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.
No Results Found
The page you requested could not be found. Try refining your search, or use the navigation above to locate the post.
NEWS FROM PEER
Panhandling and Pandering in Our National Parks
Superintendents as Fundraisers, Corporate Marketing and Naming Rights
BLM Agrees to Beef up Livestock Range Condition Reports
Data Quantifying and Qualifying Grazing Effects on Land Health Belatedly Restored
Shaving Livestock Grazings Carbon Hoofprint
Complaints Target BLM Neutral Stance on Livestock Grazing Climate Impacts
Park Plastic Bottle Bans Work but Remain Few and Far Between
Number of Parks Ending Bottled Water Sales Has Plateaued as Industry Pushes Back
Political Science Herding Grand Canyon Cattalo
Park Service Should Not Classify Hybridized Beefalo as Native Wildlife
Wiring National Parks Creates Conflicts
Commercial Cell Service Clashes with National Park Policies and Values
Move to Cede Crown Jewel Refuge to Tribe
Impasse on National Bison Range Partnership Agreement Spurs Handover Scenario
National Park Rangers Under The Gun
Nine-Fold Increase in Attacks During 2001
Alaskan Refuge Moose Hunting Cabin Draws Scrutiny
Phony Claim of Scientific Research Masks Violations to Benefit Manager’s Cronies
Indiana Dunes Pavilion Project Hits Big New Snag
National Park Services Finds Several Project Aspects Non-compliant
Everglades Python Hunt Would Set Terrible Precedent
Publicity Stunt Not Expected to Reduce Exotic Snake Population in National Park
Park Service Misled the Public on Plant Harvest Plan
Public Comment Reopened Due to Unsupported Statements in Federal Register Notice
Park Service Snoozes Through Effigy Mounds Wake up Call
Park Service Snoozes Through Effigy Mounds Wake up Call
Suit to Obtain Arctic Offshore Drilling Safety Data
Key Oil Spill Prevention and Response Documents Still Not Released to Public
Heated Rhetoric on Nevada Monument Invites Confrontation
Federal Employees in the West Put in Crosshairs by Superheated Political Rhetoric
BLM Reports Record Low Number of Threats in 2014
Despite Armed Standoff, Agency Claims Least Assaults and Threats Since 1996
War Games Open Fire in Gulf of Alaska
Eco-Effects of Sonar Arrays and Gunnery Unclear Even in Scaled Back Exercises
Battle Mountain Grazing Settlement Sows Seeds of Discord
Rancher Rewarded for Defiant Trespass as BLM Avoids Enforcement at All Costs
Plant Harvest Plan Threatens National Park Resources
Tribal Gathering Proposal Is Radical Departure from Conservation Principles
Settlement Limits Off-Road Vehicle Routes for Inyo County’s Adventure Trails
The Center for Biological Diversity, PEER and Inyo County today settled a lawsuit on the so-called “Adventure Trails” pilot project, limiting it to seven dual-use roads totaling 44 miles
