Western Watersheds Project
@westernwatersheds.bsky.social
Protecting Western watersheds and wildlife since 1993. Committed to addressing public lands livestock issues.
“It’s an extinction plan for profit, handing the keys of the Endangered Species Act to industry lobbyists and turning wildlife protection into a cost-benefit calculation where extinction becomes an acceptable outcome,” Osher said in a statement.
www.aspentimes.com/news/trump-a...
www.aspentimes.com/news/trump-a...
Proposal to roll back Endangered Species Act met with concern in Colorado
Colorado conservation groups and elected officials are among those pushing back against a proposal by President Donald Trump's administration to roll back parts of the Endangered Species Act.
www.aspentimes.com
December 2, 2025 at 9:28 PM
“It’s an extinction plan for profit, handing the keys of the Endangered Species Act to industry lobbyists and turning wildlife protection into a cost-benefit calculation where extinction becomes an acceptable outcome,” Osher said in a statement.
www.aspentimes.com/news/trump-a...
www.aspentimes.com/news/trump-a...
BREAKING: A new study sent to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service finds Arctic grayling in Montana’s Big Hole River are still at risk. Hotter summers, shrinking flows, and degraded habitat are wiping out gains from past conservation efforts.
New Report Finds That Arctic Grayling Face Increasing Risk in Big Hole River, Despite Conservation Efforts - Western Watersheds Project
For Immediate Release: December 2, 2025 Contact: Dr. Zachary Hoylman, (406-499-8118), [email protected] Patrick Kelly, Western Watersheds Project, (208) 576-4314, patrick@westernwater...
westernwatersheds.org
December 2, 2025 at 4:58 PM
BREAKING: A new study sent to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service finds Arctic grayling in Montana’s Big Hole River are still at risk. Hotter summers, shrinking flows, and degraded habitat are wiping out gains from past conservation efforts.
Roughly 2/3 of grazing on BLM land is controlled by just 10% of permit holders. On FS land, the top 10% control more than 50% of grazing. The wealthy only have to pay $1.35 per cow/calf pair while taxpayers cover the rest. Though wildlife, water, public lands are paying the ultimate price.
The wealthy profit from public lands, and taxpayers pick up the tab - High Country News
Roughly two-thirds of grazing on Bureau of Land Management land is controlled by just 10% of permit holders.
www.hcn.org
December 1, 2025 at 9:32 PM
Roughly 2/3 of grazing on BLM land is controlled by just 10% of permit holders. On FS land, the top 10% control more than 50% of grazing. The wealthy only have to pay $1.35 per cow/calf pair while taxpayers cover the rest. Though wildlife, water, public lands are paying the ultimate price.
Out today: The rubber stamping of grazing permits on western public lands is leading to mass degradation, species endangerment and worsening wildfire risk.
www.propublica.org/article/graz...
www.propublica.org/article/graz...
A Loophole Allows Ranchers to Renew Grazing Permits With Little Scrutiny of the Environmental Impact
With dwindling oversight, cattle are grazing where they’re not supposed to and in greater numbers or for longer periods than permitted. This can spread invasive plants, pushing out native species and ...
www.propublica.org
December 1, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Out today: The rubber stamping of grazing permits on western public lands is leading to mass degradation, species endangerment and worsening wildfire risk.
www.propublica.org/article/graz...
www.propublica.org/article/graz...
Out today from ProPublica: The rubber stamping of grazing permits on western public lands is leading to mass degradation, species endangerment and worsening wildfire risk.
www.propublica.org/article/graz...
www.propublica.org/article/graz...
A Loophole Allows Ranchers to Renew Grazing Permits With Little Scrutiny of the Environmental Impact
With dwindling oversight, cattle are grazing where they’re not supposed to and in greater numbers or for longer periods than permitted. This can spread invasive plants, pushing out native species and ...
www.propublica.org
December 1, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Out today from ProPublica: The rubber stamping of grazing permits on western public lands is leading to mass degradation, species endangerment and worsening wildfire risk.
www.propublica.org/article/graz...
www.propublica.org/article/graz...
A court ruled a statewide Cal Fire program risks making fires worse by removing native chaparral and allowing the spread of more flammable grasses. www.latimes.com/environment/...
Cal Fire approach to SoCal's wildfire crisis could make things worse, court says
A statewide Cal Fire program risks making fires worse by removing native chaparral and allowing the spread of more flammable grasses, a court ruled.
www.latimes.com
December 1, 2025 at 4:03 PM
A court ruled a statewide Cal Fire program risks making fires worse by removing native chaparral and allowing the spread of more flammable grasses. www.latimes.com/environment/...
