron to talk about the connections between the Bundy family standoffs and the January 6th insurrection, as well as her new book, “When the Moon Turns to Blood,” a wild and tragic case of two murdered children and religious extremism out of Idaho.

Sottile is a journalist and author whose work focuses on religious extremism in the West. She is the host of the podcast Bundyville, which explores the family’s standoffs with federal agents at their Bunkerville ranch and the Malheur Wildlife Refuge.

Where Far-Right Militias Trained for Jan. 6 – Slate

When The Moon Turns To Blood – Twelve Books

Manchin kills climate deal – E&E News

Biden vows to act on climate if Congress won’t – Washington Post

Bill to protect Dolores River Canyon is introduced in U.S. Senate – Durango Herald

Hosts: Aaron Weiss & Kate Groetzinger
Feedback: [email protected]
Music: Purple Planet
Photo: TapTheForwardAssist/Wikimedia

The post Leah Sottile on the Bundy-January 6 connection and her new book appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Pollster Lindsay Vermeyen joins Aaron and Kate to talk about CWP’s new Winning the West poll numbers. The poll, which was conducted in Western swing states in May 2022, found that Western voters still care a lot about conservation, despite everything else going on in the world right now.

Notably, it found that Westerners are not satisfied with President Biden’s actions to conservation Western public lands so far, and that a majority of Westerners want Biden to use his executive authority to designate new national monuments.

Climate activists worried after Biden releases review of Alaska oil project – Washington Post

Biden weighs breaking climate pledges to win Manchin’s support on bill – Washington Post

Winning the West – Center for Western Priorities

38,000 Acres of Former Weyco Land Protected Under Lost Trail Conservation Easement – Flathead Beacon

Hosts: Aaron Weiss & Kate Groetzinger
Feedback: [email protected]
Music: Purple Planet
Photo: BLM/Bob Wick

The post What it takes to win the West appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Grassroots Wildland Firefighters vice president Lucas Mayfield and advocate Michelle Hart come on The Landscape to talk about what it’s like to be a wildland firefighter and what the federal government can do to attract new people to the profession. Michelle is the widow of fallen firefighter Tim Hart, who died while fighting a fire in New Mexico last summer. Lucas served as a federal firefighter with the Forest Service for 18 years.

They talk about historic, but temporary, increases to firefighter pay and benefits announced by the White House this week, as well as legislation called Tim’s Act—after Michelle’s husband—that would make those changes permanent, in addition to providing comprehensive mental and physical health coverage, housing assistance, retirement savings, and more.

Tribes to jointly manage Bears Ears National monument – New York Times

Yellowstone National Park partially reopens after floods – NPR

Federal firefighter pay increase fact sheet – USDA

Tim’s Act factsheet – Grassroots Wildland Firefighters

Major water cutbacks to come for Colorado River states – Los Angeles Times

Hosts: Aaron Weiss & Kate Groetzinger
Feedback: [email protected]
Music: Purple Planet
Photo: USDA, Flickr

The post Wildland firefighters just got a raise… but is it enough? appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Scientist and conservationist Ed Grumbine joins Kate and Aaron to talk about what’s missing from President Biden’s America the Beautiful plan—and what the administration can do to get the ball rolling on 30×30.

Grumbine has worked in China as a senior scientist with the Center for Mountain Futures at the Kunming Institute of Botany, as well as in the U.S., managing the Grand Canyon Trust’s conservation and grazing activities on the North Rim Ranches. He wrote an op-ed for Sierra Magazine about the gaps in President Biden’s America the Beautiful plan, published in May.

BLM Unlocks 75,000 Acres of Private and Public Land With Major Purchase in Wyoming – Outdoor Life

Land ‘that belongs to everyone’ – Albuquerque Journal

Biden’s “America the Beautiful” Vision for People and Nature Is Beautiful—and Vague – Sierra Magazine

Bureau Of Land Management Employees Unionize In Wake Of Trump-Era Upheaval – HuffPost

Hosts: Aaron Weiss & Kate Groetzinger
Feedback: [email protected]
Music: Purple Planet
Photo: BLM/Flickr

The post What’s missing in Biden’s America the Beautiful plan appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Former Center for Western Priorities’ policy and design associate Tyler McIntosh and Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance wildlands attorney Judi Brawer join Kate and Aaron to discuss the increasing pressures outdoor recreation is putting on our public lands—just in time for Memorial Day Weekend and summer camping season! 

The post Are we loving our lands to death? appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

The Gila Wilderness was the first wilderness area designated in the country, and it’s coming up on its 100 year anniversary in 2024. Hear from USFWS biologist Leanna Torres and Apache backcountry guide Joe Saenz about what makes the Gila special, as well as the threats it's facing today, from military flyovers to attempts to dam the Gila River.

The post First & Wildest: The Gila Wilderness at 100 appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Researcher and author Laura J. Martin joins the Landscape to talk about the history of ecological restoration in the United States and how it led to today’s booming off-site environmental mitigation and carbon offset industries.

The post The history of ecological restoration appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

John Leshy literally wrote the book on America's public lands.

The post John Leshy on the history and future of public lands appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

What's really going on with gas prices? Dive into the data with us.

The post High gas prices and oil industry lies appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Rosie Thunderchief joins Kate and Aaron to discuss how land acknowledgements can create space for healing and to provide guidance for doing land acknowledgements of your own.

The post We’re still here: The how and why of land acknowledgements appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.