Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Public universities across the West benefit from extraction on stolen land
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Thursday, February 8, 2024
The University of Arizona; Huperphuff, Wikipedia ([link removed])
A new report from Grist ([link removed]) details how 14 land grant universities—including many in the West—benefit financially from natural resource extraction on land taken by the federal government from Native American Tribes.
The University of Arizona, Colorado State University, the University of Idaho, Montana State University, New Mexico State University, Utah State University, and the University of Wyoming are among the schools that benefit ([link removed]) from trust lands. The land that funds these schools was either forcibly taken or bought at below-market rates ([link removed]) from Tribes and then turned over to the states by the federal government when they joined the union.
Today, the states manage these trust lands in order to maximize ([link removed]) the amount of revenue they can produce. In many cases, this means leasing the lands for drilling, logging, grazing, and mining. Grist found that around 1.5 million acres ([link removed]) of university trust land across the U.S. are leased for fossil fuel extraction, while 1.4 million acres ([link removed]) of trust land are used for mining. The University of Arizona benefits from the most fossil fuel and mining acreage of any trust land school. Finally, 2.8 million acres ([link removed]) of university trust land in the U.S. are leased for grazing.
In some cases, Tribal members benefit directly from this extraction. Utah State University provides free tuition, board, and food ([link removed]) for members of the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone. But not all Native students at land grant universities receive this level of support. Grist found that while students from all 22 Tribes in Arizona receive free tuition at the University of Arizona, living expenses still put college out of reach ([link removed]) for some.
** Quick hits
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Conservationists signal intent to sue over gray wolf ESA decision
Montana Free Press ([link removed]) | Daily Montanan ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed])
Legal concerns spark around proposed Caja del Rio transmission project
KUNM ([link removed])
Cargo train derails in Colorado, spilling hundreds of gallons of diesel
KUNC ([link removed]) | CPR ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
Texas blocks oil and gas wastewater wells amid earthquakes. What is New Mexico doing?
Las Cruces Sun News ([link removed])
Western US lawmakers push to protect watersheds from impacts of wildfires
The Hill ([link removed])
New Colorado institute seeks to help Tribal nations access their water
Denver Post ([link removed])
Zion National Park adds 48-acre private property to its protected acres
KUER ([link removed])
Why record rain hasn’t washed away California’s water woes
Washington Post ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” The Navajo Nation cannot stop the transport of uranium due to state and federal right of ways but the Navajo Nation Council, local government, county, and myself are against uranium mining... I do not want uranium being transported across the Navajo Nation, and we will be looking at feasible options on our end.”
—Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren, Navajo-Hopi Observer ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@Interior ([link removed])
You can easily recognize the teddy bear cholla — the star of @JoshuaTreeNPS ([link removed]) ’ Cholla Cactus Garden — by its densely interlaced yellow spines. Segments of their spines will latch on the slightest touch, giving these cacti the nickname “jumping cholla.” Photo by Brad Sutton
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