Public Lands Conservancy

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Public Lands Conservancy

The Public Lands Conservancy is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and appropriately managing public lands.

We believe public lands belong to all Americans, forever. Public lands are the heart and soul of America; a fundamental part of our nation’s legacy. They are places where we find inspiration, recreation, happiness, joy, challenge, reflection, pride, and renewal. Places that tell and educate us about the stories of America. This is accomplished by educating the American public about the value of pu

blic-owned lands administered by local, state and federal governments. The Public Lands Conservancy (PLC) is a non-profit corporation.

08/28/2026

Now the Trump administration is trying to give part of Yosemite NP to a developer to get exclusive access to the park.

"Since the spring of 2025, the Trump administration has been looking into ways it could cede a roughly quarter-mile strip of land inside Yosemite to a company that, through a web of limited-liability companies, is operated by real-estate developer and investment firm Kingsbarn Realty Capital. Officials are proposing the Park Service give up the land or “interest” in the land in the form of an easement, and in return receive land of equal value somewhere in California that has yet to be decided.

The private developers own an 83-acre plot of land just outside the western boundaries of Yosemite, about five miles from one of the park’s defining ancient sequoia groves. Jeff Pori, the CEO of Kingsbarn, wants to build a short road connecting the property to one of Yosemite’s central thoroughfares. The new road would give the land exceptionally rare private access to a park that is otherwise almost entirely buffered by national forests."

Court Rulings: In 2012, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the developers, finding that Mariposa County's prior abandonment of the old roads meant the private owners lost any legal claims to an easement across federal park land.

The National Park Service is under pressure to make an unprecedented deal that cedes a quarter-mile strip of the park.

08/25/2026

Since February, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has indicated it will use that massive war chest here to expand what it calls its “smart wall” – a mix of steel bollard fencing, vehicle barriers and hi-tech surveillance.

"The area has remained unwalled until now, partly because geography already impedes most illegal crossings. Large ranches dominate the Mexican side, which contains no major cities and only few large towns to attract would-be migrants. Steep cliffs abound.

But with such vast sums on the table, CBP is pushing forward at breakneck pace with its plans – riding roughshod over virtually universal opposition from locals, business leaders and a growing number of political leaders from both parties. Most of that tension has focused on the controversy over CBP’s plans to mar the wilderness of the Big Bend national park, which the agency halted last week after activists publicized videos of bulldozers plowing up ground at the park’s famed Santa Elena Canyon.

The impending construction also threatens to mar or destroy an untold number of these millennia-old rock art murals that stand in the coming wall’s path. The slated construction includes 165 miles (266km) of four-to-six-foot-tall vehicle barriers and patrol roads starting a few miles outside the Big Bend national park and ending at Lake Amistad. It runs straight through the Seminole Canyon state park, which is home to 27 murals, including the Fate Bell Shelter where Boyd stood."

The president’s border wall plan could damage or destroy ‘the oldest-known books in North America’

08/22/2026

"The 250th anniversary of U.S. independence was just months away when National Park Service employees received a surprising directive from Washington: Maintenance projects approved for this year at sites across the nation were being relegated to a new “low priority” list.

Work wanted by the White House was taking precedence, including repairs to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, according to documents obtained by The Associated Press and three officials from the park service and Interior Department who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

Meanwhile, almost all of about 1,500 maintenance and other projects on the low priority list as of last month are expected to go undone, the officials said. That will worsen a repair backlog at national parks that doubled over the last decade to more than $24 billion even as visitor numbers surged.

The shelved projects, many already approved, span more than 200 sites and range from roof repairs at Golden Gate National Recreation Area, to computer upgrades at Alaska’s Katmai National Park and bulk purchases of toilet paper and garbage bags at Yellowstone National Park."

The 250th anniversary of U.S. independence was just months away when National Park Service employees received a directive from Washington.

08/20/2026

Can it get any worse? Undeveloped public lands, our forests, are now at risk.

"The Trump administration announced Tuesday it is moving ahead with plans to rescind a quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging, road building and other development on national forest lands, drawing the ire of environmentalists nationwide.

The U.S. Forest Service is filing a proposal that would scrap the so called roadless rule adopted in the last days of Bill Clinton’s presidency in 2001. The agency described the rule as a one-size-fits-all restriction that has frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to reducing wildfire risks in the nation’s forests."

"Americans across the political spectrum have made it crystal clear that they don’t want political appointees removing protections from public lands,” said Chris Krupp, an attorney with the group WildEarth Guardians. “It would be a gross misreading of public sentiment to take the roadless rule away from Americans and our wildlife, and politicians do so at their jeopardy.”"

