Public lands news wrap-up from October


** October, in brief
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Oil and gas development in the Permian Basin in New Mexico, blake.thornberry via Flickr ([link removed]) /CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 ([link removed])


** Key news from October:
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* The Biden administration announced the designation of Laura Daniel-Davis ([link removed]) as the acting deputy secretary of the Interior, replacing outgoing Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau. Daniel-Davis is currently the principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management at Interior. “Laura Daniel-Davis is the obvious and well-qualified choice for the number two spot at Interior,” said Aaron Weiss ([link removed]) , deputy director for the Center for Western Priorities. “She has the experience and deep knowledge of the challenges facing America’s public lands today, and as an existing member of Interior’s top leadership team, she will be able to step into the deputy secretary’s office with ease.”

* A coalition of U.S. senators, led by Colorado and New Mexico's delegations, are pushing the Bureau of Land Management ([link removed]) to finish updating the bonding requirements for oil and gas companies that drill on American public lands. The current minimum bonds that oil and gas companies must post in order to extract publicly-owned oil and gas haven't been updated in 50 years, and the Government Accountability Office has warned that taxpayers face millions of dollars in liability ([link removed]) when drillers abandon wells without cleaning up. The rates were on track to be overhauled in the Inflation Reduction Act, but the provisions were removed ([link removed]) on procedural grounds by the
Senate parliamentarian. The Interior Department then proposed to update its bonding rates as part of its oil and gas leasing rule ([link removed]) . Ninety-nine percent of public comments ([link removed]) encouraged the agency to finalize or even strengthen the final rule.

* Despite changes to the federal oil and gas leasing program that upped the cost of drilling on public land, oil and gas production in the U.S. is soaring under the Biden administration ([link removed]) . U.S. crude oil production has been climbing since Joe Biden came into office and is now nearing record highs, according to data released this month ([link removed]) by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The agency projects that oil production will hit a new all-time high ([link removed]) next year. Meanwhile, domestic natural gas production has also been hovering around record highs
([link removed]) . While the Biden administration has sought to balance oil and gas leasing with other priorities, such as protecting cultural sites and biodiversity on public lands as well as raising bonding requirements, it has actually approved more permits for drilling on public lands than the Trump administration had over the same period of time.

* A new Bureau of Land Management travel plan for more than 300,000 acres of public land in southeast Utah prioritizes conservation and protects wildlife habitat and cultural resources ([link removed]) . The plan, which is supported by local officials and the boating community, closes around 400 miles ([link removed]) of dirt roads in the planning area, leaving over 800 miles available to off-roaders. The plan ([link removed]) seeks to balance recreation and conservation in a much-visited area that has seen a surge in off-road vehicle use in recent years, according to High Country News ([link removed]) .
The land included in the plan surrounds popular destinations ([link removed]) like Labyrinth Canyon, a 49-mile segment of the Green River that is federally protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

* More than 100 policymakers in the U.S. House of Representatives gathered ([link removed]) to unveil the Clean Water Act of 2023, legislation that would restore protections for wetlands in the United States. The legislation is a response to Sackett v. EPA ([link removed]) , a landmark Supreme Court decision that gutted protections for most of the nation's wetlands. In the ruling, the court concluded that waters are not protected under the Clean Water Act of 1972 unless they have a continuous surface connection to key lakes and rivers that affect interstate commerce. In other words, waters that have an underground connection to lakes or rivers, or are at all separated by barriers, are no longer protected by the Clean Water Act. The proposed Clean Water Act of 2023 would reinstate the prior
definition ([link removed]) of protected waters.

* Climate activists warn that two mega-mergers ([link removed]) among oil companies could slow the energy transition and make it even less likely the world hits targets necessary to limit climate catastrophes. First, ExxonMobil's merger ([link removed]) with Pioneer Natural Resources established ExxonMobil as a dominant player in the Permian Basin across New Mexico and Texas. This month, Chevron announced ([link removed]) it's purchasing Hess in a $53 billion deal, adding to its portfolio in North Dakota's Bakken shale and overseas. E&E News reports ([link removed]) that both companies say the mergers
will allow them to increase production into the 2030s.


** What to watch for in November:
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* How will a potential government shutdown impact public lands?
* Will President Biden designate another new national monument?


** From the Center for Western Priorities:
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** Conservation Toolbox
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The Center for Western Priorities released Conservation Toolbox ([link removed]) , a comprehensive guide to the many federal tools available to protect America’s land, water, and biodiversity.

Beyond the most well-known designations like national parks and national monuments, there are many different tools available for achieving conservation objectives, and this guide helps readers understand the options available to policymakers and communities looking to protect public lands.

