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The Wild Idea is an exploration of the intersection of wild nature and our own human nature. The hosts, Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds, through conversations with experts and thought leaders will dive into the ways that humans have both embraced and impact the function and vitality of our remaining wild places.
[upbeat music] Welcome to "The Wild Line," where land stories are the lead stories. This is our report for June 5th, 2026.
Bill, late last Friday, President Donald Trump announced the repeal of Executive Order 11644 of February 8th, 1972, and Executive Order 11989 of May 24th, 1977, both of which concern off-road vehicle use on public land. He further directed federal land management agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, to rescind or revise their regulations implementing these orders. Presidents Nixon and Carter issued executive orders 11644 and 11989 in 1972 and 1977 respectively, in response to the growing use of dirt bikes, snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, and other off-road vehicles, or ORVs, and corresponding environmental damage and conflicts with non-motorized recreationists. These executive orders require federal land managers to plan for ORV use to protect resources and other recreational uses. Specifically, the executive orders require that when designating areas or trails available for ORV use, the agencies locate them to, one, minimize damage to soil, watershed, vegetation, and other resources of the public lands. Two, minimize harassment of wildlife or significant disruption of wildlife habitats. And three, minimize conflicts between off-road vehicle use and other existing or proposed recreational uses of the same or neighboring public lands. The repeal of these two executive orders were necessary according to Trump because he believed his predecessor's actions were overly burdensome and no longer needed today, thanks to technological advances. He also stated that older orders impeded resource development and extraction on federal lands, which may give you a sense of what industries talked him into this.
Trump's actions run the risk of introducing untold destructive impact on our public lands and chasing out human and other wild visitors alike. That destruction is all part of a familiar plan. Trash our public lands so thoroughly that privatization seems like a good idea. The actions also hamstring the management agencies, undermining management plans and introducing top-down instruction on how park superintendents, forest supervisors, and other decision-makers approach consensus with locals about how they'd like their big backyards managed. There are tens of thousands of miles of roads on public lands already open to motor vehicles. And of course, there could soon be more if Trump is successful in rescinding the roadless rule. Motor vehicles belong outside, but they aren't the only things that belong. Surely, there are spaces for the rest of us to relax, recreate, and seek solitude too.
On Wednesday, the full House Committee on Appropriations approved two bills of note, the Fiscal Year 2027 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies bill, and the Fiscal Year 2027 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies bill. The Interior bill invest $39 billion in natural resources, environmental protection, and cultural institutions, including the Department of the Interior, the EPA, and the U.S. Forest Service. That amount is $7.4 billion above the White House budget request, but $675 million below the level enacted by the same committee last fiscal year. Some of those cuts would impact the EPA and our national parks, which would see their facility operations and maintenance funds cut by 163 million if this bill is eventually enacted into law. The bill also removes EPA protections for numerous species and would allow accelerated mining activities on certain public lands. There are also a number of policy writers which hinder the EPA's ability to enforce the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, and other laws governing hazardous waste. Additional language removes incentives for state and local governments to prioritize renewable energy development over more polluting energy sources.
Also on Wednesday, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved by a vote of 404 to 13, H.R.7618, the American Battlefields Protection Program Amendments Act, which reauthorized three American Battlefield Protection Program grant programs through 2036, designating $20 million annually to battlefield preservation efforts, including historic property acquisition, landscape restoration, and site interpretation. Additionally, the legislation directs the National Park Service and the Department of the Interior to prepare more detailed strategic studies of sites related to the French and Indian War and the Mexican-American War, a major step toward expanding program eligibility.
H.R.7618 was introduced earlier this year, just in time for America's semi-quincentennial by U.S. Representatives Jen Kiggans, a Republican from Virginia, and Seth Magaziner, a Democrat from Rhode Island, who also happened to serve as co-chairs of the Congressional Battlefields Caucus. The Senate companion bill S.3524 was introduced in 2025 by U.S. Senators Dave McCormick, a Republican from Pennsylvania, and Tim Kaine, a Democrat from Virginia.
