Disinformation has sadly become a part of American political discourse, but one environmental organization is calling out a group of anti-government extremists for spinning false narratives.

The Center for Western Priorities published a report this week tracking several "fake news" stories about the 30x30 Initiative tied to President Joe Biden's America the Beautiful campaign.

Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center, said a group named American Stewards of Liberty (ASL) has made it its mission to undercut the plan to protect 30% of public lands by 2030.

"It's a very coordinated campaign," Weiss observed. "And it's one that we really see one group, American Stewards of Liberty, acting as a bridge between the extremists and more mainstream anti-conservation politicians."

Weiss pointed out one of its stated goals is the "delisting" of endangered species. ASL is holding a "Stop 30x30 Summit" this weekend to further plan its campaign to convince local governments to reject proposals to protect private lands. ASL did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

Weiss noted his organization has been monitoring ASL since its formation about a year ago, and has tracked public lands extremism since the 2016 takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.

He said ASL often uses scare tactics on local officials to achieve its goals.

"American Stewards of Liberty brought them a crazy story about the risk of a protected species, the American burying beetle," Weiss recounted. "And said, 'Oh no, if this beetle shows up, then other farms might have to protect it as well. And we couldn't have that in our county.' "

Weiss emphasized the group is well-funded but runs its disinformation campaign in the shadows.

"It truly is about sunlight," Weiss asserted. "Making sure folks know the extent of this coordinated effort, making sure that folks know when American Stewards of Liberty shows up in your county. Here is the disinformation book that they're going to bring, that they're going to try to sell county commissioners."

According to the report, ASL has ties to prominent right-wing politicians and causes, including Congress members Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan (Utah), and the American Petroleum Institute.

Imagine reaching your favorite Grand Teton National Park trail in half the time because of new pull-outs that clear traffic on arterial roads.

Or driving into Moose Junction, parking your car, and hopping on an electric-assisted bicycle to explore the park on a dedicated path that connects with a ferry across Jenny Lake to Hidden Falls.

These are the types of ideas that park Superintendent Chip Jenkins said he hopes to gather from visitors to help officials map out the iconic park's future.

"We're trying to get information from people," said Jenkins, "about the kinds of experiences that they would like to have at Grand Teton 10, 15, 20 years from now."

He said because National Parks belong to all Americans, it's important for people to have a say in how they're managed.

You can add your vision for improving the visitor experience at Grand Teton through October 10 online at 'parkplanning.nps.gov.'

The number of people from Wyoming and across the U.S. visiting Grand Teton National Park has swelled over the past three decades, reaching nearly four million in 2021.

But Jenkins said visitation data isn't like a thermometer going up or down, it's more like a balloon where people are doing different things on the landscape in a different way.

"So, while the overall total number of visitors in 2022 was similar to 2014," said Jenkins, "we had over a 50% increase in the number of people who were hiking on our trails."

Park officials have been adapting to visitation trends for over 100 years. In the 1920s and 30s, Highway 89 was created to help people reach Dubois and Riverton.

In the 1950s and 60s there was massive investment in Colter Bay to support increases in overnight stays. Jenkins said more recently, there has been a growing interest in experiencing the park by bicycle.

"It's just a wonderful way to be able to be out on the landscape," said Jenkins. "You'll see many many people like to do it as a family getting together or a group of friends getting together. Of course, E-bikes are opening up all sorts of opportunities for folks."

Many across the state of Nevada will celebrate National Public Lands Day tomorrow.

Nevadans will be able to visit state parks for free on Saturday, to encourage people to explore all the recreation opportunities the state has to offer.

Andrew Sierra, political and organizing director for the Nevada Conservation League, said this year's focus is about the effects of climate change and equity. He added underserved and underinvested communities many times are not able to enjoy the outdoors, which is why, in the most recent legislative session, they supported efforts to fund the Outdoor Education and Recreation Program and bridge the equity gap.

"Not many people's families are too worried or concerned about taking a hike when they are more concerned about putting food on the table," Sierra acknowledged. "If we can help our schools, if we can help community groups through that -- and working alongside state agencies to be able to really get to the point of equity -- then we solve many problems."

Sierra added his group and other stakeholders will be at Craig Ranch Regional Park this Saturday starting at 9 a.m. He said organizers chose to hold the event there, as it is what he describes as an "important part of North Las Vegas," closer to BIPOC and front line communities disproportionately affected by climate change.

No matter where you may find yourself in the state, Sierra pointed out public lands play a significant role in what it means to be a Nevadan. He added it is why it is important to recognize both the conservation efforts and the clean energy transition taking place on Nevada's public lands.

"Clean energy -- be it public lands, be it conservation -- all these issues are interconnected in one way or another," Sierra stressed. "If it is public lands that interests you or if it's clean energy, I just urge folks to get involved and get informed, especially when it comes to clean energy. It's going to be an ever-evolving industry."

In the Department of Energy's latest energy and employment report, Nevada ranks fourth for the most new clean energy jobs in communities of color. Sierra noted his group would like to see more federal dollars invested in education and apprenticeship programs to keep the momentum going.

The wild burro population in northwest Arizona is about four times the appropriate management level, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

The agency is seeking public comment on a proposal which would decrease the number of wild burros in three herd management areas south of Kingman. There are about 2,300 burros in the area.

Philip Cooley - branch chief for biological resources with the BLM's Arizona office - said burro numbers have exceeded what the land is capable of supporting, which has consequences for wildlife habitat and local communities.

"The animals overuse the resources in their herd management area and then, as those resources start getting overused and they're competing for the resources, they start moving out into areas outside of the herd management area," said Cooley. "And this is when we can have concerns with the animals going onto private property and causing damage."

Cooley added that the proposal calls for using temporary fertility controls, sex-ratio adjustments and periodic removals of wild burros over a 10-year period.

Although some wild horse and burro advocates prefer other alternatives, Cooley added that it's important to make sure all uses on public lands in Arizona are taken into account.

The comment period closes October 11.

Cooley said because wild burros have very few natural predators and are protected from hunting, herds can quickly grow in size. He added that Arizona is one of several BLM states that has a wild horse and burro program, and says there are coordinated efforts among those states to - in his words - "leverage resources and manage things appropriately."

Cooley said when animals are removed from the range, they're put into the BLM's Adoption and Sales Program, to be placed in private homes off the range.

"We do the 'gathers' in combination with the fertility control," said Cooley. "It's not permanent sterilization, it is a temporary fertility control, that slows down how fast the animals repopulate. It delays getting huge overpopulations."

He added that the agency determines the numbers for each herd management area by analyzing the rangeland resources, as well as population data spanning several years.