Protecting America’s Public Lands
Roughly 300 million acres of American lands, most in the West, are set aside as public lands and maintained using taxes paid by all Americans. These lands managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, and National Wildlife Refuge System are by charter supposed to be managed for multiple uses including recreation and provision of wildlife habitat and clean water sources. Increasingly, however, they are run for the benefit of extractive industries and with little regard for the preservation of the rare wildlife or iconic natural beauty for which they are famous.
With the help of conscientious range management specialists, scientists, law enforcement officers and other workers within these agencies, PEER is uncovering how our precious national heritage is being sold to the highest bidder, often under the direction of poorly qualified and illegally appointed political appointees.
Grazing Reform
Livestock grazing allows heavily subsidized private operators to degrade our public lands.
Plastic Free Parks
Our national parks are drowning in a rising tide of plastic waste.
Cell Tower Invasion
Cell phone towers spread across national parks without proper planning and public input.
Off-Road Wreckreation
Off-road vehicle abuse is a growing problem on our public lands, especially in the West.
Oil and Gas Drilling
Environmental and public health risks are being ignored by regulatory agencies and decisions heavily influenced by profit-driven industries.
“Orphaned” Park Wilderness
Twenty-five million acres of recommended wilderness in our national park system are in limbo, marooned by politics.
Park Service Employee Outreach Effort with Unsettling Results Shelved Since 2018
A detailed examination of the toxic work culture within the National Park Service (NPS) has gathered dust for the past three years despite promises that it would be used as a critical tool for healing. NPS commissioned an outreach campaign called “NPS Voices” that engaged staff in a series of in-person and web-based listening sessions. All NPS employees were invited to participate in what top officials called “a cornerstone in our efforts to change the culture that has allowed harassment to persist.” Unfortunately, shelving the report likely had the opposite impact on morale.
A New Era for the Bureau of Land Management
In January and February of 2021, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) conducted a series of in-depth phone interviews with current and former Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employees from nine states from Headquarters, State Offices and Field Offices. The purpose of this survey was to identify steps the Biden administration can take to strengthen the institutional capacity of the BLM to better address conservation and climate change goals. read the report»
NEWS FROM PEER
Park Service Shelved Employee Harassment Review
Elaborate Employee Outreach Effort Completed in 2018 but Not Distributed
PEERMail | Un-Silencing National Park Service Voices
Park Service employees deserve work environments that are respectful, inclusive, and safe. Their voices should be heard.
Park Service Shelved Employee Harassment Review
Elaborate Employee Outreach Effort Completed in 2018 but Not Distributed
BLOG | A Challenge for the New Director of the National Park Service
Absent a major shift in priorities at the National Park Service, it is only a matter of time before we see preventable deaths and other disasters
FAA Off Course on National Park Air Tour Plans
No Environmental or Noise Assessments Inform Draft Management Plans
Interior Wild Horse Focus Ignores Cattle Impacts
BLM’s Scientific “Cow Blindness” Impedes Sage Grouse Recovery
Statement | Bureau of Land Management to Re-Open DC Headquarters
PEER applauds the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to return its headquarters to Washington, DC.
Park Service Shuns Planning Law Despite Obvious Need
NPS Claims Statutes Rendered “Obsolete” by Outgoing Trump Directive
Park Service Unveils Wobbly New E-Bike Policy
Superintendents Told to Figure Out E-Bike Access on Park-by-Park Basis
Park Crowding Will Worsen As Foreign Tourists Return
Parks Lack Plans Despite Explicit Mandate to Develop Carrying Capacities
Nevada Has a Very Bad Grazing Problem
Worst in West: Two-Thirds of Assessed BLM Allotments Badly Overgrazed
Decades of Overgrazing Compromise 30 x 30 Goal
40 Million Acres Fail Minimum Federal Standards for Rangeland Health
Park Service Pedals Backward on E-Bikes
In the Midst of Lawsuit, Trump-Era Order is Rescinded
PEERMail | Plastic Free Parks Are Possible!
The National Park Service must act quickly to address the crisis of plastics in our parks, Sec. Haaland has an opportunity to make a difference.
National Parks Should Go Plastic Free
Rulemaking Petition Presses Park Service to Ban Plastic Water Bottle Sales
BLOG | Beefalo Befuddlement in Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon’s plan to “lethally remove” 12 beefalo from its herd is fraught with ambiguity and lacking in scientific rationale.
BLOG | Haaland’s Bold Move Forward at Interior
Structural changes within the Department of Interior will further Secretary Haaland’s goals of tackling the climate crisis and conservation.
Yellowstone’s Thermal Features vs. Expanded Bandwidth
Plan to Bury 187 Miles of Fiber Optic Cable May Damage Park “Hot” Spots
Federal Land Give-Away to Las Vegas Opposed
Transfer Will Fuel Sprawl, Aggravating Water and Resource Woes
Suit to Bar E-Bikes from Park Trails Gets Greenlight
Claims Challenging Legality of NPS E-Bikes Approval Will Be Heard
BLOG | Mining: An Eco-Price for Fighting Climate Change
Hardrock mining for minerals like lithium is no more sustainable than fracking for natural gas. Inflicting more damage is not the answer to climate change.
