1 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:10,500 Welcome to the landscape, your show about America's 2 00:00:10,559 --> 00:00:12,719 parks and public lands. I'm Aaron Weiss with 3 00:00:12,719 --> 00:00:15,504 the Center For Western Western Priorities in beautiful 4 00:00:15,564 --> 00:00:17,744 evergreen Colorado open the mountains today. 5 00:00:18,364 --> 00:00:20,464 Well, I'm Kate Gretzinger in Salt Lake City. 6 00:00:20,605 --> 00:00:23,184 We've got an episode about president Biden's conservation 7 00:00:23,324 --> 00:00:26,219 legacy for you today. Our colleagues, Lauren and 8 00:00:26,300 --> 00:00:28,300 Sterling, put out a report earlier this month 9 00:00:28,300 --> 00:00:30,859 rounding up the president's actions on public lands 10 00:00:30,859 --> 00:00:33,259 over the past 4 years, and let's just 11 00:00:33,259 --> 00:00:34,799 say he's been busy. 12 00:00:35,259 --> 00:00:37,179 But before we do that, we've got some 13 00:00:37,179 --> 00:00:37,679 news. 14 00:00:38,515 --> 00:00:41,234 The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held 15 00:00:41,234 --> 00:00:42,534 a confirmation hearing, 16 00:00:42,914 --> 00:00:46,375 on Thursday for interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum. 17 00:00:46,594 --> 00:00:48,515 We learned quite a bit more about Trump's 18 00:00:48,515 --> 00:00:50,534 pick to oversee our public lands. 19 00:00:50,914 --> 00:00:51,895 Throughout the hearing, 20 00:00:52,260 --> 00:00:55,320 Burgum referred to public lands as an asset 21 00:00:55,380 --> 00:00:57,960 on America's, quote, balance sheet. 22 00:00:58,260 --> 00:01:00,420 He was making it clear he sees public 23 00:01:00,420 --> 00:01:03,399 lands as a resource to exploit for profit. 24 00:01:03,619 --> 00:01:06,424 Now this makes sense given Burgum's very close 25 00:01:06,424 --> 00:01:08,204 ties to the oil and gas industry. 26 00:01:08,984 --> 00:01:11,385 Essentially, what it sounds like after day today's 27 00:01:11,385 --> 00:01:14,104 hearing, to Doug Burgum, if you can't drill 28 00:01:14,104 --> 00:01:17,064 it or mine it, there's no economic value 29 00:01:17,064 --> 00:01:19,680 there. When he was governor of North Dakota, 30 00:01:19,980 --> 00:01:22,140 Doug Burgum revealed that he has a land 31 00:01:22,140 --> 00:01:25,099 deal with Continental Resources. That's an oil and 32 00:01:25,099 --> 00:01:27,840 gas company founded by billionaire Harold Hamm. 33 00:01:28,299 --> 00:01:28,799 Burgum 34 00:01:29,260 --> 00:01:31,659 also partnered with Hamm to hold that oil 35 00:01:31,659 --> 00:01:34,144 and gas fundraiser for Donald Trump at Mar 36 00:01:34,144 --> 00:01:34,724 a Lago. 37 00:01:35,185 --> 00:01:37,104 The both The Washington Post and The New 38 00:01:37,104 --> 00:01:39,744 York Times reported that Trump asked the oil 39 00:01:39,744 --> 00:01:42,384 executives gathered by Burgam and Hamm to raise 40 00:01:42,384 --> 00:01:42,965 a $1,000,000,000 41 00:01:43,664 --> 00:01:46,109 for his campaign. And if they did, he 42 00:01:46,109 --> 00:01:48,990 would roll back environmental protections at the behest 43 00:01:48,990 --> 00:01:50,290 of the oil industry. 44 00:01:50,670 --> 00:01:52,270 I put up a piece on our West 45 00:01:52,270 --> 00:01:54,430 Wise blog getting into all of that. There's 46 00:01:54,430 --> 00:01:56,049 a link to that in the show notes. 47 00:01:56,670 --> 00:01:59,870 Bergam's dedication to fossil fuel executives was on 48 00:01:59,870 --> 00:02:02,325 full display during that hearing this week as 49 00:02:02,325 --> 00:02:04,185 he bashed what he called intermittent 50 00:02:04,484 --> 00:02:05,944 sources of power. That's 51 00:02:06,245 --> 00:02:07,784 a a slight against renewables. 52 00:02:08,245 --> 00:02:10,425 He claimed the US needs more baseload 53 00:02:10,805 --> 00:02:13,544 power, by which he means coal and natural 54 00:02:13,604 --> 00:02:14,104 gas. 55 00:02:14,509 --> 00:02:16,829 He also said he wants to expand the 56 00:02:16,829 --> 00:02:19,409 use of, quote, clean coal, which, of course, 57 00:02:19,549 --> 00:02:22,109 does not exist. It's not a thing at 58 00:02:22,109 --> 00:02:22,609 all. 59 00:02:23,229 --> 00:02:25,629 Bergham also spoke at length about his adoration 60 00:02:25,629 --> 00:02:27,949 for Teddy Roosevelt. He sounded a bit like 61 00:02:27,949 --> 00:02:30,825 Ryan Zinke in that way. But Bergam said 62 00:02:30,825 --> 00:02:33,564 that the antiquities act was meant for, quote, 63 00:02:34,105 --> 00:02:36,444 Indiana Jones type archaeological 64 00:02:36,745 --> 00:02:37,245 protections. 65 00:02:37,625 --> 00:02:40,125 Now that's despite the fact that Teddy Roosevelt, 66 00:02:40,425 --> 00:02:43,485 Doug Bergam's hero, used the law to designate 67 00:02:43,830 --> 00:02:44,569 the 800,000 68 00:02:45,590 --> 00:02:47,769 Acre Grand Canyon National Monument. 69 00:02:48,389 --> 00:02:50,789 So, governor Burgum, give us a call. We're 70 00:02:50,789 --> 00:02:53,030 gonna walk you through everything you missed in 71 00:02:53,030 --> 00:02:55,769 US history class about the antiquities act. 72 00:02:56,185 --> 00:02:59,144 Well, speaking of the antiquities act, representative Celeste 73 00:02:59,144 --> 00:03:01,965 Molloy of Utah and Mark Amadegh of Nevada 74 00:03:02,185 --> 00:03:04,444 have introduced a bill to repeal the country's 75 00:03:04,504 --> 00:03:08,745 cornerstone conservation law. The ending presidential overreach on 76 00:03:08,745 --> 00:03:11,879 public lands act would remove the president's authority 77 00:03:11,879 --> 00:03:14,700 to designate national monuments and give that authority 78 00:03:14,840 --> 00:03:15,580 to congress, 79 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:18,520 which I should add, congress already has that 80 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:19,020 authority. 81 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:21,719 The antiquities act has been used over a 82 00:03:21,719 --> 00:03:24,745 100 and 60 times to protect invaluable natural 83 00:03:24,745 --> 00:03:25,965 and cultural resources 84 00:03:26,344 --> 00:03:28,604 including the Grand Canyon, the Grand Tetons, 85 00:03:28,905 --> 00:03:31,085 and Zion and Arches National Parks. 86 00:03:31,544 --> 00:03:33,705 In fact, 4 out of Utah's mighty 5 87 00:03:33,705 --> 00:03:36,104 parks were first protected by presidents using the 88 00:03:36,104 --> 00:03:37,110 antiquities act. 89 00:03:37,669 --> 00:03:39,449 Lawmakers passed a law in 1906 90 00:03:40,069 --> 00:03:42,229 because they knew congress was too slow to 91 00:03:42,229 --> 00:03:44,569 act when it came to protecting public lands. 92 00:03:44,870 --> 00:03:47,270 And that problem has only gotten worse. The 93 00:03:47,270 --> 00:03:49,669 rate of congressional land protection has gone from 94 00:03:49,669 --> 00:03:52,310 9 to just 3,000,000 acres in the past 95 00:03:52,310 --> 00:03:53,050 2 decades. 96 00:03:54,125 --> 00:03:57,004 And, of course, given that Celeste Molloy is 97 00:03:57,004 --> 00:03:59,325 Cliven Bundy's niece, it should come as no 98 00:03:59,325 --> 00:04:01,485 surprise that she is taking in at the 99 00:04:01,485 --> 00:04:02,625 antiquities act. 100 00:04:03,085 --> 00:04:06,045 Cliven, you'll recall, refused to pay grazing fees 101 00:04:06,045 --> 00:04:08,240 and led an armed standoff against the Bureau 102 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:08,819 of Land Management 103 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:09,939 in 2014 104 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:12,979 when agents came to round up his illegal 105 00:04:13,120 --> 00:04:13,620 cattle. 106 00:04:13,919 --> 00:04:16,819 And to this day, his cows are still 107 00:04:16,879 --> 00:04:20,180 grazing illegally inside Gold Butte National Monument, 108 00:04:20,480 --> 00:04:23,620 which was created in 2016 by president Obama 109 00:04:24,294 --> 00:04:25,914 using the antiquities act. 110 00:04:29,334 --> 00:04:31,435 Our guests today are 2 of our CWP 111 00:04:31,574 --> 00:04:34,235 colleagues, Lauren Bogard and Sterling Homard. 