** Trump administration advances Arctic Refuge oil and gas leasing
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Monday, November 16, 2020
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ([link removed])

On Friday, the Interior Department began the formal process ([link removed]) to offer oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. By calling for nominations possibly as soon as today, the rushed process could allow the Bureau of Land Management to hold a lease sale ([link removed]) before the Trump administration leaves office in January.

Drilling in the Arctic Refuge was banned for decades ([link removed]) before a provision in a 2017 tax bill reversed the ban. The Trump administration has pushed to make drilling in the region a reality despite risks to wildlife and the sensitive ecosystem, propos ([link removed]) ing ([link removed]) a plan to conduct seismic testing that could harm polar bear mothers and cubs last month.

President-elect Joe Biden has voiced his opposition to drilling in the Arctic Refuge, and leases sold under the Trump administration will be subject to permitting and regulations under the next administration. In addition, oil prices have yet to rebound from the industry's crash earlier this year, and widespread public opposition has resulted in several major banks refusing to finance ([link removed]) drilling operations in the Refuge.


** Interior Department undermines Great American Outdoors Act
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President Trump and several Republican senators campaigned on the Great American Outdoors Act, a popular bipartisan bill including full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
However, a new Interior Department order ([link removed]) undermines the program, requiring state and county government approval ([link removed]) for purchasing land from voluntary sellers. “It’s a clear interference with private property rights and that the big irony here is that it's coming from the party claiming to support personal liberty and private property rights. They're trying to give every county commission and governor in the country veto power over private land owners who want to sell their land to the government at fair market rates,” said ([link removed]) Aaron Weiss, Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director.

Under Interior Secretary Bernhardt, the department has attempted to reject the Land and Water Conservation Fund whenever possible. Before receiving permanent funding through the Great American Outdoors Act, the Trump administration attempted to effectively zero out ([link removed]) the program in its yearly budget. After using the bill to greenwash the administration's environmental record, the Interior Department and the Forest Service missed a key deadline earlier this month to nominate projects for funding through the program.
Quick hits


** Trump races clock on remaining environmental rollbacks
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The Hill ([link removed])


** How the Navajo Nation helped flip Arizona
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NPR ([link removed])


** Interior Department rushes to offer oil and gas leases in Arctic Refuge
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Bloomberg ([link removed]) | Reuters ([link removed]) | Anchorage Daily News ([link removed])


** New Interior order undermines recently passed Great American Outdoors Act
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The Hill ([link removed]) | Colorado Newsline ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Judge blasts BLM’s ‘sloppy’ climate work in oil case
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** Opinion: How the Biden administration can reverse Trump’s environmental policies
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High Country News ([link removed])


** Using wolves as first responders against a deadly wildlife brain disease
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New York Times ([link removed])


** Nature takes a beating from a different kind of tourist in Tahoe
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Washington Post ([link removed])
Quote of the day
This administration can’t resist the urge to break the law, and this order is a perfect example of why they can’t be trusted to protect our environment. They have no interest in conservation; even with clear direction and guidance from Congress they are doing their best to sabotage the Land and Water Conservation Fund. They’re just trying to smash and grab whatever they can on their way out the door when they should focus on working with the Biden transition team.”
—Chairman Raúl Grijalva, The Hill ([link removed]\)
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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This frosty bear got caught in a November snow @YosemiteNPS . Pic courtesy of Mark Bouldoukian #California

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