Podcast · Tech & Science

The Wild Line

by Wild Idea Media · English · Tech & Science

The podcast where land stories are the lead stories. Hosted by Bill Hodge and Anders Reynolds, The Wild Line is a quick Friday digest of the week’s top conservation and public lands policy news in plain language so our community stays informed, engaged and ready to act.

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 14 min
Latest: 9 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

9 Oct 2026 · 9 min

Roadless Rescission Plan Draws One Million+ Comments, Huge Judicial Victory For Big Bend, Saying Goodbye to Seldom Seen Smith

More than a million public comments are in against the Roadless Rule rescission, according to the coalition leading the opposition, and a separate analysis found 99 percent of comments oppose Forest Service travel management changes. This week we also cover the federal injunction halting heavy border construction in Big Bend National Park, a second Montana House sponsor for A River Runs Through It Act, and a new lawsuit over an oil-hauling road through Utah's Gate Canyon. We close by remembering river guide Ken Sleight, the inspiration for Seldom Seen Smith, and longtime National Wildlife…

Play episodeWhatsApp Download

Earlier episodes 29 most recent

E68 · 2 Oct 2026 · 9 min
Grand Teton Site Scouting for MLB Game, EPA Ends 2024 Carbon Standards, and DHS Lifts Big Bend Construction Pause
The EPA finalized the repeal of most 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards for power plants, eliminating key climate regulations and saving an estimated $310 billion while potentially causing up to $476 billion in health damages. The Department of Homeland Security also ended its pause on border barrier construction within Big Bend National Park, and a lawsuit was filed by landowners and conservation groups challenging the government's border wall plans. Reports indicate the Trump administration was approached about hosting a baseball game at Grand Teton National Park, though officials called the…
E67 · 25 Sep 2026 · 13 min
Wilderness Week in Washington, an Executive Order Opening Monuments to Hunting, and a Public Lands Day Thank-You to Rangers
This week, a new executive order opens national monuments like Castle Mountains and Craters of the Moon to hunting and sets a 60-day clock on river permit lotteries, while Interior blocks more than $25 million in National Park Service partner funding. We also cover former wildlife agency heads warning that Interior's proposed Endangered Species Act rule ignores basic science, a coalition of 21 state attorneys general suing over new ESA rules, and a lawsuit over a missed deadline for two West Coast pond turtles. Anders reports from Wilderness Week in Washington, DC, and Bill closes with a…
E66 · 18 Sep 2026 · 13 min
Roadless Rule Comment Period Extended, Senate Ag Approves Farm Bill, Utah Monuments Threatened By Mining Claims
This week, the House Natural Resources Committee advances a bill that would gut environmental review for forest management projects, and the Senate Agriculture Committee finally passes a Farm Bill carrying both new wilderness and weakened conservation funding. We also cover a leaked Fish and Wildlife Service memo narrowing the Endangered Species Act's definition of "take," new mining claims filed inside a shrunken Bears Ears National Monument, an extended comment period on the Roadless Rule rescission, a euthanized Grand Teton bear, and the passing of writer Annie Dillard. Support our show…
E65 · 11 Sep 2026 · 17 min
Montana Eyes New Wilderness, USFS Shutters Research Stations, Cumberland Island Invites Public Comment
This week, Montana Congressman Ryan Zinke introduces a 430,000-acre wilderness and recreation bill named for A River Runs Through It , and the House Natural Resources Committee opens an investigation into the influence of eighteen environmental nonprofits. We also cover the Forest Service's closure of 23 research stations, a contested Cumberland Island visitor plan and land exchange now open for public comment, a House vote delaying North Atlantic right whale protections, new rollbacks targeting wolves and wetlands, and a court win keeping bison on Montana public lands. Support our show with…
E64 · 4 Sep 2026 · 16 min
Chinook Salmon Return to Mount St. Helens, a Deadly Grand Canyon Flood, and a Renewed Fight for Bears Ears
