Howdy everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the Blister podcast on the Blister Podcast

Network. My name is Luke Kappa. I am the managing editor over at Blister, and you can check out

everything we are doing and reviewing over at Blister Review.com. Today I'm talking with

Blister reviewer and conservationocate Paul Forward about public lands.

We're talking about why they're one of the few issues today that connects people from all backgrounds and political ideologies, and why anyone who enjoys the outdoors should be concerned about some recent legislation.

Specifically, we're talking about the changes

made to public lands and their use in the current U.S. budget reconciliation bill, which was passed

by the House of Representatives and is now being reviewed by the Senate. We discuss how the broader

outdoor community helped remove a last-minute amendment that would have sold off more than half a

million acres of public land and why there's still a chance that public land could be sold in this bill.

We also cover the proposed Ambler Road development, which would take place in one of the last

true wilderness areas in Alaska, and its impact if it's reinserted into this bill.

Then we get into several of the other changes that are still in the bill, including mining

around the boundary water wilderness area, mandatory increases in oil, gas, and coal leasing on

public land, reductions in the royalties that the government collects from fossil fuel

leases, a provision that would allow developers to pay a fee to expedite the environmental review

process and make them exempt from judicial review. Despite all the causes for concern,

Paul and I also discussed some of the recent developments that give us some hope.

That includes the new bipartisan public land caucus in the House,

as well as polling evidence that shows that public opinion across party lines regarding public land use is actually much more cohesive than you might think,

and how all of us can utilize that fact to make a difference

in how our representatives manage the places in which we live, work, and recreate.

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