Finalizing NEPA reforms
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** White House speeds up renewable energy environmental reviews
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Tuesday, April 30, 2024
Solar project in Riverside County, California. Bob Wick, BLM ([link removed]) .
The White House this morning finalized regulations to speed up renewable energy development ([link removed]) across the country. The "NEPA Phase 2" rule implements last year's bipartisan debt ceiling deal by establishing one lead agency to handle environmental reviews, setting deadlines and page limits, and requiring agencies to consider climate impacts during the review process.
"We are making reforms in this rule that will help speed infrastructure and permitting, but without losing sight of the environmental and health benefits we need to protect," said Brenda Mallory ([link removed]) , chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Conservation groups also praised the reforms.
“Importantly, by facilitating upfront problem-solving, these updated regulations provide clean energy project sponsors with greater certainty and clarity,” said Earthjustice President Abigail Dillen ([link removed]) . “When people who have the most at stake are engaged with each other at the outset, and there is a good faith effort to identify and solve problems from the start, the end results are better, with good projects moving forward faster.”
House kicks off anti-conservation week
Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote on a series of bills this week that would reverse some of the Biden administration's biggest conservation accomplishments ([link removed]) . One bill up for a floor vote would repeal the Bureau of Land Management's new Public Lands Rule, which puts conservation on equal footing with drilling and mining. Another would abolish the 20-year ban on mining around Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. The White House released statements opposing the House bills ([link removed]) .
Kaden McArthur with Backcountry Hunters and Anglers told Field & Stream ([link removed]) that the bills would hurt fish and wildlife across the country.
“We are deeply discouraged to see the House of Representatives take politically charged action to overturn conservation achievements widely applauded by hunters and anglers,” McArthur said ([link removed]) . “With limited time left before the end of this Congress, lawmakers ought to be focused on passing bipartisan policies like Recovering America’s Wildlife Act (RAWA), that further the conservation of our wild places and wildlife, rather than walking back these actions taken by the Department of the Interior.”
** Quick hits
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Chuckwalla National Monument would protect swath of California desert and preserve a sacred land
Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
Conservationists and Tribes fight for protection of the Owyhee Canyonlands
KMVT ([link removed]) | High Country News ([link removed]) | OPB News ([link removed])
Ute Mountain Utes call for new look at 1923 violence in Bears Ears area
KSL ([link removed])
As national monuments multiply, Bears Ears forges forward
High Country News ([link removed])
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland confronts the history of the agency she leads
New Yorker ([link removed])
Inside the rare alliance to block mining on a Colorado mountain
E&E News ([link removed])
Pikes Peak is getting “trashed” by overuse—and literal trash
Denver Post ([link removed])
Opinion: Ambler Tribal Council thanks Biden, Haaland for stopping mining road
Anchorage Daily News ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” Yellowstone bison are about as tolerant a bison as you can find. They’re used to having a lot of people around. But even they have their limits.”
—Martin Zaluski, former Montana state veterinarian ([link removed]) , on the Yellowstone tourist injured after drunkenly kicking a bison in the leg ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@utahpubliclands ([link removed])
Join BLM Utah as the District Manager in Vernal, Utah leading the Green River District!
Vernal, with a population of just over 10,000 people, is quickly becoming a favored hotspot for outdoor enthusiasts looking for rugged adventure. Nearby, recreationists can enjoy mountain biking, boating, and hunting among many other outdoor activities.
GS-15 ($143,736 - $186,854 per year)
#ApplyNow ([link removed]) on USAJOBS through May 28: [link removed]
John Jarvie Historic Ranch at the Green River during sunset 📷 Bob Wick
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