Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Arizona governor, AG at odds over uranium mine
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Monday, August 19, 2024
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes by Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0 ([link removed]) .

Arizona's attorney general is at odds with the state's governor ([link removed]) over the safety of the controversial Pinyon Plain uranium mine near the Grand Canyon. Last week, Attorney General Kris Mayes asked the U.S. Forest Service ([link removed]) to conduct an environmental review of the mine, which had been dormant for decades before production restarted last December.

Mayes' letter notes that the Forest Service last reviewed the mine 38 years ago—a review that "is based on an outdated, inaccurate understanding of the risks" that the mine poses to the water supply of Tribal communities in northern Arizona.

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, however, insists the mine is safe and is regularly inspected by state officials. Hobbs's office told the Arizona Capitol Times ([link removed]) in June that Pinyon Plain is “one of the most closely regulated mines in the country.”

The governor's office is currently holding talks ([link removed]) between uranium company Energy Fuels Resources, which owns Pinyon Plain, and the Navajo Nation over transportation of uranium ore from the mine across Navajo land.

Mayes told KNAU radio ([link removed]) that while she's hopeful the Forest Service will conduct the environmental review, her office is "evaluating all of our legal options right now" in case the agency doesn't respond.


** Quick hits
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Poll: Montana voters support new BLM oil and gas rules

Daily Montanan ([link removed])

President Biden designates national monument at site of deadly 1908 race riot

Springfield State Journal-Register ([link removed]) | Chicago Tribune ([link removed]) | CNN ([link removed]) | NPR ([link removed]) | NBC News ([link removed]) | CBS News ([link removed]) | ABC News ([link removed]) | Associated Press
([link removed])

Interior secretary visits potential new national monument site in Maine, opens visitor center at Katahdin

Spectrum News ([link removed]) | Bangor Daily News ([link removed])

Firefighters say Forest Service has left them with critical shortages

ProPublica ([link removed])

Opinion: Don't let politicians convince you selling public lands is a housing solution

Outdoor Life ([link removed])

Interior department wins lawsuits, clearing way for removal of two Wyoming horse herds

WyoFile ([link removed])

BLM adds seven new herbicides to fight invasive plants

KUER ([link removed])

Giant old saguaros are resilient—it's the young ones scientists worry about

NPR ([link removed])


** Quote of the day
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” ...in what other area of science would we rely on 40-year-old data? This is just unacceptable to be reliant on data from 38 years ago. I think the people of northern Arizona deserve better than that. They deserve peace of mind and the tribes in this area, especially the Havasupai, which are the Guardians of the Grand Canyon and who rely on this aquifer, deserve peace of mind that their water supplies aren’t going to be contaminated with uranium and other chemicals.”

—Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, KNAU ([link removed])


** Picture This
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@interior ([link removed])
An alpine hike in Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska on a clear summer day is what dreams are made of!

Denali encompasses six million acres of public lands and is bisected by one ribbon of road. Along this road, travelers can see the relatively low-elevation taiga forest give way to high alpine tundra and snowy mountains, culminating in North America’s tallest peak, 20,310’ Denali.

Photo by Daniel A. Leifheit / @denalinps ([link removed])

#denali ([link removed]) #usinterior ([link removed]) #alaska ([link removed]) #wildlife ([link removed])

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