July, in brief

Key news from July:

• The Bureau of Land Management released a proposed oil and gas rule that would affect how fossil fuels are leased and produced on national public lands. The rule would implement the Inflation Reduction Act’s reforms of the oil and gas leasing system, providing taxpayers with a fair return when public lands are leased to private companies. The proposed rule would also cut down on rampant speculative leasing in the onshore program so that those lands can instead be managed for other uses like conservation and recreation. Finally, the rule would reform the bonding rates that oil and gas companies must post in order to ensure public lands are cleaned up when companies abandon wells—a provision that was removed from the Inflation Reduction Act by the Senate parliamentarian. The Center for Western Priorities' latest blog post tracks the Biden administration's proposed reforms to federal oil and gas leasing.

• President Joe Biden used his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument. The gruesome murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi in 1955 shocked the nation and helped catalyze the modern civil rights movement—in part due to the insistence of Mamie Till-Mobley, Emmett Till’s mother, that the injustice and violence of her son’s death be publicized. The monument will be managed by the National Park Service and includes three locations: Roberts Temple Church of God in Christ in Chicago where Emmett Till’s funeral was held; Graball Landing in Mississippi, believed to be where Till’s mutilated body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River; and the Tallahatchie County Second District Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi, where Till’s murderers were tried and acquitted by an all-white jury.

• A statistical analysis of more than 150,000 public comments finds nearly universal support for the Bureau of Land Management’s proposed Conservation and Landscape Health Rule, colloquially known as the Public Lands Rule. The Center for Western Priorities performed a sentiment analysis on a random sample of 10,000 public comments submitted to regulations.gov, which found 92 percent of the comments encouraged the Interior Department to adopt the Public Lands Rule as written or strengthen its conservation measures. 4.5 percent of comments encouraged the department to withdraw or significantly weaken the rule. Another 3.5 percent of comments did not express a clear opinion in support or opposition to the rule.

• The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's subcommittee on public lands, forests, and mining heard a slate of pro-conservation legislation. The bills considered include protections for the Dolores River, the Thompson Divide and additional areas of Colorado, Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands, and the Olympic National Forest in Washington. The subcommittee also heard testimony on a bill that would discourage speculative leasing of public lands that are unlikely to ever produce oil and gas. While these bills are moving in the Senate, they face an uphill battle in the House. The House Natural Resources Committee, which will hear these bills or their House companions, is focused on eroding protections for public lands rather than creating them.

• Over 500 people attended a public meeting in Flagstaff, Arizona to comment on the proposed Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni Grand Canyon National Monument. The meeting, hosted by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, was held to hear from Tribes and communities about a proposal from the Grand Canyon Tribal Coalition to protect approximately 1.1 million acres of land that is near the Grand Canyon but not part of the existing national park. Comments offered were overwhelmingly in support of the proposal. Supporters also demonstrated outside the meeting. Congressmen Raúl Grijalva and Ruben Gallego, both of Arizona, have also introduced legislation to create a monument; a companion bill has been introduced by Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema. Legislation to protect this area has been introduced in every Congress since 2008 but has languished along with other popular conservation proposals in recent years. Tribal and community members encouraged President Biden to consider exercising his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate a national monument.

What to watch for in August:

• The Bureau of Land Management will host a series of public meetings about the proposed oil and gas rule.
• Will the Bureau of Land Management issue new rules on public lands grazing?
• Will the Interagency Working Group report on hardrock mining be released?
• As members of Congress spend time in their home states during the August recess, will they recognize the importance of public lands to outdoor voters in their states?

From the Center for Western Priorities:

Winning the West: More Monuments

A new ad campaign from the Center for Western Priorities is urging President Joe Biden to designate new national monuments in order to protect several American landscapes and inspire voters.

The ad, “More Monuments,” reminds President Biden that outdoor voters place an emphasis on protecting public lands, making the designation of new national monuments important to the administration’s conservation record. The ad is part of a six-figure ad buy that will air on CNN and MSNBC in the Denver, Phoenix, Tucson, and Reno markets, on Hulu in Washington, DC and online over the next six weeks.

“Our latest ad sends a clear message to President Biden that the designation of new national monuments is good for his conservation legacy and for inspiring Westerners with real progress,” Center for Western Priorities executive director Jennifer Rokala said. “The Winning the West project demonstrates time and again that conservation is both a winning and a unifying issue in the West. We hope President Biden will take this opportunity to inspire millions by continuing to safeguard our cherished landscapes for generations to come.”

Road to 30 Postcards: Pacific Remote Islands

In the Pacific Ocean, about 1,200 miles east of the Marianas, 900 miles southwest of the Hawaiian islands, and 1,000 miles north of Samoa, sits a collection of seven islands and atolls known as Pacific Remote Islands (PRI) Marine National Monument.

A new post as part of the Center for Western Priorities' Road to 30 Postcards campaign explores the historic and cultural significance of Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument—one of the most biodiverse marine ecosystems in the world—and the opportunity for President Joe Biden to permanently protect the seascape.

Not only would the proposed PRI National Marine Sanctuary ensure permanent protections for a critical ocean enclave while honoring cultural traditions and history, it would fulfill the Biden administration’s promise to protect 30 percent of U.S. waters by 2030.

"In a world of climate change where we know things are being pushed away from the Western Pacific, this is the perfect place to set up what I call kind of a bank account," said Robert Richmond, research professor and Director of the Kewala Marine Laboratory at University of Hawaii Manoa, in a conversation with the Center for Western Priorities. "The living resources are your principal and their reproductive output is the interest."

Learn more about the effort to protect the Pacific Remote Islands in the Center for Western Priorities' latest Postcard in our Road to 30 series, highlighting the opportunities and ways President Biden can put America on track to reach the goal of protecting 30 percent of America's lands and waters by the end of the decade.

The Bureau of Land Management just proposed a rule that would essentially codify the oil and gas reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act as well as make a few other important changes to the federal leasing program. The proposed rule would fundamentally change the way oil and gas leasing occurs on public lands, putting the federal government in the driver’s seat instead of the oil and gas companies that have driven the process for far too long. Kate and Aaron are joined by Taxpayers for Common Sense Vice President Autumn Hanna and Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby to talk about it.

Kate and Aaron are joined by Lori Faeth, senior director of government relations at the Land Trust Alliance, to discuss the Farm Bill and private land conservation. The Farm Bill conservation programs are the largest single federal source of funding for private land conservation. Farm Bill programs create significant opportunities for land trusts to protect high-priority farm and ranch lands, grasslands, wetlands and forests. The programs provide matching funds to conservation partners, helping local investments go further to protect America’s working lands

Analysis: Most commenters favor BLM’s proposed public lands rule

Boise State Public Radio
 

Western states’ budgets, industries rely on federal lands. So does wildlife

Idaho Capital Sun
 

Tracing mining’s threat to U.S. waters

New York Times
 

Rockhounds fight for access to Mojave Trails National Monument

Los Angeles Times
 

Report: Outdoor recreation and oil and gas leasing reform

Outdoor Alliance
 

Appeals court upholds Thacker Pass approval

Associated Press
 

Secretary Haaland's charged mission of healing

Washington Post
 

Western governors want to expand geothermal development

Wyoming Public Radio
 

Opinion: Equitable access to the outdoors will improve health and conservation in Utah and other states

Salt Lake Tribune
 

Five national park destinations that aren’t parks

New York Times

“My focus, and what I’m asking of my colleagues, is to manage for landscape health in everything we do. It is the narrative thread of all our work, even our partnership work. It is our obligation to the future to manage for landscape health today to leave as many options on the table as possible.”

—Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning, Billings Gazette