Public lands news wrap-up from November


** November, in brief
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Donald Trump speaking at a campaign rally in Prescott Valley, Arizona. Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons ([link removed])


** Key news from November:
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* Donald Trump's election will be devastating ([link removed]) for public lands. Project 2025, the policy handbook written by former Trump officials, clearly lays out a plan to gut the Interior department and remove environmental safeguards that ensure the health of our public lands. In short, it would give extractive industries nearly unfettered access to public lands; severely restrict the power of the Endangered Species Act; open up millions of acres of Alaska wilderness to drilling, mining, and logging; roll back protections for spectacular landscapes like Oregon’s Cascade Siskiyou National Monument; and remove protections for iconic Western species like gray wolves and grizzly bears. “America’s parks, monuments, forests, and public lands are universally popular, regardless of political party,” said Jennifer Rokala, Executive Director at the Center for Western Priorities, in a statement
([link removed]) . “If President-elect Trump and his administration try to sell off public lands, open lands to destruction, or put corporate profits ahead of public access, they will be met with swift resistance across the political spectrum. We held Trump’s corrupt appointees accountable last time, and we are prepared to do it again.”
* President-elect Trump announced he would nominate North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum ([link removed]) to be his Secretary of the Interior. Burgum is a former software executive who organized a dinner ([link removed]) at Mar-a-Lago earlier this year where Trump suggested oil and gas executives raise $1 billion for his campaign. “Running the Interior department requires someone who can find balance between recreation, conservation, hunting, ranching, mining, and—yes—oil drilling,” said Jennifer Rokala, Executive Director at the Center for Western Priorities, in a statement ([link removed]) . “If Doug Burgum tries to turn America’s public lands into an even bigger cash cow for the oil and gas industry,
or tries to shrink America’s parks and national monuments, he’ll quickly discover he’s on the wrong side of history.”
* The Department of Justice responded to ([link removed]) the Utah lawsuit seeking control of 18.5 million acres of federal lands, stating that the lawsuit “plainly lacks merit” and is not worthy of being heard by the Supreme Court. A DOJ legal brief ([link removed]) filed with the Supreme Court argued that the U.S. Constitution clearly allows the federal government to control the lands. The lawsuit claims that the federal government lacks the authority to permanently retain public lands without a valid and immediate government purpose. The brief ([link removed]) dismisses Utah’s legal claims for several reasons
([link removed]) , including that the statute of limitations for civil actions against the United States is six years. Additionally, the DOJ argues that Utah should have first filed its complaint with the U.S. district court instead of directly to the Supreme Court. “Utah’s complaint does not satisfy the Court’s usual criteria for entertaining an original case,” according to the DOJ brief.
* The Biden administration announced its support for a controversial land exchange ([link removed]) that would pave the way for a gravel road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. The road proposal has been a political football for more than a decade, driven by a request from the residents of King Cove, a 900-person community that wants access to medical care via an all-weather runway in the town of Cold Bay, 16 miles away. The announcement kicks off a 45-day public comment period ([link removed]) on the proposed land exchange. The Interior department will also hold public meetings on the proposal. But the timing of the announcement means the final decision on the Izembek road and land swap will be made by the Trump administration next year.
* In a 3-2 vote, the Wyoming State Board of Land Commissioners approved a sale ([link removed]) of the Kelly Parcel to Grand Teton National Park for no less than $100 million. If completed, the sale will ensure the landscape is conserved for future generations. The transaction’s completion is dependent on Governor Mark Gordon's approval of the Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs ([link removed]) Resource Management Plan ([link removed]) . The state said ([link removed]) this will only happen if the plan is changed to include increased allowance for hunting and grazing, and if the BLM takes the
governor's feedback into account in the final management plan.


** What to watch for in December:
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* Who will President-elect Trump nominate as BLM director?
* Will President Biden designate the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument ([link removed]) or other ([link removed]) proposed national monuments in California ([link removed]) ?
* Will President Biden use the Antiquities Act to make conservation history ([link removed]) before he leaves office?

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** Georgia’s world-renowned Okefenokee Swamp could be taken out by mining ([link removed])
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Expanding the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge could help make sure that doesn’t happen.

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** Pit River Nation is leading the effort to establish Sáttítla National Monument ([link removed])
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The monument would safeguard the volcanically-formed California landscape known as Sáttítla in Northeastern California.

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Kate and Aaron are joined by ([link removed]) CWP Executive Director, Jennifer Rokala, and Curtis Hubbard, a political consultant based in Colorado, to break down the what the results of the 2024 election mean for public lands.
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Kate and Aaron talk to ([link removed]) Sanjay Narayan, managing attorney of the Sierra Club’s Environmental Law Program, about a lawsuit over the proposed Uinta Basin oil train that could have some major implications for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The case is set to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court in December.
[link removed]

Kate and Aaron are joined by ([link removed]) Dr. Dominick DellaSala, Chief Scientist at Wild Heritage ([link removed]) , a project of the Earth Island Institute. Dr. DellaSala came on The Landscape twice last year to talk about the Biden administration’s plans to protect mature and old growth forests. He recently wrote an op-ed for the Seattle Times ([link removed]) in which he says the Forest Service’s is still planning to allow logging in mature and old growth forests. We talk about why that’s the case, how the Old Growth Amendment process plays into this, and what the Biden administration can do about it, then discuss recent headlines about wildlife connectivity in forests and carbon sink failure.
Best Reads of the Month


** Opinion: Public land protectors are ready for a fight
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Writers on the Range ([link removed])


** With ready orders and an energy czar, Trump plots pivot to fossil fuels
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New York Times ([link removed])


** Here’s how much Utah is spending on a public relations campaign for its lawsuit seeking control of public land
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Cloned black-footed ferret gives birth for first time ever, a landmark in Colorado-based reintroduction efforts
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Ammon Bundy is avoiding arrest in Utah, threatens to 'make a stand'
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The Independent ([link removed])


** Trump is coming for climate progress. Here we go again
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** Biden admin urges "consensus path" for future Colorado River management
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** Biden has designated six national monuments—can he do more?
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KUNC ([link removed])


** The Wilderness Society selects BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning as new president
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The Wilderness Society ([link removed])


** Santa Cruz River Partnership could create Arizona’s first urban wildlife refuge
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AZPM ([link removed])
Quote of the month


** “The fight to protect our planet is literally a fight for humanity.”
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** —President Joe Biden during a trip to the Amazon rainforest, Associated Press ([link removed])
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Picture this
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** @recreation_gov ([link removed])
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“Look up at the stars and not down at your feet.” – Stephen Hawking

If you needed a reminder this #SundaySolace ([link removed]) to step outside and enjoy the beauty of the #GreatOutdoors ([link removed]) , this is it.

Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah
📸 William Fenwick

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