** Opening Bears Ears to oil and gas drilling
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Friday, February 7, 2020
Bears Ears National Monument ([link removed])

The Bureau of Land Management released resource management plans for the reduced Bears Ears National Monument and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, opening the areas President Trump removed from the monument to mining, drilling, and logging. The 2016 presidential order, an action still being challenged in court ([link removed]) , attempted to eliminate more than 2 million acres from the two monuments.

When the administration announced it would conduct a review of existing monuments, more than 99 percent ([link removed]) of Americans that commented on the proposal opposed shrinking or eliminating national monuments. Since the reductions, the Interior Department has spent $4.6 million developing management plans for the administrative actions that may be overruled in court.

"The only certainty today's announcement creates is of a long drawn-out court fight to stop yet another unprecedented attack on America's public lands by the Trump administration. With these plans, the administration is racing to allow new development on formerly protected public lands before the courts can overturn its illegal action," said ([link removed]) Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Jesse Prentice-Dunn.
Quick hits


** Company eyes massive lithium deposit on public lands in Nevada for mining
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Mountain West News ([link removed])


** Report: Interior Department leased nearly 1 million acres of public lands prioritized for big game to oil, gas
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Colorado Politics ([link removed])


** Trump administration to allow drilling in shrunken Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | NPR ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed]) | Bloomberg ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | Mountain West News ([link removed]) | HuffPost
([link removed])


** BLM leadership expanded oil drilling in Colorado over local staff objections
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The Hill ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])


** Locally foraged piñon nuts are cherished in New Mexico—they’re also disappearing
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The Counter ([link removed])


** US Fish and Wildlife Service sees "cost savings" for cutting fines for killing migratory birds
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Trump administration begins blowing apart national monument in Arizona for border wall construction
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The Intercept ([link removed])


** Opinion: Time to end wasteful, speculative oil & gas leasing
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Nevada Current ([link removed])
Quote of the day

President Trump’s campaign to dismantle our national monuments is illegal and unpopular, and the courts are going to overturn it,” said Chair Grijalva. “He and his allies have spent years treating our public lands like treats to fossil fuel and mining companies, and the new giveaway is part of a pattern that won’t end until he’s out of office. This president is willing to inflict lasting damage on our country to benefit his industry boosters, and anyone who invests a dollar in drilling or digging in the newly opened areas should be prepared to lose their bet against public opinion and the strength of our legal system.”
—House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl Grijalva ([link removed])
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed]) | If you hit the snooze too much, you moose the sunrise. A moose browses for breakfast at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge #Wyoming ([link removed])
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