Ground Shift - Big Ideas about the Future of Public Land with Matt Lee-Ashley

Matt Lee-Ashley is the Executive Director of Ground Shift, a new project asking some big, fundamental questions about the structure of our public lands system here in the US.

Illustration by Kate Chesterton

Matt Lee-Ashley has a fascinating background in politics and public land policy. He served as the chief of staff and director of policy and programs for the White House council on environmental quality under the Biden administration, and served as a deputy chief of staff for the Department of the Interior.

Ground Shift is a new project - Matt took on the Executive Director role in February of this year - but they are asking some big, fundamental questions about the structure of our public lands system here in the US.

I’ve been fascinated by public land management for many years now. I serve on the board of directors for a non-profit called the Birds of Prey NCA Partnership, which is a friends group associated with the Morley Nelson Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area. This National Conservation Area is just south of Boise, ID, where I live, and my involvement with this protected area shapes my perspective on public land management.

I’ve seen the effects first hand of the current administration’s efforts to dismantle the Bureau of Land Management, the agency responsible for managing my local National Conservation Area. I’ve interviewed a number of folks over the past few years about efforts to fight back against this dismantling, and I’m always disappointed by the limitations that these positive initiatives face.

This is why I was so excited to speak with Matt. Ground Shift isn’t shying away from big ideas. They are leaning into the chaos, and treating it like an opportunity. Their ideas cross partisan lines, and benefit from the growing public understanding that our systems and institutions tasked with managing public lands are fundamentally broken.

I encourage folks to check out the Ground Shift website, where you’ll find a series of essays written by a diverse array of prominent thinkers focused on public lands.