A fire that ignited during the government shutdown burned hundreds of Joshua trees. A National Park Service employee said staffing shortages are limiting the agency’s ability to save the trees. www.latimes.com/environment/...
Hundreds of Joshua trees were scorched during the shutdown
A firefighter with the National Park Service says a fire wiped out more than a thousand Joshua trees amid the government shutdown. Restoration could be limited by a depleted staff, they said.
www.latimes.com
December 1, 2025 at 2:03 PM
A fire that ignited during the government shutdown burned hundreds of Joshua trees. A National Park Service employee said staffing shortages are limiting the agency’s ability to save the trees. www.latimes.com/environment/...
Show support for public lands, wildlife and the efforts of WWP by snagging something from our shop for you or a loved one. Proceeds funnel right back into our work and from now until 12/3 you can get 10% off at checkout with code GET10
>> Bonfire.com/store/wwp <<
>> Bonfire.com/store/wwp <<
November 28, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Show support for public lands, wildlife and the efforts of WWP by snagging something from our shop for you or a loved one. Proceeds funnel right back into our work and from now until 12/3 you can get 10% off at checkout with code GET10
>> Bonfire.com/store/wwp <<
>> Bonfire.com/store/wwp <<
Under the banner of “innovation” and “freedom,” a coalition of right-wing billionaires, libertarian think tanks, and Trump-era policymakers are pushing a plan to seize public lands and carve private city-states out of them. They’re calling them “Freedom Cities.”
“Freedom Cities”: A tech-bro fantasy with real-world consequences for public lands
A fringe idea born in tech circles and right-wing politics is now being positioned as the next great excuse to carve up public lands.
westernwatersheds.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Under the banner of “innovation” and “freedom,” a coalition of right-wing billionaires, libertarian think tanks, and Trump-era policymakers are pushing a plan to seize public lands and carve private city-states out of them. They’re calling them “Freedom Cities.”
THIS JUST IN. Taylor is headed back home. “Taylor knows where he wants to be, and humans need to stop trying to impose their will on wild animals.”
westernwatersheds.org/2025/11/15992/
westernwatersheds.org/2025/11/15992/
Mexican Wolf ‘Taylor’ Back Home Near New Mexico’s Mount Taylor - Western Watersheds Project
For Immediate Release, November 24, 2025 Contact: Michael Robinson, Center for Biological Diversity, (575) 313-7017, [email protected] Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project, (520) ...
westernwatersheds.org
November 24, 2025 at 8:06 PM
THIS JUST IN. Taylor is headed back home. “Taylor knows where he wants to be, and humans need to stop trying to impose their will on wild animals.”
westernwatersheds.org/2025/11/15992/
westernwatersheds.org/2025/11/15992/
Western Watersheds Project's Erik Molvar writes, "Cheney had one major conservation achievement: the Wyoming Wilderness Act of 1984. Otherwise, his record was dominated by environmental destruction."
cowboystatedaily.com/2025/11/21/g...
cowboystatedaily.com/2025/11/21/g...
Guest Column: Dick Cheney's Checkered Conservation Legacy
Western Watersheds Project's Erik Molvar writes, "Cheney had one major conservation achievement: the Wyoming Wilderness Act of 1984. Otherwise, his record…
cowboystatedaily.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Western Watersheds Project's Erik Molvar writes, "Cheney had one major conservation achievement: the Wyoming Wilderness Act of 1984. Otherwise, his record was dominated by environmental destruction."
cowboystatedaily.com/2025/11/21/g...
cowboystatedaily.com/2025/11/21/g...
The Kendall Warm Springs dace clings to survival in a small spring in Wyoming. The agency charged with protecting it is proposing trampling as a recovery strategy.
Hooves in the Water: The Forest Service’s Risky Experiment with an Endangered Fish
The Kendall Warm Springs dace clings to survival in a small spring in Wyoming. The agency charged with protecting it is proposing trampling as a recovery strategy.
westernwatersheds.substack.com
November 20, 2025 at 7:55 PM
The Kendall Warm Springs dace clings to survival in a small spring in Wyoming. The agency charged with protecting it is proposing trampling as a recovery strategy.
The only thing the 2024 Rule did was spell out that conservation is a real, coequal use under FLPMA, and that’s something the livestock lobby has fought for generations: actual accountability.
