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Fisher Towers, one of the landscapes managed by the BLM that could be impacted by the state of Utah's latest anti-public lands lawsuit. Source: BLM Utah, Flickr
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Key news from August:
- The state of Utah announced a lawsuit that aims to seize control of more than 18 million acres of national public land in the state. The lawsuit, which several legal scholars said is baseless and unlikely to succeed, asks the U.S. Supreme Court to give the state ownership of what Utah calls "unappropriated" public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management. Bret Birdsong, a law professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, told E&E News that the property clause of the U.S. Constitution has long been interpreted “to provide Congress with essentially unlimited authority to determine the use or transfer of public lands.” Conservation groups, including the Center for Western Priorities, blasted the lawsuit as a waste of time and money. “This lawsuit isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on,” said CWP Deputy Director Aaron Weiss. “Governor Cox and the state legislature need to make a U-turn before they waste millions of taxpayer dollars enriching out-of-state lawyers on this pointless lawsuit.”
- President Joe Biden exercised his authority under the Antiquities Act to designate the Springfield 1908 Race Riot National Monument in Springfield, Illinois, advancing racial justice by recognizing the horrific event as an important piece of American history and acknowledging its ongoing legacy. In August 1908, a white mob attacked and lynched Black residents of Springfield, Illinois and burned their homes, resulting in one of the country’s worst episodes of mass racial violence. The mob had gathered outside a county jail that held two Black prisoners accused of committing crimes against white citizens. With chants calling for vigilante justice, the mob turned violent when it was learned the prisoners had been moved for their safety. The outrage that followed the riot led to the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Thousands of local and national activists including the NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union have been campaigning for the designation of the national monument for decades.
- The Bureau of Land Management released its proposed final management plan for southwest Wyoming. BLM's draft plan released last year led to intense opposition and misinformation, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon convened a task force to provide feedback to the agency. The final plan incorporates that feedback, along with 30,000 public comments submitted to BLM. The management plan enhances public access for hunting, fishing, and recreation, while allowing oil and gas drilling, energy transmission lines, and trona mining on more than 70 percent of the acres covered by the management plan. It also designates nearly one million acres as areas of critical environmental concern (ACECs), as required by federal law. The plan does not close any roads or trails to off-highway vehicles. Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby told WyoFile, “This is what responsible planning looks like. In any situation where the BLM or any management agency is trying to balance so many different uses and resources and values, no one’s going to get everything that they want.”
- The Biden administration announced it will protect 28 million acres in Alaska from mining and oil and gas development. The move reverses a decision made in the waning days of the Trump administration to open millions of acres to extractive activities with the potential to harm the environment as well as cultural and subsistence resources for Alaska Native communities. The decision cited the potential negative impacts on fishing and hunting activities for the estimated 31,000 to 52,000 people who rely on the land in question for drinking water, food security, and cultural identity. The move will protect caribou habitat, as well as Bristol Bay, an area with significant salmon populations. Closing the area to future development will also prevent spills from contaminating rivers and harming birds and other wildlife.
- Oregon Governor Tina Kotek is asking President Biden to designate a national monument protecting the Owyhee Canyonlands if Congress fails to act this year. Kotek sent a letter to the White House this week, joining local Tribes and conservation groups that have been pressing for permanent protections for the area. The governor also supports a bill sponsored by Oregon Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley that would establish 1.1 million acres of wilderness in the Owyhee while also allowing flexibility for ranching. The Wyden/Merkley bill has passed out of committee but not reached the Senate floor, and it faces uncertain prospects in the House. Learn more about the region at Protect the Owyhee or watch CWP's Road to 30 Postcard from the Owyhee Canyonlands.
What to watch for in September:
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In this episode of the Landscape, Kate and Aaron discuss Utah’s attempt to sue the federal government for control of over 18 million acres of federal public land with John Leshy, Professor Emeritus, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco. Leshy served as Solicitor (General Counsel) of the U.S. Department of the Interior throughout the Clinton administration and served in the Interior Department in the Carter administration. Leshy discusses the underpinnings of Utah’s legal argument and explains why it’s likely to fail in court, if the U.S. Supreme Court even takes it up, which he says is also unlikely.
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For the 200th episode of The Landscape, we brought the whole Center for Western Priorities team together to talk about what brought us each into conservation work, and recount some of the most memorable moments we’ve had as public lands advocates.
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Kate talks to author Zak Podmore about his upcoming book, Life After Deadpool: Lake Powell’s Last Days and the Rebirth of the Colorado River, which explores various aspects of Lake Powell’s emptying due to drought, from how to replace the loss of hydropower to how wildlife and plant life is returning to Glen Canyon as the lake recedes.
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Report: Project 2025 promises billions of tons more carbon pollution
The Guardian
Arizona governor, AG at odds over uranium mine
Arizona Capitol Times
Opinion: It's time to permanently protect the Great Bend of the Gila
Tucson Sentinel
Why Utah is suing the U.S. for control of public land
High Country News
Study: Methane emissions in oil and gas basins far exceed EPA estimates
Environmental Defense Fund
Controversial Bears Ears tower proposal scrapped amid backlash from environmentalists, Tribes
Salt Lake Tribune
Uranium transport across Navajo Nation will temporarily pause
Associated Press
Draft of Colorado oil and gas rules guts key protection for impacted communities, green groups say
Colorado Sun
Western voters support stronger protections for sage-grouse habitat, survey shows
KUNR
Demand for campsites is increasing. Can more campgrounds help?
Denver Post
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“It's just an incredible landscape. For folks who haven't been to that corner of Oregon, they'll be surprised to see thousand-foot cliffs, deep rushing rivers, and expansive sagebrush plains. We focus in on some of these key places like the Owyhee because they're worthy of that intensive effort to give them the protection they deserve.”
—Ryan Houston, Executive Director at Oregon Natural Desert Association, FOX 12
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