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
PEERMail | Troubled Timber Sales at Tongass
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is suing the U.S. Forest Service to produce an audit of staggering monetary losses from past timber sales in the Tongass National Forest.
BLOG | Is Pendley Indispensable at BLM or Just Undetectable?
A federal court in Montana is now determining which of William Pendley actions as illegal head of the Bureau of Lang Management (BLM) should be invalidated.
Forest Service Tongass Timber Audit Remains Hidden
Lawsuit Seeks Overdue Audit as Forest Service Preps Big Timber Expansion
Park Service Scrambles to Finish E-Bike Rule
Hastily Fashioned Regulation Will Not Extinguish Lawsuit Challenge
PEERMail | “Advice and Consent” Is the Law
Secretary Bernhardt continues his carousel of illegal appointments with new de facto NPS Director Margaret Emerson
Park Service Chief’s Appointment As Illegal As Pendley’s
Lawsuit Progresses Toward Removing “De Facto” Park Service Director
BLM Won’t Stop Illegal Grazing
Range Manager Facing Suspension After Appealing to Pendley
BLOG | Pendley Debacle Unmasks David Bernhardt’s Legal Charades
Judge rules WIlliam Pendley cannot serve as a de facto Director of the BLM despite the anemic arguments to the contrary by David Bernhardt.
BLOG | BLM Forges Ahead With Nevada Oil and Gas Leasing
Public lands in Nevada are being leased for oil and gas extraction despite little financial benefits to government but big losses to the public
COMMENTARY | Another Roll-Back That the Oil and Gas Industry Hoped You Wouldn’t Notice
The Forest Service hopes to pass a new rule making it easier for private companies to drill for oil and gas on U.S. National Forests.
Beyond 2020: Bureau of Land Management
Conflicted leadership, loss of institutional knowledge, and marginalization of staff have left the Bureau of Land Management less capable than ever.
Record Green Sea Turtle Nesting on Padre Island
Park Service Cuts Green Turtle Program Just as Need for Protection Spikes
Comments on William Perry Pendley’s Unfitness to Lead the BLM
Tim Whitehouse, Executive Director of PEER, comments to House Natural Resources Committee Democratic Roundtable on Pendley’s unfitness to lead the Bureau of Land Management.
PEER Testifies Before Colorado Oil and Gas Commission
Kyla Bennett testified in front of the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission to require a robust analysis of the impacts of oil and gas development
Beyond 2020: National Park Service
How the Park Service can continue to preserve the country’s natural and historical heritage for current and future generations
PEERMail | Navigating These Treacherous Times
More ethical firestorms from intermingling official government duties with the upcoming election
Long-Delayed Curbs on Noisy Park Overflights Slated
FAA Posts Air Tour Management Plan Schedule Covering 23 National Parks
New Temporary Park Service Appointment Is Illegal
Lawsuit Amended to Invalidate Latest “De Facto” Park Service Director
BLOG | BLM Needs a Future Far Brighter Than Its Past
Under the Trump administration, BLM has declined even further than in previous decades. We hope for a brighter future for BLM, which is so needed.
Why Was Pendley Chosen? BLM Has No Answers
BLM Can Find No Documents Explaining Pendley Selection or Qualifications
