The Landscape

Aaron and Kate speak with Zachary Fort, president of the New Mexico Shooting Sports Association , about his opposition to Steve Pearce’s nomination to lead the Bureau of Land Management. Fort, a former Republican and gun rights advocate, explains why hunters and shooting sports enthusiasts are concerned about Pearce’s track record on public lands. He discusses Pearce’s history of...

Kate and Aaron talk to Kelly Mitchell, executive director of oil industry watchdog FieldNotes , about what Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro’s capture by the US means for oil and gas producers here in the West. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has also been making the rounds on Fox cheering on Trump’s actions in Venezuela and calling on US companies to start drilling there, which we also touch on....

In this episode of The Landscape, Aaron and Lauren ask veteran wildland firefighter Bobbie Scopa about the state of America’s wildfire response. Bobbie, who is a retired firefighter with the organization Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, shares insights from her five-decade career, exploring how recent federal layoffs and policy changes are impacting fire mitigation, hazardous fuels reduction, and...

In this episode of The Landscape, Aaron and Sterling talk to Cody Perry, a filmmaker and founder of Rig to Flip, and Professor Mark Squillace, an expert in public lands and environmental law at the University of Colorado, about the ongoing battle to change Colorado’s restrictive stream access laws. The conversation centers around Perry’s documentary “Common Waters,” which follows...

On this episode of the Landscape, Kate and Aaron are joined by filmmaker Annie Ersinghaus , rancher Don Schreiber , and Gail Evans, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, to talk about the impact poorly regulated oil and gas extraction has on New Mexico’s environment. Gail and Don appear in Annie’s new film, The Land of Sacrifice: The Burden of New Mexico’s Oil and Gas E...

In this episode of The Landscape, Aaron and Kate discuss the Trump administration’s plan to roll back oil and gas bonding rates designed to protect American taxpayers from the cleanup costs of abandoned wells. The episode features insights from David Jenkins, president of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship . His group recently released a report finding the Trump’s roll back coul...

Join us on The Landscape as we dive into the resurgence of uranium mining in the American West. Hosts Aaron Weiss and Kate Groetzinger speak with Land Desk author and public lands expert Jonathan Thompson about whether the current uranium hype signifies a boom or a bubble. We explore the history of uranium production, the complications of mining on public lands, and the environmental and economic...

Aaron talks to Rep. Jared Huffman , ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee , about the government shutdown, whether Adelita Grijalva will ever get sworn in, and what he tells people who ask what’s bringing him hope in this dark time.   Produced & hosted by Aaron Weiss (Kate’s back next week) Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org Music: Purple Planet Featured...

This Saturday is National Public Lands Day, and in honor of that, we’re bringing you a special behind the scenes episode about our Keep Parks Public tour featuring the team here at CWP.  As many listeners or Look West subscribers may know, the CWP team embarked on a 10-day journey that took us from Denver to Las Cruces, Tucson, Flagstaff, Moab, Salt Lake City, Grand Junction, and Jackson Hole over...

Kate and Aaron talk to former Montana gubernatorial candidate, public lands hunter, and Substack author Ryan Busse about how billionaires are cutting off access to the outdoors in Montana and a whole lot more. We also briefly touch on the news that the Trump administration is repealing the Public Lands Rule and give an update on the Roadless Rule repeal comment period. News Trump Moves to Scrap Bi...

Kate hosts a live episode in Grand Junction on CWP’s Keep Parks Public tour ! Guests discuss the importance of keeping our parks and monuments staffed and funded. Guests: Ken Mabery, former superintendent of Colorado National Monument, Cole Hanson, Grand Valley Outdoor Recreation Coalition board member and Gear Junction co-owner, Jessy Nuckolls, public lands advocate and Western Colorado Alliance...

Kate hosts a live episode in Salt Lake City on CWP’s Keep Parks Public tour ! Guests: Erika Pollard, National Parks Conservation Association ; Davina Smith, Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and Grand Staircase Escalante Partners ; Scott Braden, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance ; Doug Tolman, Save Our Canyons . Resources Keep Parks Public: Tell us why you love public lands and want them pro...

