A cabin the U.S. Forest Service ordered removed from Idaho’s Sawtooth National Recreation Area in 2024 is still standing, and the man whose company was told to take it down, Michael Boren, now oversees the agency as U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary for natural resources and environment, according to High Country News and Public Domain.
In November 2024, the Forest Service sent a cease-and-desist letter to Galena Mines LLC, then managed by Boren, after finding the cabin had been built nearly a mile north of the company’s mining claims. The letter ordered the cabin removed by July 1, 2025.
Since Boren’s arrival at USDA, the Forest Service has shown no sign of enforcing its order. A USDA spokesperson described the structure as a warming hut built by backcountry skiers “for public use as needed.” When asked about a video posted by American Hunters and Anglers showing the cabin’s door boarded over, the spokesperson said the hut “could be used in the event of a winter emergency.”
The cabin isn’t Boren’s first clash with the Forest Service. He built a 2,500-foot airstrip on his Hell Roaring Ranch inside the national recreation area, and described the work to the Army Corps of Engineers as “pasture improvement to eliminate gopher holes and weeds.” The Forest Service warned him in 2021 against further development, and Boren sued critics of the airstrip for defamation.
Boren’s 2025 ethics agreement and financial disclosure did not list Galena Mines. USDA said his family has had no ownership stake since May 2024, but Idaho business records list Boren as the company’s manager until February 2025, and Forest Service officials discussed the cabin directly with him in November 2024.
Judge orders inquiry into potential DOJ misconduct in D.C. golf course case
District Judge Ana Reyes has ordered an inquiry into potential misconduct by Trump administration officials over President Donald Trump’s plans to redevelop the East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C. The move comes after she learned that the government has been working for weeks to submit the redesign plan to the National Capital Planning Commission, a detail the DOJ lawyers failed to disclose in recent hearings.
Earlier in October, the U.S. Department of the Interior cleared more than 400 trees from the golf course, which the agency described as part of a routine “tree maintenance plan.” Judge Reyes quickly intervened and ordered a halt to the cutting.
Quick hits
Powerful House lawmaker raises Tribal concerns with permitting bill
Judge orders an inquiry into potential DOJ misconduct in Trump’s golf course case
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Opinion: Oil and gas leases on public lands
Forest Service finalizes transfer of management of Maroon Bells
San Juan River now forecast to rise 4 feet higher than 1911 historic flood in Pagosa Springs
Colorado Sun | Salt Lake Tribune
International tourists stayed away this summer, and Utah’s Mighty 5 felt it
Osage Nation speeds up orphan well cleanup as federal oversight recedes
Developer plans $113M housing project on former BLM land near Las Vegas
Quote of the day
Our public lands should be managed for their many values, not endlessly kept available for oil and gas leasing until the deal finally becomes discounted enough for a speculator to take advantage of.”
—Angelyn Tabalaba, deputy director for the Nevada Conservation League, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Picture This
St. Croix National Scenic Riverway winds through more than 200 miles of Minnesota and Wisconsin, offering some of the most scenic and least developed landscapes in the Upper Midwest.
Paddle beneath wooded bluffs, camp amid the Northwoods or cast a line surrounded by fall color. Along the way, watch for bald eagles and other wildlife that call the riverway home.
Photo by Craig Blacklock
(Featured image: Sawtooth National Forest near Stanley, Idaho. Katja Schulz, Flickr)