** Colorado announces new state park
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Friday, September 13, 2019
Entrance to Crazy French Ranch, Colorado's newest state park, Library of Congress ([link removed])
Yesterday, Governor Jared Polis announced ([link removed]) Colorado's newest state park, a previously privately-owned ranch close to the city of Trinidad, near the New Mexico border. Set to be be opened ([link removed]) to the public in January of 2021, the park will feature trails and other visitor services, and is expected to be a new economic driver in the region. It will also be an important wildlife corridor, providing continuous protected land connecting to northern New Mexico for elk, mule deer, black bears, and many other species.
The land acquisition ([link removed]) came from a partnership between the the state of Colorado, the city of Trinidad, the Nature Conservancy, and the Trust for Public Land. "Looking at those two nonprofits, one with a focus on conservation and another with a focus on recreation, combining those two with a city, a county, a state... it's a partnership that's just a great model to explore everywhere," said ([link removed]) Dan Gibbs, executive director of Colorado's Department of Natural Resources.
As the Trump administration tries to open up our public land to oil and gas drilling and push its anti-conservation agenda, this is an example of states stepping up to protect and provide access to public lands.
Quick hits
** Utah taxpayers losing billions due to federal leasing shortcomings
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** Trump's pick for top Interior lawyer stalled after perjury allegations
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Westwise ([link removed])
** Bipartisan disapproval of Interior's travel freeze
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E&E News ([link removed])
** Sage-grouse numbers stumble across the West
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** Utah land leased for oil and gas could grow by 280 square miles this week
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** Despite House bill, Interior chooses broadest option for Arctic National Wildlife Refuge lease sale
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E&E News ([link removed]) | The Guardian ([link removed])
** 6 million acres of state lands inaccessible in the West
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** Opinion: BLM's move west not leading to the outcome Grand Junction was sold on
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Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])
Quote of the day
After this week's sale and the one in December, there will be very few unleased parcels between Canyons of the Ancients and Bears Ears [national monuments]. We don't think that's appropriate for America's most dense archeological area, to be completely leased with no planning and no tribal input and at odds with all the data we have from that area.”
—Josh Ewing, executive director of Friends of Cedar Mesa, Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
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Welcomed every day by the bright #Utah ([link removed]) sun,
@CanyonlandsNPS ([link removed]) turns 55 today and has never looked better.
Pic by John Chico ([link removed] ([link removed]) )
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