Western leaders call on Trump administration and Congress to protect public lands

By Reader Staff

Elected officials from Idaho and nine other Western states joined the nonprofit The Mountain Pact to send a letter to the Trump Administration and Congress on March 26 calling for a more balanced approach to public land management. The letter — signed by mayors, county commissioners and city council members — urged the Trump administration to oppose the sale of public lands in the budget reconciliation package and asked them to reject any attempts to change the Antiquities Act of 1906 or reduce the size of national monuments.

“Local elected officials know firsthand that protected public lands sustain our communities, power our economies, and serve as the cornerstone of our outdoor way of life,” said The Mountain Pact’s Executive Director Anna Peterson.

The nonprofit group advocates for public lands and outdoor recreation policy on behalf of Western mountain communities with recreation-based economies.

“Protected public lands are the backbone of our mountain communities — but right now, they are under threat. That’s why The Mountain Pact and more than 300 local elected leaders from across the Western U.S. are fighting back, so we can ensure these critical resources are protected and preserved for generations to come,” said Peterson.

The local officials also called on Trump and Congress to increase support for public land management, which would improve access and help protect critical wildlife habitat, migration corridors, recreation areas, water resources and Indigenous cultural sites.

As part of the State of the Rockies Project, a 2024 poll by Colorado College found that 82% of Idaho residents support the creation of new national parks, national monuments, national wildlife refuges and tribal protected areas. A 2021 report from the National Parks Service also found that visitors to Idaho National Parks spent approximately $37.6 million per year, supporting 535 jobs and ultimately contributing $50.8 million to the state’s economy.

The March 26 letter comes after the Trump Administration made several moves to decrease funding and staffing for public lands, including at National Parks and key scientific agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Last month, Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Doug Burgum issued orders targeting national monuments and positioning drilling and mining interests as the favored users of public lands. Trump has also fired thousands of employees, slashed millions in funding from public land agencies like the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management and waged an all-out assault on renewable energy in favor of drilling and resource extraction.

The joint letter stated, “Increased fossil fuel development on public lands, weakened environmental regulations, and fast-tracking or eliminating environmental reviews for proposed projects jeopardizes both our public lands and public health while contributing to the climate crisis by causing the release of vast amounts of potent greenhouse gas emissions.”

Learn more at themountainpact.org