February 2025 CLiF Notes

Within two weeks we drove more than 50,000 public land defenders to send letters to Congressmembers and to Interior Secretary Burgum with the crystal clear message: America’s public lands are not for sale.

While the deadline for Secretary Burgum’s "action plan" has passed without public announcement, the campaign to dismantle public lands protections is accelerating at all levels of government. Legislation has been introduced to gut the Antiquities Act, while the administration terminates thousands of public land caretakers.

In this issue of CLiF Notes, we break down these emerging threats and share ways you can take action to protect your access and the health of these vulnerable lands.

Congressional attacks on public lands

Congress has unleashed a coordinated legislative attack designed to dismantle decades of conservation progress and foundational conservation laws in order to privatize millions of acres of cherished landscapes. 

The Impact: 

• The WEST Act would immediately kill the Public Lands Rule, which we helped secure last year and provides direction to the BLM to balance conservation and public access to the outdoors with resource extraction in their management decisions. 
• Nevada Representative Mark Amodei and Utah Representative Celeste Malloy have introduced legislation to gut the Antiquities Act, a tool used by presidents of both parties to protect American treasures from the Grand Canyon National Park to Bears Ears National Monument. 
• Montana Senator Steve Daines’s bill to prioritize extraction over all other uses on federal lands would essentially lock out public from all other BLM lands.

Our Take: These coordinated attacks reveal a disturbing strategy to strip away fundamental safeguards that keep public lands in public hands. By targeting both administrative rules and cornerstone legislation they aim to open public lands to private corporate polluters in complete disregard of the interests and economies of rural communities. The Antiquities Act in particular has been essential for protecting landscapes with scientific, cultural and historical significance when Congress has failed to act.

Take Action to Defend the Antiquities Act

Mass Firings of Federal Employees Spell Crisis for Public Lands

Photo: Two BLM employees at a National Public Lands Day event, Oregon | Bureau of Land Management

Last week, the Trump administration began terminating over 3,400 employees from the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and National Park Service—with more drastic cuts expected. Federal employees received immediate termination notices, sending shockwaves through rural western communities where these dedicated public servants live, work, and raise their families.

Impact: These dismissed employees brought decades of specialized experience to their roles serving the American people. “Skeleton” or non-existing crews will cripple public services nationwide. Visitors calling for road conditions will reach voicemails, trails will remain blocked by fallen trees, trash cans and other receptacles at campgrounds and beyond will overflow–all while the upcoming fire season looms with inadequate preparation.

Our Take: By systematically stripping away the personnel and expertise needed to manage public lands effectively, opponents are creating the perfect conditions to justify privatization. When public lands appear "mismanaged" due to intentional understaffing, selling them off becomes an easier case to make to the American public.

Are you or someone you know a Bureau of Land Management employee affected by the recent terminations? We're collecting firsthand accounts to share with members of Congress and help them understand the real human impact of these devastating cuts. Your story can make a difference in the fight to protect and defend public lands and the people who care for them. Share Your Story

Trump nominates oil and gas insider to lead the BLM

Photo: BLM Sign with pumpjack in the background, Vernal Field Office, Utah | BLM Utah

President Trump has nominated Kathleen Sgamma to lead the Bureau of Land Management, the agency stewarding the largest acreage of America’s public lands. For two decades, Sgamma has served as the oil and gas industry's most aggressive advocate at Western Energy Alliance, where she has repeatedly sued to dismantle public lands protections and fought to strip away common sense regulations on fossil fuel development.

Impact: Sgamma's confirmation would represent a seismic shift in direction for the BLM after four years of a more balanced management approach under the Biden administration. If confirmed, she would act as a major player in advancing Trump's agenda to dismantle and sell off public lands to private interests.

Our Take: We expect Sgamma will prioritize industry profits over BLM’s multiple-use mission, closing the door on the public’s rightful access to treasured landscapes. 

We will be monitoring this nomination process extremely closely and working to ensure Congress understands the serious implications of placing someone with Sgamma's record in charge of America's public lands legacy.

Make Room for Trail Snacks

🔬 Applications are now open for the Mojave Desert Land Trust’s Summer 2025 Women In Science Discovering Our Mojave (WISDOM) program. We're proud to support this important internship program that empowers the next generation of female scientists with support from Edison International. 

♿ The Bureau of Land Management just installed adaptive gates at three popular trailheads in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area in Nevada thanks to the advocacy of Friends Grassroots Network partners, Trail Access Project and Friends of Red Rock Canyon. These new gates now make these beautiful trails accessible to a wider variety of hikers!

🌊 This month marks the 150th anniversary of Piedras Blancas Light Station in California. Protected within the National Conservation Lands system, this historic landmark continues to shine thanks to our Friends Grassroots Network partner, the Piedras Blancas Light Station Association. Hear from our California Program Director Elyane Stefanick who shares more about this special place and the 25th anniversary of the National Conservation Lands.

Thank you for being here,