Interior Secretary Doug Burgum stumbled through another congressional hearing, this time facing criticism from the Senate Energy and Natural Resources committee. Senators questioned him over his refusal to approve renewable energy projects on public lands. Ranking Member Martin Heinrich of New Mexico asked why the Interior Department is speeding permits for oil, gas, and mining but not for wind and solar. A federal judge recently ordered Interior to lift policies that have prevented renewable approvals, which Burgum said the administration disagrees with.
The committee then pivoted to the administration’s fiscal 2027 budget request, which proposes a 13 percent cut to the Interior Department and a 40 percent reduction to the National Park Service’s maintenance budget. Burgum defended the cuts by claiming the government could perform maintenance more “efficiently,” yet the budget simultaneously asks for a massive $10 billion “Presidential Capital Stewardship Program” dedicated specifically to the nation’s capital.
The $10 billion request is essentially a “slush fund” for President Trump’s vanity projects, including a proposed 250-foot triumphal arch. Burgum insisted the funds are intended for maintenance, but the Interior department estimates the NPS deferred maintenance backlog in D.C. to be just over $2 billion. Adding in the maintenance backlog for all of Virginia and Maryland brings the total to only $4 billion, leaving $6 billion or more unaccounted for in Burgum’s request. “It’s time for Secretary Burgum to tell President Trump that all of America’s parks need attention, not just the ones outside the president’s window,” said Kate Groetzinger, communications manager for the Center for Western Priorities.
Borderlands part 1: The threats to public lands at the border
The latest episode of The Landscape podcast is the first installment of a two-part series on the borderlands. Aaron and Lilly are joined by Laiken Jordahl, National Public Lands Advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, to discuss his work protecting public lands along the U.S.-Mexico border. Laiken shares a boots-on-the-ground perspective on what makes these places special and how border wall construction is actively impacting our public lands.
Quick hits
Senate poised to hand 245 million acres of public land to man who wants to sell them
Teton County Commissioners worry about U.S. Forest Service headquarters move
The forgotten corner-crossing case that set the stage for public land access across the West
Tribe and environmentalists to sue feds over Arizona mine’s impacts to threatened owls
Will Trump’s Forest Service upheaval erase a century of precious historical documents?
Mother Jones | Inside Climate News
TotalEnergies faces congressional scrutiny over public lands operations
A year post-DOGE, Wyoming forest workers still feel uncertainty and chaos
As wildfire risks rise, Forest Service shutters labs that study them
Quote of the day
What the heck? All this talk about maintenance and how we got to have maintenance … and your budget’s cutting [that] by more than a third. Explain that one.”
—U.S. Senator Angus King to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, E&E News
Picture This
We all love desert tortoises, but if you ever encounter one in the wild, please leave it alone. If a tortoise is scared, it will void its bladder, potentially losing a year’s worth of fluids that it needs to survive.
If you see one in the road, slow down and give it space to cross. Only intervene if it is in immediate danger.
Thank you for helping protect these ancient reptiles. 🐢💚
Photo by Brad Sutton / NPS
Featured photo: Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum at a Senate ENR committee hearing on Apr 29.