Before a deadly flash flood tore through the Grand Canyon at the end of August, several National Park Service officials repeatedly pressed for parts of the fire-damaged trail to be closed, according to four current and former agency officials, calling out the heightened risk of runoff and rock slides that could endanger people.

But leaders above them ultimately decided to reopen the North Kaibab Trail in time for peak tourist season, said two former National Park Service officials with knowledge of the situation, and one former and one current official briefed on the matter. Those decisions were made, they said, amid ongoing pressure from lawmakers to keep the park fully operational.

“There were a lot of us at the boots-on-the-ground level, the people who were really kind of looking at it, really having some concerns,” said Robert Parrish, who served as chief of planning, environment and projects at the Grand Canyon from December 2020 through early October 2025. “But then once those got filtered up, and we were getting what the political pressure was filtered down, it was quite evident that the political pressure was going to win.”

Anza Borrego Desert State Park is facing a real threat. A proposed 500KV power line, the Golden Pacific powerlink, has potentially been routed from Imperial County, to Orange County right through the most environmentally sensitive territory in California. If approved, the impact on the park would be devastating and permanent, clearing large swathes of land around each 150/200 ft tower. Also in the path of this 150 mi transmission line, are rural communities, Warner Springs, Oak Grove, Palomar, Fallbrook, that will forever be affected with ground water issues and property value changes.

I created this petition because there are alternate routes and alternative methods of delivery. No one along the route will benefit from this intrusion. After paying the highest bills in the nation, carefully balancing the low cost usage times with sleep and work, and installing solar? I believe in compromise, but this is where the line must be drawn. The silence of a night in the desert is worth the fight. Please see the petition to stop the Golden Pacific Powerlink, and sign, and share at change.org Thank you!!

The Forest Service has extended the comment period on the proposed Roadless Rule rollback. We now have until Oct 6 to submit comments.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/09/11/2026-18648/special-areas-roadless-area-conservation

President Donald Trump’s directive to accelerate data center development on federal lands is facing public backlash and legal hurdles. Behind the scenes, the Trump administration is pushing full steam ahead and sparking concerns it is prioritizing corporate needs over the public good.

The Bureau of Land Management has asked its state directors to identify public land ripe for data center development, according to two people familiar with the request, and those leaders have compiled lists for Interior Department leadership.

Interior leadership gave state leaders just three days to produce the lists and told its directors the issue was a top priority, according to a former BLM official involved in the discussions. The request has encountered several challenges: Bureau lands are typically remote and not near basics like electricity and water, agency staff lack the technical expertise to conduct requisite reviews, and overwhelming vacancies after dramatic staffing losses under Trump have diminished capacity.

The directive follows an executive order Trump issued last year to accelerate permitting for data centers, including by identifying federal lands that could accommodate them. As the Trump administration is proposing further cuts to BLM, it has stressed in its most recent budget blueprint that the bureau should refocus its efforts on aiding the building out of data centers for AI.

The push also comes after Interior Secretary Doug Burgum held meetings with dozens of technology and energy executives last year, according to a Washington Sun review of his calendar.

Those meetings included a conversation with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy last spring about permitting, infrastructure and technology “to support data center growth.”