The Landscape

A team of reporters investigates the impact of lithium mining on Western water supply, highlighting Nevada's water sourcing challenges. They uncover misleading water use measurements by mining firms and advocate for federal guidelines to protect communities and ecosystems. The podcast also discusses the significance of investigative journalism and positive water conservation news in Arizona.

Kate and Aaron are joined by pollsters Lori Weigel and Dave Metz to discuss the 14th Annual Colorado College State of the Rockies Project Conservation in the West poll. The poll surveys voters in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Colorado on their environmental views. This year, it found support for conservation of nature is higher than ever. Click here to read an automatically generated transcript of the episode. News Wyoming Legislature’s two chambers OK ‘Kelly Parcel’ sale to feds for $100M – WyoFile Bipartisan conservation poll shows increasing concern over environmental issues in Western States – CPR News Feds Deny Dam Permits on Tribal Lands – Grand Canyon Trust Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: BLM/Flickr The post What Western voters want in 2024 appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron are joined by Justin Meuse, Director of Government Relations for Climate and Energy at the Wilderness Society, to talk about a proposal from the Bureau of Land Management to prioritize around 22 million acres of public land for utility scale solar development across the West. They discuss why planning matters, how much solar development to actually expect if this plan proceeds, and how you can get involved. View an automatically generated transcript of this episode here. News Why Utah leaders just rejected a valuable Bears Ears land swap – Salt Lake Tribune BLM analysis aims to optimize solar energy development throughout the West – Bureau of Land Management Arizona Republicans challenge Biden’s designation of a national monument near the Grand Canyon – Associated Press 2024 State of the Rockies Conservation in the West poll – Colorado College Comment on the Solar PEIS Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: BLM/Flickr The post More solar on public lands? Digging into BLM’s plan appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Uranium mining has resumed in the U.S. after 8 years, impacting the Grand Canyon. Topics discussed include uranium mining operations, government subsidies, legal battles near the Grand Canyon, risks to the environment and tribal communities, and the complexities of the uranium boom on the Colorado Plateau.

Kate and Aaron are joined by I Ling Thompson, CEO of The Foundation for America’s Public Lands. The Foundation is the official charitable partner of the Bureau of Land Management. Its job is to engage with local communities and the public on behalf of the agency. Thompson discusses the challenges the BLM faces and how the Foundation plans to help, as well as how members of the public can engage with the Foundation. Click here for an automatically generated transcript. News NYSE pulls plan for environmentally sustainable asset class – Reuters BLM plan aims to dramatically expand Western solar – E&E News Learn more about The Foundation for America’s Public Lands and sign up for emails Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: BLM/Flickr   The post Inside the Foundation for America’s Public Lands appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Exploring private land conservation through conservation easements with Colorado Open Lands. Topics include uranium mining, Natural Asset Companies as opponents, and Native tribes reclaiming their land. Discussing the importance of private lands in the national conservation effort of protecting 30% of land and water by 2030.

Jennifer Rokala, the Executive Director of the Center for Western Priorities, joins the hosts to recap significant conservation efforts in 2023. They discuss the ban on logging in the Tongass National Forest and the Biden administration's protective measures for Bristol Bay and Minnesota's Wilderness. Community advocacy shines through with a public meeting for the proposed Bajnaav Show Ita Kukveni monument. They also tackle the urgency of finalizing public land rules for 2024 and the growing momentum for new national monument campaigns.

Kate and Aaron are joined by Dr. Dominick DellaSala, Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage, a project of the Earth Island Institute. We had Dr. DellaSala on the Landscape back in June to talk about the Biden administration’s efforts to protect old growth forests. At the time, the U.S. Forest Service had just released data that it found more than 32 million acres of old-growth forests remain on public lands in the United States. The administration took a big step to protect those trees this week, with the announcement that it plans to ban commercial logging in all old growth forests on federal land. Dr. DellaSala takes us behind the headlines to discuss what that ban actually entails. News Biden moves to ban most old-growth logging in national forests – Washington Post Release of five wolves in the Colorado mountains begins first-of-its kind state reintroduction effort – Denver Post Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Old growth forest, Oswald West State Park, Oregon; USFWS, Flickr The post Behind the headlines: old growth logging ban appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Kate and Aaron are joined by Rachel Morgan, author of Sins of the Shovel: Looting, Murder, and the Evolution of American Archaeology. Rachel is an archaeologist based near Washington, DC, and her book, which was published last month, is largely focused on the Southwest. She gives a detailed account of the Wetherill family, which settled in southwest Colorado in the 1800s and explored Chaco Canyon, Mesa Verde, and Grand Gulch extensively. She also talks about how legal and scientific transformations have given rise to the science we know today as archaeology. News Sins of the Shovel: Looting, Murder, and the Evolution of American Archaeology – University of Chicago Press Lawmakers mull $100M Kelly parcel sale to Grand Teton Park – WyoFile Sign up for Look West, CWP’s daily newsletter Wolverines now considered threatened species under Endangered Species Act – CBS News Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Step House, Wetherill Mesa, Mesa Verde National Park; Source: Ken Lund, Flickr   The post Sins of the shovel: How archaeology evolved from pot hunting to science appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Aaron and Kate are joined by Julia Stuble, Wyoming State Senior Manager with the Wilderness Society. Julia is a Wyomingite who’s lived and worked in the state for decades. She’s here to talk about a proposed Bureau of Land Management resource management plan, or RMP, for southwest Wyoming that’s making waves in the state. The draft Rock Springs RMP prioritizes conservation in some areas by closing them to new oil and gas leasing, but those areas aren’t of much interest to oil and gas companies anyway. So why is the state making such a ruckus about it? Julia has the answers. News Why are Arizona Republicans helping Utah fight against Bears Ears? – Salt Lake Tribune New US climate report says land theft and colonization amplify the climate crisis for Indigenous peoples – Grist BLM releases long-awaited management plan for Red Desert region – WyoFile Misinformation steers the public’s outrage at the BLM’s plan for the Rock Springs area – Wyoming Public Radio Rock Springs Field Office Draft Resource Management Plan Revision and Draft Environmental Impact Statement – Bureau of Land Management Public Comment form for Rock Springs RMP Draft EIS – Bureau of Land Management Two-page executive summary of recreation roundtable report – Foundation for America’s Public Lands Credits Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss  Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured image: Boar’s Tusk, Red Desert, Sweetwater County, Wyoming; weesam2010, Flickr The post How a Wyoming land use plan ended up in a misinformation war appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.