The Public Lands Livestock Lobby is Showing You Who They Are. Believe Them.
They claim they “value the land the most” and praise conservation in speeches, then fight it in practice. Their reaction to the Public Lands Rule makes that crystal clear.
westernwatersheds.substack.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:36 PM
The only thing the 2024 Rule did was spell out that conservation is a real, coequal use under FLPMA, and that’s something the livestock lobby has fought for generations: actual accountability.
A new CounterPunch piece by WWPs executive director, Erik Molvar and Southern Utah director, Laura Welp argues that with the Biden Conservation Rule on the chopping block, we have a rare chance to build something stronger — a Conservation Rule worthy of the West.
A Conservation Rule to Match Our Mountains
The comment period has just closed on the Trump administration’s process to rescind the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, which has been framed as
www.counterpunch.org
November 14, 2025 at 4:03 PM
A new CounterPunch piece by WWPs executive director, Erik Molvar and Southern Utah director, Laura Welp argues that with the Biden Conservation Rule on the chopping block, we have a rare chance to build something stronger — a Conservation Rule worthy of the West.
Join WWP for a live demo of Cow Pie Pal, our new smartphone app that empowers public lands users to document livestock damage and hold agencies accountable.
NOV 19 @ 6PM MT. REGISTER: tinyurl.com/cowpiepal
NOV 19 @ 6PM MT. REGISTER: tinyurl.com/cowpiepal
November 13, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Join WWP for a live demo of Cow Pie Pal, our new smartphone app that empowers public lands users to document livestock damage and hold agencies accountable.
NOV 19 @ 6PM MT. REGISTER: tinyurl.com/cowpiepal
NOV 19 @ 6PM MT. REGISTER: tinyurl.com/cowpiepal
Strip away the rhetoric and you’ll find a well-funded effort to weaken the ESA, vilify wolves, and tighten industry power over the West.
Western Injustice - The Livestock Industry’s Power Grab to Block Wildlife Recovery
Strip away the rhetoric and you’ll find a well-funded effort to weaken the ESA, vilify wolves, and tighten industry power over the West.
westernwatersheds.substack.com
November 13, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Strip away the rhetoric and you’ll find a well-funded effort to weaken the ESA, vilify wolves, and tighten industry power over the West.
“Taylor knows where he belongs,” Claire Musser of GC Wolf Recovery Project. “Wolves like him are showing us what real recovery looks like, not confined by arbitrary lines, but led by instinct, resilience and the search for connection.If we truly care about their survival, we must let lobos lead.”
Roaming Mexican gray wolf moved south of I-40 a second time
New Mexico’s Department of Game and Fish relocated an endangered Mexican gray wolf on Friday after it strayed from is boundary a second time, drawing criticism from advocacy groups.
www.abqjournal.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:43 PM
“Taylor knows where he belongs,” Claire Musser of GC Wolf Recovery Project. “Wolves like him are showing us what real recovery looks like, not confined by arbitrary lines, but led by instinct, resilience and the search for connection.If we truly care about their survival, we must let lobos lead.”
"At the core of the plan — a joint venture between USDA and the Department of the Interior — is a pledge to “streamline and expand grazing on federal lands.”
Translation: fewer environmental safeguards, more cows. "
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/11/12/u...
Translation: fewer environmental safeguards, more cows. "
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/11/12/u...
USDA’s beef industry plan sells out public lands • Oregon Capital Chronicle
The Beef Industry Plan doesn’t strengthen the West — it destroys our fragile ecosystems and puts wildlife at risk while degrading recreational experiences like hunting and fishing.
oregoncapitalchronicle.com
November 12, 2025 at 2:38 PM
"At the core of the plan — a joint venture between USDA and the Department of the Interior — is a pledge to “streamline and expand grazing on federal lands.”
Translation: fewer environmental safeguards, more cows. "
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/11/12/u...
Translation: fewer environmental safeguards, more cows. "
oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/11/12/u...
They are calling the Public Lands Rule "government overreach" when in fact, FLPMA already established conservation as a legitimate and coequal part of the Bureau of Land Management’s multiple-use and sustained-yield mandate.
www.eenews.net/articles/wes...
www.eenews.net/articles/wes...
