** June, in brief
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President Trump has announced his intent to nominate anti-public lands extremist William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management | Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])


** Key news from June:
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* After decades of bipartisan work, the Senate ([link removed]) overwhelmingly voted to pass historic conservation legislation that will fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund and address the maintenance backlog on public lands. The legislation will be an important part of rebuilding the economy ([link removed]) , and demonstrates that elected officials recognize the continued importance of public lands to voters ([link removed]) .
* Environmental rollbacks rolled in all month. President Trump signed an executive order ([link removed]) waiving environmental reviews for construction and energy projects, undermining numerous laws. On World Environment Day, the Trump administration slashed marine monument protections ([link removed]) , reduced migratory bird protections ([link removed]) , confirmed plans to gut the National Environmental Policy Act
([link removed]) , and finalized weaker air quality standards ([link removed]) for offshore drilling. That same week included additional rollbacks ([link removed]) . Meanwhile, government scientists found that Trump’s proposal to ease penalties for killing birds will negatively impact bird species ([link removed]) .
* Outrage erupted early this month after United States Park Police aggressively dispersed ([link removed]) peaceful protesters in D.C.’s Lafayette Square to facilitate a photo-op for President Trump. Eyewitnesses confirmed ([link removed]) that tear gas was used against protesters, a fact that the Interior Department denied ([link removed]) , until later walking back the statement. The Park Police have been asked to defend the rationale ([link removed]) behind clearing protesters, and an
investigation was opened ([link removed]) into Interior Secretary Bernhardt’s actions in connection to the event. In the wake of the event, national park sites ([link removed]) near the White House were closed, drawing objections.
* After the Interior Department faced legal scrutiny ([link removed]) for indefinitely extending the temporary appointment of acting officials, President Trump announced his intent ([link removed]) to nominate William Perry Pendley as head of the Bureau of Land Management. Pendley is an anti-public lands extremist ([link removed]) with a long career working to dismantle public land systems. During his stint at the helm of the BLM, the agency has worked to move its headquarters West. The move has gutted the agency ([link removed]) , resulting in fewer employees moving than expected and top posts unfilled. Within a week of the move's supposed completion,
Pendley refused to say ([link removed]) how many employees had moved.
* The U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis released a comprehensive report laying out a framework for the United States to lead the fight against climate change ([link removed]) . Notably, the report includes conservation and public land management as a key component, calling on the U.S. to protect 30 percent of America by 2030 ([link removed]) . New polling shows that 75 percent ([link removed]) of voters in Western states support the 30x30 goal championed by Tom Udall ([link removed]) in the Senate.
* As oil prices wildly fluctuate, fears of abandoned oil and gas wells have increased. Congress considered federal help for abandoned wells ([link removed]) this month, as did Wyoming ([link removed]) ; but many have pointed out that adequate well bonding ([link removed]) is also necessary. Making the issue even more urgent, an investigation found that abandoned wells are leaking methane ([link removed]) , speeding climate change.
* All oil and gas lease sales across the West were postponed ([link removed]) , even as the Interior Department bent over backwards to bail out the oil industry ([link removed]) —lowering royalty rates and granting lease suspensions, sidestepping their responsibility to provide taxpayers a fair return for publicly-owned oil and gas. The Trump administration also announced plans to open up ([link removed]) 82 percent of America’s largest piece of public land to oil and gas drilling. In good news, a federal appeals court upheld the cancellation ([link removed]) of the last remaining oil and gas leases on sacred land near Glacier National
Park.
* In the wake of protests against racial injustice, environmental justice has come into the spotlight. Many of the communities fighting for fair policing also demand environmental justice ([link removed]) , pointing out that Trump’s environmental rollbacks and response to the COVID-19 crisis ([link removed]) are worsening environmental impacts on minority communities. There has been a focus on the racist history ([link removed]) of America’s parks and public lands, and a new study found that living near oil and gas wells is tied to low birth weight in infants
([link removed]) .
* Climate science was on the front lines. An investigation found that the Interior Department is waging a sustained war on climate science ([link removed]) , with scientists seeing their work altered and delayed. Documents also revealed that a prominent climate science denier was consulted ([link removed]) on Interior’s plan to limit the use of peer-reviewed academic studies in government rule-making. At the same time, federal judges have consistently stymied ([link removed]) the Trump Administration’s attempts to pursue its “energy dominance” agenda, based on lack of consideration of climate change impacts. This month also revealed that voters in Colorado
([link removed]) and across America ([link removed]) think the government should do more to combat climate change.
* For a second time in six months, the Interior Inspector General found that Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Doug Domenech violated multiple ethics rules ([link removed]) . Members of Congress called for him to be fired ([link removed]) .
* Colorado was the positive exception in water issues. The Trump administration’s wetland protection rollback went into effect ([link removed]) this month for every state except Colorado. Colorado’s oil and gas regulations were also hailed ([link removed]) as some of the strongest in the nation for protecting groundwater.


