Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** CRA review of Boundary Waters would set dangerous precedent for public lands
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Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in Minnesota, Dan Pemstein via Flickr ([link removed]) /CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 ([link removed])
On Tuesday, Representative Pete Stauber of Minnesota introduced a resolution of disapproval ([link removed]) under the Congressional Review Act that would overturn a public land order that protects the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from the impacts of mining. Public Land Order 7917 ([link removed]) , issued in 2023 by then-Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, withdrew the headwaters of the Boundary Waters area from mining for 20 years. Stauber's resolution proposes to nullify the withdrawal entirely, allowing mining to occur in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters and exposing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and other nearby areas to potential pollution and other impacts from mining activity.
The Congressional Review Act (CRA) allows Congress to review, and attempt to overturn, a rule promulgated by an executive branch agency. The CRA has been used to overturn rules finalized by administrations of both parties since it was signed into law in 1996. However, since the beginning of the second Trump administration, members of Congress have attempted to use the CRA to overturn agency actions that have never been considered rules for the purposes of the CRA. Earlier this year, Congress passed resolutions of disapproval of land management plans, an unprecedented move has caused significant uncertainty ([link removed]) because the CRA prohibits an agency from passing another rule "substantially similar" to a rule that is overturned using the CRA. Since the CRA has never been used in this way before, it is unclear how land management agencies are to plan for future land management if they cannot write new land
management plans, or whether oil and gas leases and other permits issued under an overturned land management plan remain valid.
The attempt to use the CRA to overturn a public land order is similarly unprecedented in that public land orders have also never been considered rules. If successful, this effort would open up mineral withdrawals and other public land orders across the West to a raft of disapproval resolutions that would cancel protections for unique and irreplaceable landscapes and wildlife habitats. Once an area is open to mining or other extractive activity and mining claims or other rights are established, they cannot be taken away by a future mineral withdrawal. Undoing a mineral withdrawal, even if it is restored later, exposes the area to the threat of the impacts of industrial extractive activity for decades.
"Mining in the headwaters of the Boundary Waters would pollute one of the crown jewels of America’s public lands and pose a toxic threat to the wilderness and the approximately 250,000 people who visit it each year,quot; Jordan Schreiber, director of government relations at The Wilderness Society, said in a statement ([link removed]) . "Congress should reject this legislative scheme, which relies on unprecedented treatment of a public land order, and defend this critical landscape for present and future generations."
** Quick hits
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Interior plans to open all public land to hunting and fishing—unless specifically closed by site managers
Outdoor Life ([link removed]) | GearJunkie ([link removed])
USFWS director questioned about national wildlife refuge reviews
Meateater ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
Trump admin launches consolidated federal firefighting agency despite congressional reservations and lack of funding
Government Executive ([link removed]) | Wildfire Today ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
Arizona draws a line on groundwater use after letting Saudi-owned company pump freely for years
Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
U.S. carbon emissions rose in 2025 as coal produced more power
New York Times ([link removed]) | Canary Media ([link removed])
BLM proposes more California oil and gas leasing, threatening public lands
National Parks Traveler ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
Developer withdraws plan for mega-gas station off I-70 near popular Colorado 14er trails
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Rep. Vasquez: What will it take to keep public lands in public hands?
Field & Stream ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” Whether they serve as hunting hubs or gateways to our nation’s first wilderness, these rural communities thrive on access to public lands.”
—Congressman Gabe Vasquez, Field & Stream ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@deathvalleynps ([link removed])
Did you know that the mountains near Death Valley have not just one, but TWO types of shadows??
Not only do these mountains create physical shadows by blocking sunlight from reaching the ground, but they also create rain shadows!
Rain shadows work in a similar way to standard shadows. Instead of being made from blocking light though, they are made by blocking rain (and other types of precipitation). Rain shadows form when clouds carrying water from the coast are pushed by wind into the mountains where they are forced to climb in elevation. As they climb, the water vapor in the clouds cool, condense, and fall as rain or snow. By the time the clouds reach the top of the mountain, they have dumped most of their water. This means there is not much water left to fall on the backside of the mountain, creating deserts like Death Valley.
You can think of these clouds as sponges. Each time they go over a mountain, they wring out more and more water until there is almost no water left to drip out. With several tall mountain ranges between Death Valley and the California coast, it’s no wonder that Death Valley is the driest place in North America.
📍 Death Valley National Park
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