New Resource Management Plan ignores county and citizen objections


** BLM writes off local input in Colorado
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MONDAY, APRIL 13, 2020
Colorado's North Fork Valley, Mason Cummings ([link removed]) , The Wilderness Society

Despite the Bureau of Land Management theoretically moving its new headquarters to Colorado in order to be closer to the lands it manages, the agency last week issued a final resource management plan ([link removed]) (RMP) for the western part of the state that ignored years of local input while paving the way for unfettered oil and gas drilling.

The final RMP allows for oil and gas drilling on more than half of the 675,000 acres of public land it covers, and coal extraction on another 371,000 acres.

Gunnison, Ouray, and San Miguel counties all objected to the BLM's draft plan, along with numerous conservation groups ([link removed]) and 42,000 public commenters. U.S. Senator Michael Bennet blasted the agency, calling the resource management plan “completely inadequate.”

“Throughout the process, counties and local stakeholders recommended changes to the plan,” Bennet said in a statement. "But they were met with a lack of transparency and eleventh hour changes from the BLM. Rather than do the hard work to build consensus and balance interests, the Trump Administration’s energy dominance agenda in Washington overruled the concerns of Colorado counties.”
Quick hits


** Oil markets to remain overwhelmed for months despite OPEC+ deal to cut production; investors unimpressed
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Bloomberg ([link removed]) | Wall Street Journal ([link removed])


** COVID-19 to strain wildfire response in Colorado
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Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])


** New Mexico groups warn EPA coronavirus policy could lead to spike in methane emissions
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Santa Fe New Mexican ([link removed])


** National park superintendents cautious about planning reopenings, seasonal hiring
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National Parks Traveler ([link removed])


** Opinion: Big oil shouldn't profit off public lands during coronavirus pandemic
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** BLM approves Uncompahgre management plan despite widespread local objections
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Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed]) | Common Dreams ([link removed])


** Study: Reduced grazing may have paved the way for the gray hawk's recovery in Arizona
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Arizona Daily Star ([link removed])


** Take a virtual road trip through public lands in Southern Oregon and Northern California
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OPB News ([link removed])
Quote of the day
We are disappointed the BLM is moving forward with a plan that clearly disrespects the wishes of the North Fork community, ignores a decade’s worth of community input and endangers our economic future and our public lands and waters — along with the farms, ranches, vineyards and recreation businesses that depend on them.”
—Patrick Dooling, Western Slope Conservation Center
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])
Picture this


** @mypubliclands ([link removed])
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Rattlesnake Arch with its 40-foot span stretching above a 120-foot high window is the namesake of this collection of 35 natural arches in the backcountry of McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, just outside of Grand Junction, Colorado. The area includes the world’s second largest concentration of arches outside of Utah’s Arches National Park.

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