Pulse of the Land - 9/29/2025
A weekly brief for conservation and cleaner energy
Key Takeaways This Week
Sage-Grouse amendment tweaks tilt toward energy not conservation.
Leasing headlines can overstate the impact.
Clean energy transitions are messy, but innovative.
Closing Forest Service offices dims the spotlight on Alaska’s forests—opening the door wider for logging and development.
Government Spotlight
BLM’s new Greater Sage-Grouse amendment framed as housekeeping, but…
On the surface, the new proposed Resource Management Plan for the greater Sage-Grouse Range amendment appears to be routine tinkering. But the changes matter: the strongest core habitat rules stay firm, while the edges loosen. Protections are synced more closely to state plans, some habitat standards soften, and in Utah, the map itself is redrawn to match the state’s version, shrinking the acres under strict federal guardrails. In Nevada and California, areas once marked “avoid” for big transmission and pipeline routes are now simply “open.” The result: a quiet tilt toward energy development, and a small but real retreat for conservation. I wrote a more in-depth analysis review here.
Comments on this RMP until October 3rd. Comment here on the Federal Register.
Shrinking Forest Service offices in Alaska makes forrests less seen, less staffed, and more vulnerable to extraction.
The Trump administration is moving to close an unspecified number of U.S. Forest Service offices in Alaska as part of a nationwide reorganization that also shutters research labs and scatters agency staff into regional hubs. Cuts follow earlier layoffs that already thinned Alaska’s Forest Service workforce by more than 100 employees.
Closing local offices doesn’t just trim budgets—it makes forests like the Tongass less visible to the public and harder to steward. With fewer boots on the ground and fewer visitor centers, it’s easier for extraction interests to step in, and harder for conservation voices to keep these places front and center.
Quarterly program note (what “Big, beautiful bill” translates to on the ground)
BLM is actively managing the regular quarterly lease calendar across state offices (e.g., MT-ND, WY, CO, Eastern States), with sale notices, environmental assessments, and results published on their program pages and ePlanning hubs. Additional 2025 sales are queued based on BLM planning updates. Link to BLM website.
Quarterly leasing dollars from Q3 oil and gas actions:
Montana - North Dakota $38M for 7604 acres
Wyoming - $8.45M for 39,225 acres
*Leasing does not equal total drilling acres.
Inspector General Audit on renewables.
The Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General flagged weak vetting in the BLM’s wind/solar right-of-way processing from 2017 to 2023. BLM agreed to most fixes. This appears to be a process tightening, not a moratorium, but we need to keep a close eye on this. Link to OIG website announcement.
The Fine Print – what the stories miss.
“BLM just opened tens of thousands of acres to drilling.”
Leasing ≠ drilling. Big lease-acre graphics don’t equal bulldozers. Actual disturbance is concentrated on pads/roads and requires a separate Application for Permit to Drill (APDs) and site-specific NEPA, track APDs and pad acres, not just leased acres. However, fences around these structures and roads do impact access and migration routes. (Context relevant to all the recent BLM sale tallies.)
Public Lands Rule rescission — big for the future, quiet on the ground.
Rolling back BLM’s 2024 rule is a setback for conservation in the long term because it erases “conservation leases” as a co-equal use of public land. But right now, field offices still run under existing RMPs and site-specific NEPA, so day-to-day land access, drilling, and recreation aren’t suddenly different. The change is about future planning authority, not immediate bulldozers.
I believe this is still detrimental to future conservation efforts on public lands. Raising conservation leases equal priority with extraction was a great forward-looking plan, but because no leases were sold, it’s essentially maintaining the status quo from before 2024. Link to more details from Western News.
Clean Energy Projects in the News
Ivanpah (Concentrating Solar Power) CSP to wind down in 2026.
The Mojave’s BLM-sited tower-and-mirrors plant is slated for shutdown, with owners eyeing a PV repower. Useful headline for those opposed to clean energy, remember it’s a CSP story, not a verdict on PV on public lands.
China leads Small Modular Reactors, but are they as clean as advertised
China’s Linglong-1, the first land-based commercial SMR in 2023. This third generation SMR produces 125 megawatts of electricity and generates approximately 1 billion kilowatt-hours each year. About 100k households.
Lindsay Krall of Stanford noted that most SMR designs could increase nuclear waste by factors of 2 to 30, complicating waste management.
I am bringing this in today because the idea of SMRs is gaining popularity in the US, although there are no any opperational ones here.
The State of Public Lands
Government Shut down could close National Parks & facilities on BLM and National Forest land
For parks, NPS contingency plans usually close visitor centers, campgrounds, and fee areas; some roads/trails may stay accessible without staff, bathrooms, or trash service. Law enforcement and emergency crews remain.
For BLM and National Forest land, many developed sites (campgrounds, visitor centers) would close; dispersed areas often remain accessible but unmaintained. Most permitting/leases and routine field work pause. There are still lots of accessible, campable land.
Grand Canyon North Rim: partial reopening Oct 1.
After the Dragon Bravo Fire, Point Imperial and Cape Royal will open for day use through Nov 30; most of the North Rim stays closed while repairs continue. Plan like there’s no water, power, or cell service.
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.