112 00:04:34,854 --> 00:04:37,334 They authored our recent report on president Biden's 113 00:04:37,334 --> 00:04:39,600 final year on public lands, which looks at 114 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:42,319 the president's conservation achievements over the past year 115 00:04:42,319 --> 00:04:44,819 in the context of his full presidential term. 116 00:04:45,199 --> 00:04:47,939 Lauren, welcome back to the pod. Thanks, team. 117 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:50,899 Sterling, good to have you back as well. 118 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:52,935 Hey. Happy to be back. 119 00:04:53,495 --> 00:04:56,055 So let's start with the upshot from your 120 00:04:56,055 --> 00:04:58,875 report. The White House is saying Biden protected 121 00:04:58,935 --> 00:05:00,935 the most land and water of any president 122 00:05:00,935 --> 00:05:03,274 in history, which is a pretty big claim. 123 00:05:03,814 --> 00:05:05,334 Do we have the data to back that 124 00:05:05,334 --> 00:05:05,834 up? 125 00:05:06,310 --> 00:05:08,149 Yeah. Well, let's just look at what he's 126 00:05:08,149 --> 00:05:11,129 done recently. Just this year already in 2025, 127 00:05:11,269 --> 00:05:14,569 he's designated Chuckwalla and Satitla national monuments, 128 00:05:15,110 --> 00:05:15,850 in California, 129 00:05:16,470 --> 00:05:17,850 and these added 800,000 130 00:05:18,229 --> 00:05:20,889 acres to his already impressive conservation legacy. 131 00:05:21,675 --> 00:05:23,935 Also, this year, he banned 625,000,000 132 00:05:25,675 --> 00:05:28,314 acres of the outer continental shelf from offshore 133 00:05:28,314 --> 00:05:30,794 oil leasing. So if you imagine the area 134 00:05:30,794 --> 00:05:31,694 that's right, 135 00:05:32,154 --> 00:05:34,574 along the border of the the United States, 136 00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:35,900 625,000,000 137 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:37,660 acres are now 138 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:40,920 banned to new offshore oil leasing, which is 139 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:41,900 a huge deal. 140 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:43,980 I mean, if we look at that in 141 00:05:44,439 --> 00:05:46,759 in terms of the total acres of land 142 00:05:46,759 --> 00:05:49,055 and water he protected, that total number is 143 00:05:49,055 --> 00:05:49,555 674,000,000 144 00:05:50,014 --> 00:05:51,074 acres. So 625,000,000 145 00:05:52,655 --> 00:05:54,814 is a huge part of that, but let's 146 00:05:54,814 --> 00:05:57,475 not overlook the the 4,000,000 acres he protected 147 00:05:57,535 --> 00:06:01,074 using the antiquities act. This includes a restoration 148 00:06:01,134 --> 00:06:03,990 of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National 149 00:06:03,990 --> 00:06:07,189 Monuments which President Trump illegally shrunk, but Biden 150 00:06:07,189 --> 00:06:09,610 restored them when he took office. 151 00:06:10,629 --> 00:06:11,910 You know there are so many ways to 152 00:06:11,910 --> 00:06:14,490 protect public land so it's it's hard to 153 00:06:14,814 --> 00:06:16,675 compare apples to oranges here. But, 154 00:06:17,295 --> 00:06:19,134 president Biden, what I can say is that 155 00:06:19,134 --> 00:06:21,855 he did a phenomenal job of protecting public 156 00:06:21,855 --> 00:06:22,834 lands in just 157 00:06:23,134 --> 00:06:25,375 4 years in office. Yeah. Aaron, do you 158 00:06:25,375 --> 00:06:26,355 have anything to add? 159 00:06:26,894 --> 00:06:28,595 Yeah. I mean, just to your point of, 160 00:06:29,269 --> 00:06:30,709 you know, some of this depends on what 161 00:06:30,709 --> 00:06:32,569 is your definition of protected, 162 00:06:33,029 --> 00:06:35,110 and the White House's claim does include, of 163 00:06:35,110 --> 00:06:36,009 course, the 625,000,000 164 00:06:37,350 --> 00:06:37,850 acres 165 00:06:38,230 --> 00:06:40,790 offshore. So when you do add all that 166 00:06:40,790 --> 00:06:43,370 together, yes, it is definitely a larger number 167 00:06:43,634 --> 00:06:45,175 than any president in history. 168 00:06:45,634 --> 00:06:47,714 And that is also not to take away 169 00:06:47,714 --> 00:06:48,214 from 170 00:06:48,675 --> 00:06:49,654 the accomplishments 171 00:06:50,035 --> 00:06:52,774 of, the recently departed president Carter, 172 00:06:53,154 --> 00:06:53,654 who 173 00:06:54,194 --> 00:06:54,694 protected 174 00:06:54,995 --> 00:06:57,014 tens of millions of acres, 50,000,000 175 00:06:57,314 --> 00:06:58,694 plus acres in Alaska 176 00:06:59,550 --> 00:07:00,769 with what was 177 00:07:01,069 --> 00:07:03,649 honestly the the first and maybe only 178 00:07:04,350 --> 00:07:07,889 offensive use of the antiquities act in history 179 00:07:08,029 --> 00:07:10,850 where president Carter invoked that to essentially 180 00:07:11,470 --> 00:07:14,314 force congress's hand to pass ANILCA. 181 00:07:14,855 --> 00:07:18,154 And ANILCA is the the law that essentially 182 00:07:18,855 --> 00:07:21,415 makes Alaska a special sunflower when it comes 183 00:07:21,415 --> 00:07:24,634 to land management. So because of that, Alaska's 184 00:07:25,095 --> 00:07:28,074 mostly off the table for future presidents. So 185 00:07:28,330 --> 00:07:31,290 can you compare the actions of president Carter 186 00:07:31,290 --> 00:07:34,330 and president Biden and say one was better 187 00:07:34,330 --> 00:07:36,569 than the other or one protected more than 188 00:07:36,569 --> 00:07:38,350 the other? No. They're they had 189 00:07:38,810 --> 00:07:40,670 very different and in my mind 190 00:07:41,285 --> 00:07:42,345 equally important 191 00:07:42,645 --> 00:07:43,145 accomplishments 192 00:07:43,845 --> 00:07:46,084 when it comes to the long term health 193 00:07:46,084 --> 00:07:47,225 of America's lands. 194 00:07:47,925 --> 00:07:50,245 Alright. Well, sticking with the hard questions here 195 00:07:50,245 --> 00:07:50,985 at the beginning, 196 00:07:52,004 --> 00:07:54,425 how much progress did Biden make toward protecting 197 00:07:54,564 --> 00:07:57,340 30% of US land and water by 2030? 198 00:07:57,340 --> 00:07:58,080 This was 199 00:07:58,540 --> 00:08:00,779 a a goal he was his administration called 200 00:08:00,779 --> 00:08:01,920 America the Beautiful, 201 00:08:02,620 --> 00:08:04,220 and we talked about it a lot on 202 00:08:04,220 --> 00:08:06,779 this podcast. But, you know, once again, what 203 00:08:06,779 --> 00:08:08,779 is protected? Those numbers are kinda hard to 204 00:08:08,779 --> 00:08:11,100 come up with. So, Lauren, I'm curious what 205 00:08:11,100 --> 00:08:12,480 you think about this. 206 00:08:13,794 --> 00:08:16,274 Yeah. It's a really good question, and it's 207 00:08:16,274 --> 00:08:18,435 timely. I think it's one that many folks 208 00:08:18,435 --> 00:08:20,375 are gonna be asking at the end of, 209 00:08:21,555 --> 00:08:23,095 president Biden's term. 210 00:08:23,634 --> 00:08:25,634 But I I'm not aware of anyone having 211 00:08:25,634 --> 00:08:27,634 a final answer on that because as you 212 00:08:27,634 --> 00:08:29,110 both just explained, there are a lot of 213 00:08:29,110 --> 00:08:31,689 different ways that we can count to 30% 214 00:08:32,309 --> 00:08:34,470 protected, and some of that depends on how 215 00:08:34,470 --> 00:08:35,929 stringent you are about, 216 00:08:36,470 --> 00:08:37,690 private land conservation, 217 00:08:38,070 --> 00:08:39,370 conservation easements. 218 00:08:39,750 --> 00:08:41,269 And the thing about that is a lot 219 00:08:41,269 --> 00:08:43,274 of those areas have some of the best 220 00:08:43,595 --> 00:08:46,735 habitat, riparian areas, other places. There's a reason 221 00:08:47,035 --> 00:08:49,295 why, some of those private lands, 222 00:08:49,835 --> 00:08:51,295 also have high conservation 223 00:08:52,075 --> 00:08:53,915 value. So a lot of it's gonna depend 224 00:08:53,915 --> 00:08:55,595 on who you ask. But the way I'm 225 00:08:55,595 --> 00:08:58,410 looking at it is looking at rather than 226 00:08:58,410 --> 00:09:01,450 the minutiae of the final accounting and tally 227 00:09:01,450 --> 00:09:02,509 of acres protected, 228 00:09:03,769 --> 00:09:06,730 and to what degree, I'm looking at the 229 00:09:06,730 --> 00:09:09,929 actions that he and his administration took over 230 00:09:09,929 --> 00:09:12,284 4 years in office. And I think by 231 00:09:12,284 --> 00:09:15,004 all accounts, that's pretty astonishing, especially when you 232 00:09:15,004 --> 00:09:15,504 remember 233 00:09:15,884 --> 00:09:18,464 what was going on in early 2021 234 00:09:18,845 --> 00:09:19,904 in terms of 235 00:09:20,365 --> 00:09:23,584 recovering from the COVID pandemic and economic 236 00:09:24,044 --> 00:09:24,544 uncertainty. 