Pulse of the Land - 12/9/2025
A weekly brief for conservation and cleaner energy
This Week’s Take
Big swings on the board. A federal judge just reopened the door for wind projects on federal lands and waters, while Congress moved to reopen more of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas. At the same time, Texas solar quietly beat coal for the year, even as Exxon backs away from low-carbon spending and federal forecasters warn of record electricity demand and stubbornly high prices. Down in the weeds, conservation groups are fighting over roadless forests, logging plans, and who actually gets a say in public-lands decisions. The short version: clean energy keeps racing ahead, but so do old-school drilling and logging pushes, and the price of power is becoming the new political third rail.
The State of Public Lands and Energy Relationship
December 8 — Judge throws out Trump order blocking wind on federal lands and waters.
A federal judge in Massachusetts struck down President Trump’s executive order that had effectively halted new federal permits and leases for wind energy projects on federal lands and offshore areas, calling it “arbitrary and capricious” and in violation of federal law.
Why it matters: This removes a major legal roadblock for wind projects that depend on federal seabeds and public lands, and it signals that sweeping anti-renewable directives that sidestep normal agency analysis are likely to get slapped down, which is a big deal for long-term clean energy build-out on public ground.
December 4 — Congress votes to reopen more of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
Congress approved a resolution undoing a Biden-era rule that had limited where oil and gas leasing could occur on the one-and-a-half-million-acre coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, moving back toward full-plain leasing at the request of Alaska officials and the Trump administration.
Why it matters: The vote tips one of the most iconic wildlife landscapes in North America back toward large-scale oil development, raising stakes for caribou, migratory birds, and climate, and underscoring how easily protections on energy-rich public lands can swing with political winds.
December 3 — Bureau of Land Management oil and gas sale in Wyoming pulls in nearly 17.5 million dollars.
The Bureau of Land Management auctioned 86 oil and gas parcels covering about 79,000 acres in Wyoming, generating just under 17.5 million dollars in bids and rental payments to be split between the federal government and the state.
Why it matters: This sale shows that conventional oil and gas leasing on western public lands is very much alive, even as clean energy expands, locking in decades of future drilling and associated roads, pads, and emissions on high-value wildlife and sagebrush country.
December 2 — Senate panel spotlights competing visions for public lands and energy.
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a hearing on a package of bills that would both expand conservation (such as the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy Act and the Roadless Area Conservation Act) and loosen some protections (such as a Utah roadways bill that could entrench off-road routes).
Why it matters: The mix of bills shows the core tension on public lands right now: some lawmakers want to lock in more landscapes against future mining, drilling, and road-building, while others want more access and infrastructure that could make it easier to expand fossil fuel or timber projects later.
Government Spotlight Public Lands
Dec 1 — Mellencamp-backed documentary amplifies Hoosier National Forest logging fight
A celebrity-led film is turning a once-local dispute into a national conversation about what qualifies as “restoration” logging and where the Forest Service is pushing big cuts.
Why it matters: Public pressure could force policy shifts on forest treatments nationwide and reshape how agencies justify logging under the banner of forest health or wildfire mitigation.
Dec 8 — National Parks Conservation Association backs landscape-scale protection bills
The NPCA threw its weight behind legislation to protect key watersheds, rivers, and habitats that directly buffer national parks, while opposing bills that entrench controversial off-road routes.
Why it matters: It maps out the new conservation priorities for 2026 and signals where public-lands politics are headed: toward watershed-scale protections and defensive fights against road-building.
Dec 8 — Warning of a “quiet crackdown” on public participation in federal land decisions
A Wilderness Society analysis argues agencies are shortening comment windows and burying major decisions behind holiday timing and complex filings.
Why it matters: Process is power. If communities can’t meaningfully weigh in, industry decisions, logging, mining, transmission, broadband, drilling, move with less scrutiny and more speed.
December 8 — Los Padres National Forest roadless protections face pressure.
Conservation groups in California are sounding the alarm as federal officials review protections for undeveloped “roadless” areas in Los Padres National Forest, warning that changes could open sensitive watersheds and wildlife habitat to more logging and road-building.
Why it matters: What happens in one big Western forest can set precedents for others; if roadless protections are weakened here, it could ripple into more aggressive timber and access pushes in national forests across the West.
Clean Energy in the News
Dec 9 - Texas Solar Surpasses Coal
Texas quietly crossed a milestone: solar outproduced coal for the entire year. In the nation’s most fossil-heavy market, panels beat piles of coal, thanks to massive buildout and cheap midday generation.
Why it matters: It’s the clearest proof yet that clean power can scale fast, even in a booming grid. Expectations just shifted for every state watching Texas sprint ahead.
Dec 9 - Demand Hits Records, Prices Follow
Federal forecasters say U.S. electricity demand will break records through 2026, pushed by data centers, new manufacturing, and electrification, while household bills keep climbing.
Why it matters: Rising demand + rising prices is the new battleground. It will shape every fight over siting, permitting, and how fast we build the next wave of clean energy without steamrolling landscapes.
Dec 9 - Exxon Pulls Back on Low-Carbon Plans
Exxon cut ten billion dollars from its low-carbon budget and shelved big hydrogen and carbon projects, blaming weak demand and wobbly policy signals.
Why it matters: When the biggest U.S. oil producer taps the brakes, the whole transition feels it. It’s a reminder that policy, not corporate vibes, still drives whether clean energy accelerates or stalls.
Thank you for reading! I highlight threats to public lands and the energy industry’s impact. I believe clean energy is the future, and ALL energy projects should prioritize private land first to keep wild places wild. When energy extraction is needed on public lands all projects must restore the land after extraction. Public lands are unique and once lost, they’re gone forever.