Career employees told HCN they were unsettled by the termination email sent by HR, which cited ‘performance issues.’
Public Lands
Posted inArticles
Days before Trump took office, Interior approved oil and gas leases for land bought during 2019 public auction
Company can begin to issue plans for drilling near Chaco Canyon buffer zone on Navajo Nation allotment.
Posted inArticles
These states use stolen Indigenous land to fund prisons
State trust lands generate millions of dollars for carceral facilities and programs every year, largely from extractive industries like oil and gas drilling.
Posted inArticles
AI on public lands and Biden’s environmental legacy
The 46th president finished his term in customary contradictory style.
Posted inArticles
We must protect our sacred lands
To meet the crisis of our time and help address past wrongs, we need bold action from decision makers.
Posted inArticles
Trump’s nominee for leading Interior attempted to rip up rules governing public lands
North Dakota sued the Interior Department at least five times under Gov. Doug Burgum. Now he’s set to run the agency.
Posted inArticles
The EXPLORE Act is a blueprint for bipartisan conservation legislation
Bipartisan support for the act highlights the outdoor industry’s growing political clout, but questions remain about its cultural and environmental impact.
Posted inArticles
Outgoing Bureau of Land Management director optimistic about public lands
Tracy Stone-Manning discusses the BLM’s achievements and talks about the future as we enter a new political era.
Posted inArticles
Jimmy Carter’s mixed environmental record
The former president emphasized conservation, protection — and coal mining.
Posted inArticles
Our imperiled public lands
President-elect Trump, a Republican-dominated Congress and Utah launch an all-out assault on environmental protection.
Posted inArticles
How Utah’s Christmas Festival has buoyed a changing coal community
Thirty-five years ago, Helper was nearly a ghost town. Now, art and tourism are providing new paths forward.
Posted inArticles
2024’s biggest conservation wins for the West
There were glimmers of good news across the region, from restored habitats to growing wildlife populations.
Posted inArticles
2024 set the stage for clean energy on public lands
Thanks to Biden administration policies, the momentum behind the energy transition could be hard to stall.
Posted inArticles
The Supreme Court decisions that gutted environmental protections in 2024
Several major cases destroyed federal agencies’ ability to address climate change and pollution.
Posted inArticles
Western monarch butterflies favor private land. Now what?
A new analysis of the butterflies’ migration routes shows the need for collaborative conservation.
Posted inArticles
Beautiful Bears Ears is at risk, again
What are the consequences for the land if the incoming president shrinks the national monument?
Posted inArticles
How a dwindling helium supply is impacting public land management
A new BLM plan for western Colorado makes a priority of helium production, worrying environmentalists.
Posted inArticles
Resource production or preservation? Election puts Alaska lands on the line
From oil in the Arctic to the Ambler Road, Alaska’s resource and conservation battles await a new administration’s fate, affecting communities, ecosystems and industries alike.
Posted inJanuary 2025: The West's Most Wanted
What Project 2025 has to say about Native communities
The initiative focuses heavily on resource extraction of tribal lands but lacks detail on other key issues.
Posted inArticles
How another Donald Trump term could dismantle federal agencies
Trump moved the BLM’s headquarters from the capital to Colorado in 2020, causing disruption and an exodus of leadership. If elected, he plans to use the same tactic elsewhere.