This week, Chinook salmon return to the Mount St. Helens watershed for the first time since the 1980 eruption, while the Trump administration weighs handing a piece of Yosemite National Park to a private developer and conservation groups head back to court over the reduced Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. We also cover a deadly flash flood that shut down the bottom of the Grand Canyon, a halted data center on Nevada public land, a rollback of national park crowd control, and a Climate Week panel on Southern Appalachian wildlife. Full show notes and links at our…
E63 · 28 Aug 2026 · 8 min
Endangered Species Rallies Head to the Gulf, Forest Service Travel Rule Upheaval, and Nevada Takes on the Colorado River Cuts
This week, the Forest Service proposes to flip its travel management rule, opening national forests to motorized vehicles everywhere except specifically closed areas. Nevada sues the federal government over Colorado River cuts that could slash its water allocation by up to 71 percent annually, and Gulf Coast advocates rally this weekend to defend endangered species from an oil-and-gas exemption to the Endangered Species Act. We also cover record glyphosate use on California's national forests, a reshuffling of dozens of senior career staff at the Interior Department, a Texas music…
E62 · 21 Aug 2026 · 16 min
USDA Moves to Rescind the Roadless Rule, Mining Claims Surface in Downsized Utah Monuments, and Minnesota Acts to Protect the Boundary Waters
This week, USDA opens a public comment period on its plan to rescind the Roadless Rule, which protects close to 45 million acres of National Forest. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz issues new state-level protections for the Boundary Waters watershed, and mining claims surface inside Utah's downsized Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments as Senator Mike Lee moves to challenge Bears Ears' management plan. We also cover a federal court blocking a road through Alaska's Izembek refuge, a paused CBP border project in Big Bend, scrutiny of a Forest Service official's firefighting…
E61 · 14 Aug 2026 · 14 min
Final Hours to Comment on Wilderness Policy, a Data Center Eyes National Park Land, and Bulldozers Carve Through Big Bend
This week, USDA nears a draft decision on rescinding the Roadless Rule, which protects 48 million acres of National Forest land, and today is the final day to comment on a related Interior Department review of wilderness management policy. President Trump has nominated Project 2025 co-author Dennis Kirk as Interior's inspector general, and new reporting reveals the National Park Service is weighing a land swap that would clear the way for data center development inside Virginia's Prince William Forest Park. We also cover a muted offshore oil lease auction in the Gulf of Mexico, continued…
E60 · 7 Aug 2026 · 18 min
A New Management Plan for the Colorado River, BLM Approves Data Center on Public Land, and Forest Service Initiates ICE Raid
This week, the Bureau of Reclamation releases a new 10-year Colorado River management plan mandating major water cuts across Arizona, California, and Nevada, while the Bureau of Land Management approves the first data center on BLM-managed public land without a new environmental review. The Forest Service opens a 30-day comment period on a proposed rare earth mine near Devils Tower, and new reporting reveals Forest Service Law Enforcement participated in an ICE raid along North Carolina's Wilson Creek. We also cover escalating fallout over the shrunken Bears Ears and Grand…
E59 · 31 Jul 2026 · 10 min
DOGE Cuts Exacerbate Wildfire, Interior Cancels Endangered Species Protections, and Alaska Judge Dismisses Dalton Highway Suit
This week, a Senate committee drops most of its wilderness, national park, and wild and scenic river bills in favor of energy permitting measures, a federal judge in Anchorage clears the way for transferring more than 2 million acres along the Dalton Highway corridor to the State of Alaska, while the Interior Department cancels the Endangered Species Act's blanket 4(d) rule and NOAA rejects a bid to expand North Atlantic right whale critical habitat. We also cover new reporting linking paused DOGE wildfire-prevention funding to the fires burning across northern Minnesota, the removal of…
E58 · 24 Jul 2026 · 20 min
Proposed NHPA Changes Undermine Tribes, Administration Targets Chaco Canyon, Okefenokee Makes Bid for UNESCO Designation
This week, proposed federal rules would gut tribal consultation and historic-preservation protections under the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Trump Administration opens a comment period on drilling near Chaco Canyon, a UNESCO World Heritage site. We also cover a nearly one-third cut to Canada lynx critical habitat, a Montana Land Board grazing policy widely read as targeting American Prairie's bison herd, and a busy week for the House Natural Resources Committee. Plus: two Forest Service employees kidnapped at gunpoint in Northern California, a flash flood that killed five…
