Bureau of Land Management

It would be called the U.S. Wildland Fire Service, according to budget documents from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Interior. The agency would consolidate the wildland fire programs of the USDA and Interior within the latter.

Recreation-focused staff and budgets at national forests have gone down as demand has gone up. This has been resulting in lengthy delays in responses to applications.

A U.S. District judge said it was “not hard to imagine” that some horses and burros went to slaughter in his ruling that led to the Bureau of Land Management’s decision to shut down the adoption program.

In other news, the Salt Lake LDS Temple will welcome visitors in 2027 after years of renovations. And, mass firings were announced for the Bureau of Land Management and other federal departments.

Since the federal government nixed plans to build a highway through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, another area home to some popular St. George recreation spots has come under threat.

The Northern Corridor is a proposed four-lane highway that would cut through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in Washington County. Facing strong opposition as well as fierce support, its fate hangs in the balance.

The Utah congressman is proposing a bill that would block a BLM rule change to create dedicated leases for conservation, similar to leases for mining or grazing.

On this episode we hear two sides of the public lands debate. We're joined by Steve Bloch, Legal Director with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance; and Ben Burr, Executive Director of the BlueRibbon Coalition.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has selected projects across the West for restoration funds. Three of those projects are in Idaho.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is holding meetings across the West on its new rules that add conservation to other priorities, including resource extraction, for uses of public lands.