Natural Causes

James and journalist Jason Dove Mark explain the roadless rule, national forests, and the Trump administration's attempts to strip protections from tens of thousands of acres of public land.

 https://www.regulations.gov/document/FS-2025-0001-223869 
https://www.onxmaps.com/onx-access-initiatives/roadless-rule 
https://morethanjustparks.com/threatened-public-lands-map/ 

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James is joined by Molly to discuss how the Bureau of Land Management is quietly changing its approach to public land management and what it means for approximately 900 bison in Central Montana.

(originally run on It Could Happen Here in May 2026)

Sources:
https://apps.irs.gov/pub/epostcard/cor/810541893_202412_990_2025073023621659.pdf 

https://gov.mt.gov/_docs/governor/AmericanPrairieProposedDecisionJanuary162026.pdf 

https://public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2025-17537.pdf 

https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2026-01-21/blm-cancels-bison-grazing-permits-for-montana-nature-reserve

https://news.mt.gov/Governors-Office/Governor_Gianforte_Appeals_Judges_APR_Bison_Grazing_Decision#:~:text=Following%20the%20judge's%20order%2C%20DNRC,appeal%20may%20be%20found%20here. 

https://t.co/HUAyMUnOVi 

https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/local/2015/06/18/business-leaders-provide-green-behind-conservation-effort/28960843/ 

https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-revokes-american-prairie-bison-grazing-permit

https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/estatetaxfinal.pdf 

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/12/2026-09386/rescission-of-conservation-and-landscape-health-rule  

https://www.blm.gov/about/laws-and-regulations/conservation-and-landscape-health-rule 

https://largetribes.org/2026/02/affirmative-action-for-cattle-tribes-challenge-feds-plan-to-revoke-bison-grazing-leases-on-public-land-media-share/

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James follows up on last week's episode and talked to Miles Gray about what it is like to lose your home in a fire and how people can continue to help fire survivors.

Sources:

https://lacounty.gov/2026/08/04/county-of-los-angeles-fire-department-releases-the-investigative-reports-on-the-cause-of-the-eaton-fire/  
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-19/sce-decomissioned-power-line-eaton-fire-risk  
https://apnews.com/general-news-ffcad08a8ef14fa88df8bacdd9e73883  
https://calmatters.org/politics/2026/08/newsom-wildfire-utility-liability-package/  
https://x.com/WildfireVics1st/status/2078175502523585021  
https://clickstrategies.us/  

Donation Links:

Spokane Immigrants Rights Coalition: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/sirc-community-fund 

Spectrum running the Rainbow Relief Fund: https://spectrumcenterspokane.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donate 

Colville Fund: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/cedar-fund-wildfire-recovery-campaign 

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Weeks after more than 600 houses in Spokane burned, James talks to community members about how people prepared, cared for each other, and worried about migration enforcement during the fire evacuations.

Sources:

Aldo Leopold- A Sand County Almanac

 https://www.instagram.com/p/DcBqjR6RdzJ/

Donation Links:

Spokane Immigrants Rights Coalition: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/sirc-community-fund 
Spectrum running the Rainbow Relief Fund: https://spectrumcenterspokane.app.neoncrm.com/forms/donate 
Colville Fund: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/cedar-fund-wildfire-recovery-campaign 

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James looks into the recent Cyclospora outbreak and what it can tell us about solidarity, food safety, and where our food comes from.

Sources:

https://newsroom.haas.berkeley.edu/magazine/spring-2026/taylor-farms/  
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2014/nov/23/billion-dollar-california-salad-company-exploits-undocumented-migrants-say-workers-and-teamsters 
https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-economist-interview-2000790016 
https://www.thefp.com/p/cyclosporiasis-outbreak-lettuce-media?utm_source=publication-search 
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fda-report-e-coli-outbreak-onions-taylor-farms/ 
https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/imo/media/doc/2026-07-27garciatotaylorfarmsrecyclosporacontaminatedlettuce.pdf 
https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Bruce+Taylor&contributor_employer=Taylor+Farms+ 
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/07/2025-14967/requirements-for-additional-traceability-records-for-certain-foods-compliance-date-extension 
https://bsky.app/profile/ufw.bsky.social/post/3msj3j7ordt2w 

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James talks with Molly Conger about the javelina and their installable appetite for golf courses.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65x0RvhJNa8 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/nov/05/conservation.sciencenews   

https://zoologicalbulletin.de/BzB_Volumes/Volume_56_1_2/049_054_BzB56_1_2_Moraves_Jiri_and_B%C3%B6hme_Wolfgang.pdf  

https://www.azgfd.com/wildlife-conservation/living-with-wildlife/living-with-javelina/  

https://content.civicplus.com/api/assets/8e8abbf4-6775-4575-9a10-fedacb7cb2c1 

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Natural Causes is a podcast about the politics and practicalities of going outside in a world on fire, hosted by Dr James Stout. It approaches the outdoors, conservation, agriculture, food sovereignty, fire management and Indigenous land rights as interconnected issues. We want to combine unflinching journalism with unabashed advocacy for the land we all share, and welcome everyone into the outdoors and the fight for our public lands. Our shared wild spaces are under threat like never before, The Trump administration is stripping protections, extractive capitalism and data centers are pillaging out common resources, and climate change is accelerating every day. Now, more than ever, we need serious journalism and serious solidarity that engages people with the struggle to protect these spaces for generations to come. New episodes every week.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.