Latest / The Wild Idea / The Wild Line: Border Wall through Big Bend, Proposed Forest Service Prescribed Fire in Wilderness, Montana Political Moves Impacting Public Lands
Transcript
- Announcer 0:00 The following is a production of wild idea media. Bill Hodge 0:05 Welcome to the wild line where land stories are the lead stories. This is our report for March 6, 2026 bill. Anders Reynolds 0:12 Today, the House Committee on natural resources approved a number of public lands bills, including two that I'd like to highlight here. The first is California Republican Vince fong's Save our sequoias Act which has the support, or at least the neutrality, of many conservation groups, and which would create a number of stewardship agreements around California's Giant Sequoias. The second bill is Tennessee Republican Chuck fleischmann's Bill to study a National Scenic Trail designation for the Benton Mackay trail that cuts across Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee and the southern Appalachians, a companion bill in the Senate has already been approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee. Earlier in the week, the House Agriculture Committee Democrats condemned the Republican majority's proposed Farm Bill during that vehicle's markup, arguing that the long standing bipartisan coalition of anti hunger advocates and farming interests that has historically advanced the legislation may be gone for good. Representative Angie Craig, from Minnesota, the committee's top Democrat, warned that by cutting the nutrition title and separating Food and Farm programs from one another, Republicans had destroyed the coalition. Her remarks came during a debate over an amendment from representative Johanna Hayes, a Democrat from Connecticut, that would reverse snap spending cuts included in the Republicans domestic tax and spending package last year, Democratic support has historically been essential to passing farm legislation on the House floor. In the crossfire this time are a number of conservation programs carried within the Farm Bill, which, in the past, has also been a vehicle for achieving wilderness and other public land protection. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a business meeting to confirm President Trump's nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management former New Mexico Representative Steve Pierce, as Bill and I reported last week, Pierce faced tough questioning during his confirmation from both Democrats and Republicans over his past statements indicating his support for selling off public lands at the conclusion of the meeting, Pierce's nomination was sent to the Senate floor with all Democrats on committee opposing that action. Fittingly, the committee's docket that day also included bills which would convey BLM parcels to the city of price Utah, and perhaps more alarmingly, Senator Steve Daines bill to release certain Montana public lands from protection as wilderness study areas. To read more about those bills, please visit our show notes. Bill Hodge 2:32 Speaking of Steve Danes, it's been a remarkable week for Montana politics. First, Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke surprised many with his announcement that he's not seeking re election this year, sankey's announcement cited lingering health concerns from his service as a Navy SEAL as the reason. But it's not hard to believe that the changing political climate in Montana and the thought of toiling away in the minority during the next congressional session were also on his mind. This is a political story that is also a public land story as Congressman Zinke has held a few key slots important to the future of public lands in the first Trump administration, he served as the Secretary of Interior, where he proposed reducing or eliminating a number of national monument designations that authority to eliminate or reduce previously designated monuments is a debate expected to rage through this Trump administration as well. Zinke left the interior post under scandal with questionable expenditure reporting representing Montana's first congressional district since 2022 congressman, Zinke pledged that not one single acre of public land would be sold on his watch during the Mike Lee amendment fight last year, he went on to launch the public land caucus with Democrat Gabe Vasquez. But then, in another pivot, whipped votes for House resolution 140 to overturn the 20 plus year mining ban in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters, Canoe Area wilderness. A true commitment to public lands is expected to be a key part of the campaign for Montana's first district this year, and in another surprise political story, also from Montana, the previously mentioned Senator Daines withdrew his name for re election just hours before the filing deadline. Steve Daines has served on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, often stymieing land protection bills for his home state, while pushing for the release of wilderness study areas. He is also a champion of the fix our forest act in the Senate, and the lead on the cottonwood legislation that would reduce consultation on wildlife issues for proposed Forest Service projects. Bill. Anders Reynolds 4:34 It's becoming more