[S4E9] State of the Grasslands 2025

In our final episode of Season 4, The Best Biome team discusses the state of grasslands conservation in the current year (and what an eventful year it has been). We discuss the most significant threats and daunting challenges that we’ll need to meet head on to protect our underappreciated and overlooked ecosystems. Topics include rollbacks to the Endangered Species Act, attacks on research funding, extraction on public lands, the truth behind grazing leases, and much, much more.

Of course, we have plenty of good news to share as well! Join us as we bid 2025 farewell and get ready for whatever next year will bring.

Note: There is some occasional strong language used in this episode, as a result of our passion about these topics.

Primary Sources:

Rachel’s Sources:

• Jack Hatzimemos, Georgetown Environmental Law Review, "The Single Most Impactful Day of Deregulation in EPA History", Mar. 20, 2025

• More Than Just Parks: "Mike Lee is Still Trying to Steal Your Land", Nov. 5, 2025

• Inflation Reduction Act Rollback Tracker

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• Columbia Law Climate Backtracker

• Bill McKibben: The Crucial Years, "A Different Kind of Leader Gives A Different Kind of Speech", Oct. 1, 2025

• Heather Cox Richardson, "Letters from an American" Oct. 16, 2025

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Nicole’s Sources:

• Center for American Progress: "The Trump Administration's Expensive Push to Sell Out Public Lands to the Highest Bidder" Sep. 22, 2025

• More Than Just Parks: "Trump Administration Decides Endangered Species Act Will No Longer Be Followed" Nov. 21, 2025

• Works for Nature: "Voters Deliver Big Wins for Conservation Funding in 2025." Nov. 10, 2025

• H.R. 1:

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act

https://morethanjustparks.substack.com/p/trump-administration-decides-endangered?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web&triedRedirect=true

https://www.americanprogress.org/article/the-trump-administrations-expansive-push-to-sell-out-public-lands-to-the-highest-bidder/

Allan’s Sources:

• ProPublica and High Country News, "Wealthy Ranchers Profit from Public Lands", Dec. 2, 2025

• Center for Biological Diversity: "Trump Administration sued over attempted removal of BLM's Public Lands Rule" Nov. 10, 2025

• NYT: "The US is funding fewer grants in every area of science and and medicine", Dec. 2, 2025.

• Union for Concerned Scientists: Attacks on Science

• [Lawfare Litigation Tracker](

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