237 00:09:25,679 --> 00:09:28,100 So the fact that Biden used the antiquities 238 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:31,059 act 15 times over the course of his 239 00:09:31,279 --> 00:09:33,059 presidency, and he also established, 240 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:36,740 about a dozen new national wildlife refuges, 241 00:09:37,725 --> 00:09:39,904 I I think that's a significant achievement 242 00:09:41,084 --> 00:09:43,245 by all accounts. And I would even throw 243 00:09:43,245 --> 00:09:45,565 in there things like some high profile mineral 244 00:09:45,565 --> 00:09:46,065 withdrawals, 245 00:09:47,084 --> 00:09:50,065 in some some some more sensitive and ecologically 246 00:09:50,284 --> 00:09:51,424 valuable areas. 247 00:09:51,860 --> 00:09:53,240 And then also preventing 248 00:09:54,500 --> 00:09:55,000 extracted 249 00:09:55,379 --> 00:09:58,519 activities in areas with high cultural or ecological 250 00:09:58,899 --> 00:09:59,399 significance. 251 00:10:00,179 --> 00:10:01,639 Yeah. That would be like Chaco 252 00:10:02,339 --> 00:10:05,620 mineral withdrawal around Chaco, the Boundary Waters, really 253 00:10:05,620 --> 00:10:06,759 high profile important 254 00:10:07,394 --> 00:10:09,394 areas. And like you said, Lauren, I think 255 00:10:09,394 --> 00:10:11,175 it's important to point out that, you know, 256 00:10:11,394 --> 00:10:13,394 30% is a number, but, like, some of 257 00:10:13,394 --> 00:10:15,795 these areas have higher ecological value than others 258 00:10:15,795 --> 00:10:17,475 and and cultural value. And, 259 00:10:18,035 --> 00:10:20,595 he he protected a lot of really important 260 00:10:20,595 --> 00:10:23,120 places. And one of the Aaron? One of 261 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:24,799 the things I do give the the Biden 262 00:10:24,799 --> 00:10:27,040 administration a lot of credit for is starting 263 00:10:27,040 --> 00:10:29,360 to do that difficult work of actually figuring 264 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:31,279 out how do you count to 30, which 265 00:10:31,279 --> 00:10:33,679 is, in fact, significantly harder than it sounds 266 00:10:33,679 --> 00:10:34,815 at first blush. 267 00:10:35,695 --> 00:10:37,855 The work they did to create the the 268 00:10:37,855 --> 00:10:38,754 first draft 269 00:10:39,134 --> 00:10:42,414 of the conservation atlas was very good and 270 00:10:42,414 --> 00:10:42,914 important. 271 00:10:43,375 --> 00:10:46,735 And even if, let's assume, that work gets 272 00:10:46,735 --> 00:10:47,235 paused 273 00:10:47,649 --> 00:10:48,789 under the Trump administration, 274 00:10:49,169 --> 00:10:50,549 that work doesn't go away. 275 00:10:50,929 --> 00:10:53,089 It just means that either folks on the 276 00:10:53,089 --> 00:10:54,929 outside pick it up, or when there's a 277 00:10:54,929 --> 00:10:56,549 future administration from 278 00:10:57,009 --> 00:10:59,730 any party that is interested in doing that 279 00:10:59,730 --> 00:11:01,605 work, they they pick back up where the 280 00:11:01,605 --> 00:11:03,784 Biden administration left off. And 281 00:11:04,164 --> 00:11:05,304 the Biden administration 282 00:11:05,684 --> 00:11:08,105 recognized some of that does in fact count 283 00:11:09,125 --> 00:11:09,625 individual, 284 00:11:10,725 --> 00:11:12,565 protection measures on the ground to figure out 285 00:11:12,565 --> 00:11:14,404 where you draw that line, what counts as 286 00:11:14,404 --> 00:11:14,904 protected. 287 00:11:16,170 --> 00:11:18,330 So that work of starting to do the 288 00:11:18,330 --> 00:11:19,710 Atlas and the measurement 289 00:11:20,090 --> 00:11:22,029 was was a really important achievement. 290 00:11:23,129 --> 00:11:24,910 Lauren, I'm I'm curious, you know, 291 00:11:25,450 --> 00:11:27,470 why do you think president Biden 292 00:11:27,884 --> 00:11:28,785 was so successful 293 00:11:29,245 --> 00:11:31,264 given that he was a single term president 294 00:11:31,404 --> 00:11:34,144 and got certainly a whole lot more done 295 00:11:34,445 --> 00:11:36,785 in his first term than than president Obama 296 00:11:36,845 --> 00:11:37,345 did? 297 00:11:38,684 --> 00:11:40,785 It's almost as though he 298 00:11:41,409 --> 00:11:43,809 had it in mind for himself and set 299 00:11:43,809 --> 00:11:45,190 the tone in his administration 300 00:11:45,649 --> 00:11:47,649 in terms of what if this is it? 301 00:11:47,649 --> 00:11:49,490 What if this is all the time we 302 00:11:49,490 --> 00:11:52,610 have? And so he set the tone early 303 00:11:52,610 --> 00:11:55,169 with his executive order on tackling the climate 304 00:11:55,169 --> 00:11:56,789 crisis at home and abroad. 305 00:11:57,204 --> 00:11:59,524 That's, an elegant name for a lot of 306 00:11:59,524 --> 00:12:00,024 really 307 00:12:00,485 --> 00:12:00,985 important, 308 00:12:01,764 --> 00:12:04,664 goals and objectives that were government wide, including 309 00:12:05,284 --> 00:12:08,105 it established the national goal of protecting 30% 310 00:12:08,325 --> 00:12:10,105 of America's lands and waters 311 00:12:10,529 --> 00:12:13,750 by 2030 and also called for government agencies 312 00:12:14,209 --> 00:12:15,649 to come up with a plan for how 313 00:12:15,649 --> 00:12:17,169 to reach that goal. And so that is 314 00:12:17,169 --> 00:12:18,309 what we, 315 00:12:18,929 --> 00:12:21,750 what led to the America the Beautiful initiative. 316 00:12:21,889 --> 00:12:24,209 So I think there's a tremendous amount to 317 00:12:24,209 --> 00:12:27,095 be said for setting that as an expectation 318 00:12:27,235 --> 00:12:29,894 and and asking for accountability upfront. 319 00:12:31,235 --> 00:12:33,475 I would add that president Biden really just 320 00:12:33,475 --> 00:12:34,835 got in there and got it done. You 321 00:12:34,835 --> 00:12:36,855 know, he came in with the understanding that 322 00:12:36,995 --> 00:12:38,855 there really is no time to waste, 323 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:41,399 that we if we want to allow future 324 00:12:41,399 --> 00:12:41,899 generations 325 00:12:42,759 --> 00:12:45,500 to enjoy these outdoor spaces like we do, 326 00:12:45,639 --> 00:12:47,799 then public man protections need to happen, and 327 00:12:47,799 --> 00:12:48,700 they need to happen 328 00:12:49,159 --> 00:12:49,659 now. 329 00:12:50,759 --> 00:12:51,259 And, 330 00:12:52,105 --> 00:12:53,304 you know, by the end of his first 331 00:12:53,304 --> 00:12:53,804 term, 332 00:12:54,745 --> 00:12:55,804 president Obama, 333 00:12:56,504 --> 00:12:58,664 had only protected about 20,000 acres. And let's 334 00:12:58,664 --> 00:13:00,264 not forget, by the end of president Obama's 335 00:13:00,264 --> 00:13:02,504 second term, he had increased that to over 336 00:13:02,504 --> 00:13:03,644 5,000,000 acres. 337 00:13:04,664 --> 00:13:07,480 But but president Biden, just after one term, 338 00:13:07,480 --> 00:13:10,139 he protected over 4,000,000 acres using the antiquities 339 00:13:10,199 --> 00:13:10,699 act, 340 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:13,480 and that is that is really impressive. I 341 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:15,179 mean, president Obama was a fantastic 342 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:16,699 president on conservation, 343 00:13:17,414 --> 00:13:18,534 but it took him a term to get 344 00:13:18,534 --> 00:13:21,674 warmed up. And and president Biden really just, 345 00:13:22,294 --> 00:13:23,754 came in there ready to rock. 346 00:13:24,375 --> 00:13:26,214 And, Lauren, it should be noted that the 347 00:13:26,214 --> 00:13:26,714 president 348 00:13:27,095 --> 00:13:29,115 had a supportive congress, 349 00:13:29,820 --> 00:13:31,660 through through at least part of his term, 350 00:13:31,660 --> 00:13:33,120 and that made a a big difference. 