The Bureau of Land Management recently approved the Townsite Data Center, a project that would construct a data center on 88.5 acres of public land near Lake Mead in southern Nevada, marking this as the first approved data center on federal public lands.
After skipping the environmental review process, the BLM announced the project as part of the Trump administration’s effort to accelerate permitting for data center infrastructure as the demand for AI and computing power continues to grow.
After the BLM’s announcement in late July, it left many of us asking why public lands should become a resource for powering the AI boom at all, and who ultimately benefits from that development?
To help answer those questions and give each of us an idea of how we can actually fight back against data centers, I’m joined by Thomas Meyer, the Deputy Political Director at Food & Water Watch.
Based in Seattle, Washington, Thomas works with organizers, volunteers, and coalition partners across the country to develop campaign strategies and build grassroots power.
He has played a major role in multiple successful Food & Water Watch campaigns, including stopping dirty energy legislation in Congress and organizing the March to End Fossil Fuels.
Thomas brings actionable advice and stories of how communities across the country, sometimes starting with just one brave individual, have successfully stopped data centers where they live.
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Food and Water Watch: https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/2026/03/05/how-to-stop-a-data-center-near-you/
Map of Data Centers: https://www.brockovichdatacenter.com/
Good Jobs First: https://goodjobsfirst.org/
Townsite Data Center: https://www.blm.gov/announcement/approved-decision-townsite-data-center
No AI Data Centers on Federal Lands Act: https://tlaib.house.gov/posts/rep-tlaib-introduces-a-bill-to-ban-ai-data-centers-on-federal-lands
