The View from Muley Point, Cedar Mesa, Utah                                                                                 (Mike Painter)

 
July 6, 2025

Dear CalUWild Friends & Supporters—

I hope you had a chance to enjoy the Fourth of July weekend, while also taking time to reflect on what the holiday commemorates. Reading the Declaration of Independence and its list of grievances against King George III one can certainly draw parallels to our situation here in 2025. Millions of people across the country turned out last month to show their extreme dissatisfaction with the current state of the union. Not only are destructive policies being put in place, environmental and otherwise, but the system itself is becoming increasingly dysfunctional. Unfortunately, examples are not at all hard to find, in every branch of government and at every level.

Fulfilling the promises stated and implicit in the Declaration will require constant vigilance and effort, and we cannot afford to let up now.

 
Thank you for your interest and support for CalUWild, our wild areas, and other public lands.

 
Best wishes,
Mike Painter, Coordinator

IN UTAH
1.   Red Rocks Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

IN WASHINGTON, DC
2.   Important Updates
          (ACTION ITEMS)

IN CALIFORNIA
3.   Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
          10th Anniversary Celebration in Upper Lake
          July 10, 5:00 pm – After dark
          RSVP
4.   The Enduring Wild
          Book and Author Events

IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
5.   Links to Articles and Other Items of Interest

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

IN UTAH
1.   Red Rock Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

There have been no more California cosponsors added to the list of cosponsors for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (H.R.2467) in the last few weeks, but we’d like to make a special effort this month to get a few past cosponsors signed on. In particular, we’d like to see

back on. If you live in one of their districts, please call the DC office at the numbers above with the request that they renew their cosponsorship. A full list of California cosponsors may be found on our online California Congressional Information Sheet. As always, if your representative is listed as a cosponsor, please call to thank them, and if not, call and ask them to become a cosponsor. Rep. Melanie Stansbury from New Mexico is the lead sponsor of the bill.

There can be a lag time between when a member signs on and when it is officially recorded by the Library of Congress, which tracks such legislative matters. But we update our list as soon as a new cosponsorship becomes official, so please check back there from time to time between Updates.

As always, we’d like to see Sen. Adam Schiff sign on to S.1193, the companion bill in the Senate, where Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is the lead sponsor. Please call his office to make that request. The phone number is 202-224-3841.

There are currently 51 cosponsors in the House and 17 in the Senate. For a full list of cosponsors nationwide, click here.

 
IN WASHINGTON, DC
2.   Important Updates

Congress
          (ACTION ITEM)

We reported in the last Update that an amendment to the Budget Reconciliation Bill that would have forced the sale of some 60,000 acres in Utah and Nevada was removed after being approved by the House Natural Resources Committee. But as we also reported, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, promised that he would include land sell-off provisions in the Senate version of the bill—and that’s exactly what he did.

Sen. Lee introduced a section that mandated the sale of .5% – .75% of each, Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands in eleven Western states. (Montana was excluded, most likely in the hopes that its legislators wouldn’t object, as they had to the House bill, led by Rep. Ryan Zinke, the former Secretary of the Interior). Estimates were that the total was to be between 2 and 3 million acres. (This came after Sen. Lee had said that his proposal would wouldn’t be near the size of the removed House version, which came in at about 600,000 acres.) The land was to be sold for housing, though there was no actual requirement that housing on the lands be affordable.

A huge public outcry ensued from many constituencies: hunter, hikers, off-roaders, Tribes, wildlife organizations and other conservationists, and local business people. The Senate Parliamentarian said that the provision wasn’t eligible for inclusion in the Reconciliation Bill because it was not directly budget-related. Sen. Lee made some changes, removing various already-protected designations, U.S. Forest Service lands, and requiring that any sales be within five miles of “population centers” of 1,000 people or more.

That did nothing to quell the massive public outcry from both ends of the political spectrum. Even some House Republican representatives, including Californians Kevin Kiley (R-3), David Valadao (R-22), Jay Obernolte (R-23), and Ken Calvert (R-41) indicated they would vote against the bill coming back to the House if it contained any sell-off provisions. The Parliamentarian did not weigh in directly on these changes, but they did not differ substantially from what she had noted before. The outcry continued, and Sen. Lee then posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he was removing the sell-off language altogether.

The entire bill then passed the Senate, with the tie vote broken by the vice president. It was sent back to House, which, as you undoubtedly know by now, passed it by a vote of 218–214. The president signed it on Friday the Fourth.

Sen. Lee wants to set a precedent of using budget bills to sell off lands and has vowed to keep up his efforts to wrest control of our public lands to states to be ultimately sold off (because state budgets are not big enough to manage them properly, either). We need to constantly remind him and other politicians, reporters, and our fellow citizens, too, that these lands are not owned by the federal government, but rather managed in trust for all Americans—We the People are in fact the owners. So he’s really trying to take them from us, not the government.

Please call our two senators and Democratic House members (none of whom were in any danger of voting for the bill anyway), thanking them for their votes. And even though they voted for the reconciliation bill in the end, it is important to let those GOP House members who made a stand in support of public lands that you at least appreciate that. It will encourage them to be supportive on other issues in the future.

There was a lot of opposition to the sell-off proposal from the conservative end of the spectrum, proving again the broad support that our public lands have. The New York Times published this article: A Conservative’s Plan to Sell Public Lands Faces MAGA Pushback (gift link for non-subscribers).

As I was finishing writing this Update today, this op-ed by CalUWild Advisory Board member, Terry Tempest Williams, appeared in the New York Times: Americans Fought Off This Awful Idea in Trump’s Bill (gift link for non-subscribers).

