The Weekly Wrap — November 21, 2025

Bureau of (Loyalty) Management. Ocean oil. ESA rollbacks. 'A mess' for land management.

Welcome back to The Weekly Wrap, the Friday newsletter from Public Domain.

I’m back from a hunting trip to Montana, where I was lucky enough to tag an elk — my first — and log a ton of miles in the woods, most of them on public land. On my way to one gorgeous chunk of BLM land up the Blackfoot River, I was greeted by this sign — a nice reminder of who these special places belong to.

It’s been another dizzying week on the public lands beat. The Trump administration moved to gut protections for imperiled wildlife and clean water. Environmental groups filed a lawsuit challenging the administration’s first oil and gas lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico. And Republicans again invoked the Congressional Review Act to dismantle land management plans in Western states.

But First, From the PD Desk…

Trump Picks Unwavering Loyalist To Head BLM After Sgamma Debacle

This week, Jimmy and I took a closer look at Steve Pearce, the former New Mexico Congressman who Trump recently nominated to lead the Bureau of Land Management — specifically, what sets him apart from Trump’s first nominee, longtime oil and gas lobbyist Kathleen Sgamma. The answer: not much policy-wise. Instead, Pearce’s nomination seems to boil down to one key thing — his fealty to the man in the White House. You might recall the debacle surrounding Sgamma, who suddenly withdrew her nomination in April after it was revealed that she had condemned Trump’s role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Pearce, on the other hand, stood in Trump’s corner before, during and after that violent day. He parrotted MAGA talking points about potential voter fraud in the 2020 election, supported Texas’s lawsuit aimed at overturning Biden’s victory, claimed that “anomalies” in the election had left democracy “tarnished,” and dismissed the idea that Trump incited any violence on Jan. 6. In Pearce, Trump seems to have found the unwavering allegiance that Sgamma lacked.

Texas ‘Ghost Deer’ Suspect Facility Tests Positive For CWD

Roque was first to report that two captive whitetail deer tied to the Texas “ghost deer” investigation tested positive for chronic wasting disease at a Tom Green County facility owned by breeder Ken Schlaudt. In August, Public Domain reported that Schlaudt, a former leader of the Texas Deer Association, is facing multiple charges as part of a sweeping investigation into wildlife crime.

Also… Public Domain learned that Tyler Hassen, the former oil industry executive who spearheaded the Trump administration’s purge of civil servants across the Interior Department, is officially out of the agency. According to his LinkedIn profile, he wasted no time founding an investment firm called Stable Crest Holdings.

Trump Axes Bedrock Environmental Laws — Again

Trump Administration Seeks To Roll Back Protections For Imperiled Species And Their Habitat — Associated Press

“The proposed changes include the elimination of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s “blanket rule” that automatically protects animals and plants when they are classified as threatened… The administration’s announcement answers longstanding calls for revisions to the Endangered Species Act from Republicans in Congress and industries including oil and gas, mining and agriculture. Critics argue the landmark 1973 environmental law has been wielded too broadly, to the detriment of economic growth. But environmentalists warned the changes could cause yearslong delays in efforts to save species such as the monarch butterfly, Florida manatee, California spotted owl and North American wolverine.”

(For more on how Interior Secretary Doug Burgum views the ESA and his ties to the “de-extinction” company Colossal Biosciences, read Public Domain’s piece from May)

Trump Administration Moves to Weaken Federal Protections for Waterways and Wetlands — Inside Climate News

“The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army on Monday announced a proposal to further define, and scale back, the number of waterways and wetlands protected by the federal government under the Clean Water Act, a bedrock environmental law … The proposed rule would exclude groundwater from the definition, and would no longer automatically protect interstate waters. It would also significantly limit which wetlands and streams are protected under the Clean Water Act, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group.”

Opening A Can Of Worms

Democrats and Experts Say Rolling Back Biden-Era Plans Could ‘Create a Mess’ at the Bureau of Land Management — NOTUS

“Congress has rolled back six Biden-era land management plans in the past three months, including three on Tuesday that are expected to pass the Senate. It has targeted these plans using the Congressional Review Act, a tactic used to scrap agency-issued rules that federal lawmakers don’t like. In some of these places, BLM is now set to operate under decades-old plans to manage resources and direct activity. Republicans say these land management plans were issued without requisite input from state officials. Democrats raised concerns at the hearing that applying the CRA to land management plans, which are created through a long, painstaking public process, would create legal uncertainty and confusion about what activities are allowed on affected land.”

Related: In a letter Tuesday to the acting director of the BLM, The Wilderness Society and five other environmental organizations warned that the GOP’s use of the CRA may have rendered more than 5,000 oil and gas leases covering nearly 4 million acres legally invalid.

Offshore Oil

Trump Opens Parts Of Florida, California Waters Up To Offshore Oil Drilling, Breaking Decades Of Precedent — CNN

“President Donald Trump’s Interior Department released a five-year offshore drilling plan on Thursday that would open up vast parts of California’s coastline to drilling, which hasn’t happened in that state since the late 1960s. The Department is also proposing new oil drilling in parts of the Eastern Gulf — located approximately 100 nautical miles off Florida’s coast — a decision opposed by Florida’s Republican leadership.”

Environmentalists Sue to Stop Oil Lease Sales in the Gulf of Mexico — The New York Times

“Environmental groups sued the Trump administration on Tuesday over a plan to sell oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The groups say the sale violates a core environmental law and threatens coastal communities and endangered whales. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said the government failed to conduct reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act, a bedrock law that has been in place for more than 50 years. The law, known as NEPA, requires the government to evaluate projects’ environmental and health risks and to study alternatives.”

OF NOTE: The lawsuit specifically calls out Matt Giacona, acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and cites documents first uncovered by Public Domain. “Defendant Giacona’s involvement in the approval of the Gulf Lease Sale, a matter that directly overlapped with his prior lobbying work for the National Ocean Industries Association (“NOIA”), tainted the ultimate decision to hold this Sale,” the lawsuit alleges.

Wolf Watch

Future Of Gray Wolves In Colorado Uncertain As Washington State Denies Request For More — CBS News

“During a meeting on Saturday, officials determined Colorado’s next round of gray wolves will not be coming from Washington state. The director of Colorado Parks and Wildlife met with Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife this morning. CPW Director Jeff Davis made his case to the WDFW, which decided not to relocate any wolves to Colorado at this time because the animals are still considered endangered in Washington state.”

‘What An Idiot!’: Video Shows Man Approaching Pack Of Wolves In Yellowstone — USA Today

“Visitors to Yellowstone National Park were horrified when a man recently got dangerously close to a pack of wolves. In a now-viral video shared by Keith Allen Kerbs on Oct. 6, an unidentified man wearing a white scarf is seen approaching a pack of five black wolves in the middle of the national park. Kerbs can be heard yelling, “What an idiot!” as he films the man, who first runs towards the wolves, then sprays something believed to be bear spray at them while backing away.”

Grijalva Finally Sworn In

Democratic Rep. Grijalva Sworn In After 7 Weeks, Becomes Kay Signature On Epstein Files Petition — ABC News

“Arizona Democrat Adelita Grijalva was officially sworn in to the House on Wednesday -- seven weeks after she won a special election, and just before the House is set to up Senate-passed legislation to reopen the government.”

‘Hugely Emotional’: Grijalva Gets Natural Resources Seat — E&E News

“Arizona Democratic Rep. Adelita Grijalva is joining the House Natural Resources Committee, the panel her late father once chaired.”

That’s it for this week. Have a great weekend! As always, please share Public Domain with friends and family. And if you’re able, consider upgrading to a paid subscription.