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Wednesday, April 23, 2025

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Marco Rubio unveils massive State Dept. overhaul with reductions of staff and bureaus; Visas revoked, status changed for international students in TX; Alaska lawmakers work to improve in-school mental health care; Montana DEQ denies Big Hole River decision, cites law opposed by EPA; Indiana moves to regulate legal THC sales and branding.

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White House defends Secretary Hegseth amid media scrutiny, federal judges block efforts to dismantle U.S. international broadcasters, and major restructuring hits the State Department and rural programs.

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Schools in timber country face an uncertain future without Congress' reauthorization of a rural program, DOGE cuts threaten plant species needed for U.S. food security, and farmers will soon see federal dollars for energy projects unlocked.

Poll: 2 of 3 Republicans oppose funding cuts to federal land management

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Tuesday, February 25, 2025   

In its 15th annual year of polling on Conservation in the West, the State of the Rockies Project this year has found support for conservation by some of the highest margins to date and notably across party lines.

Pollsters have always asked respondents to identify their political parties, but 2025 marked the first year respondents could affiliate with the 'MAGA' movement. Results showed regardless of affiliation, support for conservation is strong.

Kathryn Hahne, director at New Bridge Strategy, which conducted the poll, noted 69% of MAGA supporters oppose reducing funding to federal agencies managing public lands and wildlife.

"Among MAGA supporters, 81% approve of the National Park Service, 74% approve of the U.S. Forest Service, 71% approve of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and 46% approve of the EPA," Hahne reported.

The poll results come as the same federal agencies earlier this month began laying off permanent employees and freezing seasonal hiring as part of an effort led by billionaire Elon Musk to cut federal spending. The Forest Service fired roughly 3,400 employees and the Department of the Interior fired about 1,000 National Park Service employees and 800 Bureau of Land Management employees, including many in Montana.

The Trump administration released an order to "review and, as appropriate, revise" designations of national monuments, a power which has been exclusive to U.S. presidents for 120 years.

Lori Weigel, partner at the polling firm New Bridge Strategy, said Westerners across the board, including and 87% percent of Montanans, support keeping national monuments.

"There's really no subgroup within any of the data that is saying we ought to remove those designations," Weigel noted.

Nearly all surveyed Democrats across eight western states support keeping national monument designations, as do 83% of Republicans and 81% of MAGA Republicans.


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Montana officials have denied a petition asking the state to designate the Big Hole River as "impaired" by pollution. Two conservation groups …


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