Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** In Wyoming, conservation plan would make more sense than searching for oil and gas
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Wednesday, November 29, 2023
The Red Desert in Sweetwater County, Wyoming. Credit: weesam2010, Flickr ([link removed])
For decades, mining, grazing, and oil and gas development have been prioritized ([link removed]) on public lands in southwest Wyoming. But since 2011, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been trying to turn away from legacy resource extraction in the broader area known as the Red Desert—one of the largest unfenced desert landscapes in the Lower 48.
Now, as the Rock Springs Field Office prepares ([link removed]) an updated Resource Management Plan (RMP) for 3.6 million acres of public lands, the BLM seeks to set aside 1.6 million acres of the Red Desert as Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, which would limit development in areas important for biodiversity and wildlife migration. The Red Desert is home to vast herds of elk and mule deer and serves as one of North America’s longest ([link removed]) mammal migration corridors.
But there has been pushback from opponents of the proposed Rock Springs RMP who say the RMP would destroy the oil and gas industry in the state altogether. In the Center for Western Priorities' latest podcast episode ([link removed]) , Julia Stuble, Wyoming State Senior Manager with the Wilderness Society, addresses some of the opposition and the misinformation around the RMP.
"There's not a lot of potential for future finds, especially in this field office," she says ([link removed]) . "When you look at the amount of production that will continue, the leases that are not under production that could be under production regardless of the plan, and the fact that the closures are in areas where there's no geologic resource or a very little ability to get the oil and gas out, I don't think the claims that it'll destroy the industry are accurate at all."
** Quick hits
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Over 24,000 acres of Gaviota Coast in California permanently protected from development
KCBX ([link removed])
Oil and gas industry needs to let go of carbon capture as solution to climate change, IEA says
CNBC ([link removed])
Inside Biden's race to connect renewables to the grid
E&E News ([link removed])
Border killings: How shooters lured historic Colorado wolves to their deaths in Wyoming
WyoFile ([link removed])
Some ski waxes contain toxic “forever chemicals.” Should Colorado ban them to protect water systems?
Denver Post ([link removed])
Opinion: The logjam in Biden's $50 billion wildlife plan
Undark ([link removed])
The Salton Sea has even more lithium than previously thought, new report finds
Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
Photography in the national parks: Winter is coming
National Parks Traveler ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” The industry needs to commit to genuinely helping the world meet its energy needs and climate goals – which means letting go of the illusion that implausibly large amounts of carbon capture are the solution.”
—Fatih Birol, International Energy Agency executive director, CNBC ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@Interior ([link removed])
The “America the Beautiful” initiative is a locally led effort to conserve and restore 30% of our lands and waters by 2030. Conserving habitats like wetlands, prairies, forests and coral reefs will help wildlife, bolster climate resilience and increase access to nature.
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