and more clear that US Customs and Border Protection intends to build border barriers through the Big Bend region of West Texas, a remote stretch encompassing ranch land, small towns and, of course, Big Bend National Park. The project is funded by the $46.5 billion appropriated for border wall construction in the big, beautiful bill that passed in July 2025 and that the planned quote smart wall could include steel. Bollards, waterborne barriers, roads, cameras, lighting and detection technology. In fact, the Department of Homeland Security waived 28 environmental and archeological protection laws to expedite construction along 150 mile plus corridor. Local opposition to this plan is bipartisan. Brewster county judge Greg hennington, a Republican, has publicly stated that he sees no reason for a border wall in his county and Hudspeth county judge Joanna McKenzie, also a Republican, called it, quote, a band aid to make people feel better who don't live here and don't see it end. Quote, conservation groups warn the wall would sever wildlife migration routes, intensify flooding risks and inflict irreparable damage on one of America's most iconic national park landscapes. We spoke to Bob crewmen knocker, former superintendent of Big Bend National Park and current chair of keep Big Bend wild Speaker 1 5:51 Homeland Security has announced a plan, no details, but a plan, to build a permanent border wall from far upstream of Big Bend National Park, including the largest state park in Texas, Big Bend Ranch State Park, all the way through the National Park and most of, if not all of the Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River, which is downstream as well, hundreds of miles in what is the most remote, difficult terrain, and least trafficked section of the entire US Mexican border. And so, you know, the rationale is being used, like everywhere else, that there's this uncontrolled border, there's these horrible problems. And I don't think anybody who's fighting the wall is saying that the border doesn't need to be secure, but it already is. The number of people that cross through this area, particularly in the National Park, is the lowest of any equivalent number of miles in the entire US Mexican border. But the threats to the area are massive. We're looking at a national park which is also the darkest skies in the entire 40 lower 48 we're looking at some of the greatest biodiversity in the nation, if not the continent, the most number of bird species, many of which are riparian bird species. And then you've got wildlife like Mexican black bears that have recolonized the country north of the Rio Grande, a huge conservation success story. And we're looking at potentially the entire river that the Big Bend is named for, that the park is named for being cut off and essentially ceding that territory. In Mexico, there is a big recreational boating community and an economy in the gateway communities that it's dependent upon that, as well as other tourism and Astro tourism, that would be devastating. You're looking at, it sounds like we're looking at a 300 to 500 person construction camp. We don't know where it would be. We know that private landowners outside the national park have been approached for voluntary leases and threatened with condemnation if they don't comply. So this is hitting us really fast. It would destroy the wild character of not just the park but the area. It would probably destroy the potential of Big Bend National Park from being designated Wilderness, something that has been priorities of Republican and Democratic administration since the 1970s and what keeping been wild is was formed to try to get over the line. It would be devastating to the basically, the ability of local gateway communities to survive. There's not enough water to support those kinds of camps, there's not enough power, there's not enough landfill or wastewater potential. And you know, from the best of what we can tell, Homeland Security is paying no attention to any of that. They just have billions of dollars and they want to spend it. We just learned a few minutes ago, by someone who's looking at the quote, unquote smart wall map website that Homeland Security has they have changed that map and just as of a few minutes ago, and it's, it's Thursday afternoon right now, they are no longer showing a permanent border wall in Big Bend National Park in the Rio Grand Wild city River. There's been no announcement from Homeland Security. Nobody knows that this is real or just a glitch of somebody with with a map, is potentially good news. It probably means that the political pressure that keep Big Ben wild and these so many other allied groups and the politicians and local government folks from across the aisle, maybe that's worked. We hope so, but the State Park is still in the crossovers, so this fight is by no means over, and unless Homeland Security makes an announcement that says we will never put a wall in here, we're not going to be finished fighting it Bill Hodge 9:58 in Illinois, the Shawnee. National Forest proposed prescribed burn project appears to allow the agency to burn all 289,000 acres of the Shawnee National Forest in Southern Illinois, including seven wilderness areas totaling nearly 30,000 acres