99 episodes
The Landscape Center for Western Priorities
-
- News
-
-
4.9 • 73 Ratings
-
News, interviews, and history with newsmakers and environmental advocates, focused on parks and public lands across the American West. Formerly known as Go West, Young Podcast.
-
Hitting the trail with Disabled Hikers founder Syren Nagakyrie
Kate and Aaron talk to Syren Nagakyrie, founder and director of Disabled Hikers, a nonprofit group seeking to make the outdoors more accessible for people with disabilities. Nagakyrie has been outspoken about the tokenization of disabled hikers by U.S. Senator Mike Lee, who recently filed a bill called the Outdoor Americans with Disabilities Act that encourages road building on public lands. Nagakyrie called the bill “a blatant attempt to scapegoat disability as an excuse to build more roads.” According to Nagakyrie, what disabled people really need to access the outdoors is good information and well-maintained trails.
Click here for a transcript of this episode.
News
* Senators release statement on protections for Dolores River – San Miguel Basin Forum
* Plans to build more roads on public lands will help disabled Americans, Mike Lee says. Disabled hikers disagree – Salt Lake Tribune
* 50-year fight in Crested Butte ends as land swap forever blocks mining on Red Lady – Colorado Sun
Resources
* Disabled Hikers Trail Guides – Disabled Hikers
* Spoon Trail Rating System – Disabled Hikers
Credits
Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss
Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
Music: Purple Planet
Featured image: Disabled Hikers founder Syren Nagakyrie; Credit: Eddie Bauer/Elise Giordano -
How an Instagram ‘joke’ turned into an outdoor LGBTQ community
Aaron and Kate talk to Dr. Hitesh Tolani, creator of the Gays of National Parks Instagram account, which is aimed at fostering community among LGBTQ people through a love of the outdoors. Hitesh began the account as a joke in 2022, but it has since grown into a community with over 15,000 followers. Hitesh talks about how the group is fostering connection both online and in person, as well as why representation in the outdoors and park leadership matters.
News
* The Supreme Court will consider reinstating a critical approval for a rail project in eastern Utah – Associated Press
* Contact Gays of National Parks
* New state program aims to put 500,000 acres of Montana prairie under conservation leases – Montana Free Press
Credits
Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss
Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
Music: Purple Planet
Featured image: Participants in a GONP trip, courtesy of Hitesh Tolani -
Reporter Murphy Woodhouse on the future of wildfire season
Kate and Aaron are joined by Boise State Public Radio’s Murphy Woodhouse, a reporter with the Mountain West News Bureau collaborative. Murphy covers wildfires and wildfire policy across the West, informed by his past experience as a wildland firefighter. In a wide-ranging discussion, Murphy talks about the bleak state of wildfire pay, the possibility of much of the West becoming uninsurable because of wildfire risk, and much more.
News
* Interior Department holds community meeting on Chuckwalla National Monument
* Sen. Michael Bennet addresses the misinformation campaign on the Dolores River
* Bonus editorial: Dolores monument proposal depends on compromise
* White House swears in first class of the American Climate Corps
Credits
Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss
Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
Music: Purple Planet
Featured image: The 2021 Ponina Fire in Oregon, Oregon Department of Forestry -
Protecting the Mimbres Peaks in Southern New Mexico
The proposed Mimbres Peaks National Monument would add protections for lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management in Luna County, New Mexico near the city of Deming. The collaborative effort is locally-led by elected leaders, business owners, economic development advocates, hunters, youth leaders, conservationists, and students. The proposal would protect approximately 245,000 acres in an area that contains documented cultural and historic sites that continue to hold importance to modern day Tribes and Pueblos, and also provides diverse outdoor recreation opportunities including hunting, hiking, equestrian use, biking, camping, picnicking, photography, and more. According to a recent independent economic analysis, the proposal would bring a much needed boost to the area, broadening access to nature and creating new jobs and revenue through increased visitation.
Hear from a father and son who know and love this region and want to see it protected: Ray Trejo works for New Mexico Wildlife Federation and is currently a Luna County Commissioner. BJ Trejo lives in Deming and is working as an organizer for New Mexico Wilderness Alliance. He is also Ray’s son.
News
* DOD, Interagency Partners Designate 5 New Sentinel Landscapes – U.S. Department of Defense
* Sign the petition to support the proposed Mimbres Peaks National Monument
* Proposed national monument would be economic boon for area – Las Cruces Sun News
* New Polling Confirms Strong Majority Support for an Owyhee Canyonlands National Monument – Protect the Owyhee
* Owyhee Video Postcard – Center for Western Priorities
Credits
Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss
Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
Music: Purple Planet
Featured image: Florida Mountains in the proposed Mimbres Peaks National Monument -
A huge step forward for public lands in Alaska
Aaron and Kate are joined by Kristen Miller, Executive Director of the Alaska Wilderness League, to talk about some big steps to protect public lands in Alaska made by the Biden administration this spring. They include increased protections for 13 million acres inside the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, as well as the cancellation of a proposed 200-mile road that would have stretched across part of Alaska called the Ambler Road.
News
* The U.S. just took its biggest step yet to end coal mining – Washington Post
* The coal industry, running on fumes, likely to shrink more with new EPA power plant rule – USA Today
* Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska’s petroleum reserve – Associated Press
* Tribes, activists gird for fight over Ambler Road rejection – E&E News
* Haaland visits site of proposed Southern California monument – E&E News
Credits
Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss
Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
Music: Purple Planet
Featured image: BLM/Flickr -
Behind the scenes of the Bears Ears draft management plan
Aaron and Kate are joined by Davina Smith, who represents the Navajo Nation on the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, and Lauren Henson, who is the Collaborative Management and Tribal Support Specialist for the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, to talk about the Bears Ears draft monument management plan, which came out in March. We talk about how the draft plan came together and how to get involved.
Click here for an automatically-generated transcript.
News
* Biden Expands Two National Monuments in California – New York Times
* Submit a public comment through the Coalition website – Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition
* Submit a comment through the BLM – Bureau of Land Management
* Bears Ears draft management plan public hearings – Bureau of Land Management
* Democrats seek probe of foreign mining on public lands – E&E News
Credits
Hosts: Kate Groetzinger & Aaron Weiss
Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
Music: Purple Planet
Featured image: brucerinehart/Wikimedia Commons
Customer Reviews
Informative, aware conservation podcast
The Landscape is an intelligent, to-the-point source for staying abreast of conservation issues and environmental threats in the American West. Aaron and Kate do an excellent job bringing attention to the most critical topics, and distilling complex legal and regulatory issues into understandable concepts.
The best Podcast on contemporary public lands issues.
This Podcast is great for anyone wanting to follow and learn about contemporary public lands issues - about conservation, policy, management, and politics. The interviewers know their stuff and the guests are generally first rate experts. Give it a try - you’ll wind up listening every week. Keep up the great work! HG
Really great show.
I just listened to the interview with John Leshy and felt compelled to leave a rating. This is the intelligent, insightful, and fun content that really helps us move forward. Thanks for all your work.