Draft resource management plans in Wyoming and Montana would block future coal lease sales, though existing coal mining will be allowed to continue.
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** BLM plans to end future coal leasing in Powder River Basin
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Friday, May 17, 2024
A coal mine in the Powder River Basin, BLM Wyoming ([link removed])
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released draft resource management plans (RMPs) for two field offices in Wyoming and Montana. The plans would block any future coal lease sales across the Buffalo ([link removed]) and Miles City ([link removed]) field offices, while allowing existing coal mining to continue. The BLM estimates that federal coal mining in Wyoming would continue through 2041, and through 2060 at Montana’s Rosebud mine.
The revised management plans replace Trump-era plans that were struck down ([link removed]) by the courts in 2022. The court ordered the Biden administration to take into account the effect of greenhouse gases and pollution from future coal production, and to consider alternatives that reduced or eliminated coal leasing.
"America’s energy future cannot include coal leasing," Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director Aaron Weiss said ([link removed]) in a statement. "The only way to address the climate crisis is to transition to a renewable energy economy, and America’s public lands are at the center of that transition."
** Quick hits
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U.S. proposes ending federal leases in nation's biggest coal region
Associated Press ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | WyoFile ([link removed]) | Daily Montanan ([link removed]) | Bozeman Daily Chronicle ([link removed])
Federal grazing lands falling short of health standards
High Country News ([link removed])
Industry hopes ban on Russian uranium imports will revive Western mines
CPR News ([link removed])
Drilling advances in Path of the Pronghorn once again
Jackson Hole News & Guide ([link removed])
BLM reroutes transmission through national monument to accommodate potential gold mine
Nevada Independent ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
Inside a California oil town's plan to survive the energy transition
Grist ([link removed])
Wyoming coal producers plead for state tax breaks amid crushing market forces
WyoFile ([link removed])
Snow lifts Great Salt Lake from record lows, but dangers persist
New York Times ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” As ranchers, we support the BLM Public Lands Rule and do so on behalf of our children and grandchildren, on behalf of a positive economic promise, and on behalf of all the natural wonders that our public lands provide.”
—Don Schreiber, Devil's Spring Ranch, Farmington Daily Times ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@usinterior ([link removed])
National wildlife refuges offer us a chance to unplug from the stresses of daily life and reconnect with our natural surroundings. Most refuges are free and offer communities a meaningful chance to engage with the outdoors.
Photo at Oregon Islands National Wildlife Refuge by Matthew Hanna
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