PEER

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is losing staff at an unprecedented rate.

Full-time staffing is projected to fall 40% between the end of FY2025 and the beginning of FY2027. 8 of 9 state director positions are currently unfilled. And the agency's new national director, former Congressman Steven Pearce, takes office with no hands-on land management experience.

All of this is happening as the agency faces growing responsibilities from expanded energy and mineral extraction, wildfire threats, and rising recreation.

“If ever an agency was asked to do a lot more with a lot less, it is today’s BLM,” added PEER Western Lands and Rocky Mountain Advocate Chandra Rosenthal, pointing out that this diminished capacity will make BLM decisions more vulnerable to legal challenge. “Unfortunately, BLM is fast becoming an absentee landlord for America’s public lands.”

https://ow.ly/AcMC50Z7aNP

Bureau of Land Management Being Hollowed Out - PEER.org 40% Staffing Cut Since 2024; All but One State Director Post Vacant

Listen in as PEER Science Policy Director Dr. Kyla Bennett discusses the risks facing critical Environmental Protection U.S. Environmental Protection Agency programs designed to protect human health and the environment, and the real-world impacts of the loss of EPA scientists and policy experts.

The Trump administration is doing everything in its power to break the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency [EPA]. Will the agency survive? This week on Green Street, Patti and Doug talk about the rise of anti-bacterial due to , and the EPA’s latest attempt to weaken drinking standards for PFAS chemicals. Then former EPA scientist Dr. Kyla Bennett, senior scientist at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility [PEER], discusses how the critical EPA programs that were designed to protect and the are at risk under the current administration and how the loss of EPA scientists and policy experts could spell real trouble for us now and in the future.

Today at 2PM ET on WBAI 99.5 FM New York, Mondays at 2PM PT on KPFA Radio, Greenstreetnews on YouTube and always at Greenstreetnews.org

🚨 The Trump administration just proposed government-wide non-disclosure agreements that could cover all 2 million federal employees.

The draft proposal would bar workers from sharing “non-public, confidential, or proprietary information” or “any sensitive, pre-decisional or deliberative material that is not currently publicly available” — broad enough to cover internal discussions, draft policies, and interagency debates. Violations could carry civil AND criminal penalties.

The problem isn't confidentiality. Governments have legitimate secrets. Federal employees would already face criminal sanctions for releasing national security or confidential business information.

The problem is scope and intent.

Democracy depends on an informed public — and that requires civil servants who can, when necessary, tell us what's happening inside our government. When "confidential" is broad enough to cover any internal discussion or action, it becomes a tool to suppress accountability, not protect national secrets.

Whistleblower protections would technically remain in place. But if signing a broad and poorly worded NDA becomes a condition of employment, and refusing gets you fired, the chilling effect is real.

Today is International Day for Biological Diversity — a day to recognize the species worth fighting for, and the work that still lies ahead.

Biodiversity is critical for ecosystem health and human survival. It doesn't disappear overnight. It disappears as protections are stripped away and laws are dismantled, while the agencies meant to safeguard it stay silent, or lead the charge.

PEER exists to support the public employees who refuse to look the other way.

With their help over the years, we've filed suit to restore protections to the Louisiana black bear. We've called out the National Park Service for dismantling its globally renowned Sea Turtle Science and Recovery Program at Padre Island. We've fought to prevent the ship strikes killing North Atlantic right whales. And we've exposed the failure of officials to save the Florida panther from what biologists agree is likely extinction in the absence of protections.

On this day, we're grateful for the public employees who speak out, and we remain committed to the fights still ahead.

Certified fire incident communicators work within federal agencies to keep the public informed about fires via television, radio, and the press. Unfortunately, Interior Secretary Burgum's consolidation of agency communications has pulled many of these specialists away from their agencies and centralized communications under the Secretary's office.

According to anonymous sources who spoke with PEER, the transition has been haphazard. Standard, long-accepted federal personnel management practices are simply ignored, leaving civil servants in the dark with cratering morale.

At least five fire communications staffers have been assigned to other jobs by DOI communications leadership. Several others have retired early or found other jobs, seeking to get away from the uncertainty of constant change.

Inadequate fire communications don't just cause confusion — they can cost lives. Of course, we hope that doesn’t happen. But, if it does, it will be clear where the blame lies — with this administration.

Learn more in the latest commentary from PEER Senior Counsel Peter Jenkins.
https://ow.ly/809U50Z2e7T

Interior Secretary Burgum is Playing with Fire The Supreme Court has set the stage for a descent to authoritarian rule in a series of quick rulings that have favored President Trump.

A year ago, the Interior Department pitched a sweeping reorganization as a way to save money and streamline operations. On The Federal Drive with Terry Gerton, PEER Executive Director Tim Whitehouse joins to look at what the evidence actually shows about how that reorganization played out.

Reorganization plans can look clean on paper and turn out far messier in real life | Federal News Network They're moving things around on paper without recognizing the effects that may have in the communities throughout the country," Tim Whitehouse said.

🚨 ACTION ALERT 🚨
This Endangered Species Day, tell Congress to stop attacks on protections for America's wildlife!

Extinction is forever. Yet, wildlife protections are being stripped daily under the cover of manufactured emergencies. The true emergency is that without enforcement of wildlife protections, entire species will disappear.

✍️ Your voice matters. Send our pre-filled, customizable letter urging Congress to oppose attacks on endangered species and support stronger wildlife protections.

https://ow.ly/AUlb50YYkQJ

LETTER | Tell Congress to Stop Attacks on Protections for America’s Wildlife Sign our letter calling on Congress to stop attacks on protections for America’s wildlife.

Endangered Species Day reminds us what’s at stake. But this year, the reminder arrives with added urgency: the systems designed to protect wildlife are being systematically dismantled.

We don’t lose species in one sweeping decision. We lose the systems that protect them first — piece by piece, until there’s nothing left to enforce.

Read more in the latest commentary from PEER Executive Director Tim Whitehouse.
https://ow.ly/Su8V50Z0bVW

“The gutting of the grazing regulations reflects the Trump Administration’s war on science and evidence based decision making,” said Chandra Rosenthal, Public Lands Director for PEER. “Coupled with the drastic reductions in staffing levels to monitor and manage grazing, our public lands will continue to suffer.”

Today, the White House released a proposed rule that would overhaul the Bureau of Land Management’s grazing regulations, reviving and advancing a controversial effort that would weaken government oversight on 155 million acres of public land across the West.

It's galling, frankly, that the proposed regs will simply make ranchers LESS accountable to the public.

Read more from Guardians and our partners ➡️ https://wildearthguardians.org/press-releases/white-house-unveils-rule-to-strip-oversight-from-public-lands-grazing-program/