E57 · 17 Jul 2026 · 24 min
Trump Guts Utah Monuments, Admin Rewrites 'Harm,' Red Wolves Recover as Grizzlies and Whales are Targeted
This week, President Trump signs executive orders cutting Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments by nearly 3 million acres combined, over tribal leaders' objections that they were never consulted. Federal agencies rescind the Endangered Species Act's core habitat protection, and Interior proposes returning grizzly bear management to Western states. We also cover a court ruling on grizzly and bull trout habitat in Montana, a House committee vote on whale protections, new funding for endangered species recovery, and rare good news: four litters of wild red wolf pups born…
E56 · 10 Jul 2026 · 18 min
A New Tracker for Public Land Comment Periods, Eastern States Invest in Wildlife Crossings, and Forest Service Retirees Join Suit to Stop Reorg
This week, the Bureau of Land Management proposes its first grazing rule overhaul since 1995, covering 155 million acres of Western public land and sharply limiting public participation in permit decisions. A coalition sues to block the Forest Service's largest restructuring in a century, and we track new wildlife crossing funding in Pennsylvania and North Carolina, a wildfire burning into a 50-year-untouched Colorado wilderness, and a new free tool for tracking public lands comment periods. We also remember David Page of the Winter Wildlands Alliance. Full show notes and links at our…
E55 · 3 Jul 2026 · 18 min
A Genomics Pact for Endangered Species, an Oregon Timber Lawsuit, and a Farewell to National Parks Traveler
This week, the Forest Service opens a comment period on a proposed rule that would narrow public input into how national forests are managed, and the window closes July 31. The Interior Department signs a partnership with "de-extinction" company Colossal Biosciences on species genomics, raising the question of whether the tools complement or replace habitat-based recovery. A new lawsuit tests how far Congress can stretch the Congressional Review Act against land management plans. We also cover a volunteer-built replacement for the shuttered Climate.gov, the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt…
E54 · 26 Jun 2026 · 14 min
Farm Bill Text Features Wilderness Designations, Interior Rolls Back Drilling Safeguards, and NPS Restricts Reporting on Fatalities
This week on The Wild Line , we're tracking Farm Bill wilderness designations for Virginia, Arkansas, and Illinois; Kevin Lilly's confirmation hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee; Interior's proposed rollback of oil and gas drilling safeguards; a leaked Flathead National Forest memo that would open recommended wilderness to off-road vehicles; an emergency Forest Service salvage timber declaration covering up to 11 million acres with a one-week comment period; NPS restrictions on fatality reporting; and the death of environmental journalist James Bruggers. Find…
E53 · 19 Jun 2026 · 12 min
The Wild Line: New Wilderness Directives, Congress Approves $2 Billion for Parks, Former Big Bend Supervisors Fight Border Wall
This week on The Wild Line , we're tracking new federal directives reshaping wilderness management for climbing anchors and livestock grazing, a bipartisan bill that would restore nearly $2 billion annually for national park maintenance, and a legal battle over a proposed oil road through Utah's most culturally significant canyon corridor. From the Senate's quiet protection of Grand Staircase-Escalante to a federal court's order restoring park displays, this week brought a complicated mix of setbacks and hard-won wins for public lands. Find the links and resources mentioned today at our…
E52 · 12 Jun 2026 · 20 min
The Wild Line: Trump Targets Recommended Wilderness, Lee Launches Attack on Roadless, Interior Designates New Trails
This week on The Wild Line , we're tracking a lackluster oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a draft Forest Service memo that could open recommended wilderness to off-road vehicles, Senator Mike Lee's move to nullify the Roadless Rule, and a bipartisan bill to keep public land sales out of budget reconciliation. From Alaska to Appalachia, these stories come down to who decides the future of America's public lands. For more on these stories and the links mentioned, visit our website at thewildidea.com.
E51 · 5 Jun 2026 · 18 min
