Doug Burgum was once seen as a conservationist. Reality shows otherwise.
Ranching
Posted inArticles
Ranch manager tied to top Trump appointee started 5,600-acre Idaho wildfire
A state investigation shines light on the unpermitted fire, which cost nearly $950,000 to contain.
Posted inSeptember 2026: On the Trail with Gary Paul Nabhan
Even cowgirls get the Instagram blues
A Montana rancher wonders what is lost in her urge to share her Western life online.
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The BLM may stop notifying landowners about drilling under private land. Ranchers are alarmed
Western cattlemen are poised to lose almost all opportunity to comment on oil and gas development underneath their property.
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The rules for grazing on 155 million acres of public lands are getting overhauled
The new rule cuts public involvement and favors the livestock industry.
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Interior delayed endangered wolf release in New Mexico
Karen Budd-Falen, Interior’s associate deputy secretary, former private attorney and grazing advocate, intervened in the release after meeting with former clients.
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Making grazing great again?
The Trump administration looks to preserve ranching heritage, but it’s not clear it will work.
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Treat water like family, not profit
Federal and state approaches to managing the Colorado River – as well as land and wildlife – reflect a lack of experience.
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How Interior helped push bison off Montana’s federal lands
In an uncommon move, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum intervened in a case that involved the former legal clients of Karen Budd-Falen, one of his top deputies.
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Ted Turner owned vast swaths of Western land. What happens to them now?
The media mogul had a lifelong commitment to endangered species, ecotourism and supporting rural agriculture.
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In major reversal, Interior allows top official with close industry ties to work on grazing policy
Karen Budd-Falen, the agency’s associate deputy secretary, had previously recused herself from working on grazing matters.
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Karen Budd-Falen’s ethics documents spark renewed calls for an investigation
Interior’s new release of ethics disclosures shed new light on the official’s growing scandal.
Posted inFebruary 2026: The Recording Artists
What’s needed to protect sage grouse?
The Burns Paiute and Shoshone-Bannock tribes are proving that reducing grazing may be the key to saving the iconic bird.
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6 takeaways from our public-lands grazing investigation
Subsidies prop up ranching, grazing degrades the land and politics underpin the system.
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Americans generally like wolves − except when reminded of politics
Recent studies found that attitudes toward wolves became more polarized when people’s political identities were activated.
Posted inFebruary 2026: The Recording Artists
Mexican wolves are rebounding, but are they ready for delisting?
A new bill from Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar looks to remove endangered species protections.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
How ranchers accused of breaking the rules dodge oversight
Elected officials interfere with agency efforts to protect the land.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
Congress made it easier to ignore grazing’s harm to public lands
Federal law requires agencies to review the environmental impacts of grazing, but government employees allege the system is riddled with loopholes.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
The wealthy profit from public lands, and taxpayers pick up the tab
Roughly two-thirds of grazing on Bureau of Land Management land is controlled by just 10% of permit holders.
Posted inDecember 2025: Wild Harvest
How we reported Free Range, our grazing investigation
Data and analyses used in the stories.