From Center for Western Priorities <[email protected]>
Subject Look West: Western officials push conservation, mine cleanup in next virus aid bill
Date May 11, 2020 1:53 PM
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** Western officials push conservation, mine cleanup in next virus aid bill
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Monday, May 11, 2020
Building a fence at BLM's Poison Creek Recreation Site in Idaho | Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])

As members of Congress debate another round of legislation to blunt the coronavirus pandemic and economic downturn, Western leaders are pushing ([link removed]) them to fund critical conservation programs. More than 100 elected officials have urged ([link removed]) Congress to include full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and provide resources to address the growing backlog of maintenance projects in our national parks.

"I view LWCF as a critical tool for economic recovery," said ([link removed]) La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt. "It puts contractors to work and the people who work for those contractors to work.” Some groups have also proposed innovative efforts to put laid off oil, gas, and coal employees back to work cleaning up ([link removed]) abandoned mines and plugging orphaned wells ([link removed]) .

Investing in our public lands can be a key part of recovering from our public health and economic crises. Bozeman Mayor Chris Mell notes ([link removed]) , "In the weeks and months to come, our parks, trails and outdoor spaces will be integral to both our national and local coping and recovery. Great parks and green spaces—at the local, state, and national levels—make for stronger, healthier communities."
Quick hits


** BLM could auction 100,000 acres surrounding Moab, national parks for oil and gas leases
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KUER ([link removed])


** As rig counts crash, Wyoming oil fields become ghost towns
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Wyoming Public Media ([link removed])


** New Mexico oil production expected to continue to plummet
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Albuquerque Journal ([link removed])


** Job losses pile up in Colorado oil and gas industry
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Colorado Public Radio ([link removed])


** Drilling pollution could get worse as state regulators cut safeguards in response to coronavirus
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Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])


** Opinion: Time to fund our parks maintenance backlog, Land and Water Conservation Fund
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Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])


** Opinion: Trump administration silencing tribal voices to speed Chaco drilling
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Albuquerque Journal ([link removed])
Quote of the day
It is insulting, particularly to Native communities and those in rural parts of New Mexico during a global pandemic, to shove through a planning process that will shape how these irreplaceable lands and cultural icons are managed for decades.”
—U.S. Representative Deb Haaland of New Mexico ([link removed]) , on BLM's plan to allow drilling near Chaco Culture National Historical Park
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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The rolling landscape of Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness offers some of the most unique and fascinating scenery #NewMexico ([link removed])

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