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.
Livestock grazing allows heavily subsidized private operators to degrade our public lands.
Our national parks are drowning in a rising tide of plastic waste.
Cell phone towers spread across national parks without proper planning and public input.
Off-road vehicle abuse is a growing problem on our public lands, especially in the West.
Environmental and public health risks are being ignored by regulatory agencies and decisions heavily influenced by profit-driven industries.
Twenty-five million acres of recommended wilderness in our national park system are in limbo, marooned by politics.
Unregulated air tours threaten the serenity of national parks and are a danger to wildlife.
REPORT | The Biden Administration’s Bureau of Land Management
As the Biden administration nears its halfway point, there are both encouraging signs of progress and plenty of room for growth when it comes to conserving public lands. Stronger leadership from the Biden administration and within federal land agencies is critical to act on both the climate and biodiversity crises. No public lands agency more epitomizes the challenges and opportunities ahead than the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) – the country’s largest land manager at more than 245 million acres.
Mapping Rangeland Health
Our interactive BLM Rangeland Health Standards Evaluation Data (2020) on MangoMaps is based on data from 2020, obtained via the Freedom of Information Act. PEER worked with a former BLM contractor to analyze what these records reveal about the condition of our public lands and BLM’s discharge of its duties to safeguard them.
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NEWS FROM PEER
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK GETS NEW SUPERINTENDENT IN TRUMP SHUFFLE
From: SFGate “The acting director of the National Park Service was shuffled out of his job Wednesday, reassigned to head Yosemite National Park while being replaced with a retired parks official who was once accused of skirting environmental law but is believed to be...
Political Fixer Named Acting Park Service Chief
Official Facilitating Dan Snyder Illegal C&O Canal Logging Returns in Top Spot
BUNDY VOWS STANDOFF IF BLM TRIES TO SEIZE CATTLE
From: Greenwire “Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and WildEarth Guardians also urged Zinke to seize the Bundy cattle." Read more . . . Read the PEER story
Yosemites Illegal Cell Tower Network Grows in the Dark
Call for National Review of Improper Park/Telecom Deals Cut Behind Closed Doors
Yellowstone’s Quandary: How Do You Fix Ugly?
Plans for Scenic Mt. Washburn Must Prevent Further Damage to Historic Value
Zion Explores Cap on Number of Visitors as Other Parks Fiddle
Curbs on Park Overcrowding Mandatory but Are a Politically Perilous Third Rail
Indiana Dunes Pavilion Plans Need Federal Historic Review
Commercial Makeover of Historic Pavilion Merits Public Airing and Comment
Park Service Censored in Communicating with Congress
Park Concerns with Pending Bill Stifled by Junior Trump Political Operative
Trump to Strip Alaska Park and Refuge Wildlife Protections
Directives to Expand Hunting and Trapping Launch Long, Uncertain Legal Process
Mount Rainier Poised to Wire Its Wilderness
Park Offers No Alternatives or Mitigation to Contain Cell Spillover from Paradise
Range Rustling Remains Rampant
Ignoring GAO Reports, BLM Foregoes Promised Steps to Check Grazing Trespass
National Forests Remain Vulnerable to Timber Theft and Fraud
Lawsuit Filed to Force U.S. Forest Service to Disclose the Fate of Promised Reforms
Gaunt BLM Preps for Starvation Diet
Buyouts to “Accelerate Attrition” While Meeting New Trump Agenda
New Yellowstone Cell Coverage to Swamp Backcountry
3-Sided Lattice Tower, 7 New Microwave Dishes to Encrust Historic Mt. Washburn
Grand Canyon Cattalo Control Welcome but Weak
Short-Term Reduction Leaves Hybrid Herd in Park & Long-Term Solution in Limbo
Bison Range Transfer Receives Official Burial
New Federal Register Notice Cements Iconic Refuge Staying in Federal Hands
Forest Service Rangers at Record Low Levels
Assaults and Threats against Forest Workers Spike but Decline in Other Agencies
U.S. Park Police Force Levels Dropping – Especially in DC
Fewer Park Police Despite Record Visitation and Anti-Trump Demonstrations
Park Ranger Force Continues Shriveling as Visitation Swells
Park Law Enforcement Program Adrift Without Standards, Resources or Leadership
Trump Monument Order Heads in Wrong Direction
Backlog of Interior Wilderness Reviews to See If More, Not Less, Protection Needed