in 25,000 acre increments annually, seemingly in perpetuity, the project would affect the Bald Knob Bay Creek, burden falls, Clear Springs, Garden of the Gods, Lusk Creek and Panther den. Wildernesses. Conservation group wilderness watch argues the proposal violates the wilderness acts untrammeled band date since the Draft Environmental Assessment gives no indication the agency would treat federally protected wilderness differently from the rest of the National Forest, meaning unlawful activities such as chainsaws and ignition via drones or helicopters could be used in wilderness areas. The comment period concerning this project closed March 2. Anders Reynolds 10:54 Finally, we wanted to flag an early but still significant step in the effort by the Utah congressional delegation to attack the management of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in Utah. This week, Senator Mike Lee and Congresswoman Celeste Malloy introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution to nullify the management plan in place for the monument. Here is Travis Hamill with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance on that Speaker 2 11:17 introduction the CRA resolutions that have been introduced by Senator Lee and Representative Malloy of Utah, represents a pretty significant attack on Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, as well as monuments. Overall, the CRA has not been used in this way on a national monument before on a management plan like this one, and it sets a lot of dangerous precedent, but also, if they really don't like the current management plan, they could work with the Trump administration to issue a new management plan. The biggest issue that I see within this CRA resolution that the Utah delegation is rallying behind is that the CRA includes language to prevent future substantially similar rules in in any kind of management plan. If this were to pass, that means that if this were to pass, it would be impossible to be as agile and focused and able to be good stewards of our public lands, because they would be prevented from establishing rules that could have anything related to what was currently in there. So so it sets this, this precedent that is just really, really dangerous, and prevents the BLM from being able to adequately and appropriately follow their mandate and to manage our public lands in a balanced way which our our argument here at Sua is that we would, we would say that the the current management plan is one that is indeed one that is balanced. Anders Reynolds 12:57 And here is Travis on what's next and what the public can do to help Speaker 2 13:01 I wish I could read tea leaves a lot better than I can. Unfortunately, with the usage of the CRA in this way, there's a lot of uncertainty about movement forward, but I don't expect this to drag out very long. I expect this to be a very quick and pointed process that Senator Lee and Representative Malloy are looking to push very quickly. So you know, the problem is that, in our case, the Utah congressional delegation is united in this front. They all had a quote in the press release from Senator Lee and Representative Malloy when the resolutions were introduced yesterday, and we need support from everyone outside of Utah to talk to their representatives, to talk to their senators and ask them to vote no on these resolutions. Because, again, if they really wanted to change the management plan, they can change the management plan. They don't need to use the sledgehammer of the CRA that prevents good, balanced land management decisions that the BLM can make. Just yesterday, we finished out a week of having activists from around the country and from Utah, here in Washington, DC, with me and my colleagues up on the hill. We had over 139 meetings we had almost 100 drop offs of information to congressional offices about this CRA so there is support. But those of you listening at home, we need you to help us with that messaging. We need you to continue the drumbeat to make sure that these congressional offices here that using the Congressional Review Act on a monument management plan like this one is just not the wise way to go. So call your members, call your senators. If you need information, you can head over to Suez website, s, u, w, a.org, and we've got it all there on the front page. You can take action there. Bill Hodge 14:57 That is our report for Mark. Sixth, 2026 we'll be back next Friday with another wild line. We have a busy day next Tuesday, the wild idea podcast episode 51 is released, completing our first lap around the Sun. This episode with author and conservationist Terry Tempest Williams. Also Tuesday is the first ever wild idea community webinar the past, present and future of the roadless rule. You can sign up for this free webinar at the wild idea.com I hope you'll join us until then, act up and run wild. Announcer 15:31 The wild line is a production of wild idea media production and editing by Bren Russell at podblad Digital support by Holly wilkeshevsky at daypack digital. Our theme music Spring Hill Jack is from railroad Earth and was composed by John skihan. The executive producer is Laura Hodge. Learn more about us at the wild idea.com you. Transcribed by https://otter.ai