Aaron hosts a live episode in Denver, kicking off CWP’s Keep Parks Public tour. Scott Fitzwilliams, former supervisor of the White River National Forest in Colorado, Kelly Nordini, CEO of Conservation Colorado , and Kara Matsumoto, public lands director at the Conservation Lands Foundation, join us to discuss threats to Colorado’s public lands posed by the Trump administration and Cong...

What the heck is Utah up to now that it’s land grab lawsuit has been snubbed by the Supreme Court and Senator Mike Lee has made public land sell-off untouchable in Congress? Kate and Aaron put that question to John Ruple, a Professor of Law and Stegner Center Fellow at the University of Utah, and Steve Bloch, legal director of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. News We’re going on tour!...

Kate and Aaron interview author Barret Baumgart about his new book Yuck: The Birth and Death of the Weird and Wondrous Joshua Tree . Baumgart became obsessed with Joshua trees during the pandemic and ended up uncovering some interesting facts and stories about them. News Trump admin to ink deals with states for forest management – E&E News The Forest Service Claims It’s Fully Staffed for...

Kate and Aaron talk to Steve Ellis, a 38-year veteran of both the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management and current chair of the National Association of Forest Service Retirees , about what the Trump administration is doing, and trying to do, to the Forest Service, and what that means for everything from logging to wildfires. News How Congress and Trump are working together to drill, l...

Kate and Aaron talk to writer, photographer, and adventurer Josh Jackson about his new book, The Enduring Wild , which beautifully captures the variety and vastness of California’s public lands—with a particular focus on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Josh is also the man behind the @forgottenlandsproject Instagram account, which he uses to share photos and stories of “forgo...

Kate and Aaron talk to experts at the National Parks Conservation Association about illegal mining inside of Mojave National Preserve and a recent uptick in mining claims on public lands, including those near national parks. News 250+ million acres of public lands eligible for sale in SENR budget reconciliation package – The Wilderness Society From ski resorts to popular trails, see the publ...

Trump’s Department of Justice just released an opinion stating that the Antiquities Act gives presidents the power to shrink or eliminate national monuments at will.  But what does that mean, for example, if Trump tries to undo Chuckwalla National Monument or shrink Bears Ears? Will this DOJ opinion stand up in court?  We put those questions and more to John Leshy, professor at UC Law and former S...

Kate and Aaron talk to Tracy Stone-Manning, former director of the Bureau of Land Management and current president of the Wilderness Society. Tracy tells us what it was like to inherit an agency that was decimated by the first Trump administration and what she’s worried about this time around—but also, what’s giving her hope for America’s public lands. We also cover the news that a provision to se...

Kate and Aaron talk to Kurt Repanshek, founder and editor of National Parks Traveler , about President Donald Trump’s proposed funding cuts to the National Park System as well as how staffing cuts imposed by Elon Musk’s DOGE are affecting the Park Service. News In the dead of night, House committee votes to sell off public lands – Center for Western Priorities Zinke wants public land sales o...

Kate and Aaron speak with Len Necefer, CEO & Founder of NativesOutdoors, a native owned outdoor media, apparel and consulting company. You may also know him as the man behind the Sonoran Avalanche Center Instagram account . Len talks about his latest project, a documentary film about the Colorado River basin titled The American Southwest , and how he’s advocating for public lands under t...

Kate and Aaron nerd out with John Ruple, public lands professor at the University of Utah and a former member of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) about recent changes to how the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is being implemented across federal agencies, like the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service. News Trump’s new goal: Revive a major climate pollutant th...

Kate and Aaron talk to two experts about recent executive orders that negatively affect public lands. Mitch Friedman, founder and executive director of Conservation Northwest, talks about how Trump’s executive order aimed at increasing logging in national forests squares with existing law and forest management plans, while Rachael Hamby, policy director at the Center for Western Priorities, covers...

Kate and Aaron are joined by Jimmy Tobias, a public lands reporter and contributor to the Public Domain substack , and Jacob Malcom, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Environmental Management at the Interior Department, to talk about Elon Musk’s attacks on the Interior Department and its employees. Jimmy has been covering changes inside Interior since President Donald Trump to...