** Fire agencies not tracking, sharing COVID information
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Tuesday, August 4, 2020
Wildfire, NOAA ([link removed])

As wildfire season continues across the West, some agencies are not tracking, and others are not sharing, COVID-19 cases among firefighters. Since social distancing is extremely difficult in wildland firefighting, contact tracing and testing is essential to preventing mass coronavirus outbreaks. The U.S. Forest Service, which manages over 10,000 firefighters and two-thirds of the country's fire resources, does not know ([link removed]) how many coronavirus cases there are among wildland fire fighters. “If a significant number of wildland firefighters are out sick with COVID that is information needed by people on the ground so they can make informed decisions about how to approach managing fires," explains ([link removed]) Samantha Montano, an expert in emergency management. Other agencies, such as the National Park
Service, declined to share any information on cases.

State agencies are more transparent ([link removed]) about coronavirus cases and established testing and tracing procedures. However, as wildland firefighters from different agencies convene at large fires, disparate practices will make effective emergency management difficult.


** Trump to sign landmark conservation bill today
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President Trump is expected to sign ([link removed]) the Great American Outdoors Act today, a bipartisan bill that passed by significant, veto-proof margins in the House and the Senate. The bill will ensure permanent full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and address ([link removed]) the maintenance backlog on public lands.
Quick hits


** How many wildland firefighters have COVID-19? Some agencies won’t, or can’t, say.
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Grist ([link removed])


** 300 racial justice, tribal, and conservation groups oppose Pendley nomination
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The Hill ([link removed]) | Politico ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Trump expected to sign GAOA today
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E&E News ([link removed]) | Wall Street Journal ([link removed]) | Public News Service ([link removed])


** After forcing in-person hearing where Rep. Grijalva contracted COVID, Interior Secretary says that’s the cost of serving
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The Hill ([link removed])


** Mining agency backtracks on claim about tracking coronavirus-related closures
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S&P Global ([link removed])


** BLM's new Montana plan opens 95% of area to oil and gas leasing
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Public News Service ([link removed])


** BLM issues preliminary approval for 5,000-well drilling oil, gas project in Wyoming, despite market
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S&P Global ([link removed])


** Four bears hit by vehicles, two killed at Yosemite National Park
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
Quote of the day
The Senate faces a moral choice: confirm a bigoted and divisive extremist or stand in solidarity with the American people who want our government and our public lands accessible to all.”
—Hilary Shelton, NAACP Senior Vice President for Policy and Advocacy, E&E News ([link removed])
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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The jaw-dropping beauty of Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve stays with you long after you leave. Pic by Rick Vega ([link removed] ([link removed]) ) #Colorado ([link removed])

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