351 00:13:34,220 --> 00:13:35,600 Oh my gosh. Yes. 352 00:13:36,540 --> 00:13:39,420 Insert wistful sigh of how much you can 353 00:13:39,420 --> 00:13:40,160 get done 354 00:13:40,620 --> 00:13:42,399 when you have congressional 355 00:13:42,779 --> 00:13:45,120 champions, and that certainly helped. That helped 356 00:13:45,444 --> 00:13:48,164 in terms of laying the groundwork for the 357 00:13:48,164 --> 00:13:49,944 transition to clean energy, 358 00:13:50,884 --> 00:13:52,345 preparing the next generation 359 00:13:52,964 --> 00:13:54,985 of climate leaders through the 360 00:13:55,524 --> 00:13:58,804 American Climate Corps. Those are things that he 361 00:13:58,804 --> 00:13:59,304 had 362 00:13:59,669 --> 00:14:01,909 congressional champions help get over the finish line 363 00:14:01,909 --> 00:14:04,309 as well as the passage of some really 364 00:14:04,309 --> 00:14:04,809 critical 365 00:14:05,350 --> 00:14:07,909 legislation that funded all of these efforts, including 366 00:14:07,909 --> 00:14:08,649 the bipartisan 367 00:14:08,950 --> 00:14:10,809 infrastructure law and the inflation 368 00:14:11,350 --> 00:14:14,225 reduction act, which I understand is the largest 369 00:14:14,225 --> 00:14:17,524 investment in climate mitigation efforts that the world 370 00:14:17,585 --> 00:14:19,904 has seen. So big deal that that got 371 00:14:19,904 --> 00:14:21,125 over the finish line. 372 00:14:22,384 --> 00:14:22,884 So 373 00:14:23,264 --> 00:14:25,045 Biden also used the 374 00:14:25,690 --> 00:14:28,809 antiquities act to designate national monuments honoring civil 375 00:14:28,809 --> 00:14:30,429 rights and indigenous history. 376 00:14:31,049 --> 00:14:33,209 You know, these aren't really land protection, so 377 00:14:33,209 --> 00:14:35,370 they sometimes get overlooked in our community, but 378 00:14:35,370 --> 00:14:36,029 they are, 379 00:14:36,330 --> 00:14:38,565 a good argument for the antiquities act, which, 380 00:14:38,565 --> 00:14:40,565 as we know, is about to come under 381 00:14:40,565 --> 00:14:41,044 fire, 382 00:14:42,004 --> 00:14:43,144 in the Trump administration. 383 00:14:43,524 --> 00:14:46,004 Lauren, what were some of those monuments that 384 00:14:46,004 --> 00:14:46,904 Biden designated, 385 00:14:47,924 --> 00:14:49,384 to sort of honor history? 386 00:14:50,565 --> 00:14:51,065 So 387 00:14:51,839 --> 00:14:54,899 president Biden and his administration saw the antiquities 388 00:14:55,039 --> 00:14:57,120 act as a tool, not just for land 389 00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,679 and resource protection, but also something that can 390 00:14:59,679 --> 00:15:02,019 be applied toward national healing 391 00:15:02,480 --> 00:15:03,220 and acknowledgment 392 00:15:03,600 --> 00:15:05,715 of some of the events of our past. 393 00:15:05,715 --> 00:15:09,154 Some that are, traumatic in terms of the 394 00:15:09,154 --> 00:15:12,294 internment of Japanese Americans during World War 2, 395 00:15:12,674 --> 00:15:15,014 the murder and lynching of Emmett Till. 396 00:15:15,634 --> 00:15:16,294 The president 397 00:15:16,754 --> 00:15:19,154 used his authority under the antiquities act to 398 00:15:19,154 --> 00:15:19,654 create 399 00:15:20,159 --> 00:15:23,279 new cultural monuments and historic sites that that 400 00:15:23,279 --> 00:15:23,779 honor, 401 00:15:24,559 --> 00:15:25,059 the 402 00:15:26,079 --> 00:15:28,980 the legacy and the struggle of those events. 403 00:15:29,039 --> 00:15:31,759 And so that was a a key piece 404 00:15:31,759 --> 00:15:34,375 of his use of the antiquities act. Yeah. 405 00:15:34,375 --> 00:15:35,815 That's a really good point. And I think 406 00:15:35,815 --> 00:15:38,375 that it's something that is worth stating even 407 00:15:38,375 --> 00:15:40,375 though it's maybe obvious is that the Biden 408 00:15:40,375 --> 00:15:43,174 administration was really intentional with how they were 409 00:15:43,174 --> 00:15:45,674 protecting lands and what lands they were protecting 410 00:15:45,975 --> 00:15:47,115 and who they had, 411 00:15:47,975 --> 00:15:50,259 you know, in the room when those lands 412 00:15:50,259 --> 00:15:52,019 were protected. So I feel like the it 413 00:15:52,019 --> 00:15:52,899 was a, 414 00:15:53,779 --> 00:15:56,420 it was we're moving into this age of, 415 00:15:56,980 --> 00:15:59,059 conservation where it is a little bit more 416 00:15:59,059 --> 00:16:01,700 intersectional and there is it's less about just, 417 00:16:01,700 --> 00:16:03,985 like, wilderness and putting acres on the board. 418 00:16:03,985 --> 00:16:05,745 And it's more about who does this help? 419 00:16:05,745 --> 00:16:07,745 Who does this benefit? Whose story does this 420 00:16:07,745 --> 00:16:09,585 tell? And I feel like we really saw 421 00:16:09,585 --> 00:16:11,445 that sort of 21st, 422 00:16:12,545 --> 00:16:13,045 century 423 00:16:13,985 --> 00:16:16,085 concept of conservation come into 424 00:16:16,649 --> 00:16:19,289 focus under the Biden administration. So I'm glad 425 00:16:19,289 --> 00:16:20,429 you guys brought that up. 426 00:16:21,129 --> 00:16:21,789 And certainly 427 00:16:22,250 --> 00:16:24,009 I just wanna add that also certainly, that's 428 00:16:24,009 --> 00:16:26,490 true at Camp Hale in Colorado where we're 429 00:16:26,490 --> 00:16:26,990 acknowledging 430 00:16:27,610 --> 00:16:30,975 both the outdoors that that played such a 431 00:16:30,975 --> 00:16:32,514 central role in training 432 00:16:32,975 --> 00:16:36,254 the troops for for World War 2, that 433 00:16:36,254 --> 00:16:38,894 the landscape and the history in that case 434 00:16:38,894 --> 00:16:39,715 are interconnected. 435 00:16:40,415 --> 00:16:42,835 And one of the monument campaigns 436 00:16:43,269 --> 00:16:45,350 that did not make it over the finish 437 00:16:45,350 --> 00:16:48,649 line was Swabhi, swamp cedars in Nevada, 438 00:16:49,029 --> 00:16:51,029 where the the tribes were very clear that 439 00:16:51,029 --> 00:16:52,009 this is honoring 440 00:16:52,389 --> 00:16:54,389 hallowed ground, the the site of, 441 00:16:55,350 --> 00:16:57,850 of a terrible massacre. And there is more 442 00:16:58,304 --> 00:16:59,524 work to be done. 443 00:16:59,985 --> 00:17:02,465 And we can hope that either congress or 444 00:17:02,465 --> 00:17:03,365 a Trump administration 445 00:17:03,904 --> 00:17:06,144 will go in and look at places like 446 00:17:06,144 --> 00:17:09,845 Musawby and and acknowledge that protecting the land 447 00:17:10,464 --> 00:17:12,390 is protecting history in these cases. 448 00:17:12,710 --> 00:17:14,630 Right. And and sorry not to belabor this 449 00:17:14,630 --> 00:17:16,390 point, but I do think when you have 450 00:17:16,390 --> 00:17:16,890 conservation, 451 00:17:17,589 --> 00:17:19,509 when you're viewing it from this bottom up 452 00:17:19,509 --> 00:17:22,570 model, it becomes less partisan, which, of course, 453 00:17:22,630 --> 00:17:23,369 is helpful 454 00:17:24,734 --> 00:17:25,954 in every sense. 455 00:17:26,414 --> 00:17:28,095 You know, protecting these lands, 456 00:17:28,575 --> 00:17:31,075 shouldn't be political. And when you start with 457 00:17:31,454 --> 00:17:33,454 real people on the ground saying this is 458 00:17:33,615 --> 00:17:35,615 this really matters to me, I think you 459 00:17:35,615 --> 00:17:38,654 can, avoid some of the the partisanship that 460 00:17:38,654 --> 00:17:40,190 sometimes comes with conservation. 461 00:17:41,289 --> 00:17:42,890 And I think that leads us, of course, 462 00:17:42,890 --> 00:17:45,149 to to tribal land stewardship 463 00:17:45,609 --> 00:17:46,429 co management, 464 00:17:47,210 --> 00:17:47,710 and 465 00:17:48,089 --> 00:17:50,589 what president Biden did there, 466 00:17:51,289 --> 00:17:52,829 Lauren, I think is really remarkable. 467 00:17:54,184 --> 00:17:56,605 It is. There have been tribal consultation 468 00:17:56,904 --> 00:17:59,224 laws on the books for for decades, but 469 00:17:59,224 --> 00:18:01,224 in some cases, that's been more of a 470 00:18:01,224 --> 00:18:04,525 checking the box exercise rather than meaningful consultation. 471 00:18:04,825 --> 00:18:05,325 So 472 00:18:05,704 --> 00:18:07,549 the president and his administration 473 00:18:07,849 --> 00:18:10,269 sought to engage with tribal nations and leaders 474 00:18:10,409 --> 00:18:11,630 early on as partners 475 00:18:12,169 --> 00:18:12,569 and, 476 00:18:13,289 --> 00:18:15,230 updating some of those tribal consultation 477 00:18:16,009 --> 00:18:18,650 procedures and and guidelines, as well as bringing 478 00:18:18,650 --> 00:18:21,950 more indigenous people into leadership roles within agencies 479 00:18:22,054 --> 00:18:25,255 like secretary Holland and Chuck Sams, the director 480 00:18:25,255 --> 00:18:26,714 of the National Park Service. 