April, in brief

Key news from April:

• The Bureau of Land Management released its final Oil and Gas Rule, which updates regulations governing onshore oil and gas development on national public lands. The rule codifies updated rental rates for acres of public land leased and royalty rates on oil and gas extracted, ensuring taxpayers receive a fair return on public resources extracted from public lands. The rule also updates inadequate bonding rates that haven’t been updated in decades, ensuring that operators, not taxpayers, bear the costs of clean-up. Finally, the rule codifies clear and consistent criteria that give preference to leasing lands with higher potential to actually produce oil and gas, and that discourage leasing in areas that have important wildlife, cultural, historical, and recreation resources.
• The Bureau of Land Management published the final version of its much-anticipated Conservation and Landscape Health rule (also known as the Public Lands Rule). This rule will help balance the agency’s operations with guidelines for managing conservation, recreation, and climate impacts across millions of acres of American public lands. The rule underscores that restoring and protecting public lands is a use of the land on par with other activities and rests within the framework of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA), the law that governs how public lands are managed by the BLM. The final rule directs BLM staff to identify priority landscapes for protection and restoration using Area of Critical Environmental Concern (ACEC) designations, building on investments that Congress made in public lands when it passed the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The rule formalizes the practice of “restoration leasing” and “mitigation leasing” for land restoration or protection, clearing a path for durable compensatory mitigation agreements with extractive industries as part of the permitting process.
• The Bureau of Land Management released its final National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) Rule, which updates regulations for the management and protection of the NPR-A. The final rule codifies the maximum level of protection for over 13 million acres within Special Areas that have already been designated within the NPR-A and provides a process to propose and designate additional Special Areas in the future. The BLM also released the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Ambler Road Project, rejecting a 211-mile road which would have provided mining-related industrial access to the Ambler Mining District. The road would have fragmented important migratory habitat for the Western Arctic Caribou Herd, one of the largest remaining caribou herds, and crossed 11 major rivers and 3,000 streams, impacting water quality and important fish habitat. 
• The Biden administration launched conservation.gov, a beta version of the “American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas” which will track the conservation status of public, state, and private lands across the U.S. This tool came about through a public comment process in which the administration invited scientists and policy experts to weigh in on how to track land conservation across the country. The Atlas, when complete, will be an important resource for federal, state, and local governments, communities, and advocacy groups that are working to ensure the country meets President Joe Biden’s America the Beautiful goal of protecting 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.

• The Bureau of Land Management released its final Renewable Energy Rule, updating regulations to incentivize and expedite wind and solar energy development on national public lands. The rule codifies lower acreage rental and capacity fees and provides for a streamlined process for renewable energy development in identified priority areas. The Renewable Energy Rule comes on the heels of Interior Secretary Deb Haaland’s milestone announcement that the Biden administration has surpassed its goal of permitting 25 gigawatts of clean energy on public lands by 2025. The rule also supports the national goal of transitioning to 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035.

• The Biden administration finalized a mineral withdrawal protecting more than 200,000 acres of national public land in Colorado’s Thompson Divide. The 20-year mineral withdrawal will prevent new mining or oil and gas activity in the area, but will not impact existing active leases within the withdrawal boundaries. The withdrawal is supported by a coalition of ranchers, hunters, outdoor enthusiasts, and environmentalists that has been advocating for limiting extractive activities in the Thompson Divide area for over a decade. Over 73,500 public comments were submitted in support of a mineral withdrawal in the Thompson Divide.

What to watch for in May:

• President Biden is expected to expand two national monuments in California.
• Will the President designate any new national monuments?
• Spring is here! Be sure to plan ahead if you're going to any national parks this summer.

From the Center for Western Priorities:

Conservation Gridlock: 2024 Update

An updated analysis from the Center for Western Priorities finds that not every Western state is living up to its conservation legacy. Oregon in particular has a proud conservation tradition, yet a dysfunctional Congress is blocking the largest conservation opportunity in the West.

The report, Conservation Gridlock, is an annual update to a 2022 analysis that looked at the acres of national public land protected over the last 20 years in eight Western states. This year’s update finds that in the last decade, Idaho, Oregon, and Wyoming have conserved far less land than other Western states. In fact, the three leading states—California, Utah, and Nevada—have protected 14 times more acres of public land than the three bottom states.

In Oregon, legislation to conserve the Owyhee Canyonlands, championed by Oregon senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, has languished in Congress for almost ten years. This legislation would protect millions of acres of sagebrush, river canyons, and geologic wonders and preserve irreplaceable cultural sites, artifacts, and resources.

Unfortunately, major conservation bills like this one have little hope of making it out of Congress. The only way to make progress on protecting public lands is for elected leaders to work with President Biden to realize his historic commitment to conserve America’s lands and waters, and move popular conservation initiatives forward in the West.

Kate and Aaron are joined by The Wilderness Society’s Michael Carroll and Justin Meuse 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.

Kate and Aaron are joined by Trout Unlimited CEO Chris Wood, who has been with TU for twenty years, following a career as chief policy director at the U.S. Forest Service during the Clinton administration. Chris talks about how an influx of federal funding for ecosystem restoration is supercharging the group’s work reconnecting streams and rivers, as well as how his group is engaging in legislative mining reform.

More than half of water from Colorado River used for agriculture industry, report finds

ABC News
 

Deb Haaland confronts the history of the federal agency she leads

New Yorker
 

Low-income and minority communities will now be more protected from toxic chemicals

Washington Post
 

House passes huge outdoor recreation bill

The Hill
 

Report: A closer look at state leadership to conserve nature

Center for American Progress
 

Tribes intervene in court cases challenging Grand Canyon national monument

KNAU
 

Poll: Life is getting worse in Montana, but public lands matter

Missoulian
 

Conservation slowing biodiversity loss, scientists say

BBC
 

What’s next for the Owyhee Canyonlands?

High Country News
 

Report: How Biden's climate actions benefit public lands

The Wilderness Society

“Expanding the boundaries of San Gabriel Mountains National Monument to include 109,000 acres closest to Los Angeles would significantly improve access to nature for one of the country’s largest, most diverse cities. This expansion would further deliver on President Biden’s goals and demonstrate how executive action can prioritize community needs and the future of the planet in a changing climate.”

—Sam Zeno, Conservation Policy Analyst, Center for American Progress