** Bernhardt opens parks over objections from rangers and tribes
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TUESDAY, MAY 26, 2020
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt speaks with Tusayan, Arizona Mayor Craig Sanderson. Tusayan has paid Bernhardt's former lobbying firm nearly $500,000 to lobby for a resort near the Grand Canyon. Photo: @DOIPressSec ([link removed])

Despite warnings from public health officials and park rangers, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt spent Memorial Day weekend posing for photo ops at national park units that are being reopened to the public. Internal documents obtained by HuffPost ([link removed]) show park managers didn't receive guidance on managing crowds until days before re-opening, and that parks are relying heavily on signage, but not enforcement of public health measures like wearing masks.

One park ranger told HuffPost that “I feel like I’m going to get [COVID-19] eventually. I just don’t feel there is any way for me to avoid it.” The ranger isn't confident that park managers will have the authority to close a park down in the event of an outbreak. “It seems to me like the openings and closings of parks is based on politics and not the safety of employees and visitors,” the ranger said.

Bernhardt re-opened Grand Canyon National Park over the objections of the Navajo Nation ([link removed]) , which has seen more than 3,600 COVID-19 cases and 127 deaths. On Sunday, the Interior Department posted photos of a mask-less Bernhardt ([link removed]) speaking with the mayor of Tusayan, Arizona ([link removed]) , a town that was effectively run by Elling Halvorson ([link removed]) , a business owner who died last month ([link removed]) . Halvorson's businesses, which are now run by his daughter, have partnered with an Italian developer that wants to transform Tusayan into a Grand Canyon mega-resort
([link removed]) .

After Bernhardt joined the Interior Department, the Tusayan Town Council hired Bernhardt's former lobbying firm ([link removed]) , Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, and has paid the firm nearly $500,000 to lobby the Interior Department and Forest Service over the proposed resort.
Quick hits


** Zion National Park fills up by 11:00 am after re-opening
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Las Vegas Review-Journal ([link removed])


** Former Utah politician Ken Ivory returns with new public land grab “snake oil remedy”
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Oil and gas companies propose drilling on 150,000 acres of public land near Arches, Canyonlands, and Bears Ears
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Park Service rescinds ban on killing bear cubs, wolf pups in dens within Alaska national preserves
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KUAC ([link removed])


** Numerous American Indian groups call for ouster of top Interior Indian Affairs official, Udall questions delay in COVID aid funds
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Native News Online ([link removed]) | Albuquerque Journal ([link removed])


** Feds approve permits to study controversial dam proposal on Little Colorado River within Navajo Nation
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Arizona Daily Sun ([link removed])


** Senate expected to vote in June on funding LWCF, parks maintenance backlog
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Helena Independent Record ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed])


** Law enforcement looking for tips after petroglyph vandalism in Colorado’s Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area
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Out There Colorado ([link removed])
Quote of the day
My assumption is he’s getting considerable pressure to open the United States of America from his boss. The economy is getting hit hard. But for us, our focus is on the health and well-being of the Navajo Nation.”
—Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, HuffPost ([link removed])
Picture this


** @NatureNPS ([link removed])
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Everyone can play a part in slowing the spread of #InvasiveSpecies ([link removed]) , like this ranger picking dandelions in @DenaliNPS ([link removed]) . At home, choose native plants in your yard and avoid keeping exotic animals as pets. Read more tips here: [link removed] ([link removed]) #NISAW ([link removed])

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