Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Interior clears path for controversial Nevada lithium mine
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Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Nevada mining operation. Photo: BLM Nevada, Flickr ([link removed])
Interior Department Solicitor Robert Anderson released an opinion ([link removed]) on Tuesday clarifying how mining companies can legally store mining waste on public lands.
Prompted by recent court decisions regarding the defeated Rosemont Copper mine in Arizona and the proposed Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada, the new opinion offers guidance for companies to site waste rock and tailings from mining operations ([link removed]) on federal lands under the General Mining Act of 1872. In doing so, the agency appeared to resolve remaining legal questions ([link removed]) surrounding the massive and controversial Thacker Pass mine.
Interior Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau said ([link removed]) the opinion is "one step of many the Department of the Interior is taking to update guidance for mining companies to reflect the realities of the 21st century." Even so, Native Americans have been staging a protest ([link removed]) since last week near the site of the Thacker Mine, saying that federal law prohibits construction near a site where dozens of Paiute tribal members were massacred by the U.S. cavalry in 1865. If completed, the open pit mine would be deeper than the length of a football field.
Quick hits
** An area the size of Texas is needed for wind and solar—could it be halved?
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Washington Post ([link removed])
** Colorado governor vetoes bill that could have delayed gray wolf reintroduction
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Denver Post ([link removed])
** Interior clears path for controversial Nevada lithium mine
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** Black bear hunter accused of killing protected grizzly near Yellowstone
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** Water watchers and wildlife celebrate the return of the Rio Grande
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Source NM ([link removed])
** From "Walker Ridge" to "Molok Luyuk": protecting a haven for California biodiversity
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CapRadio ([link removed])
** How well did the Colorado legislature protect Mother Nature in 2023?
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Denver Post ([link removed])
** Social media uproar ignited over rock defacement near Moab
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” One of the best things that people in Colorado who are concerned about the environment, the air quality, and their own health can do is shift away from gas-powered yard equipment. Mowing your lawn and maintaining your landscape doesn’t mean spewing pollution into the air.”
—Kirsten Schatz, clean air advocate for the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, Denver Post ([link removed])
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
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Powerful, aggressive, territorial and tenacious. Known for their fearless nature, wolverines roam remote and rugged sections of the U.S., embracing the extreme cold and challenging terrain, like those found at @GatesArcticNPS ([link removed]) in Alaska. Photo by S. Behrns / NPS
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