In this episode, AJ and Gabby take a break from their regular programming to discuss the sale of public lands as part of the federal budget reconciliation bill.

On June 11, 2025, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee Hearing to Examine the President’s Budget Request for the Department of the Interior for Fiscal Year 2026 took place. In it, senators discuss “The “Mandatory Disposal of Bureau of Land Management Land And National Forest System Land for Housing,” which would require the sale of 2-3 million acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land and U.S. Forest Service (USFS) land within a five year period.

BLM and USFS land is public land—YOUR land. Why are senators trying to include the sale of our land as part of the budget reconciliation bill? Some theorize that it’s part of a systematic, long-term approach to shift public lands towards private control. The current reconciliation effort isn’t an isolated policy—it’s the culmination of decades of ideological moves.

If you care about the American public retaining access to the land we collectively own, now is the time to speak up. Contact your senators via social media, phone, email, or snail mail and tell them what you think. Three million acres of your lands are on the line.

Listen to past episodes here: Project Upland Podcast

If you want to support independent journalism, check out the Project Upland Podcast Patreon.

Links

• Watch the Senate hearing here.
• Read “More Details Emerge Around the Public Land Sale Bill — and It’s Worse Than You Think” by Andrew McKean here.
• This ArcGIS map visualizes the 250+ million acres of public lands eligible for sale in the Senate budget reconciliation package.

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How an 1885 dissection unraveled a hidden story about invasive worms and the migration routes of the American woodcock in North America.

In 1887, Frederick Webster, a taxidermist from Washington, D.C., wrote a short article in a scientific journal. In it, he described dissecting a woodcock from Martha’s Vineyard that had a crop filled entirely with ferns. Why did this woodcock stray from its usual diet of invertebrates? A.J. and Gabby, hosts of the Project Upland Podcast, search for the answer—only to uncover the surprising story of invasive worms in North America.

Together with woodcock researcher Dr. Amber Roth and soil ecologist Dr. Peter Groffman, we learn how eco-engineering has destroyed native landscapes, contributed to the spread of ticks and invasive plants, and more. From woodcock migration during the Ice Age to the tobacco trade, this investigation is full of twists and turns.

Listen to past episodes here: Project Upland Podcast

If you want to support independent journalism, check out the Project Upland Podcast Patreon.

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In this episode, Gabby and AJ explore the mystery of ruffed grouse drumming—starting in the 1700s, when naturalists first theorized about the sound, and tracing the evolution of human technology that finally unlocked the truth behind this unique behavior. Along the way, they talk to biologist Alaina Roth, Wisconsin’s statewide ruffed grouse specialist, who sheds light on grouse life history, drumming counts, and how technology is transforming wildlife surveys. This episode covers everything from historical myths and early scientific discoveries using cameras to modern AI-driven drumming surveys and the critical role of habitat in grouse conservation.

Listen to past episodes here: Project Upland Podcast

If you want to support independent journalism, check out the Project Upland Podcast Patreon.

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Support the show