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


** BLM public lands rule is a common sense solution
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Monday, June 26, 2023
Overview of Comb Ridge landscape. Photos courtesy of BLM Utah, Flickr. ([link removed])

The Salt Lake Tribune published an editorial ([link removed]) on Sunday that came out swinging against Utah politicians and naysayers of the Bureau of Land Management's proposed public lands rule.

The rule aims to put conservation and restoration on equal footing with other multiple uses of public lands, including grazing, drilling, and mining. As the Tribune editorial board notes ([link removed]) , "outdoor recreation and tourism are clearly the economic backbone of Utah outside the Wasatch Front," employing more people and generating more income than ranching, drilling and mining put together, and "federal land should obviously be managed in a way that, whenever logical, recognizes, protects, even expands, that use."

Emphasizing ([link removed]) that all 23 million acres of land managed by the BLM in Utah "belong to every American who lives and works in Utah," as well as Americans living in every state of the nation, "and generations yet unborn," the Tribune editorial board calls on the rule's critics ([link removed]) , including members of Utah's congressional delegation, to recognize that conservation can also be the highest and best use of federal land, and may indeed be a more successful approach to facilitating economic growth.


** BLM Restoration Landscapes: San Luis Valley and Lower Pecos
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In celebration of the Bureau of Land Management's announcement of $161 million to fund Restoration Landscapes ([link removed]) , Look West is highlighting landscapes across the West each day. Today's landscapes are Colorado's San Luis Valley and New Mexico's Lower Pecos. At the headwaters of the Rio Grande, the San Luis Valley provides essential wetlands and riparian habitat for birds and other wildlife. The restoration projects planned for the area will foster climate resilience while benefiting historically underserved, disproportionately impacted communities. Restoring the landscape around the Lower Pecos will enhance recreation and hunting opportunities for rural communities and enhance vital habitat for numerous protected species. Across the two landscapes, BLM will spend over $13 million to restore more than 2.6 million acres.
Quick hits


** Train carrying asphalt, sulfur plunges into Yellowstone River as bridge fails
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed]) | Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | NBC News ([link removed])


** Editorial: The BLM public lands rule is a common sense solution
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Stream regulation in Arizona likely slashed by U.S. Supreme Court ruling
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Arizona Daily Star ([link removed])


** Report: Measures toprotect communities from wildfire aren't getting enough support
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Boise State Public Radio ([link removed])


** Despite historic Lower Colorado River deal, benefits to Lake Mead amount to a drop in the bucket
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CNN ([link removed])


** 81-year-old angler vows to keep fighting restrictive stream access ruling
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Denver Post ([link removed])


** Oregon county sues fossil fuel companies for $52 billion over damages caused by 2021 "heat dome"
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Oregon Public Broadcasting ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Opinion: Justice Clarence Thomas wants to demolish Indian Law
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The New Republic ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” What is new about this case is how the leadership of Multnomah County [Oregon] is utilizing irrefutable climate science to hold corporate polluters accountable for their role in causing a discreet and disastrous event, as well as recent wildfires.”
—Prosecuting attorney Roger Worthington, OPB ([link removed])
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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The spectacular white-faced ibis with its colorful purple, crimson, teal and gold feathers and ruby-red eyes is sure to brighten your day! Photo at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge in Utah courtesy of Leslie Scopes Anderson

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