** Social distancing while fighting wildfires
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THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2020
USFS ([link removed])

State and federal firefighting officials are racing to figure out how to fight wildfires during the coronavirus pandemic ([link removed]) . Fire camps are “the land version of a cruise ship,” according to Ron Dunton, the former head of the National Interagency Fire Center. Dunton told Bloomberg's Bobby Magill that camps set up for a large fire often house 1,000 people or more, acting as a Petri dish for disease.

A multi-agency group is in the process of adapting firefighting plans for COVID-19, but a memo last week ([link removed]) admits “we are entering into uncharted territory.” Firefighters will likely be housed in isolated camps and deploy in smaller groups. But officials don’t know how they’ll transport firefighters together without risking infection, or how to deal with states that have mandatory 14-day quarantines for people entering from out of state.


** Public lands and economic recovery
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When America's economy emerges from coronavirus, public lands may play a significant role in getting Americans back to work. CWP's Hannah Rider looks at the employment implications of the Great American Outdoors Act ([link removed]) , which was introduced in the Senate with bipartisan support—and a presidential endorsement—just before the pandemic shut down the country.
An analysis last year ([link removed]) found that completing all of the projects on the National Park Service’s maintenance backlog would create more than 100,000 jobs.
Quick hits


** Trump admin to divert tribal COVID funds to oil companies; tribal nations call for assistant secretary’s removal
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Native News Online ([link removed])


** Opinion: Uranium mining threatens the Grand Canyon, home of the Havasupai
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High Country News ([link removed])


** In gift to coal, EPA rule to conclude mercury pollution controls are too expensive, no longer necessary
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Bloomberg ([link removed])


** Oil executives dominate energy portion of White House recovery task force
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Trump considers paying oil companies to keep it in the ground
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Bloomberg ([link removed])


** Wildlife collapse from climate change projected to hit suddenly and sooner
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New York Times ([link removed])


** During coronavirus crisis, support for public lands remains strong in Montana
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MTPR ([link removed]) | Flathead Beacon ([link removed]) | Billings Gazette ([link removed])


** Opinions: It’s time for real leadership at BLM
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Billings Gazette ([link removed])
Quote of the day
For a long time things can seem OK and then suddenly they’re not. Then, it’s too late to do anything about it because you’ve already fallen over this cliff edge.”
—Alex L. Pigot, University College London
The New York Times ([link removed])
On the risks of mass extinction
Picture this


** @mypubliclands ([link removed])
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The Volcanic Tablelands are located at the northern edge of California’s Owens Valley. They are part a large area covered by a series of volcanic ash flows from the eruption of the Long Valley Caldera, near Mammoth Mountain. The main eruption occurred 760,000 years ago resulting in pumice layers up to 600 feet deep. Around 8,800 years ago, the people who inhabited the area began pecking designs into the dark surface layer of the area’s volcanic rocks.

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