The Biden administration is advancing a rule to ensure cleaner water for Tribes and protect their rights to aquatic resources like fish and plants.
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** White House advances Tribal water rights rule
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Thursday, April 25, 2024
Snake Wild and Scenic River, Idaho. Bob Wick/BLM ([link removed])
The Biden administration is advancing a rule ([link removed].) to ensure cleaner water for Tribes and protect their rights to aquatic resources like fish and plants. The new EPA rule, first proposed in 2022, requires federal and state governments to account for Tribal reserved rights ([link removed]) when setting water quality goals and pollution limits for rivers, lakes, and streams.
States and the EPA are already required to set water quality standards that protect human and ecosystem health, and the new rule ([link removed]) would ensure those standards also acknowledge the unique ways that Tribes use water and aquatic species. The rule will help sustain Tribal practices such as fishing, hunting, and harvesting plants that depend on freshwater resources. “This sort of explicit attention to Tribal reserved rights is long overdue,” said James Grijalva ([link removed].) , a law professor at the University of North Dakota School of Law and director of the Northern Plains Indian Law Center. “The rule that’s coming out is a bold one.” The White House Office of Management and Budget has finished reviewing the rule
([link removed]) , and the final rule is expected to be published this spring.
Earlier this week, the administration also announced ([link removed]) over $1 billion in funding to improve Tribal access to clean drinking water and a new national goal to protect wetlands, rivers, and streams.
New podcast: Why April was a huge month for public lands
Kate and Aaron are joined by The Wilderness Society’s Michael Carroll and Justin Meuse ([link removed]) to talk through a handful of federal regulations, or rules, that were finalized in late March and April. These rules touch on everything from methane waste on public lands to ecosystem restoration to caribou herds in Alaska. Some of these rules are already in effect, and some will take effect soon. Together, they are a framework for more responsible and climate-friendly public land management.
** Quick hits
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2024 state legislative debrief: Wyoming
Westwise ([link removed])
New EPA rules will slash air, water, and climate pollution from U.S. power plants
New York Times ([link removed]) | NPR ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | The Guardian ([link removed]) | Environmental Protection Agency ([link removed]) [press release]
California announces first new state park in a decade and sets climate goals for natural lands
Associated Press ([link removed]) | Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | SFGate ([link removed])
Are low-water crops a realistic way to cut back on Colorado water use? 10 southwestern farmers are trying to find out
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
The new public lands rule balances conservation against drilling
Outside ([link removed])
Yellowstone’s wolves: A debate over their role in the park’s ecosystem
New York Times ([link removed])
Why is the Biden administration completing so many regulations?
American Prospect ([link removed])
Wyoming tourism social media goes dark amid wolf furor
WyoFile ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” “This is a watershed moment. Industry fought long and hard to avoid spending a dime to clean up their toxic pollution. That ends today.”
—Lisa Evans, Senior Counsel for Earthjustice, Washington Post ([link removed])
** Picture This
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[link removed]
@utahpubliclands ([link removed])
Utah is home to nearly 5,000 Bighorn Sheep, many of which can be seen across your #publiclands. Take as many photos as you'd like, but please respect their space. #WildlifeWednesday
Bighorn Sheep (Price Field Office) 📷 by Jeremy T. Dyer, BLM Utah
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