Public land
The department's 2026-2030 strategic plan pairs land sales with more workforce cuts, as a Senate permitting bill that critics say would lock in public-land approvals advances.
By Outdoor Unc
The Department of the Interior released a five-year strategic plan on Tuesday that says it "will work to decrease the size of the federal estate by offering to states, localities and Tribes the opportunity to purchase federal lands," Outdoor Life reports. The 28-page plan covers fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
According to the plan, proceeds from selling lands that are not "nationally significant" would go toward acquiring land for conservation and recreation elsewhere, "while at the same time decreasing the federal taxpayer's financial responsibility to manage federal lands." Outdoor Life's account of the plan does not identify specific parcels or the criteria for sale. It also says the department "will consolidate its workforce," adds staff only in law enforcement and public safety, and folds Interior's wildland fire programs into the new U.S. Wildland Fire Service.
"From a hunting and angling perspective, we love the places that are not of national significance," Ryan Callaghan, president of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers, told Outdoor Life. "I'd need to see the criteria for disposal, but at first blush this flies in the face of overwhelming positive appreciation and sentiment for America's public lands." He noted that state trust lands generally carry tighter rules on camping, driving and shooting than federal land.
In a letter introducing the plan, Secretary Doug Burgum writes that "for the first time in human history, we can turn electricity into intelligence." Outdoor Life has reported that the administration is weighing at least a dozen data center proposals on public land covering at least 17,600 acres in the West. Kate Groetzinger of the Center for Western Priorities called the plan an effort "to pillage our public lands in order to power AI data centers."
Separately, the Senate voted 73-25 on Monday, November 9, to begin debate on the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA), a permitting bill. The Center for Western Priorities says provisions in it would bar agencies from revoking most permits in effect on or after November 6, 2026, limit judges to ordering a new environmental review rather than halting a project, and let developers seek compensation if a future administration deliberately slows permits. The center, which opposes the bill, lists Bears Ears, the Tongass, the Boundary Waters and California's Mojave Desert among places it considers at risk. Debate in the Senate continues.
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notice
Deer baiting and feeding banTaylor and Chippewa Co., WisconsinTaylor County: three-year ban from Dec 1, 2026; Chippewa County ban renewed two years from Dec 1, 2026; Clark County's existing ban unchangedchecked Nov 11
Hunting
A three-year ban on baiting and feeding deer starts December 1 in Taylor County, and Chippewa County's ban is renewed for two years.
By Outdoor Unc
A farm-raised deer on a deer farm in Taylor County, Wisconsin, has tested positive for chronic wasting disease, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday. The state agriculture department notified the DNR of the result, which is within 10 miles of both Chippewa and Clark counties.
State law requires a three-year ban on baiting and feeding deer in a county where CWD is detected, and a two-year ban in neighboring counties within 10 miles of the detection. Taylor County's three-year ban begins December 1, 2026, and Chippewa County's existing ban is renewed for two more years from that date.
Clark County already has a longer ban in place because of recent detections in wild deer there, so it is not affected. Any new CWD case during a ban renews it.
The DNR says baiting and feeding draw deer together around shared food, where infected animals can spread the disease through direct contact or by leaving prions in saliva, blood, feces and urine. The state's nine-day gun deer season opens November 21. Rules and maps are on the DNR's baiting and feeding page.
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advisory
High Surf Warnings, breaking waves 25 to 35 ftCurry, Coos, Douglas, Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, San Francisco and Monterey Co. · OR · CAOregon 10 a.m. Fri to 10 p.m. Sat; Del Norte and Humboldt 1 p.m. Fri to 4 a.m. Sun; San Francisco and Big Sur 6 p.m. Fri to 4 a.m. Sun (PST)checked Nov 11
Surfing
High Surf Warnings run Friday into the weekend from Coos Bay to Big Sur, and Eureka forecasters say a second large swell follows Sunday night.
By Outdoor Unc
The National Weather Service has issued High Surf Warnings for much of the Oregon and Northern California coast for a swell arriving Friday, November 13. Forecasters expect dangerously large breaking waves of 25 to 35 feet, bigger than the swell that brought waves to 14 feet to California's Central Coast earlier this week.
In southern Oregon, the Medford office's warning covers the beaches of Curry, Coos and Douglas counties, including Charleston, Port Orford, Gold Beach and Brookings, from 10 a.m. Friday to 10 p.m. Saturday. Breakers of 20 to 25 feet Friday are expected to build to 30 to 35 feet late Friday through Saturday, then ease to 24 to 27 feet late Saturday afternoon. The office expects waves to surge into normally dry areas, with infrastructure damage and significant beach erosion, and says conditions are likely to stay hazardous through Sunday and possibly Monday.
