Bipartisan Pushback on Threats to Public Lands and the Endangered Species Act

Welcome to the very first edition of The Wild Line, a new weekly series from The Wild Idea podcast. This show is for all of you who’ve asked to stay informed about what’s happening with our public lands, from Washington, D.C. to your own backyard. Each Friday, we’ll bring you the big stories shaping the future of our wild places, with sharp commentary, context, and some fire. 

Don’t worry: our deep-dive interviews on the intersection of wild nature and human nature will continue to air on Tuesdays, and we’ll still drop occasional bonus episodes, too.

This week, we’re starting with some catch-up after a whirlwind month on the public lands front. We cover promising legislation in Virginia and Arkansas, the wildfire of bad news coming out of House reconciliation efforts, attacks on the Endangered Species Act, bipartisan resistance to land sell-offs, and the gutting of our public lands workforce.

THE GOOD 

Virginia: Wilderness Bills Reintroduced

Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Mark Warner (D-VA) reintroduced two bills that would protect and expand wilderness in Virginia’s George Washington and Jefferson National Forest:

• Virginia Wilderness Additions Act – Adds ~5,000 acres to existing wilderness areas.
• Shenandoah Mountain Act – Establishes a 90,000-acre National Scenic Area, protecting current uses (including mountain biking) while shielding the landscape from extractive industries.

These bills stem from a rare and long-standing consensus among timber, conservation, and recreation stakeholders, first pitched to the Forest Service in 2011 and codified in the 2014 Forest Plan. With growing federal pressure to increase logging across U.S. forests, these designations would finally fulfill a decade-old promise.

Arkansas: Flatside Wilderness Expansion
The House passed H.R. 1612, the Flatside Wilderness Additions Act, with bipartisan support. Introduced by Rep. French Hill, the bill adds 2,200 acres to the Flatside Wilderness in the Ouachita National Forest. This is Hill’s second attempt to complete the protection of a landscape he’s been tied to since the 1980s, and it’s a win for both conservation and Arkansas’s outdoor economy.

Bipartisan Caucus Formed: Public Lands Caucus
In response to the wave of public lands threats in Congress, Reps. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) and Gabe Vasquez (D-NM) launched the Public Lands Caucus, a rare bipartisan coalition committed to advancing conservation and public access. It’s already ~20 members strong. 

THE BAD

Reconciliation Bill: A Conservation Nightmare

The House Natural Resources Committee has advanced a reconciliation bill that reads like a greatest hits of public lands destruction:

• Public Land Sell-Off: Amodei/Maloy Amendment would sell ~500,000 acres of public land—including a piece of Red Mountain Wilderness in Utah.
• Boundary Waters Mining: Reverses the 20-year mining ban and reinstates leases to Antofagasta—no environmental review, perpetual renewal rights, and no judicial oversight. More on the threat.
• Arctic and Alaska Development: Mandates lease sales in the Arctic Refuge, NPR-A, and fast-tracks the controversial Ambler Road.
• Resource Management Rollback: Prohibits BLM plans in CO, MT, ND, and WY, erasing years of public input.
• Pay-to-Play Reviews: Allows companies to skip environmental review by paying a fee (Section 80151).
• Timber Mandates: Forces long-term logging contracts and demands a 25% increase in timber harvest—potentially violating the Roadless Rule.
• Old-Growth Protections Cut: Rescinds funding for mapping and conserving mature forests.

Even former Interior Secretary Zinke is calling foul: “It’s a no now. It will be a no later. It will be a no forever.”     — Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT)

Endangered Species Act in the Crosshairs

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries have proposed rescinding the longstanding regulatory definition of “harm” under the ESA – a change that would gut habitat protections for endangered species.

Comment deadline: Monday, May 19, 2025         ➡️ Submit your comment here.

THE UGLY

Public Lands Workforce is Being Gutted

Thousands of public land agency workers have been forced out in recent weeks:

• “Probationary” employees, many recently converted to permanent status, were abruptly (and maybe illegally) terminated.
• Others are taking the “Fork in the Road” buyout, encouraged to leave via repeated pressure from the Office of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
• Some federal workers are being reassigned into vague roles across the Department of the Interior.
• Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins admitted they no longer have enough staff to carry out mission-critical work.

We’ll keep tracking the brain drain happening across federal land agencies and what it means for the places we love.

Coming Up

Next week on The Wild Idea, we talk with Kaitie Schneider from Defenders of Wildlife about the long-awaited reintroduction of wolverines to Colorado. And we’ve got some EXCITING bonus episodes on deck, too.

Until next time: act up, and run wild!

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