As we have covered here before on "The Wild Line," there is a Congressional Review Act resolution running through the Senate right now, as introduced by Senator Mike Lee, that would undo the current management plan of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, a plan carefully crafted by the BLM with a robust local collaborative. Next week is a big week to stop this effort to undermine common sense management of an incredibly special place. Here is Steve Block, Legal Director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
So based on our
counting the days, Senator Lee has until next Thursday, maybe next Friday, to
run his bill to undo the Grand Staircase management plan andbe able to pass that bill by a simple majority vote. And we know that
if
the Senate either votes down Lee's bill or if the clock runs out, that it would not pass. It would not go through a filibuster vote, that
enough senators oppose what Lee is doing, that this is the only way for him to make it work is to try to take advantage of these really arcane provisions of the Congressional Review Act to force a vote to take place on or before Thursday, June 11th.
And if he's able to do that vote and if he's able to muster
a simple majority of senators,
then the bill will pass. If enough senators say no or if the bill does not come up for a vote,
then this effort's really been turned away. And this will be the first time that conservationists and people who care about the fate of these wild places will have succeeded in turning back
an effort like this.
And so we're throwing everything we have at it.
So how can you get involved?
So this is a moment where if listeners value wild landscapes, wild public places, if you've been to the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument, or if you want to go there, or if you have a national monument or national park in your state, this is the time for you to get engaged. This is the time to make your voice heard. And what that looks like is calling the Senate switchboard
and telling them where you're from, and they will patch you through to your United States senators and tell those senators to vote no on Senate Joint Resolution 109, which is Mike Lee's bill to undo the Grand Staircase Management Plan.
And we know that senators are listening to their constituents, that they keep tallies of how many people call, that they bring the number of those calls up on the Senate floor when they take things like when they have these votes. And that that's a reason for people to vote no is that they've heard from their
constituents who value the beauty and the wild that is Grand Staircase.
So Anders and I encourage you to follow Steve's directive and pick up the phone and call the Senate switchboard at 202-224-3121. That's 202-224-3121 and get connected to your senators and ask them to vote no. You will find that number and more in our show notes. This is an urgent call to action. If you want information about this amazing landscape or the hard work that went into the management plan, we would point you to the episode of The Wild Idea that came out on May 5th. More public land stories right after this and back to the wild line.
The National Science Foundation has started the process of pulling a series of deep sea monitoring stations that serve as a chain of data collection points for scientists that track critical information related to the function of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. These stations provide data like biological, meteorological, and hydrological metrics that help us better understand the state of play for things like ocean temperature, salinity, and currents. Those currents, as you may know, currently act as a conveyor belt for warm and cold water alike, and they seem to be shifting as the planet warms. If those currents radically shift or even collapse, the impacts on climate, fisheries, and a host of other issues could be catastrophic. So why are the monitoring stations being pulled from service by the National Science Foundation? Well, it claims that it's to allow their ocean science work to be more nimble. But the problem is most likely rooted to the Trump administration's efforts to cut 80% of the funding. Though it should be noticed that Congress has not honored those requested cuts in the last couple of years and has kept full funding in place. These monitoring stations have been deployed for well over a decade.
A new report from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy analyzes farmer participation in two of the United States' most popular private land conservation programs since 2021. In that analysis, IATP found that in fiscal year 2025, approximately 24% of applicants to the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, and 37% of applicants to the Conservation Stewardship Program were awarded contracts. That is a sharp drop-off from FY 2024, in which approximately 43% of applicants to EQIP and 54% of the applicants to CSP were awarded contracts. In a similar to acceptance rates seen before the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, this national drop-off in applications accepted is mirrored in most U.S. states and territories.
Between fiscal years 2024 and 2025, the number of EQIP contracts awarded in the U.S. decreased by approximately 17,650, and the number of CSP contracts awarded decreased by about 2,877. This is a 37% and 21% decrease, respectively. Not a single state saw an increase in EQIP contracts awarded from FY 24 to FY 25, and only eight states saw an increase in CSP contracts. This all occurred as a higher number of farmers applied to both programs from one year to the next.
Conservation is nothing new to farmers. Building soil health, preventing erosion, protecting water, managing for pests and disease, these practices have been a part of agricultural traditions for generations, pursued independently and often quietly without public recognition or support.But some conservation practices don't come with clear financial return, and the upfront costs can be a barrier. That's where public programs like EQIP and CSP can make a real difference. For most farmers, a cost-share contract through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS, is the nudge that makes this first step possible. For others, it's the beginning of a longer conservation commitment that outlasts the contract and shapes how they steward their land for years to come. A higher barrier to entry isn't good for anyone.