The Eureka office's warning for the Del Norte and Humboldt coasts, with a matching warning for southwestern Humboldt and the Mendocino coast, runs from 1 p.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Sunday for breaking waves of 25 to 35 feet. Forecasters there say any improvement late Saturday into Sunday will be brief, with a second large swell forecast late Sunday through Monday.
Around San Francisco and from southern Monterey Bay to Big Sur, the warning runs from 6 p.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Sunday for breakers of 25 to 30 feet. Before that, a Beach Hazards Statement for sneaker waves and strong rip currents, with 15- to 20-foot breakers, runs from 9 p.m. Wednesday through 6 p.m. Friday, and a Coastal Flood Advisory warns of up to 1.5 feet of water in low-lying areas around the midday high tides through Friday afternoon.
The weather service warns that waves of this size can sweep people off jetties, docks, rocks and beaches without warning. Check the warnings for your stretch of coast before heading out, and watch the surf from well above the reach of the water.
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advisory
Namah Lynx 8.4 mm and Genius 8.4 mm dynamic climbing ropesWorldwideStop using; batches NL-8.4-5413-260511-01, -260530-01, -260603-01, -260629-01, -260705-01checked Nov 11
Gear
The maker says testing showed the ropes can fail after only a few falls, below the EN 892 standard. Five batches sold between May and July are affected.
By Outdoor Unc
Namah Ropes has told owners of its Lynx 8.4 mm and Genius 8.4 mm dynamic climbing ropes to stop using them immediately, in a safety notice published Wednesday, November 11, by the UIAA, the international climbing and mountaineering federation.
The company says testing showed the rope can break after holding only a small number of falls, fewer than the EN 892 standard for dynamic mountaineering ropes requires, and that its own testing confirmed the rope does not comply. The cause is under investigation.
The affected batch numbers, printed on the end band at each end of the rope, are NL-8.4-5413-260511-01, NL-8.4-5413-260530-01, NL-8.4-5413-260603-01, NL-8.4-5413-260629-01 and NL-8.4-5413-260705-01. The ropes were supplied between May and July 2026; Namah says five units, 380 meters in total, went out.
Namah asks owners not to use the rope for climbing, belaying, rappelling, rescue or work at height, and not to lend, sell or give it away. Owners can arrange a return at [email protected], and the company asks them to tell anyone who may have used the rope, including partners, gyms, clubs and guide services. Its full notice covers refunds.
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notice
SS United States artificial reefGulf, about 25 miles SW of Destin, Okaloosa Co., FloridaSinking scheduled Wed, Nov 11; depth about 180 ft, top deck about 60 ft below the surfacechecked Nov 11
Fishing
Okaloosa County moved the sinking up a day for weather. The 990-foot liner will rest in about 180 feet of water, its top deck about 60 feet down.
By Outdoor Unc
The SS United States, the ocean liner that set the trans-Atlantic speed record on its maiden voyage in 1952, is scheduled to be sunk Wednesday, November 11, in the Gulf about 25 miles southwest of Destin, Florida, to become the world's largest artificial reef, the Associated Press reports. Okaloosa County's $13.5 million project is meant to draw divers and anglers and to create habitat for tuna, marlin and swordfish.
County spokesperson Nick Tomecek said concerns about weather led officials to move the sinking up a day. Federal environmental and explosives rules bar the use of explosives, so the county's contractor will open valves to flood the hull. Workers have removed the ship's cooling tanks and more than 400 portholes and cut 10-by-10-foot holes in the decks.
The 990-foot ship is to settle in about 180 feet of water with its top deck about 60 feet below the surface, shallow enough for less experienced divers. About 500 artificial reefs already lie in the area, Tomecek said, and the previous largest, the 911-foot aircraft carrier USS Oriskany sunk in 2006 off Pensacola, is close enough that an experienced diver could visit both in a day.
The ship's 65-foot smokestacks were removed before the sinking and are to anchor a new museum about the liner. It was decommissioned in 1969 and sat at a dock in Philadelphia from 1996 until recently.
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Fishing
By Outdoor Unc
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is stocking more than 82,000 jumbo rainbow trout, up to 17 inches and three pounds, in 30 lakes and ponds before Thanksgiving, November 27, for its annual Black Friday fishing. The list includes Battle Ground Lake and Klineline Pond in Clark County, Green Lake, Beaver Lake, Lake Alice and Lake Desire in King County, American and Tanwax lakes in Pierce County, five Snohomish County lakes, Hog Canyon Lake near Spokane and four Thurston County lakes. Anglers 16 and older need a current freshwater license, valid through March 31, 2027. In all, the agency says it is stocking more than 237,000 trout in 70 lakes this fall.
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