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Center for Western Priorities

U.S. left-leaning conservation advocacy

Owned byA project of Resources Legacy Fund, a California-based nonprofit that acts as its fiscal sponsor. It is not a commercial media company. Aaron Weiss became executive director on May 1, 2026, succeeding Jennifer Rokala.
FundingPhilanthropic grants and donations, channeled through its fiscal sponsor, Resources Legacy Fund. It does not rely on advertising or subscriptions. I did not find a public donor breakdown in my research. Foundations and individual donors that support conservation causes are the typical funding base for groups like this.
On the administrationbroadly critical

Background

The Center for Western Priorities was founded in 2012 in Denver. It describes itself as a nonpartisan conservation and advocacy group that supplies information and pushes for accountability on public lands, water and communities in the American West. Jennifer Rokala, a former State Director for Colorado Senator Mark Udall, became executive director in 2015 and led the group for about 11 years. On May 1, 2026, she handed leadership to deputy director Aaron Weiss. The group publishes press statements, a daily news roundup, data projects, maps and policy analysis. It focuses on oil and gas leasing, national parks, wilderness, and Interior Department oversight. Despite the nonpartisan label, it takes clear policy positions in favor of protecting public lands and often cites polling showing Western voters support conservation. In 2026 its posts have sharply criticized Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and the Trump administration. Topics include National Park Service cuts, blocked park partner projects, possible loosening of wilderness protections, fossil fuel and data center approvals on public land, and a Senate permitting bill. It has also criticized past Republican officials, such as Rep. Rob Bishop's bill on the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Its perspective is best described as conservation-oriented advocacy that is generally aligned with Democratic and environmentalist positions.

Sources

  1. About - Center for Western Priorities
  2. Center for Western Priorities announces leadership change
  3. RELEASE: Jennifer Rokala, Former Udall Staffer, Joins Center for Western Priorities as Executive Director
  4. Burgum doubles down on Trump admin's least popular public land policies in House budget hearing
  5. Interior lays the groundwork for attacks on wilderness and wildlands
  6. STATEMENT: New map tracks $25.9 million in NPS projects blocked by Trump administration

Profile compiled 2026-10-23; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.

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