Karen Budd-Falen, Interior’s associate deputy secretary, former private attorney and grazing advocate, intervened in the release after meeting with former clients.
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Posted inArticles
Do chainsaws belong in designated wilderness?
The Forest Service has approved the tools for use in some protected areas to clear neglected trails.
Posted inJune 2026: River Revival
Managed retreat in Ruidoso could mean more public lands
Facing fires and floods, homeowners in Lincoln County, New Mexico, are considering buyouts designed to move them out of harm’s way.
Posted inArticles
Making grazing great again?
The Trump administration looks to preserve ranching heritage, but it’s not clear it will work.
Posted inArticles
How Interior helped pushed 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.
Posted inArticles
The billionaires’ club at the center of America’s public lands fight
A controversial land swap orchestrated by the mega rich could be ‘a harbinger of what’s to come’ for public lands under Trump.
Posted inArticles
A new era of industrial logging looms
Mapping the possible impacts of the Roadless Rule overhaul
Posted inApril 2026: Inside the Attack on Public Lands
The Trump administration sent Greater Yellowstone into chaos. What’s next?
The region survived a year of deep cuts and layoffs. Here’s who is picking up the pieces.
Posted inArticles
Forest Service overhaul sows confusion, concern
In the Trump administration’s reorganization of the struggling agency, painful echoes of BLM’s past moves.
Posted inJune 2026: River Revival
Bureau of Indian Affairs could face reorganization, deeper staff cuts
Tribal leaders say previous cuts have already impacted the government’s ability to carry out programs in Indian Country.
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.
Posted inArticles
Would you pay 1% more for wildlife?
A bill in the Oregon Legislature would tax tourists for conservation.
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Alaska’s public lands are a political battleground
The first year of the second Trump administration saw a bewildering array of federal actions in the 49th state. Here’s your guide to where things now stand.
Posted inArticles
6 takeaways from our public-lands grazing investigation
Subsidies prop up ranching, grazing degrades the land and politics underpin the system.
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
How we reported Free Range, our grazing investigation
Data and analyses used in the stories.
Posted inArticles
Sen. Mike Lee’s new bill permits ‘tactical infrastructure’ in wilderness areas
The Border Lands Conservation Act gives the Department of Homeland Security the power to waive myriad federal laws, including the Wilderness Act, under the pretense of border security.
Posted inOctober 2025: Limits to Growth
Loopy lagomorphs, warning off wolves, the best of Buddys and diminutive dinosaurs
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
The dismantling of the Forest Service
The Trump administration’s plans would remake the agency and public lands. The deadline to comment is Sept. 30.