Emails obtained by Public Domain and Fieldnotes show the Interior department worked closely with Continental Resources to secure drilling permits in Converse County, Wyoming, despite a court injunction restricting new drilling on public land there. Continental Resources supplied the Bureau of Land Management with a playbook to bypass environmental restrictions meant to protect the county’s groundwater, and the BLM has since rushed to issue over 70 permits to Continental using the loophole.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum received $250,000 in campaign donations from Continental Resources, which is controlled by billionaire oil tycoon Harold Hamm, when he ran for president in 2023. Burgum has also received around $50,000 in oil royalties from land he leased to Hamm’s company.
“This reminds me of the days of the Bush-Cheney administration’s massive push to drill the West, when it was obvious that the oil industry was calling the shots when it came to public land management,” Erik Molvar, executive director of Western Watersheds Project, told Public Domain. “But we never had such direct and obvious proof that oil corporations were giving the orders, and BLM officials at the highest levels were obediently carrying them out.”
CWP says goodbye to executive director
In the latest episode of the Center for Western Priorities’ podcast, The Landscape, we say goodbye to former Executive Director Jennifer Rokala. In a conversation with the entire CWP team, Jen reflects on the highs and lows of leading CWP for 11 years, what she’s most proud of, and what gives her hope for the future of America’s public lands. Listen now wherever you get podcasts or watch on YouTube.
Quick hits
How many federal public lands jobs did the Mountain West lose?
Congressman seeks probe of $11 million no-bid contract for Park Service fountain revamp
Opinion: Pikes Peak region’s outdoors future depends on LWCF funding
Navajo Nation residents push back on possible copper mine
How controlled burns can help save taxpayers billions
This fight unfolding in southern Utah could have implications for states trying to take over federal lands
Shared ground: Coalition forms to promote affordable housing on public lands
Wildfire is an increasing threat to the West’s recreation economy, according to new research
Quote of the day
Proposed budget cuts and growing bureaucratic obstacles are threatening to slow or stop LWCF-funded projects across the country… Whatever your politics, that should concern you. LWCF has never been a partisan program. It was built on a bipartisan foundation and has delivered results under presidents and Congresses of both parties for 60 years.”
—David Leinweber, founder of Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance, Colorado Sun
Picture This
Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge offers a chance to unplug from the stresses of daily life and reconnect with Minnesota’s tallgrass prairie.
Photos by Mike Budd / USFWS
Feature image: Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (left) and oil tycoon Harold Hamm (right); Source: Burgum photo by Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia, Hamm photo by david_shankbone via Flickr