Oct 18, 2026

Greg Abbott's Hand-Picked Parks Commission Planned a Closed-Door Session on Selling Boca Chica State Park — Two Days After the Election. Sources Say the Buyer Is Elon Musk's SpaceX.

A draft agenda put the sale of 1,300 acres in Cameron County on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission's closed-door calendar for November 5. All nine commissioners are Greg Abbott appointees. Two sources told Texas Monthly the land is Boca Chica State Park and the buyer is SpaceX. After reporters asked, the agency said the sale isn't on its November agenda.

Public LandsBillionaires & Big Business Texas

Sep 21, 2026

Trump's Wildlife Chief Told His Agents That Killing an Endangered Animal Is Legal Unless You Meant To

A Sept. 14 memo from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik tells agency staff that loggers, developers and anyone else can kill endangered animals without breaking the law, as long as killing them wasn't the point.

EnvironmentPublic Lands

Sep 12, 2026

Interior Gave Its State Land Directors Three Days to Find Public Land for Data Centers. The Agency That Would Have to Review Them Has Lost Nearly Half Its Staff.

The Bureau of Land Management asked its state directors to identify public land 'ripe for data center development' and gave them three days. It has shed nearly half its workforce under Trump, one state reported 50% vacancies in the offices that would do the reviews, and the administration is proposing further cuts while telling the bureau to refocus on AI.

Public LandsData Centers & AIEnvironment

Sep 06, 2026

Tom Tiffany Says Wisconsin Has 'Successfully Managed Wildlife for Generations.' The Last Time It Managed Wolves, Hunters Killed 218 in Under Three Days Against a Quota of 119.

Trump ordered Interior to start stripping gray wolves of Endangered Species Act protection. Tiffany, who has spent five years trying to legislate the same thing, cheered. Wisconsin's own 2021 hunt blew past its quota by 99 wolves and the state couldn't stop it.

EnvironmentPublic Lands Wisconsin

Aug 24, 2026

The Trump Administration Wants to Open 336,400 Protected Acres Beside Chaco Canyon to Drilling and Uranium Mining.

The Bureau of Land Management wants to erase the 10-mile no-drilling buffer around Chaco Culture National Historical Park — 336,400 acres opened to oil, gas and uranium. UNESCO says extraction is incompatible with World Heritage status and is waiting on an answer from Washington.

EnvironmentPublic Lands

Aug 20, 2026

The Order Protecting the Boundary Waters Expires 90 Days After Walz Leaves Office. Lisa Demuth Wants the Copper Mine.

Walz signed an order blocking the Twin Metals copper-nickel mine upstream from the Boundary Waters. It dies 90 days into the next governor's term. Demuth is 'pro-mining, all mining, including Twin Metals' — and says it can be done 'safer than any other place in the country if not the world.'

Public LandsEnvironment Minnesota

Aug 11, 2026

99% of Americans Who Weighed In Said Don't Touch the Roadless Rule. Harriet Hageman Wrote a Bill to Make Sure It Never Comes Back.

The Forest Service asked the public what it thought about ending roadless protections on 58.8 million acres. More than 99% of the comments said no. Hageman's H.R. 7695 would write the repeal into law and bar any future administration from restoring it — including on 3.3 million acres of Wyoming.

Public LandsEnvironment Wyoming

Aug 11, 2026

Mike Simpson Wrote the Bill That Delists Wolves and Yellowstone Grizzlies — and Says No Court Is Allowed to Review It

Simpson's FY27 Interior spending bill strips federal protection from gray wolves and from grizzlies in two ecosystems, blocks grizzly recovery in two more, blocks wolverine protections, and cuts Endangered Species Act listing money by nearly half — with judicial review barred on the delistings so nobody can challenge them in court.

Public LandsEnvironment Idaho

Aug 11, 2026

Celeste Maloy Wrote the Bill a Golf Developer Needed. Three Days After It Passed, He Wrote Her a $15,500 Check.

Maloy's bill moves lawsuits over Shivwits tribal land into Utah state court and allows 99-year leases — exactly what a developer needs to build a 1,250-acre golf resort on the reservation. That developer's managing partner gave Maloy's campaign and a joint fundraising committee tied to her $30,500.

Corruption & EthicsPublic Lands Utah