This week on The Wild Line, we’re tracking the Senate confirmation of Steve Pearce as Bureau of Land Management director, the Trump administration’s restoration of cyanide trap devices on public lands, new reporting on how automated bots are locking everyday users out of Recreation.gov permits, the launch of a free community shuttle connecting Colorado residents to outdoor destinations in the Golden and Morrison area without a car or a ticket and FBI Director Kash Patel’s coordinated snorkel tour of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. From FY27 appropriations markups to Conservation Alliance lobbying in Washington, these stories trace a week of compounding movement on federal lands and wildlife policy.

🎧Listen to the full episode for context, analysis, and what to watch next.

Steve Pearce Confirmed as Bureau of Land Management Director

The Senate approved a bloc of 50 presidential appointments Monday, including former New Mexico Representative Steve Pearce as director of the Bureau of Land Management. As a congressman, Pearce built a career advocating for the sale of federal public lands and has maintained close ties to the oil and gas industry since leaving office. He now heads the agency that oversees the same lands and industries he sought to open for privatization. His confirmation comes one week after the BLM repealed the Public Lands Rule, which had established conservation as a priority use across more than 245 million acres.

House and Senate Advance FY27 Appropriations

House and Senate Appropriations Committees are advancing Fiscal Year 2027 spending bills. The House Appropriations Committee last week marked up its Commerce, Justice, and Science bill, including steep cuts to NOAA Fisheries alongside level funding for the Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue program, $5 million for fishing gear technology aimed at reducing right whale bycatch, and $10 million for a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant program targeting harmful interactions between ocean users and whales. The House Interior and Environment bill was taken up Thursday; the full Committee considers it June 3. The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to begin its own markups around June 4.

Trump Administration Restores Cyanide Trap Devices on Public Lands

The Trump administration is lifting a ban on M-44 devices — spring-loaded traps that discharge sodium cyanide — on public lands, over the objections of conservation and wildlife advocates. The Bureau of Land Management will again authorize the devices for predator control, though M-44s are documented to kill non-target animals including endangered species, birds of prey, and domestic pets. The decision revives calls for the Chemical Poisons Reduction Act, also known as Canyon’s Law, which would ban cyanide-based predator control devices nationwide. The Mansfield family of Pocatello, Idaho — whose son Canyon and dog Kasey were struck by a government-placed M-44 — recently reached a settlement with the USDA, which admitted negligence; a 2016 environmental assessment had restricted M-44 placement to private lands only.

Florida Restricts Wild Manta Ray Captures for Commercial Aquariums

Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted last week to end an open permitting program that had allowed the capture of wild manta rays — a federally threatened species — for overseas aquariums. Under the new policy, any company seeking to take a species on the state or federal endangered list, such as manta rays or queen conch, must obtain approval from wildlife commissioners rather than staff-issued permits. Florida-based companies can still seek commissioner-level approval for their own educational displays under the revised rules.

Bots Are Breaking Recreation.gov — and Blocking Public Access

A new investigation by Heather Hansman, published in RE:public, reveals that automated bots are capturing Recreation.gov permits — including coveted spots on Idaho’s Middle Fork of the Salmon River — within seconds of release, while reserved sites frequently sit empty. The platform is run not by the federal government but by defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, which earns an undisclosed fee on every transaction — potentially as much as $620 million before its contract expires in 2028. DOGE-driven staffing cuts have left the program without a manager, and the fee structure increasingly favors users with computing power over those without. Read more about Hansman’s investigation in this article.

Heather joined us to share these additional comments:

“Rec.gov is really interesting because it is managed…by a government contractor. It’s run by Booz Allen Hamilton, which is, I think they’re the twelfth biggest government contractor, and they manage a bunch of defense contracts…when Booz Allen Hamilton got the contract, they changed things so that they now get paid per transaction. They get a little fee add on for every permit, every reservation, every- everything that goes through the site. Um, and that has, A, that’s made them a whole bunch of money, and it’s not totally clear how much money they’re making…And, you know, they’re making that money whether a person makes a reservation or whether a bot makes a reservation.”

Conservation Alliance Takes Outdoor Industry to Capitol Hill

The Conservation Alliance brought nearly 60 member organizations to Washington, D.C. this week for meetings with the administration and elected officials in both chambers of Congress. The coalition — which represents outdoor gear and apparel companies — pressed on public lands issues including the proposed Roadless Rule rescission, implementation of the Explore Act, and the economic contribution of outdoor recreation to local communities and public health. Rebecca Gillis, Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy for The Conservation Alliance, joined the episode to discuss the week’s conversations:

“We’re one of the only groups working in the conservation space that can really bring an authentic business voice — focused on not only the importance of the outdoors by themselves, but also the economics and how big of a powerhouse we are. Nobody better than the businesses themselves to bring to DC and bring the message straight to our policymakers.”

GreenLatinos Colorado Launches Free Westracks Shuttle to Golden and Morrison Outdoor Destinations

GreenLatinos Colorado this week launched Westracks, a free community shuttle connecting the RTD Jefferson County Government Center Station to parks, museums, trails, and cultural destinations in the Golden and Morrison area. Service begins May 23, running on weekends and holidays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Labor Day — no tickets or reservations required. The shuttle is the result of years of collaboration among GreenLatinos Colorado, RTD, Jefferson County, the City and County of Denver, the Town of Morrison, and Friends of Dinosaur Ridge, aimed at reducing transportation barriers to outdoor and cultural access for communities historically excluded from nearby public
lands and open spaces.

FBI Director Kash Patel Snorkeled the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor

Reports emerged this week that FBI Director Kash Patel, while visiting Hawaii last year, participated in a military-coordinated snorkel tour of Pearl Harbor National Memorial, including a pass around the USS Arizona, where the remains of approximately 900 U.S. sailors and Marines are still entombed. Snorkeling and diving at the USS Arizona are generally restricted to archaeologists, authorized Interior and Defense personnel with jurisdiction over the site, and National Park Service-supervised recovery teams. The tour was arranged with military coordination.

Next Week

That’s our report for May 22, 2026.

We’ll be back next week with more land stories that matter.

Until then — Act Up and Run Wild.

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