Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** House majority aims for Interior Department cuts
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Wednesday, March 29, 2023
Interior Department Headquarters, Wikimedia Commons ([link removed])

As budget season gets underway on Capitol Hill, members of the GOP majority in the House are pushing the Interior Department to ‘do more with less.’ At an Appropriations subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland warned lawmakers of the effects a proposed spending freeze ([link removed]) would have on public lands.

Subcommittee Chairman Mike Simpson of Idaho told Haaland that he wanted "to have a serious discussion about how to do more with less." Haaland warned that keeping spending at 2022 fiscal year levels would cause a hiring freeze ([link removed]) , reduce the number of wildland firefighters, and affect Interior's ability to hire seasonal employees.

The hearing wasn't entirely antagonistic. Rep. Mark Amodei of Nevada noted that officials in regional Bureau of Land Management offices told him that they couldn't fill some positions ([link removed]) because of the high cost of living in some areas. Amodei urged Interior to consider housing programs similar to ones for park service employees and wildland firefighters. Haaland indicated she would discuss potential solutions with Amodei.

During the hearing, former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, now a member of the House subcommittee, repeatedly clashed with Haaland over critical minerals. Following the hearing, Zinke approached Haaland, holding a cowboy hat, and told her “I wear a hat, but it’s not cowboys and Indians, I’ll tell you.”

Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning is scheduled to discuss her agency's budget request, including a plan to speed up renewable energy permitting ([link removed]) , at a hearing today.
Quick hits


** How Gavin Newsom 'beat big oil'
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Politico ([link removed])


** Haaland, House GOP, clash over critical minerals, budget proposal
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E&E News ([link removed]) | Roll Call ([link removed]) | Bloomberg ([link removed])


** Montana property owners win jurisdictional fight at Supreme Court in highly technical case
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Bloomberg ([link removed]) | Missoula Current ([link removed]) | Reason ([link removed])


** Why Biden's protection of Avi Kwa Ame is so important
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Nevada Public Radio ([link removed])


** Opinion: Castner Range will give outdoor access for communities of color in Texas
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Dallas Morning News ([link removed])


** Colorado to cut hunting licenses in northwest by 40% to protect herds hurt by hard winter, vehicle collisions
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Denver Post ([link removed])


** Video: Meet the economist with the answer to everything—put a value on nature
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New York Times ([link removed])


** Getting a national park reservation can be a pain. Here's what you need to know
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National Geographic ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” There’s something pretty exciting about collaboratively resolving a 46-year mine fight. That doesn’t happen. Now it’s just a matter of getting everyone across the finish line.”
—Julie Nania, Crested Butte's 46th "Red Lady," Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Picture this


** @natlparkservice ([link removed])
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Scaramoose, Scaramoose, will you do the Fandango?⁣
📸: @GrandTetonNPS ([link removed])

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