481 00:18:27,174 --> 00:18:28,394 The president also 482 00:18:28,855 --> 00:18:32,454 reengaged with tribal nations on an annual basis 483 00:18:32,454 --> 00:18:34,934 by restarting the White House Tribal Nations Conference, 484 00:18:34,934 --> 00:18:37,880 something that had been done under president Obama 485 00:18:37,880 --> 00:18:38,359 and, 486 00:18:38,759 --> 00:18:40,700 was halted under president Trump. 487 00:18:41,400 --> 00:18:42,759 Yeah. And let I mean, let's just look 488 00:18:42,759 --> 00:18:46,440 at the most recent, national monument designation. Satitla 489 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:49,400 Highlands National Monument, in Northern California, that is 490 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:50,059 an effort 491 00:18:50,505 --> 00:18:53,005 totally led by the the Pit River Nation. 492 00:18:53,464 --> 00:18:55,704 And president Biden did a phenomenal job of 493 00:18:55,704 --> 00:18:58,345 listening to their requests of of land protection 494 00:18:58,345 --> 00:19:01,065 for these lands that are healing, that are 495 00:19:01,065 --> 00:19:01,565 sacred. 496 00:19:02,184 --> 00:19:04,049 Yeah. And and one thing that, 497 00:19:04,610 --> 00:19:07,009 bears mentioning is the the final Bears Ears 498 00:19:07,009 --> 00:19:10,309 National Monument Management Plan, which was just finalized, 499 00:19:10,690 --> 00:19:11,670 just in time. 500 00:19:11,970 --> 00:19:12,850 And it really, 501 00:19:14,369 --> 00:19:16,470 the the BLM in that plan, 502 00:19:16,825 --> 00:19:18,585 you know, it was the first plan developed 503 00:19:18,585 --> 00:19:21,884 in coordination with tribes, with the the tribal 504 00:19:21,945 --> 00:19:24,605 commission that was created by the monument proclamation. 505 00:19:25,144 --> 00:19:26,684 So that's pretty historic, 506 00:19:27,384 --> 00:19:29,945 and it's just awesome to see that the 507 00:19:29,945 --> 00:19:32,525 Biden administration got that over the finish line, 508 00:19:33,119 --> 00:19:34,720 because I think it will have some lasting 509 00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:36,579 power, hopefully, under the Trump administration 510 00:19:36,960 --> 00:19:38,900 regardless of what happens to the monument. 511 00:19:39,599 --> 00:19:42,240 And that's certainly the most high profile example, 512 00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:44,720 I think, just given the national attention on 513 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:45,220 the 514 00:19:45,664 --> 00:19:48,944 establishment and illegal reduction and then restoration of 515 00:19:48,944 --> 00:19:51,444 Bears Ears. But over the course of 516 00:19:51,744 --> 00:19:54,144 president Biden's term, the interior department and the 517 00:19:54,144 --> 00:19:54,964 forest service, 518 00:19:55,904 --> 00:19:58,244 committed up front to enhancing tribal management 519 00:19:58,919 --> 00:20:01,259 efforts, and that led to over 400 520 00:20:01,639 --> 00:20:03,720 co management agreements that have been signed since 521 00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:05,019 the beginning of the administration. 522 00:20:05,639 --> 00:20:07,559 That's so awesome. That number, I feel like, 523 00:20:07,559 --> 00:20:09,559 is not getting enough attention. So I'm glad 524 00:20:09,559 --> 00:20:10,940 you brought that up. Thanks, Lauren. 525 00:20:12,424 --> 00:20:14,984 So we we mentioned Chuckwalla and Satitla National 526 00:20:14,984 --> 00:20:17,224 Monuments, which were were both tribally led. 527 00:20:18,265 --> 00:20:18,765 The 528 00:20:19,144 --> 00:20:22,105 White House, when they created those monuments, announced 529 00:20:22,105 --> 00:20:24,585 this that they'd also created the largest stretch 530 00:20:24,585 --> 00:20:26,390 of protected land in North America. 531 00:20:26,690 --> 00:20:27,590 They're calling it 532 00:20:27,970 --> 00:20:30,850 the Moab to Mohave conservation corridor, and this 533 00:20:30,850 --> 00:20:32,930 kind of caught me by surprise. I hadn't 534 00:20:32,930 --> 00:20:34,070 heard about this before, 535 00:20:34,850 --> 00:20:36,070 last week. So, 536 00:20:37,009 --> 00:20:39,250 why is that important, Sterling, and what sort 537 00:20:39,250 --> 00:20:40,549 of makes up that corridor? 538 00:20:41,565 --> 00:20:43,424 Well, I think you're not alone in, 539 00:20:44,204 --> 00:20:46,525 in saying that you hadn't heard of it 540 00:20:46,525 --> 00:20:48,605 before. Honestly, I'm not sure the Biden administration 541 00:20:48,605 --> 00:20:50,204 themselves had heard of it before they did 542 00:20:50,204 --> 00:20:50,704 it. 543 00:20:51,404 --> 00:20:53,085 So someone looked at the map and realized 544 00:20:53,085 --> 00:20:55,480 what they'd just done? Exactly. Yep. Yep. We 545 00:20:55,480 --> 00:20:56,839 were joking around that the maps guy was 546 00:20:56,839 --> 00:20:58,519 like, you know what? I think we did 547 00:20:58,519 --> 00:20:59,259 something here. 548 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:02,859 So, I mean, it's true. Yeah. Biden 549 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:04,859 used the antiquities act, 550 00:21:05,799 --> 00:21:07,660 so well that he created, 551 00:21:08,105 --> 00:21:10,345 whether on purpose or not, this 600 mile 552 00:21:10,345 --> 00:21:11,164 stretch of 553 00:21:12,345 --> 00:21:14,285 contiguous landscape that is now protected 554 00:21:14,744 --> 00:21:17,724 is the longest contiguous stretch of protected 555 00:21:18,184 --> 00:21:21,009 public lands in the continental United States. The 556 00:21:21,009 --> 00:21:23,250 Moab to Mohave conservation corridor, and it it 557 00:21:23,250 --> 00:21:24,710 includes places that president 558 00:21:25,250 --> 00:21:27,410 Biden protected using the antiquities act of Ekua 559 00:21:27,410 --> 00:21:28,470 Mae National Monument, 560 00:21:29,410 --> 00:21:32,470 Chuckwalla National Monument as of just this year, 561 00:21:32,609 --> 00:21:35,089 Grand Staircase Escalante, Bears Ears. These are places 562 00:21:35,089 --> 00:21:35,750 he restored. 563 00:21:36,134 --> 00:21:39,035 I mean, looking at president Biden's conservation legacy, 564 00:21:39,174 --> 00:21:39,674 he 565 00:21:41,095 --> 00:21:42,695 he dropped a bomb with this one. I 566 00:21:42,695 --> 00:21:43,515 mean, 608 567 00:21:44,375 --> 00:21:47,595 600 miles is nothing to sneeze at. And 568 00:21:48,440 --> 00:21:50,619 and, you know, as time goes on, 569 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:53,400 it is harder and harder to find places 570 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:54,619 that aren't interrupted 571 00:21:54,920 --> 00:21:57,319 by human development. I mean, that's the definition 572 00:21:57,319 --> 00:21:58,059 of contiguous. 573 00:21:58,599 --> 00:21:59,099 Right? 574 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:02,140 And so to have this space in 575 00:22:02,714 --> 00:22:03,855 in Southwest, 576 00:22:05,035 --> 00:22:08,234 in the Southwest United States is so important 577 00:22:08,234 --> 00:22:09,134 not just for, 578 00:22:09,755 --> 00:22:12,815 the conservation of it, the the tribal recognition 579 00:22:12,954 --> 00:22:13,934 that these lands 580 00:22:14,315 --> 00:22:14,974 were where 581 00:22:15,740 --> 00:22:18,700 indigenous peoples traveled along the Colorado River, but 582 00:22:18,700 --> 00:22:21,580 also for wildlife. You know? Wildlife need these 583 00:22:21,580 --> 00:22:24,799 spaces that aren't interrupted by by human development. 584 00:22:25,660 --> 00:22:28,375 So in addition to protecting lands and waters, 585 00:22:28,375 --> 00:22:30,454 Biden also made public lands part of the 586 00:22:30,454 --> 00:22:33,095 renewable energy transition. And this is, you know, 587 00:22:33,095 --> 00:22:35,994 not necessarily conservation, but it is important. 588 00:22:36,535 --> 00:22:38,154 How did he do that, Lauren? 589 00:22:39,414 --> 00:22:40,315 Yeah. So 590 00:22:40,859 --> 00:22:42,079 early on, the administration 591 00:22:42,380 --> 00:22:43,680 set a goal to permit 592 00:22:44,539 --> 00:22:47,740 25 gigawatts of new clean energy on public 593 00:22:47,740 --> 00:22:48,880 lands by 2025. 