Karen Budd-Falen, Interior’s associate deputy secretary, former private attorney and grazing advocate, intervened in the release after meeting with former clients.
The post Interior delayed endangered wolf release in New Mexico appeared first on High Country News.
The government “carries a responsibility to present history in full.”
The numbers "8647" were found carved into a section of grass on the National Mall on Thursday, days before large crowds are expected to gather in Washington, D.C., for a UFC event scheduled on President Donald Trump's birthday.
The post ’86 47′ Message Carved Into National Mall Grass Days Before Trump Birthday Event appeared first on Breitbart.
The Trump administration's Interior Department is slashing ties with over three dozen progressive groups that it says do not align with the values of the administration, saving millions of dollars.
The post Trump Administration Slashes Ties with over 3 Dozen Progressive Groups appeared first on Breitbart.
SEATTLE—Tribal bison were on an extraordinary roll before the second term of President Donald J. Trump. Herds were expanding across Indian Country, as was Native consumption of bison meat, which is less fatty than beef. Science has confirmed that bison are better for prairie ecosystems than cattle. Most importantly to the tribes, public grazing land […]
As bad as things got in Los Angeles in January 2025, when 31 people died and more than 16,000 buildings were destroyed by wildfires roaring into residential neighborhoods, many wildland firefighters look back on the rest of last year as a dodged bullet. Across the nation, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), which […]
The Trump administration looks to preserve ranching heritage, but it’s not clear it will work.
The post Making grazing great again? appeared first on High Country News.
This story is from Floodlight, and produced in partnership with High Country News. Sign up for HCN’s newsletter here. At the end of a dirt road along the northeastern edge of Montana’s Crazy Mountains, a simple sign warns visitors they are now entering private property. For fifth-generation Montanan Brad Wilson, the notice marks a defeat with implications far […]
A new border wall has turned one end of the long-distance trail into a construction zone.
The post The Continental Divide Trail is being militarized for the border wall appeared first on High Country News.
SEATTLE—The Trump administration’s “final decision” banning bison grazing on public land is legally convoluted—and curiously narrow. Released earlier this month, it targets a single nonprofit, conservation-focused bison operation in a one state, while offering conciliatory assurances to scores of Native American tribes with much larger herds of bison across the West. The Interior Department…
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.
The post How Interior helped pushed bison off Montana’s federal lands appeared first on High Country News.
A controversial land swap orchestrated by the mega rich could be ‘a harbinger of what’s to come’ for public lands under Trump.
The post The billionaires’ club at the center of America’s public lands fight appeared first on High Country News.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum argued while speaking at a Breitbart News policy event that the vast majority of the legal hoops the American energy industry has to jump through are setting the U.S. back, while China skips over bureaucracy in the race for AI dominance.
The post Exclusive – Sec. Burgum on Economy-Crushing Bureaucratic Creep: ‘80% of What People Were Being Held Accountable for’ Not…
Breitbart News’s “Harnessing American Power” event with Interior Secretary and National Energy Dominance Council Chairman Doug Burgum featured a wide-ranging policy discussion on the Trump administration’s energy agenda, including how royalties from production on federal lands help support conservation, wildlife, and national parks.
The post Exclusive – Secretary Doug Burgum: Royalties from…
Oil and gas giant Continental Resources wanted the BLM to sign off on new wells in Wyoming, despite a court injunction there. The agency obliged.
The post Emails show Interior delivered new drilling permits for Burgum’s billionaire ally appeared first on High Country News.
The federal government ordered Flaming Gorge water released and cuts to Lake Powell releases, to prevent collapse.
The post Emergency plans for the Colorado River buy time, not solutions appeared first on High Country News.
A federal judge halted Trump administration policies affecting wind and solar development, ruling they are likely unlawful and created project delays.
The post Obama-Appointed Judge Denise J. Casper Blocks Trump Administration’s Efforts to Stop ‘Green New Scam’ appeared first on Breitbart.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum defended the Trump administration’s approach to energy production Monday, as Democrats on a U.S. House Appropriations panel accused the department of kowtowing to oil and gas interests at the expense of renewable energy. Burgum said President Donald Trump’s administration aimed to ease regulatory burdens on oil and gas producers, and said […]
The agency’s leadership distanced itself from the controversial proposal even though staff helped research public-land sales.
The post Interior Department crafted talking points for public lands sell-off agenda appeared first on High Country News.
Changes to NEPA come at the expense of tribal consultation. The administration has changed or revoked rules and policies to prioritize extraction.
The post ‘Energy dominance’ agenda sidelines tribes appeared first on High Country News.
From our collaborating partner Living on Earth, public radio’s environmental news magazine, an interview by Jenni Doering with Katharine Kollins, the president of Southeastern Wind Coalition. The Department of the Interior recently announced an agreement to pay the multinational company TotalEnergies nearly $1 billion to abandon its offshore wind leases and instead invest in fossil […]
Federal turnover and policy shifts have forced Indigenous communities to adapt.
The post Tribal leaders reflect on a year of uncertainty — and possibility appeared first on High Country News.
PHILLIPS COUNTY, Mont.—The American buffalo—those ornery, hairy prairie beasts that reign as the official mammal of the United States—have joined wind turbines, electric cars and climate researchers in the cross hairs of the Trump administration. Acceding to anti-bison grumbling from cattle ranchers and Republican politicians in Montana, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in January proposed…
President Donald Trump oversaw record levels of domestic energy production in 2025, including close to a billion barrels of offshore oil, according to the Department of the Interior.
The post Trump Oversaw Record Levels of Domestic Energy Production in 2025 appeared first on Breitbart.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is facing a significant overhaul, including further staff cuts, according to a statement from a tribal leader during a congressional hearing on Mar. 18 about federal funding for Indigenous communities for fiscal year 2027. “Just this week, we learned that the Bureau of Indian Affairs is planning on releasing and […]
The Trump administration is turning to the nuclear option on endangered-species protections in the name of national security. A rarely tapped panel nicknamed the “God Squad” will meet Tuesday to discuss whether overriding Endangered Species Act regulations for all federally regulated fossil fuel operations in the Gulf of Mexico is more important than preventing the […]
Tribal leaders say previous cuts have already impacted the government’s ability to carry out programs in Indian Country.
The post Bureau of Indian Affairs could face reorganization, deeper staff cuts appeared first on High Country News.
What the Truth and Healing Commission Bill would — and would not — do.
The post Congress contemplates sweeping investigation of Native boarding schools appeared first on High Country News.
Karen Budd-Falen, the agency’s associate deputy secretary, is actively working on grazing matters despite her last-known ethics documents, which disqualified her from doing so.
The post Top Interior official said she wouldn’t work on grazing policies. That’s not stopping her. appeared first on High Country News.
One year into President Donald Trump’s second term, the Department of the Interior is in turmoil, hobbling many of the agencies overseeing the country’s public lands and waters. Not only has Interior lost some 11,000 employees, or more than 17 percent of its workforce, it is also reeling from a drastic centralization of personnel: Last […]