Trump Administration Violates Alaska Native Agreement, Sells Land to Oil Companies
In December 2025 the Trump administration’s Interior Department cancelled a 2024 right‑of‑way agreement that protected Teshekpuk Lake in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, a deal originally secured by the Nuiqsut village in exchange for support of the Willow oil project. A federal judge reinstated the agreement in March 2026, but the Bureau of Land Management proceeded with a lease sale two days later, awarding 187 tracts—including areas around the lake—to oil firms for a record $163.7 million. The sale violated the preliminary injunction and created a legal limbo that the government hopes to use as leverage to overturn the protection. Indigenous leaders and environmental groups are now pursuing multiple lawsuits to permanently restore the lake’s safeguards.
The Public Lands Integrity Act Is What Democrats Do Instead of Fighting
Senators Michael Bennet, Jeff Merkley, Ron Wyden and John Heinrich introduced the Public Lands Integrity Act, amending the Byrd Rule to make any sale, transfer or disposal of federal public lands in a budget‑reconciliation bill subject to the 60‑vote threshold....
BREAKING: Republicans Vote to Poison Boundary Waters – America's Most Beloved Wilderness
The Senate voted to overturn a two‑decade mineral withdrawal that shielded 225,504 acres of the Boundary Waters watershed from sulfide‑ore copper mining. The repeal was executed through the Congressional Review Act, a mechanism that prevents future presidents from reinstating similar...
The Forest Service Reorganization Is Illegal. USDA’s Top Lawyer Told Them to Do It Anyway.
The USDA’s Office of General Counsel issued a memo declaring congressional appropriations restrictions on Forest Service reorganization unconstitutional, allowing the agency to proceed despite explicit legal prohibitions. The memo echoes a 2019 strategy used by Stephen Vaden to relocate USDA...
BREAKING: Trump Administration to Open New Mexico’s Most Protected River to Foreign Mining Company
The Trump administration issued a Federal Register notice cancelling a 20‑year withdrawal that had protected 163,483 acres (255 sq mi) of the Upper Pecos River watershed in northern New Mexico. The cancellation reopens the area to hard‑rock mining, oil, gas and geothermal...
Interior Revives the "God Squad" To Approve Gulf Oil Drilling
The Interior Department announced that the Endangered Species Committee, known as the "God Squad," will meet on March 31 to consider an exemption for Gulf of Mexico oil and gas drilling under the Endangered Species Act. The request targets projects...
The US Has Already Spent More on the Iran War Than a Decade of National Parks
Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. campaign against Iran, is consuming roughly $891 million each day, a cost that eclipses the entire annual operating budget of the National Park Service ($2.88 billion). Over the past year, the NPS has faced a 24 percent reduction...