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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 May 8th, 2026.
Bill, earlier this year, the Trump administration nominated former New Mexico representative and longtime public lands opponent Steve Pearce as the director of the Bureau of Land Management, a move designed to accelerate the sell-off of 245 million acres of America's public lands. Pearce has made millions from the oil and gas industry. His deep political and personal financial ties to that industry should immediately disqualify him from leading an agency responsible for managing public lands for the benefit of everyone. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced his nomination on March 4th, and it now heads to the Senate floor for a final vote next Monday, May 11th. So we do have a short window in which to tell the Senate they should oppose Steve Pearce's nomination as BLM director. Our friends at Conservation Lands Foundation have a tool, which Bill and I have linked to in the show notes, that will allow you to easily contact your senators by email and phone in order to urge them to oppose the nomination of Pearce as Bureau of Land Management director.
As we've covered before here on the Wild Line, the federal government has been targeting the conservation effort known as American Prairie by withdrawing grazing permits held with the Bureau of Land Management. These were permits the organization had acquired through deeded land purchases that also conveyed those grazing permits on the BLM tracks.
The step to revoke the grazing permits came at the request of the governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte.
Well, now the state's land board is getting in on the action by also taking additional steps to revoke grazing permits for bison that American Prairie holds on state trust lands. This whole effort is being driven by the Montana Stockgrowers Association. While American Prairie has other lands to hold their herd of just under 900 bison, it is worth noting that the organization does have approximately 10 times the number of animals in their cattle grazing program.
Tribal communities are watching these developments closely for a number of reasons, including the fact that their herds have often originated from the American Prairie population. And tribes may start to see the state and the feds intervene in their bison restoration efforts as well. The irony that bison, America's national mammal, are being forced off their historic landscape as we celebrate 250 years of this country should be lost on no one. About as symbolic as it gets these days.
This week, the Department of Interior took the next step in the Ambler Road project, transferring 1.4 million acres of public land to the state of Alaska, lands which the state has made no secret will be used to support a controversial road that will result in increased oil and gas production and other extractive industries. Much of the natural gas production resulting from the Ambler Road, which sits along the Dalton Corridor north of the Yukon River, is meant to eventually be exported to Asian countries.
Speaking of Alaska, a judge in that state has allowed a program to continue that permits killing an unlimited number of bears across a large region of southwest Alaska. Two conservation groups, the Alaska Wildlife Alliance and the Center for Biological Diversity, sued the state in late 2025, arguing the program violated the Alaska Constitution. They asked the court to put the program on hold, but Anchorage Superior Court Judge Adolf Zaiman ruled against them. The state argued that pausing the program would hurt the recovery of the Mulchatna caribou herd and delay limited hunting of the herd by local communities. The judge agreed, finding that the state's interests would be harmed in ways that couldn't be undone if the program were blocked. Judge Zaiman also found that the conservation groups hadn't shown a strong enough chance of winning their case and that state wildlife officials had reviewed adequate bear population data before approving the program. The state of Alaska said it was pleased the program could continue during caribou calving season, which it called a critical period for herd recovery. There's more to come. We'll be right back.
And back to the Wild Line.
Bill, we have to acknowledge here the passing of Ted Turner. The 87-year-old was best known as the founder of CNN and the 24-hour news cycle, but he also dedicated his life to conservation. From private land conservation on his ranches in Montana, Nebraska, Kansas, South Dakota, and New Mexico, to his investment in public land conservation via the Turner Foundation, Ted held a great deal of sway over conservation efforts over the last 40 years or so. Unsurprisingly, he owned the world's largest private bison herd, with approximately 51,000 head managed across 15-plus ranches covering 2 million acres in the American West. Though he was often criticized for his particular brand of eco-capitalism, I do have to tip my cap to him for managing to live my dream, protecting millions of acres of lands and rivers while owning a Major League Baseball team.
Finally, here's an update, and yet not an update, on the steps the United States Forest Service may be taking to authorize chainsaw use in federally designated wilderness.
As we hit record for this week's Wild Line, we still don't have confirmation on a decision that is apparently forthcoming that would specifically allow outfitters in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in Idaho to use chainsaws to open trails for their use. The reason we are reporting this now without final confirmation is because even without the decision being released, outfitters in Idaho are apparently already packing chainsaws into the wilderness to use as early as this weekend.
Clearly, we know who holds the real decision-making authority here. As a community reminder for our audience, the Wilderness Act precludes the use of motorized equipment, just as it prohibits commercial services in wilderness. The law does go on to state that prohibited uses may be authorized for the administration of the act itself. So for years, the agency has determined that outfitting is necessary for providing recreation for the American public in certain wildernesses. So outfitting has been authorized through formal processes in specific areas, just as chainsaws are occasionally authorized in extraordinary circumstances to facilitate clearing trails after major storm events. What apparently is at play here is extending that privilege of outfitting to a right of convenience to not use the minimum tool necessary. Over 100 conservation organizations have been pushing back against this push by the outfitter community.
That is our report for May 8th, 2026. We will be back next Friday with another edition of the Wild Line. And next Tuesday on The Wild Idea, we talk with Greg Trenesh and Laura Burks from the organization Adventure Scientists. Until then, act up and run wild.
[upbeat music] The Wild Line is a production of Wild Idea Media. Production and editing by Bryn Russell at Podlad. 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.