Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** California has a plan to save Joshua trees from climate change
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Tuesday, December 3, 2024
Cap Rock Hike, Joshua Tree National Park, California; Source: Ken Lund/Flickr ([link removed])
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has released a new plan ([link removed]) to protect Joshua trees, which are threatened by wildfires, development, and climate change. Joshua trees are endemic to the Mojave Desert and only grow in California between 1,600 and 6,600 feet ([link removed].) of elevation.
The plan includes ([link removed]) minimizing both direct and indirect impacts to Joshua trees from overgrazing, pesticides, and off-roading, as well as relocating trees threatened by development and identifying and protecting lands where the trees could thrive in the future. The plan also requires the state ([link removed]) to develop procedures to reduce and fight wildfires that threaten Joshua trees, as well as replant trees lost to wildfires.
The plan calls on land managers to identify habitat ([link removed]) that should be prioritized for conservation, such as large areas with Joshua trees or areas with a high density of healthy and adult trees. It aims to identify these lands by December 2025 and permanently protect 70 percent of them by 2033.
Feds finalize rule to end future coal leasing in Powder River Basin
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has finalized plans ([link removed]) to end future coal leasing on about 1.7 million acres of federal land in Montana’s Powder River Basin as part of an effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The U.S. coal market has experienced a precipitous decline ([link removed]) in recent years due to coal's high production cost and greenhouse gas emissions.
The plan allows some existing mining ([link removed]) in the basin to continue through 2060. Still, U.S. Senator Steve Daines of Montana vowed to reverse ([link removed]) the decision through legislation, and Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon said he plans ([link removed]) to work with the incoming Trump administration to reverse the decision.
** Quick hits
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Bureau of Reclamation releases five options for operating the largest reservoirs on the Colorado River
Colorado Public Radio ([link removed])
Nez Perce Tribe receives $1.9 million grant to restore creek near abandoned mine
Idaho Capital Sun ([link removed])
How much is Utah’s public lands lawsuit and PR campaign costing taxpayers?
Utah News Dispatch ([link removed])
Three reasons Utah’s public lands lawsuit should be rejected by the Supreme Court, according to the Biden administration
Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) | KUNC ([link removed])
U.S. clean energy keeps growing—regardless of who is in the White House
Canary Media ([link removed])
Great Salt Lake restoration effort receives $50 million from Bureau of Reclamation
Desert News ([link removed]) | KSL.com ([link removed])
Illegal roads in Lake Mead National Recreation Area will cost millions to fix
FOX5 Vegas ([link removed])
Ancient poop provides clues to Yellowstone’s past
WyoFile ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” There’s a word for when the state tries to convince the public of a political position—propaganda. There is no doubt in my mind that that is the proper word to apply to this PR campaign... Some of it, of course, is aimed at convincing Utah voters that their money is not being tossed into a dumpster and set on fire, which is, in fact, what’s happening.”
—Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities, Utah News Dispatch ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@interior ([link removed])
Pilot Rock looks stunning under a blanket of fresh snow at Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument. The Oregon monument is situated at the crossroads of the Cascade, Klamath and Siskiyou Mountain ranges, and encompasses an outstanding ecological wonderland. Photo by @BLMOregon ([link removed])
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