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 and Rangeland Health
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.
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
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
Zinke Poised to Repeat National Bison Range Mistakes
Ceding Refuge Management to Tribe Is Illegal; Fraught with Headaches and Disputes
Forest Service Scalped on Tongass Timber Sales
Bad Sales Cost Taxpayers & Alaska Schools Big Money and Hurt the Forest
Fate of Bison Range in Interior Secretary Zinke’s Hands
Lawsuit to Block Transfer at Critical Stage as Refuge Withers on Starvation Diet
Yellowstone Plots Bandwidth Explosion
New Towers and Major Facility Expansion Violate Laws and Park Service Policies
Malheur Siege Still Shadows Range and Refuges
Survey Reflects Federal Land Management Workers’ Growing Safety Worries
Trump Hiring Freeze Hamstrings His Own Agenda
Energy and Other Initiatives Require More People in Staff-Starved Agencies
Last Minute Maneuver on Bison Range Giveaway a Long Shot
PEER Suit Blocking Transfer Bolstered by Reversal and Tacit Admission of Fault
Jarvis Tenure a Disaster for National Park Resources
Other Scandals Overshadowed Protection Rollbacks for Wildlife and Habitats
Mount Rainier Wilderness Slated for Cell Coverage
Proposed Cellular Antennas in Paradise Visitor Center Will Wire Wilderness
Trump Monument Revocations Would Be Monumental Mess
Hyper-Partisanship Sidelines Historic Congressional Monument Role
Far More Hunting Inside Denali Than on Its Boundary
Impact of Larger Toll on Sustainable Park Wildlife Populations Poorly Understood
Livestock Land Abuse Rampant on Public Range
New BLM Figures Show Little Progress in Healing Lands Degraded by Overgrazing
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Disavows Bison Range Transfer Proposal
Retreat Is Attempted Defense for Illegal Promulgation of Refuge Give-Away Plan
Yellowstone Backcountry Blanketed With Cell Coverage
Remotest Corners Now Connected Despite Park Promises of Limited Coverage
Trail of Tears Illegally Defaced by Forest Service
Agency Apologizes for Destroying Sacred Sites but Offers No Atonement
Off-Road Race Through Nevada Monument Aborted
USAF Helicopter Crash on Race’s Eve Closed Basin & Range Monument Course Leg