Since I mentioned the state of politics in the introduction, people need to be aware of the statements that the same Mike Lee made on X (formerly Twitter) following the shooting of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses: This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way. That and another disparaging post have since been removed, but they should never have been there in the first place. The two posts were, in fact, completely false, but worse, they contribute to the breakdown of democratic political life in the U.S. that makes these kinds of attacks more common.

It was also disturbing to see Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) trying to explain her vote in favor of the bill, despite the fact that she objected to process, the forced, artificial deadline, many of the provision, knowing they would hurt average Americans, and hoping (naively, as it turned out) that the House would remove some of the more egregious provisions. It’s sad to see that lack of principle in a politician, but unfortunately, it something we’ve come to expect.

The Administration
          (ACTION ITEM)

Disruption and chaos continue to be the order of the day throughout the administration. The various departments and agencies are running roughshod over every imaginable regulation and policy they can find, everything straight out of Project 2025.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) released an opinion memo saying that the president has the legal authority to rescind or shrink national monuments, reversing an opinion in force since at least 1938. Most legal scholars disagree, and the memo itself is written as if they wanted to reach that conclusion from the beginning. It is troubling that DOJ used Sáttítla Highlands and Chuckwalla national monuments here in California as examples for its reasoning. However, so far there has been no announcement regarding either.

The Western Governors’ Association met two weeks ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A coalition of groups, including CalUWild, sent a letter to the Association opposing the sell-off language in the Reconciliation Bill. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum addressed the conference, and a crowd of more than 1,000 protestors showed up to oppose the sell-off and other administration policies. You can read about the protest rally in this article from SourceNM: Public lands protesters picket Western governors’ conference. Mr. Burgum has been quoted as saying land sell-offs are not a priority

The Department of the Interior announced it was rescinding its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in part and updating other parts. There is a comment period closing August 4, with an interim rule effective July 3.

The Bureau of Land Management stated its intention to rescind the Public Lands Rule, which was finalized last year. It formalized that under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, conservation was on equal footing with its multiple use mandate.

The Forest Service announced its intention to rescind the Roadless Rule, which has been in place since the Clinton Administration. (For links to maps of roadless areas in each state, click here. )

These latter two recissions will require public comment periods, and so far, nothing has appeared in the Federal Register. CalUWild will be working with its coalition partners to oppose these changes, and if there are meaningful opportunities for public participation, we’ll let you know.

In the meantime, please contact your congressional representatives and write letters to the editor of your local papers calling attention to and objecting to these proposals and voicing your support for our national public lands. Again, please point out that the American public owns the land, not the federal government.

 
IN CALIFORNIA
3.   Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
          10th Anniversary Celebration in Upper Lake
          July 10, 5:00 pm – After dark
          RSVP

July 10 is the 10th Anniversary of the designation of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument by Pres. Obama in northern California. A celebration is planned at the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake at 5 pm to celebrate the community that helped establish and continues to protect and enjoy this special Monument. Then, the party moves to Middle Creek Campground for S’mores, astronomy, night herpetology and other activities.

RSVP here.

 
4.   The Enduring Wild
          Book and Author Events

Writer Josh Jackson has written The Enduring Wild: A Journey Into California’s Public Lands. Published by Heyday Books, the book is an exploration of the lands in our state managed by the BLM, which he calls “the forgotten lands” because of their relative obscurity to most people. The book is an outgrowth of his Forgotten Lands Project, and is beautifully illustrated with photos and other artwork. You can sign up for the Forgotten Lands newsletter on the homepage there or via Substack.

The Los Angeles Times, for whom the author has written occasional columns, ran an article last week about the book and BLM lands in California: Want to escape L.A.? California’s BLM land remains wild — and often free (may be behind paywall). He also appeared on the California Sun’s podcast a couple of weeks ago. (If you’re not familiar with California Sun, it’s a newsletter giving an excellent overview of press articles and other items from around the state, published weekdays. A subscription runs $25/year.)

You can order The Enduring Wild from the Forgotten Lands Project website, from Heyday Books, your local bookseller, or from Amazon.

Mr. Jackson will be doing events at bookstores around the state in July and August. Please see the flyer on CalUWild’s website for dates and locations. (Particularly noteworthy is the event on July 22nd, at noon, where he will be in conversation with California’s Secretary of Natural Resources, Wade Crowfoot, as part of the Secretary Speaker Series, free monthly webinar events on various topics of interest, and worth registering for in their own right. Check back there later for the webinar information or sign up for notifications.)

 
IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
5.   Links to Articles and Other Items of Interest

If a link is broken or otherwise inaccessible, please send me an email, and I’ll fix it or send you a PDF copy. Gift links are temporary links from some websites, allowing non-subscribers to view articles for free for a limited time. As always, inclusion of an item in this section does not imply agreement with the viewpoint expressed.

In Utah

In California

In General

 
 
 

Support CalUWild!

Membership is free, but your support is both needed and appreciated. Dues are not tax-deductible, as they may be used for lobbying activities. There are several ways to contribute:

A tax-deductible contribution may be made by check payable to Resource Renewal Institute, CalUWild’s fiscal sponsor.

Suggested levels

__ $20 Limited
__ $30 Regular
__ $60 Supporting
__ $120 Outstanding
__ Other ________

If paying by check, please include your address if it is not on the check, or print out and enclose a membership form. All checks should be mailed to:

CalUWild
P.O. Box 210474
San Francisco, CA 94121-0474

 
 

As always, if you ever have questions, suggestions, critiques, or wish to change your e-mail address or unsubscribe, all you have to do is send an email. For membership information, click here.

Please “Like” and “Follow” CalUWild on Facebook.