September CLiF Notes: This Month in Public Lands

In this issue, we provide an update on our fight to defend Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments; a wrap-up of the Interior Department’s wilderness review comment period, where more than 10,000 of you took action; a look at how our field teams are connecting local businesses to public lands; and a save-the-date for our next virtual Community Conversation that you won’t want to miss.

Thanks for being here, and for everything you continue to do for our shared public lands.

Bears Ears National Monument, UT | Photo: Bob Wick

What's Happened Since the Monument Reductions

It's been over a month since Trump illegally gutted Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, and new details are coming to light.

Mining industry moving fast: The president’s proclamations prohibit new mining claims in areas cut out from both Utah national monuments until 60 days after signing, which will be September 11, 2026. Yet nine mining claims have already been filed in areas cut from the national monument boundaries. In addition, House Democrats launched an open investigation into possible insider trading at Energy Fuels, a uranium company best positioned to profit from the reductions, after the company's CEO and Chairman of the Board bought the largest insider purchase of stock in the company's history days before President Trump’s proclamations to reduce the national monuments.

Opinion opens door to dismantle Bears Ears monument plan: At the behest of Senator Mike Lee (R-UT), the Government Accountability Office released an opinion that the Bears Ears National Monument land-use plan (finalized in 2025) is subject to the Congressional Review Act. This opinion paves the way for the Utah congressional delegation to fast-track legislation that dismantles Tribal collaborative management and accelerates the destruction of the landscape, while blocking a substantially similar management plan from being enacted in the future.

What’s next: It's clear this administration will cut every corner and violate laws and guardrails to accelerate the destruction of America's natural treasures. We are exploring every opportunity to keep this administration accountable for its actions.

Take action today to ensure they keep hearing from us.

Handies Peak Wilderness Study Area, CO | Photo: Bob Wick

Interior Department Receives Widespread Backlash Over Effort to Weaken Wilderness Protections

The public was forced to navigate five separate comment processes across three federal agencies as part of the Department of the Interior’s sweeping review of longstanding policies protecting millions of acres of America’s wildest public lands. The Conservation Lands Foundation made filing public comments as easy as possible, and more than 10,000 people flooded the Interior Department with public comments and pushback through our advocacy portals.

What’s next: The Interior Department will issue its decision on whether to listen to the thousands of Americans who urged the agency to maintain the longstanding policies that have successfully guided wilderness stewardship for decades – or ignore the American public and advance an administration-wide effort to dismantle and sell off our shared wilderness. We'll keep you updated on what happens next.

Save the Date: Community Conversation

Join the Conservation Lands Foundation and our partners, Friends of the Desert Mountains, In Solidarity Project, and 40 Acres Conservation League, in a virtual Community Conversation on ways to find joy and community with each other in the outdoors.

🗓️ September 23, 10am PT | 11am MT

Pencil it in and stay tuned for next week’s email with RSVP details!

We joined a roundtable discussion with Nevada Representative Dina Titus, Guest Services Inc, Get Outdoors Nevada, Nevada Outdoor Business Coalition,

and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority

Connecting Local Businesses to the Power of Public Lands

Our Nevada and California field teams have been building bridges between local business owners and the public lands their economies depend on.

In Las Vegas, Nevada, we joined a roundtable with Rep. Dina Titus (NV-01), Guest Services Inc., Get Outdoors Nevada, the Nevada Outdoor Business Coalition, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority. In Southern California, we partnered with Friends Network members Latino Outdoors, the Council of Mexican Federations in North America, and Friends of the Desert Mountains to bring local business owners together.

We look forward to continuing to build lasting relationships that will power the protection of public lands that local economies rely on.

Last Call to Join Us in the Eastern Sierras

Only a few spots remain for Conservation Lands Foundation's upcoming Eastern Sierra adventure! Get out on the public lands we love and connect with people who share your passion for protecting these sacred places. Join photographer Josh Jackson, our staff, and local conservation partners to enjoy the Eastern Sierras in the fall, while learning storytelling and photography skills.

Lodging, most meals, activities, and expert guides included. Space is limited and registration is closing soon.

Double Your Impact for Public Lands

Right now, your gift to the Conservation Lands Foundation can go twice as far. A group of generous Board and Emeritus Board members has come together to match every donation dollar-for-dollar, up to $117,500.

As attacks on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, and other public lands continue, the Conservation Lands Foundation and our Friends Grassroots Network are mobilizing communities, advocating for public lands, and ensuring local leaders have the resources and support they need to respond.

Give now and your gift will be doubled, fueling our community-led movement with critical resources to fight back, respond to new threats, and meet the challenges ahead.

Trail Snacks

🎙️ Conservation Lands Foundation’s Vice President of Conservation Field Program Charlotte Overby joined our partners, the Center for Western Priorities, for a live podcast taping centered on the current threats to New Mexico’s public lands.

📣 Public lands champion John Leshy has launched a new podcast, On Common Ground: An American Inheritance, unpacking what’s happening across public lands and why it matters, no matter how you vote.



📷 Friends Network member Latino Outdoors is inviting the public to submit photos in celebration of Latino Conservation Week and this year’s theme of “rooted in nature, thriving in community.” Enter by Sept. 20th.

🛶 Friends Network member Bears Ears Partnership launched its River Program, taking six local youth on a four-day Upper San Juan River trip.

🗺️ Digital map maker onX launched its Public Land Comment Hub to make it easier to track and weigh in on federal land management decisions.

While anti-public lands extremists are hard at work to advance their agenda, we know from experience that community power to protect nature is the winning team, and we’re inspired by the thousands of you who continue to take action when it matters most.

Your continued partnership with our mission invigorates everyone at the Conservation Lands Foundation and our Friends Grassroots Network for the work ahead and inspires us to grow the movement protecting our shared public lands and the joy and community they support.

Sincerely,

Header Photo: Bears Ears National Monument, UT | Bob Wick