The Trump administration is moving ahead with plans to rescind a quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging and other development on national forest lands, drawing the ire of environmentalists nationwide.

08/18/2026

A win for public lands preservation in Alaska.

"A federal judge has overturned a land exchange that would have made way for a road through part of the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness in Alaska.

The U.S. District Court ruled the Interior Department violated several federal laws when it approved the exchange with the King Cove Corporation.

The decision vacates the land exchange, which the Interior Department announced in October 2025.

The exchange involved lands managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and was intended to allow a road across a narrow isthmus in the refuge.

Trustees for Alaska, representing several conservation groups, challenged the exchange under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the Administrative Procedure Act and the National Environmental Policy Act."

A federal judge overturned a land exchange intended to allow a road through Alaska's Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, finding the Interior Department violated federal laws.

08/13/2026

"Two California condors who had been trapped in a Big Sur sanctuary during the Timber Fire were freed Tuesday after fire officials escorted staff to open their pen, the Ventana Wildlife Society said.

The condors, the largest North American land birds, were recovering after receiving treatment for lead poisoning at the Big Sur Condor Sanctuary, which rehabilitates the endangered species and has helped grow the state’s population.

“Thankfully, as of yesterday afternoon, we took care of the primary concern, which was getting those two birds back out into the wild,” said Kelly Sorenson, the Wildlife Society’s executive director."

Though the pair of California condors are now safe, wildfires can pose a grave risk to the state’s wildlife.

08/09/2026

An assault on public lands and wilderness protection.

"On Thursday, workers began a $1.7 billion project to add barriers and patrol roads inside the national park. That could include dynamite blasting in some of its most remote areas.

Bulldozers broke ground Thursday in Big Bend National Park on a White House project to add border barriers and patrol roads inside the protected wilderness, according to activists and ecological groups.

Contractors begin the construction amid widespread bipartisan opposition, plowing through native vegetation along the Rio Grande’s riparian corridor, according to video footage shared with the Center of Biological Diversity by conservationist and photographer Natalie Newman."

Bulldozers have begun decimating the landscape of Big Bend National Park, one of the nation's most beloved parklands. Bulldozers broke ground Thursday in

08/06/2026

"For 50 years, the legal definition of “harm” has included the destruction of habitat that sustains threatened and endangered species. But a new rule, finalized July 14, redefines harm as only physical damage to individuals. So, provided individuals of a listed species are not directly injured or killed by humans, it’s perfectly okay to destroy all habitat required for their survival, thereby rendering them extinct. “Common sense” is how Interior Secretary Doug Burgum describes it.

Wildlife advocacy groups are outraged, saying the rule change “violates the core purpose of the statute and decades of legal precedent” and is “a stake through the heart of the ESA.” Multiple lawsuits to block the rule are underway. Unless they succeed, the new harm rule will go into effect on September 14.

Under its 50-year-old definition of “harm,” the ESA has prevented 99 percent of listed species from going extinct. That’s because federal agencies were legally mandated to protect and restore critical habitat. They didn’t have a choice. If the new harm rule stands, no such mandate will exist."

For 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has defined "harm" as not just injury to individuals but to the habitat on which they depend. By narrowing that definition, the Trump administration is leaving hundreds of species at risk of extinction.

08/04/2026

"President Trump’s proposed 250-foot-tall triumphal arch would change the skyline of Washington to such an extent that it would intrude on views at dozens of historic sites around the capital, according to an assessment by National Park Service staff.

It would disrupt the symbolic relationship between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, obstruct sightlines from the Kennedy Gravesite and Robert E. Lee’s home, and alter what official documents call “one of the most magnificent” views in Washington at the National Cathedral four miles away, the Park Service said.

The assessment of the arch’s impact on surrounding historic properties is a key step the administration must complete before the project can receive final approval by the National Capital Planning Commission, which could come as soon as its next meeting on Sept. 3."

The 250-foot-tall edifice would alter views across Washington and Arlington Cemetery.

07/14/2026

"Yosemite is one of the crown jewels of the national park system — so it’s no surprise it attracts millions of visitors annually. For several years, the National Park Service (NPS) used a timed-entry system to control the crowds at this popular park.

In 2026, the Department of the Interior (DOI) ditched this method, sparking controversy and concerns of overcrowding. Now, as Yosemite reaches its peak summer tourist season, California legislators are calling for the return of timed entry.

The state’s senators, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, sent an open letter to the DOI, and it has already garnered broad public support."

The debate over how to best manage crowds in the park continues to rage.

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