Bureau of Land Management

A potential government shutdown could impact services at national parks and other public lands—and more layoffs could be coming to land management agencies.

The One Big Beautiful Bill changed the leasing process for the BLM. Now, land in Colorado will be cheaper for operators to lease, and the agency will have less discretion over the terms of the agreements.

The Public Lands Rule allowed conservation to be managed as part of BLM’s multiple-use mandate, along with other uses like mining and grazing. The Trump administration now says that rule doesn’t pass muster.

The Trump administration declared a national energy emergency in January, hoping to spur domestic energy and mineral production. Some advocates say the administration is using the declaration as a pretense to bolster the fossil fuel industry.

The Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration to go ahead with firing thousands of federal workers across several agencies. Advocates worry that if a lower court rules the firings are illegal, agencies will be too hollowed-out to hire workers back.

Though often on opposite sides of the political debate, both conservative and liberal voices have criticized a proposal that would sell millions of acres of federal public lands in the West.

Millions of acres across 11 Western states would be up for sale. Republicans say it will help solve the affordable housing crisis, but environmental advocates say it’s not a serious solution.

A new study from Headwaters Economics shows that housing on public lands would have only a minimal impact on the West’s housing crisis, with most potential development being focused in a small number of states. Economist Megan Lawson also says that wildfire danger would be a huge risk to these potential homes.

The Trump administration has announced its intent to repeal a landmark Bureau of Land Management rule that placed conservation on equal footing with other uses of public lands, including oil and gas development and grazing.

Freshman Representative Jeff Hurd (R-Colo.) is sponsoring a bill that would require Bureau of Land Management field offices across the west to adopt plans that would open up more lands to oil and gas drilling.