The Wild Idea

This week on The Wild Line, we're tracking the Senate's passage of a Congressional Review Act resolution to enable mining in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the Forest Service's proposed headquarters relocation to Salt Lake City, the Conservation Reserve Program's final deadline for 2026 offers, evidence of Trump administration coordination with Sen. Mike Lee's federal...

Dr. Erica Smithwick, a distinguished professor of geography at Penn State University and director of the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute, joins us to explore the rapidly changing fire landscape in the eastern United States.  For decades, fire was largely considered a western phenomenon, but shifting climate conditions and changing forest composition are transforming fire regimes across e...

This week on The Wild Line , we're tracking the Trump Administration's proposed budget cuts to the National Park Service, the controversial Forest Service reorganization plan, a new consolidated NEPA rule at the USDA, and legislative calls to action in Congress. From federal land management challenges to endangered species protections, these stories highlight the stakes for public lands policy and...

Dr. William Keeton is a forest ecologist and silviculturalist at the University of Vermont who has spent most of his career studying old-growth forests in the eastern United States and around the world. In this conversation, he joins hosts Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds to examine what old growth actually is, where it still exists in the East, and why its fate matters for climate, biodiversity, an...

This week on The Wild Line, we're tracking a proposed reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service, a sweeping Endangered Species Act exemption for Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations, a court ruling against the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan, a public scoping period threatening Chaco Culture National Historical Park, commercial fishing access in Pacific Marine National Monuments, and a rare wave of...

In this special episode, The Wild Idea brings its recent public webinar directly to podcast listeners. Join a high-powered panel of scientists, attorneys, policy veterans, and conservation advocates to examine one of the most consequential federal land protection policies in American history: the 2001 Roadless Rule. The rule has shielded 58.5 million acres of largely intact national forest land fr...

This week on The Wild Line, we're tracking Oklahoma's new energy-executive senator, a congressional push to block wilderness at Big Cypress National Preserve, a proposed federal land swap with SpaceX in South Texas, and major staff cuts at E&E News. From Capitol Hill to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, these stories highlight the accelerating pressure on federal public lands and the institutions t...

In this episode, Bill and Anders sit down with two researchers and advocates who are reshaping how we think about nature and public health: Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, President and CEO of the Trust for Public Land, and Dr. Pooja Tandon, a pediatrician and researcher at Seattle Children's Hospital who also serves as a senior scientist with TPL. Together they bring a rare combination of policy reac...

This week on The Wild Line , we're tracking Congress's move to block federal lead ammunition and tackle regulations, the first convening of the Endangered Species Act's God Squad in over 30 years, a public lands crossroads symposium in Salt Lake City, and a contested land swap at Cumberland Island National Seashore. From wildlife toxicology to oil and gas exemptions on federal waters, these storie...

Tim Mahoney has spent five decades navigating the corridors of Congress on behalf of wild places. A veteran of The Wilderness Society, the Sierra Club, and the Pew Charitable Trusts, he is one of the most experienced wilderness lobbyists of his generation. In this special St. Patrick’s Day episode, co-hosts Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds sit down with the man Anders credits as his political mentor...

This week on The Wild Line: the federal government advances twin lease sale plans in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge and Western Arctic, the Department of Interior finalizes revised NEPA procedures, the Trump Administration moves to restart a spill-prone California pipeline, and a slate of state-level public lands stories from Virginia, Oregon, Montana, Wyoming, and British Columbia. The independently rele...

Terry Tempest Williams is a writer, conservationist, and longtime voice for wild lands whose work bridges story, spirit, and public life. In this conversation, she joins Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds to reflect on her newest book, The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary , and to explore what it means to remain present in a time marked by ecological crisis, political strain, and personal...

This week on The Wild Line, we're tracking House Natural Resources Committee approvals on sequoia stewardship and scenic trail designation, tensions over the farm bill's nutrition title and conservation programs, Trump administration moves on public lands leadership, Montana political shifts affecting conservation policy, border wall threats to Big Bend National Park, prescribed burn controversies...

