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Federal Budget: First Look is not Promising

On March 16, 2017 the Whitehouse released its budget framework styled America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again and the news was not great  for programs that support large landscape conservation. For the FY 2018 the Department of Interior faces a proposed 12 % budget reduction and the Environmental Protection Agency is facing a 31% reduction. In general this brief document does not identify where the pain will fall except on the often pummeled National Heritage Areas. And while only the first step in the budget process, this proposal needs to be taken seriously.

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US National Parks on the Southern Border

The landscape of the southern boundary of the United States is complex and evolving. Read three vignettes of the current conditions facing the National Parks in carrying out their mission on the border. Recent proposals to harden the infrastructure of the border, for example to build a wall, and to increase militarization and enforcement will not make accomplishing the agency’s mission any easier.

Read More »
“The Early Leaders,” re-imagined by The George Wright Forum.

More Than Campfire Conversation

In his most recent Letter from Woodstock long time National Park Service leader Rolf Diamant paints a bigger and more complex picture of the creation of the National Park idea than the fabled Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir camping trip. He asks that we keep before us this broader vision of the National Parks. This will be particularly challenging in the hard times ahead when the temptation will be to retreat into a defensive posture to protect park funding and resources.

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Listening to Zinke: The Landscape Ahead?

At his confirmation hearing on January 17, 2017, Representative Ryan Zinke (R MT) spoke up before the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and shared his vision for the position of Secretary of Interior. The leadership of the Department of Interior is central to the future of protecting the nation’s landscapes. Those who care about conservation at scale, protected areas, and our cultural heritage were listening carefully to what he had to say.

Read More »

And Now for the Next Four Years

For years I have told my family and friends that I am one issue voter and my one issue is the United States National Park Service. Which political candidate is most committed to America’s best idea? Who embraces the vision that our parks and protected areas are part of the nation’s common wealth and should reflect the complex stories that make up our country? What party recognizes that government service has value and that protecting public lands is a collective enterprise? While it is a bit early to predict exactly how landscape scale conservation will fare in the next four years under President-elect Trump, review of his proposed agenda is instructive.

Read More »

Federal Budget: First Look is not Promising

On March 16, 2017 the Whitehouse released its budget framework styled America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again and the news was not great  for programs that support large landscape conservation. For the FY 2018 the Department of Interior faces a proposed 12 % budget reduction and the Environmental Protection Agency is facing a 31% reduction. In general this brief document does not identify where the pain will fall except on the often pummeled National Heritage Areas. And while only the first step in the budget process, this proposal needs to be taken seriously.

Read More »

US National Parks on the Southern Border

The landscape of the southern boundary of the United States is complex and evolving. Read three vignettes of the current conditions facing the National Parks in carrying out their mission on the border. Recent proposals to harden the infrastructure of the border, for example to build a wall, and to increase militarization and enforcement will not make accomplishing the agency’s mission any easier.

Read More »
“The Early Leaders,” re-imagined by The George Wright Forum.

More Than Campfire Conversation

In his most recent Letter from Woodstock long time National Park Service leader Rolf Diamant paints a bigger and more complex picture of the creation of the National Park idea than the fabled Theodore Roosevelt and John Muir camping trip. He asks that we keep before us this broader vision of the National Parks. This will be particularly challenging in the hard times ahead when the temptation will be to retreat into a defensive posture to protect park funding and resources.

Read More »

Listening to Zinke: The Landscape Ahead?

At his confirmation hearing on January 17, 2017, Representative Ryan Zinke (R MT) spoke up before the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and shared his vision for the position of Secretary of Interior. The leadership of the Department of Interior is central to the future of protecting the nation’s landscapes. Those who care about conservation at scale, protected areas, and our cultural heritage were listening carefully to what he had to say.

Read More »

And Now for the Next Four Years

For years I have told my family and friends that I am one issue voter and my one issue is the United States National Park Service. Which political candidate is most committed to America’s best idea? Who embraces the vision that our parks and protected areas are part of the nation’s common wealth and should reflect the complex stories that make up our country? What party recognizes that government service has value and that protecting public lands is a collective enterprise? While it is a bit early to predict exactly how landscape scale conservation will fare in the next four years under President-elect Trump, review of his proposed agenda is instructive.

Read More »