Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Navajo activist fights toxic waste well near Chaco Canyon
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Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Oil and gas drilling near Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Source: Mark Watson/Flickr ([link removed])
Mario Atencio is no stranger to fighting oil and gas development. He's an organizer for the Greater Chaco Coalition, which campaigns to end new oil and gas drilling near Chaco Canyon. Now, he's fighting to stop an oil company from injecting toxic drilling water ([link removed]) into a well within half a mile of his father's house.
The well sits on a square mile piece of state land ([link removed]) surrounded by Tribal and Bureau of Land Management land near Chaco Canyon, in an area of New Mexico known as the "checkerboard" region due to fragmented land ownership. Atencio says the company did not notify ([link removed]) his family of the waste well proposal. The company did notify the Bureau of Indian Affairs, as is required by law, but the message was not passed on ([link removed]) to Atencio's family.
In 2019, the company applying for the well permit, Enduring Resources, spilled 1,400 barrels of oil ([link removed]) mixed with produced water at a well site, sending a toxic slurry into a dry streambed that runs past Atencio’s family home. Atencio brought up the spill in a congressional hearing ([link removed]) related to drilling around Chaco Canyon, facing off with a representative for the company.
In February, the Western Environmental Law Center and the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned New Mexico's Oil Conservation Division ([link removed]) to deny the well permit due to the company's inadequate notification of nearby residents, but the state refused. Now, the state is reversing its position and says it plans to ([link removed]) deny an easement Enduring Resources needs for the injection well. If the company protests or takes the state to court over the issue, Atencio says ([link removed]) , “You gotta face very harsh words from me.”
Idaho public lands legislative roundup
Idaho’s 2024 state legislative session had mixed results for conservation issues. Lawmakers made encouraging appropriations to a number of conservation priorities, managed to steer clear of the session’s most concerning proposals, and avoided the temptation to take up some of the ideas currently popular with anti-conservation extremists in neighboring Western states. In a new blog post ([link removed]) , Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby summarizes key highlights from the session.
** Quick hits
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Feds will move grizzly bears into North Cascades
Daily Montanan ([link removed])
Conservation and Indigenous groups applaud new BLM land use rule
Nevada Public Radio ([link removed])
Wolverines are poised to return to Colorado’s high country
KUNC ([link removed])
A town board in Colorado considers a Rights of Nature repeal
Inside Climate News ([link removed]) | Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Backcountry skiers, snowmobilers await new maps of Lolo forest access
Billings Gazette ([link removed])
Opinion: New federal rule covering public lands puts appropriate emphasis on conservation
San Diego Union-Tribune ([link removed])
Climate change is pushing animals closer to humans, with potentially catastrophic consequences
Inside Climate News ([link removed])
An audio postcard from the Caja del Rio plateau
KUNM ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” With challenges ahead, a careful, planned approach to managing public lands, one that recognizes the importance of delivering conservation, is now more essential. We will all be well served to avoid the misinformation and conspiracy theories, and to focus on the land stewardship we want for present and future generations. The new Public Lands Rule puts California, our nation and future generations on the right path forward.”
—Jim Kenna ([link removed]) , former California director of the Bureau of Land Management
** Picture This
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@Interior ([link removed])
Did you hear the newts? We're celebrating National Amphibian Week and all the ribbeting roles that salamanders, frogs, newts, toads and caecilians play in our ecosystem and food chain. 🐸 Photo by Melani Johnson
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