594 00:22:49,500 --> 00:22:51,980 And they actually achieved that goal this past 595 00:22:51,980 --> 00:22:53,200 April in 2024, 596 00:22:53,500 --> 00:22:56,434 which was obviously several months in advance. And 597 00:22:56,434 --> 00:22:59,575 in the end, the BLM approved 45 renewable 598 00:22:59,634 --> 00:23:03,255 energy project projects with the capacity to generate 599 00:23:03,795 --> 00:23:06,615 33 gigawatts, which is enough to power 600 00:23:07,075 --> 00:23:07,575 15,000,000 601 00:23:07,955 --> 00:23:08,855 homes. So 602 00:23:09,220 --> 00:23:11,779 part of what allowed the agency and the 603 00:23:11,779 --> 00:23:14,360 administration writ large to achieve this milestone 604 00:23:15,059 --> 00:23:18,259 was the necessity to update some regulations and 605 00:23:18,259 --> 00:23:19,880 incentives that would make it 606 00:23:20,180 --> 00:23:23,795 easier to both thoughtfully cite renewable energy development 607 00:23:23,855 --> 00:23:24,994 on public lands, 608 00:23:25,855 --> 00:23:28,414 and then just provide a framework for how 609 00:23:28,414 --> 00:23:30,434 to do so in a way that has 610 00:23:30,815 --> 00:23:33,855 fewer resource conflicts. Because as as you all 611 00:23:33,855 --> 00:23:35,694 were mentioning just a second ago, there's 612 00:23:36,150 --> 00:23:38,809 there just aren't going to be more public 613 00:23:39,029 --> 00:23:41,269 lands, more land in the US. It's it's 614 00:23:41,269 --> 00:23:43,769 a finite thing, and there's certainly pressure, 615 00:23:44,549 --> 00:23:46,410 for it to serve a lot of purposes. 616 00:23:46,470 --> 00:23:48,434 So the fact that they managed to to 617 00:23:48,434 --> 00:23:49,634 do this in a way that brings a 618 00:23:49,634 --> 00:23:52,274 lot of renewable capacity online and keeping in 619 00:23:52,274 --> 00:23:54,434 mind some of those conflicts is is really 620 00:23:54,434 --> 00:23:54,934 remarkable. 621 00:23:56,034 --> 00:23:57,875 And I think you also have to acknowledge 622 00:23:57,875 --> 00:23:59,575 the oil and gas reforms 623 00:24:00,115 --> 00:24:03,174 that got done, first under the inflation reduction 624 00:24:03,234 --> 00:24:03,734 act, 625 00:24:04,490 --> 00:24:06,830 and then the rule making that followed. 626 00:24:08,009 --> 00:24:08,990 That overhauled 627 00:24:09,369 --> 00:24:11,850 a oil and gas leasing system that had 628 00:24:11,850 --> 00:24:14,890 been rigged in the industry's favor for a 629 00:24:14,890 --> 00:24:15,390 century. 630 00:24:16,105 --> 00:24:19,464 So fixing a 100 year problem is nothing 631 00:24:19,464 --> 00:24:21,865 to sneeze at, and that that credit goes 632 00:24:21,865 --> 00:24:22,924 to both congress 633 00:24:23,384 --> 00:24:24,764 and secretary Holland, 634 00:24:25,224 --> 00:24:26,044 and, of course, 635 00:24:26,424 --> 00:24:29,244 Bureau of Land Management director Tracy Stone Manning, 636 00:24:29,384 --> 00:24:30,764 who got that stuff 637 00:24:31,230 --> 00:24:31,730 done. 638 00:24:32,349 --> 00:24:33,569 And those 639 00:24:34,109 --> 00:24:35,009 those overhauls, 640 00:24:35,710 --> 00:24:37,789 most of which are required by law and 641 00:24:37,789 --> 00:24:40,029 a little bit was done through a a 642 00:24:40,029 --> 00:24:42,750 durable rule making, that really is going to 643 00:24:42,750 --> 00:24:44,130 have a long term 644 00:24:44,670 --> 00:24:45,170 difference, 645 00:24:46,244 --> 00:24:49,765 in terms of how America manages publicly owned 646 00:24:49,765 --> 00:24:51,845 oil and gas, both in terms of making 647 00:24:51,845 --> 00:24:52,904 sure we are not 648 00:24:53,285 --> 00:24:55,845 locking up acres unnecessarily that are never gonna 649 00:24:55,845 --> 00:24:57,845 get drilled and making sure that when oil 650 00:24:57,845 --> 00:25:00,579 and gas gets drilled, that taxpayers get a 651 00:25:00,579 --> 00:25:01,480 fair return. 652 00:25:02,419 --> 00:25:04,419 So then I think we have to look 653 00:25:04,419 --> 00:25:06,500 forward to what happens next as we're recording 654 00:25:06,500 --> 00:25:07,000 this, 655 00:25:07,460 --> 00:25:10,339 on Wednesday. There are, by my math, a 656 00:25:10,339 --> 00:25:13,240 120 hours left in the Biden presidency. 657 00:25:14,335 --> 00:25:15,154 We know that 658 00:25:15,855 --> 00:25:18,494 president-elect Trump has already pledged to try to 659 00:25:18,494 --> 00:25:21,055 roll back a number of national monuments, something 660 00:25:21,055 --> 00:25:23,615 that he tried to do the last time 661 00:25:23,615 --> 00:25:26,115 around. Lauren, just refresh our memory. 662 00:25:26,579 --> 00:25:27,079 What 663 00:25:27,539 --> 00:25:30,359 happened back then, what, about 7 years ago? 664 00:25:30,740 --> 00:25:34,019 Yeah. The public outcry was immediate. It was 665 00:25:34,019 --> 00:25:36,759 swift and unequivocal. People hated 666 00:25:37,140 --> 00:25:38,519 the Trump, and then 667 00:25:39,125 --> 00:25:40,025 and then interior 668 00:25:40,325 --> 00:25:41,705 secretary Ryan Zinke 669 00:25:42,085 --> 00:25:44,565 did that. And the polling results, even in 670 00:25:44,565 --> 00:25:45,065 Utah, 671 00:25:45,445 --> 00:25:46,585 reflected that sentiment. 672 00:25:47,045 --> 00:25:48,725 Yeah. They they they did a whole public 673 00:25:48,725 --> 00:25:51,065 comment process on this national monument 674 00:25:51,445 --> 00:25:53,065 review, and 99% 675 00:25:54,164 --> 00:25:55,519 of the public comments 676 00:25:55,900 --> 00:25:58,460 told them to leave national monuments alone. I 677 00:25:58,460 --> 00:25:59,440 mean, it's just 678 00:26:00,460 --> 00:26:03,500 crazy when you think about any subject in 679 00:26:03,500 --> 00:26:04,000 America 680 00:26:04,380 --> 00:26:05,600 where there is 99% 681 00:26:06,940 --> 00:26:09,660 agreement, and that folks care enough about to 682 00:26:09,660 --> 00:26:11,954 write into to to their elected officials and 683 00:26:11,954 --> 00:26:14,434 tell them, oh, gosh. No. Do not do 684 00:26:14,434 --> 00:26:15,174 this. So, 685 00:26:16,275 --> 00:26:18,595 and we continue to see that year after 686 00:26:18,595 --> 00:26:21,394 year in public polling. Lauren, what did we 687 00:26:21,394 --> 00:26:22,375 just see this week? 688 00:26:22,849 --> 00:26:26,369 Yeah. Exactly. The Grand Canyon Trust commissioned some 689 00:26:26,369 --> 00:26:27,029 new polling 690 00:26:27,410 --> 00:26:29,029 in both Utah and Arizona 691 00:26:29,650 --> 00:26:32,549 that was just released yesterday, and it reinforced 692 00:26:32,609 --> 00:26:34,930 how much people love the monuments in their 693 00:26:34,930 --> 00:26:35,910 state and support 694 00:26:36,434 --> 00:26:37,255 their existence 695 00:26:37,634 --> 00:26:39,794 going forward, with the majority saying they wanna 696 00:26:39,794 --> 00:26:42,774 keep Bears Ears, Grand Staircase, and Bajnavio 697 00:26:43,315 --> 00:26:43,815 Itaukukfani 698 00:26:44,674 --> 00:26:47,234 as they are. So it's it might not 699 00:26:47,234 --> 00:26:48,054 be 99%, 700 00:26:48,674 --> 00:26:50,595 but it's a a majority of voters in 701 00:26:50,595 --> 00:26:53,259 those states. Yeah. And of Republicans, if I 702 00:26:53,259 --> 00:26:54,240 remember correctly. 703 00:26:54,700 --> 00:26:55,200 True. 704 00:26:56,059 --> 00:26:58,299 Sterling, you sort of have an interesting window 705 00:26:58,299 --> 00:27:01,340 into public sentiment because you run our TikTok 706 00:27:01,340 --> 00:27:01,840 account, 707 00:27:02,619 --> 00:27:03,100 where you've 708 00:27:03,704 --> 00:27:05,625 and and our some of our insta you 709 00:27:05,625 --> 00:27:07,464 make our Instagram reels as well, and some 710 00:27:07,464 --> 00:27:08,284 of these have 711 00:27:08,585 --> 00:27:09,085 really, 712 00:27:10,105 --> 00:27:12,585 gone viral recently. So what are you hearing 713 00:27:12,585 --> 00:27:15,325 and seeing from people online about public lands? 714 00:27:15,619 --> 00:27:17,059 Oh my gosh. Well, I'll I'll use a 715 00:27:17,059 --> 00:27:18,820 recent example. We've been doing a lot of 716 00:27:18,820 --> 00:27:19,799 coverage of, 717 00:27:20,500 --> 00:27:23,720 Utah's latest attempt to to seize control of, 718 00:27:24,420 --> 00:27:25,480 what they call unappropriated 719 00:27:26,100 --> 00:27:27,555 public lands in their state. 720 00:27:28,115 --> 00:27:29,795 And these are national public lands, so they 721 00:27:29,795 --> 00:27:32,674 belong to all Americans across the the United 722 00:27:32,674 --> 00:27:33,174 States. 723 00:27:34,355 --> 00:27:35,715 But I made a video about it because 724 00:27:35,715 --> 00:27:37,735 the supreme court denied to hear Utah's, 725 00:27:38,835 --> 00:27:40,134 case that they want 726 00:27:40,769 --> 00:27:43,490 18,000,000 acres of public lands to be transferred 727 00:27:43,490 --> 00:27:44,230 to the state. 