** What to watch for in July:
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* Following overwhelming bipartisan support in the Senate, the house will vote on the Great American Outdoors Act in July. The vote was delayed by a small number of anti-public lands lawmakers ([link removed]) , but the bill is expected to pass by a large margin. The bill includes full, permanent funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
* Experts have warned that President Trump's July 4th Mount Rushmore fireworks event could spread disease and wildfire ([link removed]) . The National Park Service cut the "health and human safety" section ([link removed]) from event analysis.
* It remains to be seen whether Trump will follow up on his intent to nominate anti-public lands extremist ([link removed]) William Perry Pendley as head of the Bureau of Land Management, which has been without a leader for the entirety of the Trump administration.
* The Road to 30 Virtual Tour ([link removed]) will be holding its third event in Nevada. Stay tuned for details!

Best Reads of the Month


** The Navajo Nation's complicated entanglements with coal
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Forbes ([link removed])


** Collaborative Report: Private investors are banking on water scarcity in the West
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Aspen Journalism, KJZZ, KUNC, and Nevada Independent ([link removed])


** Editorial: Oil, gas, and coal downturns have wrecked Wyoming's budget—it's time to change
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Casper Star-Tribune ([link removed])


** Carried by wind and rain, microplastic pollution is rampant in Western national parks and wilderness
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** New data shows that 500 species are likely to become extinct in the next two decades
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New York Times ([link removed])


** Trump has dismantled more monuments than any protest
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HuffPost ([link removed])



** The Bureau of Land Management is hiding public comments
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Bloomberg ([link removed])
From the Center for Western Priorities:


** Winning the West 2020
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This month, the Center for Western Priorities released a new 2020 Winning the West poll ([link removed]) , providing insight into
how the events of 2020 have influenced Western opinions about public lands. The poll found that the coronavirus pandemic has only deepened the connection of outdoor voters to public lands ([link removed]) .

This year’s polling results ([link removed]) show how support for public lands may drive election decisions; the poll demonstrates that Western voters want public land protection and environmental regulation, and examines reactions to COVID-19 social distancing guidelines in the context of outdoor recreation.
Read the summary ([link removed])
Visit the campaign website ([link removed])
[link removed]


** The Road to 30 Virtual Tour: Colorado
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This month, the Road to 30 virtual tour continued with a stop in Colorado. This month’s event featured congressional 30x30 leader U.S. Senator Tom Udall ([link removed]) , Colorado Representative and CORE Act leader Joe Neguse, and Conservation Colorado Executive Director Kelly Nordini.

We discussed the importance of protecting 30 percent of America by 2030 as well the role that Colorado can play in reaching that goal.
Watch the Colorado event ([link removed])
Visit the campaign website ([link removed])
[link removed]


** Tracking Trump administration oil and gas handouts during the pandemic
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The Center for Western Priorities released a new tracker ([link removed]) keeping tabs on Trump administration handouts to the oil and gas industry during the coronavirus pandemic. After a decade of racking up immense debt ([link removed]) and rarely turning a profit, oil and gas corporations were briefly hammered by the COVID-19 pandemic and a global oil glut. Now, oil prices have rebounded. However, the Interior Department is bending over backwards to continue bailing out the industry—lowering royalty rates and granting lease suspensions, sidestepping their responsibility to provide taxpayers a fair return for publicly-owned oil and gas.
View the tracker ([link removed])
[link removed]


**
Westwise Blog:
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** The Road to 30: T ([link removed]) ribal Land Management ([link removed])
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** Indigenous leadership is essential to protecting 30 percent of America's lands and waters by 2030
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** Trump Interior Department adds to destructive legacy with week of environmental rollbacks ([link removed])
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** Agency moves full steam ahead despite pandemic, unleashing numerous destructive rollbacks
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** The Trump Administration’s Unfinished Business on Public Lands ([link removed])
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** Tracking the Interior Department’s remaining policy changes impacting lands, water, and wildlife
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Quote of the month


** "Frontline communities are under attack from multiple emergencies happening at the same time. Black communities are dealing with the systemic racism that has infected the policing in our communities that is literally choking us to death. The rolling back of environmental rules and regulations has us gasping for air due to the cumulative public health impacts from the burning of fossil fuels in our communities."
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** —Mustafa Santiago Ali ([link removed]) , Vice President of Environmental Justice, Climate, and Community Revitalization at the National Wildlife Federation
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Picture this

[link removed]
This month the Center for Western Priorities released a new whiteboard video highlighting why we must protect 30 percent of America by 2030.

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