Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** The balancing act of growing solar in the West
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Friday, October 4, 2024
The MGM Mega Solar Array in Nevada. Photo: BLM Nevada ([link removed])
The Biden administration's near-final Western Solar Plan ([link removed]) is a case study in the challenges and opportunities of the global energy transition away from fossil fuels. Los Angeles Times climate columnist Sammy Roth explores how the solar plan aims to strike a balance on national public lands ([link removed]) —even if nobody gets everything they want out of it.
The plan calls for developing 1.3 million acres across the West for solar projects over the next 20 years, most of it run by the Bureau of Land Management. But the plan identifies 31 million acres for possible development to give the solar industry more flexibility. The plan would bar solar projects on 130 million acres of public land, taking critical habitat, recreation areas, and wildlife migration corridors off the table.
While the solar industry's main trade association is generally supportive of the plan, Peter Weiner, an industry attorney, warns that the final plan could contain technical errors that lead to investors getting cold feet, slowing the energy transition. Conservation groups are also broadly supportive, but some warn it sacrifices too much desert, especially in Nevada.
Still, Roth notes ([link removed]) , "in the absence of easy answers — or a few decades to find those answers — solar sprawl is better than climate chaos." BLM is expected for finalize the Western Solar Plan later this year.
** Quick hits
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BLM, Forest Service emphasize Native American partnership in final Bears Ears plan
KSL ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
Navajo Nation strengthens its laws amid renewed interest in uranium mining
KJZZ ([link removed])
A new company wants to "remine" the waste piles in a Colorado town
E&E News ([link removed])
Colorado voters consider banning hunting and trapping of mountain lions, bobcats, and lynx
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Montana investigates after off-roaders drive through fish spawning habitat
NBC Montana ([link removed])
America's largest carbon capture project could be in West Texas. Do residents want it?
Texas Tribune ([link removed])
Meet the 4 condors released near the Arizona-Utah border
Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
Fat Bear Week rolls on despite lethal start to the week
New York Times ([link removed]) | KTUU ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” There are very few places in the world where you can go watch wild bears and know them as individuals.... [Fat Bear Week] celebrates the success of brown bears and it tells their stories — the challenges and the difficulties they face to get fat and survive.”
—Former Katmai park ranger Mike Fitz, New York Times ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@nationalparkservice ([link removed])
F-A-T-B-E-A-R
You can vote in this year’s show!
It’s time to weigh in! #FatBearWeek ([link removed]) is a celebration of success and survival. It’s a way to celebrate the resilience, adaptability, and strength of Katmai’s brown bears. Bears are matched against each other in a tournament-style competition and online visitors can vote on which bear is ultimately crowned the Fat Bear Week 2024 Champion. Over the course of the week, learn more about the lives and histories of individual bears while also gaining a greater understanding of Katmai’s ecosystem
Get to know this year’s ‘Titans of tonnage’ at nps.gov and vote at www.fatbearweek.org ([link removed]) .
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