728 00:27:44,690 --> 00:27:45,970 I made a video about it, and it 729 00:27:45,970 --> 00:27:48,609 blew up, and there are over 500 comments. 730 00:27:48,609 --> 00:27:50,369 And as I've been looking through these comments, 731 00:27:50,369 --> 00:27:51,430 people are saying 732 00:27:51,890 --> 00:27:54,369 that they want public lands to remain in 733 00:27:54,369 --> 00:27:56,734 public hands. You know. They want their national 734 00:27:56,734 --> 00:27:57,954 public lands to remain, 735 00:28:00,255 --> 00:28:00,755 accessible, 736 00:28:02,654 --> 00:28:05,454 for fishing, for hiking, for camping, for for 737 00:28:05,454 --> 00:28:07,615 all their their recreation purposes, and they don't 738 00:28:07,615 --> 00:28:09,934 want their public lands to be sold off 739 00:28:09,934 --> 00:28:10,434 to 740 00:28:10,799 --> 00:28:11,299 to, 741 00:28:12,559 --> 00:28:15,700 developers, to the oil and gas industry, to 742 00:28:15,759 --> 00:28:17,539 mining companies, you know. 743 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:20,400 And so across the board, I mean, I'm 744 00:28:20,559 --> 00:28:22,799 seriously, like, 500 comments on this one video. 745 00:28:22,799 --> 00:28:24,160 I've been looking at all the comments, and 746 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:26,420 I think I've seen one that says 747 00:28:27,654 --> 00:28:30,214 that Utah was was right in in making 748 00:28:30,214 --> 00:28:31,494 this lawsuit. So I'll let you do the 749 00:28:31,494 --> 00:28:33,575 math there on what percentage that is of 750 00:28:33,575 --> 00:28:34,634 people who support 751 00:28:35,015 --> 00:28:37,575 national monuments. But, I mean, people love their 752 00:28:37,575 --> 00:28:39,914 public lands, and they don't want to see 753 00:28:39,974 --> 00:28:41,755 protections for those public places, 754 00:28:42,419 --> 00:28:43,399 be rolled back. 755 00:28:45,059 --> 00:28:47,700 So speaking of protections, how much of the 756 00:28:47,700 --> 00:28:51,220 progress made under Biden is at stake under 757 00:28:51,220 --> 00:28:53,379 Trump, Lauren? I know we've touched on this, 758 00:28:53,379 --> 00:28:55,379 but but can you sort of pull it 759 00:28:55,379 --> 00:28:56,474 all together for us? 760 00:28:57,595 --> 00:28:59,515 I'll try. I mean, the good and the 761 00:28:59,515 --> 00:29:01,835 bad news is that they've told us what 762 00:29:01,835 --> 00:29:04,015 they're gonna do in their project 2025, 763 00:29:04,474 --> 00:29:06,634 whether Trump wants to say he knew nothing 764 00:29:06,634 --> 00:29:07,694 about it or not. 765 00:29:08,554 --> 00:29:09,054 Many 766 00:29:09,380 --> 00:29:11,539 folks who had served in the 1st Trump 767 00:29:11,539 --> 00:29:12,039 administration, 768 00:29:13,059 --> 00:29:14,500 said what they wanna do in terms of 769 00:29:14,500 --> 00:29:16,200 public lands and oil and gas. 770 00:29:16,740 --> 00:29:19,220 So while we don't know for sure when 771 00:29:19,220 --> 00:29:20,759 or what or what they'll actually 772 00:29:21,140 --> 00:29:21,640 target, 773 00:29:21,940 --> 00:29:24,100 they have given us their road map. And 774 00:29:24,100 --> 00:29:24,600 so 775 00:29:25,404 --> 00:29:26,384 I I think 776 00:29:27,085 --> 00:29:29,805 the bottom line is that any time we 777 00:29:29,805 --> 00:29:31,984 spend going backward or not making 778 00:29:32,525 --> 00:29:36,384 progress reducing our carbon emissions or protecting biodiversity 779 00:29:36,605 --> 00:29:37,424 and ecosystems 780 00:29:38,359 --> 00:29:39,580 as much as possible 781 00:29:39,960 --> 00:29:42,299 is time that we simply don't have. 782 00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:43,180 Okay. 783 00:29:44,119 --> 00:29:46,519 Completely accurate. We don't have any time to 784 00:29:46,519 --> 00:29:48,279 waste, but there is some good news here. 785 00:29:48,279 --> 00:29:49,100 Right, Erin? 786 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:50,055 Like, 787 00:29:50,455 --> 00:29:53,195 these some of these regulations and and changes 788 00:29:53,414 --> 00:29:54,555 will be hard to undo. 789 00:29:55,335 --> 00:29:56,055 That's right. 790 00:29:56,775 --> 00:29:59,095 One of the things that, especially, the Bureau 791 00:29:59,095 --> 00:30:02,134 of Land Management did right is they got 792 00:30:02,134 --> 00:30:05,069 these rules over the finish line in a 793 00:30:05,069 --> 00:30:07,569 way that they are durable. They can't just 794 00:30:07,950 --> 00:30:11,069 be reversed using the congressional review act. And 795 00:30:11,069 --> 00:30:12,529 we know from the past 796 00:30:12,829 --> 00:30:14,690 that the the first Trump administration 797 00:30:15,309 --> 00:30:17,630 tried to cut so many corners that a 798 00:30:17,630 --> 00:30:19,409 great deal of their 799 00:30:19,835 --> 00:30:23,275 anti conservation agenda didn't stick because they didn't 800 00:30:23,275 --> 00:30:26,174 follow the law. Things like the Administrative Procedures 801 00:30:26,315 --> 00:30:29,355 Act. Things like NEPA, the National Environmental Policy 802 00:30:29,355 --> 00:30:31,115 Act. The Clean Water Act, the Clean Air 803 00:30:31,115 --> 00:30:31,615 Act. 804 00:30:32,019 --> 00:30:34,180 Those are all in place and those are 805 00:30:34,180 --> 00:30:35,559 all strong safeguards 806 00:30:36,740 --> 00:30:39,640 for our public lands, for our clean water. 807 00:30:39,940 --> 00:30:41,960 And the at the administrative 808 00:30:42,339 --> 00:30:43,319 level at least, 809 00:30:43,619 --> 00:30:46,980 they really do put some serious handcuffs on 810 00:30:46,980 --> 00:30:47,595 any attempts 811 00:30:48,075 --> 00:30:50,575 to just wholesale get rid of 812 00:30:50,875 --> 00:30:54,575 these land protections and these new environmental patrol, 813 00:30:54,875 --> 00:30:56,654 and and these new environmental 814 00:30:57,115 --> 00:31:00,174 protections that we saw under the Biden administration. 815 00:31:00,474 --> 00:31:02,015 That is for me 816 00:31:02,579 --> 00:31:04,279 one of my north stars 817 00:31:04,579 --> 00:31:07,240 going into these next 4 years, along with 818 00:31:07,619 --> 00:31:10,339 the fact that we can continue to hold 819 00:31:10,339 --> 00:31:11,079 this administration 820 00:31:11,539 --> 00:31:14,440 accountable from an ethics standpoint, from a transparency 821 00:31:14,819 --> 00:31:15,319 standpoint. 822 00:31:16,304 --> 00:31:17,684 All of those safeguards 823 00:31:17,984 --> 00:31:20,304 are still in place, and and that's what 824 00:31:20,304 --> 00:31:23,264 I look at every day when when I 825 00:31:23,264 --> 00:31:25,504 go into work. And I refuse to end 826 00:31:25,504 --> 00:31:28,304 this episode on a bleak note because this 827 00:31:28,304 --> 00:31:31,470 is a celebration of a remarkable conservation legacy 828 00:31:31,470 --> 00:31:32,849 of of president Biden's. 829 00:31:33,230 --> 00:31:34,829 So I wanna ask each of you to 830 00:31:34,829 --> 00:31:36,929 wrap up by giving us 831 00:31:37,390 --> 00:31:40,369 your north star as a conservation advocate 832 00:31:40,750 --> 00:31:43,295 as president Trump takes office? And let's let's 833 00:31:43,295 --> 00:31:45,875 start with Lauren on that one. Oh, Erin. 834 00:31:47,855 --> 00:31:50,015 Good idea. Let's not end on a bleak 835 00:31:50,015 --> 00:31:52,255 note. It's it there's a lot coming at 836 00:31:52,255 --> 00:31:53,214 us right now, but, 837 00:31:54,029 --> 00:31:55,950 you're right. This is a celebration of the 838 00:31:55,950 --> 00:31:58,289 durability and the progress that was made. 839 00:31:58,670 --> 00:32:00,130 Gosh. In terms of 840 00:32:00,910 --> 00:32:01,730 North Star 841 00:32:02,430 --> 00:32:04,990 as Trump takes office, I mean, I I 842 00:32:04,990 --> 00:32:07,309 put that to every single one of us 843 00:32:07,309 --> 00:32:09,285 in this country. Anyone who has a fake 844 00:32:09,365 --> 00:32:11,465 favorite hiking trail or values 845 00:32:11,845 --> 00:32:13,684 clean air, clean water, we can all be 846 00:32:13,684 --> 00:32:14,184 conservation 847 00:32:14,805 --> 00:32:16,724 champions, and I hope we're we're up to 848 00:32:16,724 --> 00:32:19,144 the challenge. There's gonna be a lot happening, 849 00:32:19,205 --> 00:32:19,705 but, 850 00:32:20,644 --> 00:32:21,545 it's it's, 851 00:32:22,549 --> 00:32:24,150 you know, you gotta stand up for the 852 00:32:24,150 --> 00:32:26,170 things that you love. So I'm looking to 853 00:32:26,549 --> 00:32:28,069 to all of us to be part of 854 00:32:28,069 --> 00:32:28,809 that groundswell 855 00:32:29,509 --> 00:32:31,750 of protecting the progress that was made by 856 00:32:31,750 --> 00:32:33,609 president Biden and his administration. 