Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Utah, Wyoming try other land grab strategies after lawsuit failure
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Monday, February 3, 2025
Grand Teton National Park, which Wyoming would like to have transferred to the state, U.S. Department of the Interior via Flickr ([link removed])
After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear Utah's long-shot lawsuit challenging the legality of federal ownership of national public lands, Utah and Wyoming are resorting to Plan B—legislative resolutions demanding power over public lands within their borders. In Wyoming, a resolution demanding that Congress transfer ownership of all federal lands and mineral rights to the state, with the exception of Yellowstone National Park, easily passed out of committee ([link removed]) . And in Utah, a state legislator has announced plans ([link removed]) to introduce a resolution that would call on Congress to enter into a co-management agreement ([link removed]) with the federal government for the "Mighty Five" national
parks within Utah's borders.
Even if these resolutions pass, they won't have any immediate effect since state legislatures can't make Congress do anything, making this strategy an even longer shot than Utah's lawsuit. Rather, messaging resolutions like these are intended to communicate to Congress the legislature's support for this fringe idea, in hopes that members of Congress will feel emboldened to support it. However, transferring national public lands to states is an idea that has been tried unsuccessfully several times since the 1980s and remains deeply unpopular with the public ([link removed]) , including in Utah and Wyoming.
Can President Trump even do that? Public lands edition
In the latest episode ([link removed]) of the Center for Western Priorities podcast, The Landscape ([link removed]) , Aaron and Kate are joined by Mark Squillace, natural resources law professor at the University of Colorado Law School. Professor Squillace provided legal counsel to the Interior Department under President Bill Clinton and Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, and he’s a two-time veteran of this podcast. He discusses the legality of President Trump’s executive orders on public lands, including which are likely to end up in court and whether the Trump administration will have the personnel to implement these orders, after making sweeping layoffs.
** Quick hits
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Utah, Wyoming continue to pursue federal land grab
KSL.com ([link removed]) | KSTU ([link removed]) | WyoFile ([link removed]) | National Parks Traveler ([link removed])
Trump wants more drilling, but the oil market is already saturated
Grist ([link removed])
No uranium-specific emergency plan exists for Navajo Nation as shipments loom; Ute Mountain Ute reps dismayed by accord
Arizona Mirror ([link removed]) | KSL.com ([link removed])
Trump 'opened the valve' on California's water. Local officials say unhelpful and wasteful action nearly flooded them
Politico ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
Groundwater-for-development debate resurfaces in Montana; Arizona considers giving rural communties a say
Montana Free Press ([link removed]) | Arizona Mirror ([link removed])
The power of prescribed fire
High Country News ([link removed])
A dozen Colorado state parks are pursuing international dark-sky designations
Denver Post ([link removed])
Editorial: Keep public lands in public hands, a refrain
Durango Herald ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” The state can help the national parks by calling on the Congressional delegation to ensure parks are managed to their gold standard, as visitors expect. A short-term patchwork management scheme that would siphon money away from the national parks doesn't help the parks, the visitors, or Utah.”
—Cory McNulty, National Parks Conservation Association, National Parks Traveler ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@elmalpaisnps ([link removed])
When you’re driving near Grants, New Mexico on Interstate 40 and the landscapes are speeding by, what do you notice? Do you notice the black rock? Do you notice the mesas in the distance? Do you notice cone shaped hills or large mountains?
Our annual Volcano Week celebration kicks off today, and we'll be focusing on the diverse natural and cultural landscapes found at El Malpais. This week on your adventure, you will learn about volcanoes and how they shaped the landscape around them. You will learn about how people here have lived and interacted with their landscapes and environment. You will discover more about how environments have changed, or not changed, with time. There is plenty to explore this Volcano Week, so you’ve come to the right place. Welcome to Volcano Week!
NPS Photo
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