The Wild Line: Trump Repeals Motorized Protections, the CRA comes for Utah, Appropriators Slash Funding for National Parks
This week on The Wild Line , we're tracking the White House's repeal of decades-old off-road vehicle protections on public lands, House appropriations cuts to national parks and the EPA, the collapse of federal conservation program funding for farmers, and the withdrawal of NSF's deep-sea ocean monitoring network. From rolling back environmental safeguards to shrinking the public institutions that protect land and water, these stories trace a consistent direction in 2026. Find the links and resources mentioned today at our website, thewildidea.com .
E50 · 29 May 2026 · 12 min
The Wild Line: Wildlife Fare Well in Transportation Bill, Park Fees Redirected to DC, a Warning on Wildfire Season
This week on The Wild Line, we're tracking a new bill to nullify the Gulf of Mexico Endangered Species Act exemption, $67 million in national park entrance fees redirected to Washington, D.C. beautification projects, a steep drop in Forest Service wildfire fuels reduction, and conservation wins in the House surface transportation bill. From the Gulf to the Rockies, these stories capture the pressures and the persistent advocacy shaping federal land and wildlife policy heading into a high-risk fire season. Learn more about the links and resources mentioned today at our website,…
E49 · 22 May 2026 · 15 min
The Wild Line: Pearce Confirmed for BLM, Cyanide Bombs Return to Public Lands, Kash Patel Dives Pearl Harbor
This week on The Wild Line, we’re tracking the Senate confirmation of Steve Pearce as Bureau of Land Management director, the Trump administration’s restoration of cyanide trap devices on public lands, new reporting on how automated bots are locking everyday users out of Recreation.gov permits, the launch of a free community shuttle connecting Colorado residents to outdoor destinations in the Golden and Morrison area, and FBI Director Kash Patel’s coordinated snorkel tour of the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor. From FY27 appropriations markups to Conservation Alliance lobbying in Washington,…
E48 · 15 May 2026 · 11 min
The Wild Line: Public Lands Rule Rescinded, Right Whale and Roadless Rule Hearings Loom, and Wins in Colorado and New Mexico
This week on The Wild Line, we're tracking the Bureau of Land Management's rescission of the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum's congressional testimony — including his description of designated wilderness areas as "death sentences for forests" — a House bill that would block North Atlantic right whale protections through 2035, the authorization of chainsaws in the Frank Church Wilderness, and state-level wins in Colorado and New Mexico. Find the details and links mentioned at our website, thewildidea.com
E47 · 8 May 2026 · 7 min
The Wild Line: Pearce Nomination Heads to Senate Floor, American Prairie Permit Battle, Alaska Land Transfer, and Ted Turner's Legacy
This week on The Wild Line , we're tracking the Senate's imminent floor vote on Steve Pearce's nomination as BLM Director, Montana's escalating campaign against American Prairie's bison grazing permits, a federal land transfer tied to the Ambler Road corridor in Alaska, an Alaska court ruling allowing unlimited bear killing in southwest Alaska, a pending Forest Service decision on chainsaw use in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, and the death of conservationist Ted Turner. From nomination fights to wilderness policy to bison restoration, the pressure on public lands is…
E46 · 1 May 2026 · 12 min
The Wild Line: Trump Pulls NPS Nominee, Appalachian Groups Sue Over Corridor H, and the Forest Service Embraces Glyphosate
This week on The Wild Line, we're tracking the withdrawal of the Trump administration's National Park Service nominee, a Forest Service plan to spray glyphosate across 10,000 acres of public land, a federal lawsuit to stop a controversial West Virginia highway, a proposed blast mine threatening the San Joaquin River, new University of Montana survey data on public lands attitudes, a coalition framework rejecting public land sell-offs as a housing fix, and the opening of a new trail at Red Rock Canyon. From farm bill stalemates to the gap between what Montana voters say and how their…
E45 · 24 Apr 2026 · 13 min
The Wild Line: Advocates Notch a Win for Endangered Species, the Forest Service Considers Chainsaws and Mining in Wilderness