857 00:32:34,710 --> 00:32:36,890 Sterling, what's, what's keeping you going? 858 00:32:39,044 --> 00:32:39,784 I think 859 00:32:40,244 --> 00:32:42,105 it's so easy to feel 860 00:32:43,525 --> 00:32:45,625 alone in the belief that conservation 861 00:32:46,164 --> 00:32:46,904 is popular. 862 00:32:47,444 --> 00:32:47,944 Right? 863 00:32:48,244 --> 00:32:49,144 As we see 864 00:32:49,924 --> 00:32:52,105 Trump elect all these different 865 00:32:52,420 --> 00:32:52,920 Trumpers 866 00:32:54,180 --> 00:32:55,799 to to be part of his administration, 867 00:32:57,380 --> 00:32:59,059 it has made me kinda think like, oh 868 00:32:59,059 --> 00:33:00,660 my gosh. Am I the only one that 869 00:33:00,660 --> 00:33:02,740 cares about conservation here? I mean, all these 870 00:33:02,740 --> 00:33:04,660 people, just like they said they were gonna 871 00:33:04,660 --> 00:33:05,880 do in project 2025, 872 00:33:06,180 --> 00:33:07,585 are are now, 873 00:33:08,605 --> 00:33:11,904 backing president Trump in his anti conservation agenda. 874 00:33:12,045 --> 00:33:13,484 But I think it's important for people to 875 00:33:13,484 --> 00:33:14,384 realize that 876 00:33:15,085 --> 00:33:17,164 for con I I think it's important for 877 00:33:17,164 --> 00:33:17,664 conservationists 878 00:33:18,045 --> 00:33:18,704 to realize 879 00:33:19,244 --> 00:33:20,545 that we are not alone. 880 00:33:20,910 --> 00:33:23,650 There is a huge community of conservationists 881 00:33:24,109 --> 00:33:26,590 in the United States. A majority of Americans 882 00:33:26,590 --> 00:33:27,090 are, 883 00:33:28,190 --> 00:33:30,210 supportive of public lands protections 884 00:33:30,830 --> 00:33:33,570 and, I think it's important for me to 885 00:33:33,950 --> 00:33:35,890 just take a step back and realize that 886 00:33:36,644 --> 00:33:37,705 the anti conservation, 887 00:33:40,644 --> 00:33:43,144 rhetoric that the Trump administration is pushing 888 00:33:43,605 --> 00:33:44,664 is unpopular 889 00:33:45,205 --> 00:33:47,065 among the public. It is largely 890 00:33:47,765 --> 00:33:48,265 undemocratic 891 00:33:49,045 --> 00:33:50,825 when, he puts forth 892 00:33:51,220 --> 00:33:54,259 anti conservation legislation that is not supported by 893 00:33:54,259 --> 00:33:56,039 a majority of Americans. So 894 00:33:56,420 --> 00:33:57,960 at the very least, we have 895 00:33:58,340 --> 00:34:00,740 a team amongst each other, and we have 896 00:34:00,740 --> 00:34:02,600 support with other conservationists, 897 00:34:03,940 --> 00:34:05,080 across the country. 898 00:34:05,515 --> 00:34:07,674 Yeah. I'll I'll jump jump on that and 899 00:34:07,674 --> 00:34:09,275 just say, yeah, we have numbers on our 900 00:34:09,275 --> 00:34:11,675 side. You know, I'd we said this after 901 00:34:11,675 --> 00:34:13,534 the election, and I'll say it again here. 902 00:34:13,675 --> 00:34:16,255 Trump was elected in spite of his position 903 00:34:16,315 --> 00:34:18,494 on public lands, not because of it. 904 00:34:18,860 --> 00:34:20,860 And, you know, the other thing for me 905 00:34:20,860 --> 00:34:23,760 that keeps me going is remembering how incompetent 906 00:34:23,820 --> 00:34:25,980 the Trump administration was the first time around. 907 00:34:25,980 --> 00:34:27,739 They like to cut corners. They like to 908 00:34:27,739 --> 00:34:30,140 do shortcuts, and we have an army of 909 00:34:30,140 --> 00:34:32,795 attorneys on our side in addition to to 910 00:34:32,795 --> 00:34:34,255 public sentiment. So, 911 00:34:35,035 --> 00:34:36,635 it will be hard to undo a lot 912 00:34:36,635 --> 00:34:37,454 of this progress. 913 00:34:37,755 --> 00:34:38,894 And, you know, 914 00:34:39,355 --> 00:34:42,555 hopefully, after 4 years of attacks on public 915 00:34:42,555 --> 00:34:43,675 lands and, 916 00:34:44,474 --> 00:34:45,695 anti climate rhetoric, 917 00:34:46,929 --> 00:34:49,489 will have a president who believes in conservation 918 00:34:49,489 --> 00:34:51,809 and climate change again. So I look forward 919 00:34:51,809 --> 00:34:52,630 to that future. 920 00:34:53,489 --> 00:34:55,090 I can just add one other thing, which 921 00:34:55,090 --> 00:34:55,409 is that, 922 00:34:56,849 --> 00:34:58,309 we're so lucky that 923 00:34:58,929 --> 00:34:59,989 this is popular, 924 00:35:00,405 --> 00:35:01,864 that, people love 925 00:35:02,164 --> 00:35:04,724 their parks and public lands. So we've definitely 926 00:35:04,724 --> 00:35:07,605 got that going for ourselves going forward. And 927 00:35:07,605 --> 00:35:08,965 one thing that I think I'll be doing 928 00:35:08,965 --> 00:35:11,204 that'll put a smile on my face and 929 00:35:11,204 --> 00:35:12,105 make me feel 930 00:35:12,619 --> 00:35:14,539 gratitude is just looking back at all the 931 00:35:14,539 --> 00:35:16,559 places that I was able to visit with 932 00:35:16,699 --> 00:35:18,880 Kate and Sterling and others on our team 933 00:35:19,099 --> 00:35:22,000 in doing the road to 30 postcards campaign. 934 00:35:22,539 --> 00:35:24,300 And what it makes me think of is 935 00:35:24,300 --> 00:35:25,599 how some of those 936 00:35:25,965 --> 00:35:28,704 protection efforts were decades decades 937 00:35:29,005 --> 00:35:30,945 in the works. And to see 938 00:35:31,405 --> 00:35:31,905 those 939 00:35:32,445 --> 00:35:34,545 efforts get over the finish line 940 00:35:34,925 --> 00:35:37,105 gives me a tremendous amount of satisfaction 941 00:35:37,980 --> 00:35:40,380 and pride and gratitude that that that's where 942 00:35:40,380 --> 00:35:41,500 we are at the end of this. And 943 00:35:41,500 --> 00:35:42,699 I would even say that for some of 944 00:35:42,699 --> 00:35:43,679 these long overdue 945 00:35:44,139 --> 00:35:46,380 rule makings and reforms. Some of those were 946 00:35:46,380 --> 00:35:48,219 decades in the making as well. So to 947 00:35:48,219 --> 00:35:51,119 be here now is definitely a big celebration 948 00:35:51,179 --> 00:35:54,284 and something we can appreciate and enjoy going 949 00:35:54,284 --> 00:35:54,784 forward. 950 00:35:55,565 --> 00:35:58,204 That is a beautiful place to leave it, 951 00:35:58,445 --> 00:36:00,625 along with the batch of remember the incompetence 952 00:36:00,764 --> 00:36:02,525 bumper stickers that I'm gonna print up right 953 00:36:02,525 --> 00:36:03,264 after this. 954 00:36:04,364 --> 00:36:06,844 Lauren Bogard, Sterling Homard, thank you so much 955 00:36:06,844 --> 00:36:09,139 for that progress support. It is a wonderful 956 00:36:09,359 --> 00:36:10,659 flag to have planted, 957 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:14,400 to remember how remarkable the last 4 years 958 00:36:14,400 --> 00:36:15,219 have been. 959 00:36:15,599 --> 00:36:18,339 And of course, we are not going anywhere. 960 00:36:28,575 --> 00:36:31,155 Alright, folks. That is it for today's episode. 961 00:36:31,295 --> 00:36:33,295 As always, we love to hear from you. 962 00:36:33,295 --> 00:36:33,795 Podcast@western 963 00:36:34,889 --> 00:36:35,389 priorities.org. 964 00:36:36,329 --> 00:36:38,089 It is kind of remarkable to think that 965 00:36:38,089 --> 00:36:40,489 this was our last podcast of the Biden 966 00:36:40,489 --> 00:36:40,989 presidency. 967 00:36:41,609 --> 00:36:43,369 And as you can tell from our news 968 00:36:43,369 --> 00:36:44,969 segment at the top of this show, things 969 00:36:44,969 --> 00:36:47,210 are gonna get crazy over the next couple 970 00:36:47,210 --> 00:36:48,809 months. We will be here to keep track 971 00:36:48,809 --> 00:36:50,545 of it all. If there's stuff that you 972 00:36:50,545 --> 00:36:52,785 wanna hear about or learn about, again, use 973 00:36:52,785 --> 00:36:55,045 that email address, podcast at westernpriorities.org. 974 00:36:56,304 --> 00:36:57,684 Tell us what you wanna hear. 975 00:36:57,985 --> 00:36:59,985 Thanks again to Sterling and Lauren for their 976 00:36:59,985 --> 00:37:01,839 time today, and thank you for listening to 977 00:37:01,839 --> 00:37:02,339 the 978 00:37:02,719 --> 00:37:03,219 landscape.