A new report released by Rocky Mountain Wild and the Center for Western Priorities shows how the Trump administration’s giveaway of national public lands for oil and gas drilling is impacting wildlife, outdoor recreation, and cultural resources across the West. The report uses eight case studies in five Western states to demonstrate how oil and gas development is encroaching on protected public lands under the Trump administration’s policies.
View the Report
Congress and the Trump administration have been handing out regulatory giveaways to the oil and gas industry on our public lands under the guise of a so-called “energy emergency” and promoting an “energy dominance” agenda that is failing to achieve its stated goal of bringing down energy costs for Americans.
Since 2025, Congress and the Trump administration have:
- Made it free for oil and gas companies to nominate more than 200 million acres of national public lands for drilling;
- Required the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to offer any of these lands for leasing within 18 months of being nominated;
- Disregarded concerns raised by hunters and anglers, local officials, ranchers, and other experts;
- Proposed a rule that would make it harder for the public to provide input on where industry can and can’t lease public lands, as well as make it easier for companies to walk away from their cleanup obligations and leave behind uncapped wells that can leak dangerous pollutants.