This week on The Wild Line , we’re tracking a major Endangered Species Act victory on Capitol Hill, proposed Forest Service rule changes that would open wilderness areas to chainsaws and fast-track mining exploration on national forest land, Interior and Agriculture secretaries facing congressional budget scrutiny, and a landmark master plan approved for California’s Great Redwood Trail. From federal wilderness policy to tribal treaty rights, these stories reveal the high stakes of public lands management in 2026. Learn more and find the links and resources mentioned today at our website,…
E44 · 17 Apr 2026 · 11 min
The Wild Line: GOP Approves Mining in the Boundary Waters, USFS Faces Questions on Reorganization, SELC Sues the God Squad
This week on The Wild Line, we're tracking the Senate's passage of a Congressional Review Act resolution to enable mining in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, the Forest Service's proposed headquarters relocation to Salt Lake City, the Conservation Reserve Program's final deadline for 2026 offers, evidence of Trump administration coordination with Sen. Mike Lee's federal land sell-off proposal, the Confluence of States' 2025 Outdoor Report highlighting the $1.3 trillion economic value of outdoor recreation, a Gallup survey showing widespread concern about…
E43 · 10 Apr 2026 · 15 min
The Wild Line: Trump Budget Targets Parks, USDA Consolidates NEPA Rules, and Three Key Public Lands Votes Loom in Congress
This week on The Wild Line , we're tracking the Trump Administration's proposed budget cuts to the National Park Service, the controversial Forest Service reorganization plan, a new consolidated NEPA rule at the USDA, and legislative calls to action in Congress. From federal land management challenges to endangered species protections, these stories highlight the stakes for public lands policy and the staff who steward America's natural resources. Learn more and find the links and resources mentioned today at our website, thewildidea.com.
E42 · 3 Apr 2026 · 20 min
The Wild Line: U.S. Forest Service Overhaul, Interior Aims to Drill Chaco Canyon, Protections for Rice's Whale Lifted
This week on The Wild Line, we're tracking a proposed reorganization of the U.S. Forest Service, a sweeping Endangered Species Act exemption for Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations, a court ruling against the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Plan, a public scoping period threatening Chaco Culture National Historical Park, commercial fishing access in Pacific Marine National Monuments, and a rare wave of conservation wins from San Francisco Bay to Arkansas. From federal agency restructuring to bedrock wildlife law, these stories define the stakes for public lands in 2026. Learn more and find the…
E41 · 27 Mar 2026 · 12 min
The Wild Line: A Pipeline Executive Heads to Congress, SpaceX Eyes Refuge Land, and E&E News Loses a Quarter of Its Newsroom
This week on The Wild Line, we're tracking Oklahoma's new energy-executive senator, a congressional push to block wilderness at Big Cypress National Preserve, a proposed federal land swap with SpaceX in South Texas, and major staff cuts at E&E News. From Capitol Hill to the Lower Rio Grande Valley, these stories highlight the accelerating pressure on federal public lands and the institutions that cover them. Get more details and the links and resources mentioned today at our website, thewildidea.com .
E40 · 20 Mar 2026 · 15 min
The Wild Line: Congress Shields Lead Ammo, ESA Exemptions on the Table, and a Georgia Seashore Fight
This week on The Wild Line , we're tracking Congress's move to block federal lead ammunition and tackle regulations, the first convening of the Endangered Species Act's God Squad in over 30 years, a public lands crossroads symposium in Salt Lake City, and a contested land swap at Cumberland Island National Seashore. From wildlife toxicology to oil and gas exemptions on federal waters, these stories define the current frontlines of public lands policy. Find the links and resources mentioned today at our website, thewildidea.com .

About The Wild Line

The Wild Line is a English tech & science podcast from Wild Idea Media. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Wild Idea Media
Language: English
Category: Tech & Science
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 14 min
Latest episode: 9 Oct 2026
Feed: RSS — paste into any podcast app
Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id6784689945
Rights: Wild Idea Media

RSS feed Apple Podcasts

More English tech & science

Take it with you

The Melo app keeps playing with the screen off, works in the car and on your watch, wakes you to your station, and browses the whole catalogue offline. Free, no ads, no account.