Speaking of farms and ranches, Bill and I wanted to welcome a new podcast from our friends at American Farmland Trust. It's called Landed, and it explores how farms and ranches transition from one generation to the next. That's a process that sounds simple, but it isn't. Land transfers are complicated. They're full of economic, legal, and emotional challenges. But they're also so important to all of us, no matter where we live. How American farmland transfers and to whom it transfers will determine the future of rural communities and, frankly, the entire food system. On the Landed podcast, you'll meet young farmers who are just getting their start, aging ranchers who are ready to slow down, and advisors who work to support them all. In every episode, they plan to highlight how people are planning for the future of their land and show what happens when they don't. Episode one of Landed is out now, and we'll link to it in our show notes. Bill and I will actually be interviewing one of the co-hosts, Brooks Lamb, live in a couple of weeks here in Montana while the three of us are all attending the Old Salt Festival, a three-day celebration of regenerative agriculture, land stewardship, and community held annually on the Mannix family ranch in Helmville, Montana.
Back in February, Anders and I brought you the news that The Washington Post, following CBS News before it, was drastically reducing its climate reporting, laying off reporters, data and graphic journalists, and the editor responsible for the whole desk. Now comes news that NPR's climate chief, Neela Banerjee, has been laid off, and what was formerly an independent climate desk has been folded into the general newsroom. On LinkedIn, Banerjee celebrated the work her team did to organize the annual Climate Solutions Week and their work to build, quote, "a reporting collaborative of more than 50 member stations which covered climate at the local level and became tightly knit in the process." She continued, "We broke down silos within NPR and helped our colleagues at shows, podcasts, and desks understand climate change in their context." End quote.
A number of our local partners have some big events planned in the coming days, either as part of tomorrow's National Trails Day celebrations or for other important reasons. Before Bill and I sign off, we wanted to highlight just a few of those.
First, the Virginia Wilderness Committee and the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club will be hosting a Rally for the Roadless Rule tomorrow, Saturday, June 6th, from 10:00 to 11:30 AM Eastern at Brierley Branch Reservoir in Virginia. The event focuses on defending the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects nearly 400,000 acres in Virginia from road construction, logging, and mining. As you know, the Trump administration announced plans to revoke the rule last June.
And the location of the rally is historically significant. It's near Reddish Knob, where President Bill Clinton announced the Roadless Rule in 1999. The event is free to attend, and a hike up to Reddish Knob will follow. See our show notes for details.
Sounds fun.
On Tuesday the 9th at 7:00 PM Eastern, Wild Cumberland and Defenders of Wildlife will host a virtual public town hall on the proposed land exchange at Cumberland Island National Seashore, which would transfer ownership of certain federal lands within the seashore and could shape the future management and development on the island.
Participants can hear the latest updates on two of the four land exchanges the Park Service proposed in September of 2024 and the private inholder's intent to develop newly acquired land. There will be a Q&A session following the presentation. To register for the Cumberland Island Land Exchange Virtual Town Hall and to receive the recording after the event, find the registration link in the show notes or at wildcumberland.org.
Finally, on Wednesday, June 10th, from 6:30 to 7:30, in the Toad and Company courtyard at Santa Barbara, California, a community meeting will be hosted by Los Padres Forest Watch to discuss the U.S. Forest Service's proposal to roll back the Roadless Area Conservation Rule. The event will feature experts and advocates explaining what the rollback could mean for local forests, including more than 635,000 acres protected in and around Los Padres National Forest. The event is co-sponsored by the Sierra Club, the Wilderness Society, California Wilderness Coalition, and Latino Outdoors. The event is free to attend, but you must RSVP. Again, you can find a link to do that in our show notes.
That is our report for June 5th, 2026. We will be back next Friday for another edition of the Wild Line, and next Tuesday on the Wild Idea, we continue Stewardship Month with a conversation with Caitlin Deverona from Southern Appalachian Wilderness Stewards, an organization we are both deeply connected to. Until then, act up and run wild.
The Wild Line is a production of Wild Idea Media. Production and editing by Bryn Russell at PodLab. Digital support by Holly Wilkoszewski at Daypack Digital. Our theme music, Spring Hill Jack, is from Railroad Earth and was composed by John Skehan. The executive producer is Lara Hodge. Learn more about us at thewildidea.com.