Adobe Town in Wyoming, now at risk because of the Wild Lands Policy change

Credit: Biodiversity Conservation Alliance

The Department of Interior took a major step backward on wilderness protection June 1.  Bowing to political opposition from right-wing members of Congress, the Administration seems to be moving away from its landmark Wild Lands Policy, put in place just five months ago to help the Bureau of Land Management protect wilderness-quality lands until Congress can act to permanently protect them. The announcement from the Department of Interior strongly hints that this Administration may no longer make wilderness protection a priority. Read more

Unique and previously unprotected places like New Mexico’s Otero Mesa grasslands, Wyoming’s Adobe Town badlands and Utah’s red rock canyons have a new chance at receiving protections they need and deserve. Read more

Ben enjoying the views at Red Rock Canyon. Photo by Kevin Mack.

As someone who grew up on the East Coast, words that characterize the West sound like poetry to me. Creosote. Gypsum. The Loggerhead Shrike. Bajada. The Virgin River. Even the word “arid,” which very generally describes the climate of Southern Nevada, had not been tossed around much where I grew up. These words are far more than poetic though, they represent a vast landscape that is part of ongoing discussions about the future management of the public lands in the west. Read more