In this milestone 50th episode of The Wild Idea , Bill and Anders sit down in Helena, Montana, with rancher and entrepreneur Cole Mannix to explore the intersection of land stewardship, regenerative agriculture, and food system reform. Cole is a founding member of the rancher-owned Old Salt Co-op, an ambitious effort to create an alternative marketplace that reconnects producers, consumers, and la...

This week on The Wild Line, we’re tracking the Senate confirmation hearing for Bureau of Land Management nominee Steve Pearce, a new Public Land Order revoking protections on 2.1 million acres in Alaska, federal changes to protections for the lesser prairie chicken, and a Vermont Supreme Court ruling on public trail access. From federal land oversight to wildlife policy and access rights, these st...

This week on The Wild Line , we’re tracking a lawsuit challenging alleged censorship within the National Park Service, looming federal water cuts on the Colorado River, debate over the stalled Farm Bill, proposed management changes to Montana’s Flathead River, and final public comments on a controversial visitor plan for Cumberland Island National Seashore. Find out more about the stories covered...

This week on The Wild Line: a key Senate vote on Boundary Waters mining protections is postponed, the Forest Service proposes limits on public comment, and the Trump administration rolls back protections at a major Atlantic marine monument. We also cover a National Park Service nomination, federal public lands legislation, and new state action in Oregon and Illinois. Learn more about today's stori...

On this week’s Wild Line , we cover major developments in federal public lands policy, intensifying negotiations over the Colorado River, the Trump administration’s renewed push for oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the rollback of climate journalism at the Washington Post. We also share timely opportunities for public comment and mark the passing of a giant in the co...

This week on The Wild Line , we cover major developments affecting public lands, national forests, tribal sovereignty, water protections, national parks, and conservation policy—plus what to watch in Congress in the coming days. Learn more about today's stories and how you can take action at our website, thewildidea.com .

As The Wild Idea concludes Roadless Month , hosts Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds turn their attention north — to Southeast Alaska and the Tongass National Forest, the largest national forest in the United States and the world’s largest intact temperate rainforest. Covering nearly 17 million acres, the Tongass has become a focal point in national debates over old-growth logging, climate resilience,...

This week’s Wild Line tracks a fast-moving series of decisions on Capitol Hill and inside federal agencies that could reshape protections for wilderness, public lands, and conservation efforts nationwide. Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds cover the House vote targeting the Boundary Waters, contentious testimony around the EXPLORE Act, Interior Department actions affecting grazing and bison restoratio...

As The Wild Idea continues Roadless Month , hosts Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds turn their focus to one of the most culturally and ecologically significant landscapes in Montana: the Badger–Two Medicine.  Situated along the Rocky Mountain Front, just south of Glacier National Park, the Badger–Two Medicine is a place where roadless protection, wildlife habitat, and deep Indigenous responsibility c...

This week’s Wild Line covers a sweeping set of developments across federal land policy, wildfire response, public access, environmental regulation, and conservation funding — from Capitol Hill maneuvering that threatens the Boundary Waters, to Interior Department shakeups, EPA rulemaking decisions, and the 25th anniversary of the Roadless Rule. Find out more about today's episode and how you can t...

As The Wild Idea continues Roadless Month, hosts Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds bring the conversation to the birthplace of the modern wilderness idea: the Gila Wilderness in southwest New Mexico. Designated administratively in 1924, the Gila was the first government-protected wilderness in the world, shaping conservation policy decades before the Wilderness Act and influencing how Americans under...

This week, Congress returned to Washington and immediately released draft versions of several major FY26 funding bills affecting public lands, wildlife, wildfire management, and conservation programs across the federal government. We explore what's at stake.  We also track renewed congressional efforts to advance the Fix Our Forests Act, unpack a tragic and rare fatal mountain lion attack in Color...