Episode Bonus May 9, 2025 11 min 1s

Federal Staff Cuts Continue and Land Sale Provision Announced for Nevada and Utah - Public Lands News (May 5 - 9)

From Outdoor Minimalist Black-Footed Ferret Productions, LLC

In this week’s episode, we cover the details of the budget reconciliation package, the agencies and communities affected, and what you can do to help stop these devastating moves before Memorial Day.

📢 ⁠Outdoor Alliance Action Alert⁠: ⁠https://www.outdooralliance.org/blog/2025/5/6/public-lands-and-waters-deserve-better-than-reconciliation-package⁠
Have tips, testimonials, or insights on public land changes? Submit them through our Google Form (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://forms.gle/JwC73G8wLvU6kedc9⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠)

What's Covered:

National Park Service Staff Consolidation: Over 1,600 NPS employees moved under Department of the Interior (DOI) control, stripping the Park Service of independent communications, ranger training, and operations oversight.

Midnight Amendment for Public Land Sales: The House Natural Resources Committee fast-tracked an amendment authorizing the sale of hundreds of thousands of acres in Nevada and Utah for tax breaks with no public comment or media notice.

Extractive Industries’ Wish List: How the reconciliation bill mandates offshore drilling, mining near the Boundary Waters, timber contracts, and NEPA loopholes to bypass environmental reviews.

Park Grants Targeted for Elimination: New York Times report details how the administration plans to cut $26 million in climate, Indigenous cultural, and DEI-focused public land programs.

Department of the Interior’s Budget Cuts: A proposed $5.1 billion (30.5%) cut and reorganization granting sweeping powers to DOGE allies.

Who Signed Off on the Sale?

Bruce Westerman — Arkansas, 4th District (Chairman)

Rob Wittman — Virginia, 1st District (Vice Chairman)

Tom McClintock — California, 5th District

Paul Gosar — Arizona, 9th District

Amata Coleman Radewagen — American Samoa, At-large

Doug LaMalfa — California, 1st District

Daniel Webster — Florida, 11th District

Russ Fulcher — Idaho, 1st District

Pete Stauber — Minnesota, 8th District

Tom Tiffany — Wisconsin, 7th District