Western Republicans push Burgum to kill public lands rule
Members of both parties are looking to influence the administration on the Biden-era rulemaking.
www.eenews.net
November 11, 2025 at 5:15 PM
They are calling the Public Lands Rule "government overreach" when in fact, FLPMA already established conservation as a legitimate and coequal part of the Bureau of Land Management’s multiple-use and sustained-yield mandate.
www.eenews.net/articles/wes...
www.eenews.net/articles/wes...
We dive into the record of Steve Pearce, the nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management.
westernwatersheds.substack.com/p/steve-pear...
westernwatersheds.substack.com/p/steve-pear...
Steve Pearce’s Record on Public Lands
The former New Mexico congressman nominated to lead the Bureau of Land Management has a long history of opposing conservation measures.
westernwatersheds.substack.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:07 PM
We dive into the record of Steve Pearce, the nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management.
westernwatersheds.substack.com/p/steve-pear...
westernwatersheds.substack.com/p/steve-pear...
“It’s ridiculous to keep moving wolves back south of Interstate 40 when wolves have clearly decided there’s great habitat to the north of the highway,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project.
New Mexico Fish and Game stops wandering wolf “Taylor” in his tracks, sends him south for the second time - Western Watersheds Project
For immediate release: November 10, 2025 Media contacts: Greta Anderson, Western Watersheds Project (520) 623-1878, [email protected] Chris Smith, WildEarth Guardians (505) 395-6177, csmi...
westernwatersheds.org
November 10, 2025 at 10:55 PM
“It’s ridiculous to keep moving wolves back south of Interstate 40 when wolves have clearly decided there’s great habitat to the north of the highway,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project.
The BLM is defying a court order halting the massive Converse County Oil & Gas Project in WY—quietly approving new wells without public input or sound science. We’re back in court to stop this illegal drilling spree.
westernwatersheds.org/2025/11/comm...
westernwatersheds.org/2025/11/comm...
Community groups file court action to protect resources, public involvement in massive Wyoming drilling project - Western Watersheds Project
For Immediate Release November 5, 2025 Contact: Donna Birkholz, Executive Director, Powder River Basin Resource Council, (307) 672-5809 Erik Molvar, Executive Director, Western Watersheds Project, (30...
westernwatersheds.org
November 6, 2025 at 2:17 PM
The BLM is defying a court order halting the massive Converse County Oil & Gas Project in WY—quietly approving new wells without public input or sound science. We’re back in court to stop this illegal drilling spree.
westernwatersheds.org/2025/11/comm...
westernwatersheds.org/2025/11/comm...
In Catron County, New Mexico, emails from the president of the state’s cattle growers’ association to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reveal just how far the livestock lobby will go to assert dominance over public policy and the wild.
westernwatersheds.substack.com/p/public-rec...
westernwatersheds.substack.com/p/public-rec...
Public records reveal a wolf maimed and the system that allowed it
Newly released documents show how power and loopholes in state laws still trump protection for endangered wolves.
westernwatersheds.substack.com
November 5, 2025 at 9:36 PM
In Catron County, New Mexico, emails from the president of the state’s cattle growers’ association to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reveal just how far the livestock lobby will go to assert dominance over public policy and the wild.
westernwatersheds.substack.com/p/public-rec...
westernwatersheds.substack.com/p/public-rec...
The Senate could take up FOFA any day now. If it passes, it will roll back decades of environmental safeguards under NEPA and the Endangered Species Act, gut judicial review, and entrench corporate management of public lands for a generation.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
The Fire Fix That Never Was
Senators are about to vote on a bill that would gut bedrock environmental protections, privatize forest management, and greenwash destruction as “restoration.”
substack.com
November 4, 2025 at 3:18 PM
The Senate could take up FOFA any day now. If it passes, it will roll back decades of environmental safeguards under NEPA and the Endangered Species Act, gut judicial review, and entrench corporate management of public lands for a generation.
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
CALLING ALL FED'L WORKERS! Join EPN, PEER, and GAP for a crucial 90-min webinar. They’ll cover the rights of whistleblowers and practical tools for confidential and responsible communication. The session will conclude with a live Q&A to address questions. 11/6 @ 6 EST. RSVP: tinyurl.com/fedlworkers
November 3, 2025 at 5:04 PM
CALLING ALL FED'L WORKERS! Join EPN, PEER, and GAP for a crucial 90-min webinar. They’ll cover the rights of whistleblowers and practical tools for confidential and responsible communication. The session will conclude with a live Q&A to address questions. 11/6 @ 6 EST. RSVP: tinyurl.com/fedlworkers