Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Secretary Haaland designates four new national recreation trails
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, June 4, 2024
An adult and child walk down the Pacific Crest Trail in California. Photo by Bob Wick, @mypubliclands ([link removed]) .
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland celebrated Great Outdoors Month and National Trails Day on June 1st by designating four new national recreation trails in four different states ([link removed]) , adding over 33 miles to the National Trails System. The trails span public and private lands in Oregon, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia and can be used for hiking, biking, horseback riding, off-highway vehicles, and river tubing.
“Every American deserves to have a safe and nearby place to experience nature,” said ([link removed]) Secretary Haaland. “The National Trails System improves access to the outdoors while providing significant impacts to local economies.”
The law that created the National Trails System was signed by ([link removed]) President Lyndon Johnson in 1968, and allows the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service to jointly manage nationally designated recreation trails, along with other federal agencies like the Bureau of Land Management and nonprofit organizations. The system includes a network of more than 1,300 existing trails ([link removed]) , which may be located on land owned by federal, state, local, or Tribal governments, as well as nonprofit groups or private entities.
Check out the Center for Western Priorities' interactive Conservation Toolbox ([link removed]) report to learn more about the National Trails System and national recreation trails specifically.
BLM outlines next steps for implementing Public Lands Rule
Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning and other officials hosted a webinar last week for employees outlining next steps and a timeline for implementing the recently finalized public lands rule ([link removed]) . The rule will go into effect on June 10 and Stone-Manning promised it will be implemented in a deliberate fashion, including a “preliminary suite of implementation guidance” developed by “interdisciplinary and intra-organizational teams” to help guide BLM staff. “In the face of incredible challenges like climate change, our responsibility here at BLM to manage one in 10 acres in this country has never been more vital. So that’s why this rule is so timely,” Stone-Manning told staff ([link removed]) .
** Quick hits
------------------------------------------------------------
As the Gila Wilderness turns 100, the Wilderness Act is still a living law
High Country News ([link removed])
Coal giant Wyoming could soon host one of the largest solar farms in the U.S.
Canary Media ([link removed])
BLM outlines next steps for implementing Public Lands Rule
E&E News ([link removed])
Secretary Haaland designates four new National Recreation Trails
E&E News ([link removed])
Haaland and Vilsack unveil plan to bolster wildfire response efforts
Mirage News ([link removed])
Three boys found a T-rex fossil on North Dakota public lands, a Denver museum is helping reveal it
Associated Press ([link removed])
Opinion: Embracing the Shoshone-Bannock Tribe's connection to Craters of the Moon National Park
Idaho Capitol Sun ([link removed])
How to travel solo at national parks
Washington Post ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
------------------------------------------------------------
” As climate change continues to drive wildfires with increased speed and intensity, we are deploying historic resources from President Biden's Investing in America agenda to better protect communities and ecosystems around the country. We will continue to leverage our valuable partnerships with state, Tribal and local governments, and the private sector to address and mitigate wildfire risk, while also ensuring that our wildland fire personnel have the support and resources they need to stay safe and be prepared on the landscape.”
—Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Mirage News ([link removed])
** Picture This
------------------------------------------------------------
@usinterior ([link removed])
Trails connect us to adventure, exercise, history, natural beauty and one another. From national recreation trails to historic and scenic trails, we have a variety of trails that can fit your needs — paved, gravel, wooden, dirt and everything in between.
A public lands trail awaits you on National Trails Day and during Great Outdoors Month!
Photo by @yellowstonenps ([link removed])
#greatoutdoorsmonth ([link removed]) #nationaltrailsday ([link removed]) #usinterior ([link removed]) #publiclands ([link removed])
============================================================
** Website ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
Copyright © 2024 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.
Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