[link removed]

Some tools provide stronger, more durable protections, while others are quicker and easier to implement. All will be necessary in order to reach the national goal of protecting 30 percent of America’s land and water by 2030 ([link removed]) , a target scientists urge is necessary to protect biodiversity and mitigate the worst impacts of climate change.

“Conservation Toolbox seeks to emphasize that conservation is not a “one and done” scenario—it is more often a path than a final destination,” said Lauren Bogard, Director of Campaigns at the Center for Western Priorities and the co-author of the report. “The examples in this report show that small steps can often lead to major land protections. A local effort to better preserve a special area or fragile landscape today could start a cascade that leads to the designation of a new national park or monument years from now. And at the current rate of biodiversity loss, there’s no time to wait.”

The report ([link removed]) includes detailed information about and examples of 17 conservation tools and methods, as well as a strength and durability chart showing how permanent and protective each tool is in relation to the others. The tools and methods included in the report ([link removed]) were chosen with a focus on those best able to increase protection for cultural sites and biodiversity on federal public lands.
[link removed]


** Recent wins for fish passage in Western states ([link removed])
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Improving passage and connectivity for fish and other aquatic and terrestrial species is crucial to ensuring Western fish and wildlife can survive and thrive

[link removed]


** With a full set of tools, there has never been a better time to protect America’s public lands ([link removed])
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Selecting the right tool for the job can make all the difference. The same applies to conservation

[link removed]


** Expanding Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge: Stories from an old mining town ([link removed])
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Located in Southwest Arizona, Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge contains some of the most diverse desert ecosystems in the world

[link removed]

Kate and Aaron are joined by three other members of the Center for Western Priorities ([link removed]) for this episode focused on a new report from CWP. The Conservation Toolbox report ([link removed]) is a directory of the major land protection tools available to help preserve federal public lands. CWP’s Director of Campaigns and Special Projects, Lauren Bogard, Policy and Design Associate, Lilly Bock-Brownstein, and Outreach and Campaigns Associate, Sterling Homard, talk about the process of putting the report together and how they hope it will be used for conservation, recreation, and more.
[link removed]

Kate and Aaron are joined by Tim Davis ([link removed]) , founder and executive director of Friends of the Owyhee, and Karly Foster, campaign manager at the Oregon Natural Desert Association, to talk about how we can better protect the Owyhee Canyonlands. The Owyhee Canyonlands span from southeast Oregon into southwest Idaho, and it is one of the most remote, intact landscapes in the Western U.S. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon is running a bill ([link removed]) that would help balance extractive uses and conservation in the landscape, and the coalition working to protect the Owyhee just launched a campaign ([link removed]) asking President Joe Biden to designate the region as a monument, as well.
Best Reads of the Month


** How Dianne Feinstein helped preserve the California desert
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** Arizona moves to end lease for controversial Saudi-owned farm
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New York Times ([link removed])


** White Sands National Park footprints offer earliest evidence of humans in U.S.
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** When it comes to mining on sacred lands, some tribal members say their voices have been overlooked
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Sierra Nevada Ally ([link removed])


** Opinion: A long-overdue effort to protect our public lands
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Uranium hype heats up across the West
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The Land Desk ([link removed])


** Environmentalists are turning a rugged stretch of California coast into a lab for conservation
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** Scientists lay out a sweeping roadmap for transitioning the U.S. off fossil fuels
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Grist ([link removed])


** New refuge provides hope for critically endangered toad
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High Country News ([link removed])


** Saving what's left of Wyoming's sagebrush steppe is complicated
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WyoFile ([link removed])
Quote of the month


** “The story of the American buffalo is also the story of Native nations who lived with and relied on the buffalo to survive, developing a sacred relationship that evolved over more than 10,000 years but which was almost completely severed in fewer than 100.”
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** —Ken Burns, director of "The American Buffalo," Albuquerque Journal ([link removed])
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Picture this
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** @usinterior ([link removed])
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Rushing waters and rustling leaves with vibrant fall-colored hues turn Tanalian Falls at @LakeClarkNPS ([link removed]) into a gorgeous autumn wonderland. With cold glacial water falling over a 30-foot cliff, the mist from Tanalian Falls will cool visitors’ faces, the roaring of the falls with deafen their ears and the views will take their breath away.

Visitors can hike beyond Tanalian Falls and experience Lake Clark’s designated wilderness while they are on their way to Kontrashibuna Lake, a serene and spectacular mountain gem.

Photo by K. Tucker / NPS

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