June, in brief

Key news from June:

• After decades of bipartisan work, the Senate 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, and demonstrates that elected officials recognize the continued importance of public lands to voters.

• Environmental rollbacks rolled in all month. President Trump signed an executive order waiving environmental reviews for construction and energy projects, undermining numerous laws. On World Environment Day, the Trump administration slashed marine monument protections, reduced migratory bird protections, confirmed plans to gut the National Environmental Policy Act, and finalized weaker air quality standards for offshore drilling. That same week included additional rollbacks. Meanwhile, government scientists found that Trump’s proposal to ease penalties for killing birds will negatively impact bird species.

• Outrage erupted early this month after United States Park Police aggressively dispersed peaceful protesters in D.C.’s Lafayette Square to facilitate a photo-op for President Trump. Eyewitnesses confirmed that tear gas was used against protesters, a fact that the Interior Department denied, until later walking back the statement. The Park Police have been asked to defend the rationale behind clearing protesters, and an investigation was opened into Interior Secretary Bernhardt’s actions in connection to the event. In the wake of the event, national park sites near the White House were closed, drawing objections.

• After the Interior Department faced legal scrutiny for indefinitely extending the temporary appointment of acting officials, President Trump announced his intent to nominate William Perry Pendley as head of the Bureau of Land Management. Pendley is an anti-public lands extremist 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, resulting in fewer employees moving than expected and top posts unfilled. Within a week of the move's supposed completion, Pendley refused to say 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. 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. New polling shows that 75 percent of voters in Western states support the 30x30 goal championed by Tom Udall in the Senate.

• As oil prices wildly fluctuate, fears of abandoned oil and gas wells have increased. Congress considered federal help for abandoned wells this month, as did Wyoming; but many have pointed out that adequate well bonding is also necessary. Making the issue even more urgent, an investigation found that abandoned wells are leaking methane, speeding climate change.

• All oil and gas lease sales across the West were postponed, even as the Interior Department bent over backwards to bail out the oil industry—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 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 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, pointing out that Trump’s environmental rollbacks and response to the COVID-19 crisis are worsening environmental impacts on minority communities. There has been a focus on the racist history 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.

• Climate science was on the front lines. An investigation found that the Interior Department is waging a sustained war on climate science, with scientists seeing their work altered and delayed. Documents also revealed that a prominent climate science denier was consulted 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 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 and across America 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. Members of Congress called for him to be fired.

• Colorado was the positive exception in water issues. The Trump administration’s wetland protection rollback went into effect this month for every state except Colorado. Colorado’s oil and gas regulations were also hailed as some of the strongest in the nation for protecting groundwater.

What to watch for in July:

• 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, 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. The National Park Service cut the "health and human safety" section from event analysis.
• It remains to be seen whether Trump will follow up on his intent to nominate anti-public lands extremist 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 will be holding its third event in Nevada. Stay tuned for details!