Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Biden administration protects land and wildlife in Alaska from oil & gas development
------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday, September 7, 2023
Northeast National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. Bureau of Land Management Alaska | Flickr ([link removed])
Yesterday, the Department of the Interior announced ([link removed]) it will cancel all seven remaining oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which were issued under a rushed and legally deficient leasing process during the Trump administration.
The Interior department also released a proposed rule ([link removed]) to increase protections for designated Special Areas—landscapes particularly sensitive to oil and gas development—within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), an area along Alaska's North Slope set aside for emergency oil drilling. This action fulfills a commitment ([link removed]) made by the Interior department in March to establish maximum protection for designated Special Areas in the NPR-A.
The proposed rule would put 10.6 million acres—more than 40 percent—of the NPR-A off-limits to future oil and gas development. It would also protect 13 million acres encompassed by existing Special Areas by limiting future oil and gas leasing and industrial development in five Special Areas known for their abundance of wildlife.
“We are pleased to see President Biden making good on his promise to implement durable protections for the irreplaceable landscapes and habitats of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska,” Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala said in a statement ([link removed]) following the announcement. “Wildlife such as caribou, grizzly and polar bears, and migratory birds all rely on these intact and undisturbed habitats which would be impossible to replace if they were disturbed and fragmented by oil and gas development.”
** Quick hits
------------------------------------------------------------
Groups sue Utah over failure to stop the rapid shrinking of the Great Salt Lake
Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed]) | NPR ([link removed])
Conservationists lobby Biden for new Oregon national monument
E&E News ([link removed])
Grand Canyon National Park announces water conservation measures
Associated Press ([link removed])
Opinion: Modernize the federal oil and gas program
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Sweeping California water conservation rules could force big cuts in some areas
Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
America’s fire spotters aren’t ready to fade away just yet
New York Times ([link removed])
Wyoming poised to take on carbon dioxide, pump it underground
WyoFile ([link removed])
New Yosemite crack appears overnight
Gripped ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
------------------------------------------------------------
” Protecting the largest space of undisturbed public lands in the U.S. and maintaining intact and healthy habitats for threatened wildlife must continue to be a top priority and we applaud the Biden administration’s unwavering commitment to conserving 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030.”
—Jennifer Rokala, Center for Western Priorities Executive Director, Center for Western Priorities ([link removed])
** Picture This
------------------------------------------------------------
@BLMUtah ([link removed])
🌵 Climbing pickle trees? Last time I dared that, they were Utah Yucca!
🐿️ Squirrel challenges keep me strong so I can#FightProcrastination ([link removed]) .
✨ Don't squirrel away your dreams! Explore BLM Utah #publiclands ([link removed]) , embrace adventure, and seize the day! #RedCliffsNCA ([link removed])
============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Copyright © 2023 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.
Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
