** Wildfires threaten parks across the West
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Monday, August 24, 2020
Smoke from the Cameron Peak Fire, seen from Rocky Mountain National Park | InciWeb ([link removed])
Across the West, hot and dry conditions are fueling massive wildfires, threatening communities and, increasingly, national parks and monuments ([link removed]) .
In California, fires ripped through ([link removed]) Big Basin Redwoods State Park—the state's oldest park—burning stands of 500-year old trees. Further south, a fire burning near Giant Sequoia National Monument doubled in size ([link removed]) over the weekend. In Colorado, wildfires are burning less than four miles ([link removed]) from the border of Rocky Mountain National Park. Lightning has also sparked a wildfire ([link removed]) near Old Faithful in Yellowstone National Park, leading to closures.
The increasing effects of climate change have turbocharged ([link removed]) this year's wildfire season. At least 140 Western weather stations have set record highs within the last 10 days, and much of the region is experiencing severe drought. Making matters worse, the region's annual monsoon has failed ([link removed]) , leaving communities even more vulnerable to more wildfires in the coming months.
Quick hits
** New National Park Service director orders parks to maintain access despite COVID-related staff shortages
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The Hill ([link removed])
** After pushback on Fox News, Trump administration set to deny permit for Pebble Mine in Alaska
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Washington Post ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed])
** BLM set to auction half million acres for oil and gas over next six weeks, conservationists see land rush
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Bloomberg Law ([link removed])
** Wildfires burn California's oldest state park, continue to threaten wild areas across the West
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Backpacker ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]) | Fresno Bee ([link removed]) | National Parks Traveler ([link removed])
** Occidental Petroleum's massive Western land sale falls flat
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Seeking Alpha ([link removed]) | Houston Chronicle ([link removed])
** Grand Canyon rockfall reveals 313 million year-old fossil footprints
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CNN ([link removed])
** Editorial: Leaving Pendley in charge of BLM weakens case for moving headquarters
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Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])
** Editorial: How to reverse course on Trump's environmental damage
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New York Times ([link removed])
Quote of the day
If [William Perry Pendley] is too radioactive to be confirmed by the Senate, why should he be allowed to continue to lead an agency in charge of one-tenth of all the lands in America?”
—Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Editorial Board ([link removed])
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
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At the end of the Cape Royal Road (and on this August evening, the end of the rainbow), Wotans Throne is a stunning sight along the North Rim
@GrandCanyonNPS ([link removed]) . Pic by Charles Robinson ([link removed] ([link removed]) )
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