Public lands news wrap-up from September


** September, in brief
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Northern Chumash Tribal member Violet Sage Walker (left) has fought for decades for a federal marine sanctuary designation. Center for Western Priorities ([link removed])


** Key news from September:
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* The proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary has reached an important milestone on its path to designation. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released the Final Environmental Impact Statement ([link removed]) for the proposed sanctuary. The agency’s preferred alternative would include 4,543 square miles of coastal and offshore waters along 116 miles of California’s central coast. It would become the third largest sanctuary in the National Marine Sanctuary System and the first Indigenous-proposed sanctuary in the country. Members of the Northern Chumash Tribe have advocated for protecting the area as a marine sanctuary for decades.

* Outdoor recreation advocates and Western governors doubled down ([link removed]) on supporting legislation that would improve outdoor recreation on public lands. The Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences Act—aptly nicknamed the EXPLORE Act ([link removed]) —includes over a dozen policy measures to support recreation on public lands, from constructing long-distance bike trails and funding green spaces to supporting gateway communities by addressing housing shortages. The EXPLORE Act passed the House in April, but has not been considered in the Senate yet.

* Lawmakers, Alaska Native Tribes, and conservation organizations are asking the Biden administration to add new protections for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska ([link removed]) . In response to a request for public comment the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued in July, more than 50 members of Congress joined a letter asking the BLM to consider expanding the "Special Areas" within the NPR-A which are managed for the protection of wildlife and Alaska Native subsistence resources from oil development. "The myriad of unique ecosystems, sensitive habitats, and iconic species within the Western Arctic must be prioritized and protected from the impacts of oil and gas development," the lawmakers wrote ([link removed]) .

* The Bureau of Land Management released a final draft ([link removed]) of its Western Solar Plan, which will streamline solar development ([link removed]) on 31 million acres of public land across 11 Western states. The update builds upon a 2012 plan that highlighted key areas for solar projects in the Southwest, expanding that plan ([link removed]) to include Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming. The plan seeks to drive solar development ([link removed]) closer to transmission lines and previously disturbed lands and away from protected lands, sensitive cultural resources, and important
wildlife habitat.

* The National Park Service reports that ([link removed]) visitor spending in communities near national parks in 2023 resulted in a record-high $55.6 billion benefit to the nation’s economy and supported over 415,000 jobs. Over 325.5 million people visited national parks in 2023, according to the 2023 National Park Visitor Spending Effects report ([link removed]) . The National Park Service provides interactive maps and tools ([link removed]) to explore the data in the report.


** What to watch for in October:
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* Will Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary ([link removed]) be officially designated?
* Will President Biden designate any proposed national monuments in California ([link removed]) ?
* Will President Biden use the Antiquities Act to make conservation history ([link removed]) ?


** From the Center for Western Priorities:
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[link removed]

Anti-public lands advocates have always relied on disinformation and fearmongering, and the National Monuments Disinformation Brigade ([link removed]) identified in this report is no different. Opinion polls have shown over ([link removed]) and over again ([link removed]) that the majority of Americans living in the West support conservation and want new protections for public land—including national monuments—in their state. Without facts or public opinion on their side, the National Monuments Disinformation Brigade ([link removed]) has resorted to spreading conspiracy theories and fearmongering to fight public land protection.

This report ([link removed]) builds on the Center for Western Priorities’ 30×30 Disinfo Brigade report ([link removed]) , which identified groups and politicians working to undermine the goal of protecting 30 percent of U.S. land and water by 2030, which scientists say is necessary to stem the extinction crisis. The groups that make up the 30×30 Disinformation Brigade ([link removed]) and the National Monuments Disinformation Brigade ([link removed]) are closely aligned—some groups appear in both reports and almost all espouse the same ideologies. These groups also use similar tactics, such as tying public land conservation to extremist conspiracy theories in order to activate opposition from people who would otherwise not engage on public land issues.
Read the Report ([link removed])
[link removed]


** What’s behind the increasing interest in carbon capture in the West? ([link removed])
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Carbon capture has been gaining momentum across the country, and recent federal-level investments are driving increased interest and encouraging partnership among Western states in developing the carbon capture industry.

[link removed]


** Southern Maryland Woodlands National Wildlife Refuge would protect woodlands, watersheds, and the Chesapeake Bay ([link removed])
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On the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay, about 30 miles outside of Washington, D.C., a new wildlife refuge has been in the works for over a decade.

[link removed]

Aaron and Kate are joined by ([link removed]) members of the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe to talk about the proposed Kw’tsán National Monument in southern California. This is part of our Road to 30 Postcards series ([link removed]) , in which we highlight local efforts to protect iconic landscapes around the country. A Tribal elder, a Tribal youth, and one of the leaders of the monument proposal talk about why it’s important to protect this desert region as part of a broader cultural landscape that connects Avi Kwa Ame National Monument and the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument.
[link removed]

Kate and Aaron talk to Inside Climate News reporter Wyatt Myskow ([link removed]) about an incredible story he wrote ([link removed]) about what’s unfolding in Nevada’s Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, where the endangered Devil’s Hole pupfish is undergoing a rebrand from villain to hero.
Best Reads of the Month


** The right to snowmobile over wildlife could soon be explicitly protected in Wyoming
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WyoFile ([link removed])


** Editorial: Utah’s latest land-grab lawsuit has no legal leg to stand on
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** With 25% of state land protected, California nears its ‘30x30’ conservation goal
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** Dropped Cheetos bag has ‘world-changing’ impact on Carlsbad Caverns ecosystem
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** How a rancher’s bulldozing project cost Utah taxpayers
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** I went to Yellowstone National Park to learn why it turns tourists into maniacs
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Outside ([link removed])


** Investigation reveals how public institutions benefit from Tribal lands
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High Country News ([link removed])


** How ranchers and conservationists joined forces to stop drilling in Colorado's Thompson Divide
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New York Times ([link removed])


** Zombie wells: The threat beneath
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ABC News ([link removed])


** Storymap: Reviving rivers, reconnecting communities
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USFWS ([link removed])
Quote of the month


** “This planning process could determine the pattern of energy development on desert public lands in this extraordinary landscape for decades to come. They’ve got to get it right.”
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** —Mason Voehl, Amargosa Conservancy, Nevada Current ([link removed])
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Picture this
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** @usinterio ([link removed]) r ([link removed])
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Alaska fall colors are coming in hot!
Serpentine Hot Springs is one of the most visited areas at @beringlandbridgenps ([link removed]) . With a gravel airstrip, hot springs piped into an enclosed bathhouse and a bunkhouse open year-round, Serpentine offers an incredible way to experience the unique and remote landscape of the region.

One of Serpentine’s most dramatic features is the large granite spires known as tors. These giant granite monoliths are even more incredible when summer’s bright pinks, yellows and purples turn into deeper and darker reds, oranges and yellows during the fall.

Enjoy the change of seasons wherever you may be!

Photo by Katie Cullen / @nationalparkservice ([link removed])

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