** The climate insiders with Biden’s ear
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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2020
BLM's empty headquarters in Grand Junction, Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])
Climate experts close to President-elect Joe Biden are laying out their vision for the Interior department in 2021 and beyond. The Climate 21 Project ([link removed]) , which is headed by former White House Council on Environmental Quality chair Christy Goldfuss, released a memo ([link removed]) with recommendations for the first 100 days of the Biden administration. At the top: creating a climate council to advise the Interior secretary, and bringing the leadership of the Bureau of Land Management ([link removed]) back to Washington, DC.
The "relocation" of BLM headquarters to Grand Junction, Colorado has been a disaster under Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and de facto BLM head William Perry Pendley. The day after Bernhardt officially opened the new office in August, a security guard told a visitor to the empty building, "no one's here ([link removed]) ."
The Climate 21 memo also recommends the Biden administration adopt policies to slow oil and gas leasing on public lands, and move quickly to boost renewable energy production on public lands and waters. Get more insights into Goldfuss's approach to public lands in this March episode of CWP's podcast ([link removed]) .
Quick hits
** Biden insiders, climate activists urge swift action as transition team starts work
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Washington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) (Greenwire) | E&E News ([link removed]) (Climatewire) | Native News Online ([link removed])
** Political appointee at DOJ stalled criminal case against Ryan Zinke
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Washington Post ([link removed])
** Pendley's illegal stint at BLM undermines a "meaningless" backcountry designation in Montana
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High Country News ([link removed])
** Trump administration gives up on Great American Outdoors Act funding, project details
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
** Arizona: Nearly 1 million acres burn in 2,357 wildfires—"not a particularly bad" season
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Cronkite News ([link removed])
** Park Service faces $270M claim after Ugandan activist killed by unsecured gate at Arches
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** Wyoming regulators approve injecting fracking wastewater into freshwater aquifer
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** Neuroscience: Are we wired to be outside?
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Nautilus ([link removed])
Quote of the day
We have long held that the BLM needs a strong leadership presence in Washington, D.C., where they can support the administration's priorities by collaborating with sister agencies, the secretary's office and the Congress. The recent move to Colorado has created a lot of upheaval and disruption in the organization, and I would encourage the department's new political leadership to work with their career leaders to make any reorganizational moves so as to minimize further disruption.”
—Ed Shepard, Public Lands Foundation
E&E News ([link removed])
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** @ ([link removed]) PeccaryNotPig ([link removed])
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A drone tour of 7 ecologically important areas being destroyed by Trump’s #borderwall ([link removed]) in Ariz. These are wildlife refuges, national park land, endangered species habitat, wilderness & biodiversity hotspots.
3) The San Pedro River at the San Pedro National Conservation Area
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