** BLM resurrects plan to prevent devastating western wildfires
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Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Source: @BLMFire ([link removed])
The Bureau of Land Management released ([link removed]) an ambitious plan for removing flammable vegetation on public lands used by livestock ranchers. The plan aims to limit the potential for disastrous wildfires on 350,000 square miles of sagebrush across Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Utah.
The plan to protect sagebrush from devastating wildfire originated ([link removed]) during the Obama administration and is also intended to protect sage-grouse habitat and recreation activities. In recent decades ([link removed]) , massive rangeland wildfires in sagebrush-steppe ecosystems driven by the proliferation of highly flammable invasive annual grasses like cheatgrass have swept across the Great Basin states, threatening ([link removed]) sage-grouse and 350 other species that depend on the region for survival.
The plan ([link removed]) released last Friday does not authorize any specific projects, though it could be used to green-light the approval of fuel breaks and other treatments including mechanical removal of vegetation, prescribed fire, targeted grazing by cattle, and revegetation efforts.
Erik Molvar with the Western Watersheds Project criticized the BLM's new plan, saying ([link removed]) , “With this project, the BLM is clearly trying to write itself a blank check to do large and damaging vegetation removal without any further input or detailed analysis. This is an agency whose track record of vegetation manipulation has overwhelmingly resulted in habitat destruction.”
Quick hits
** Colorado oil and gas drilling falls to historic low due to demand crash caused by pandemic
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Colorado Public Radio ([link removed])
** Wall Street, oil companies are betting against the financial risk of drilling in the Arctic
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Bloomberg ([link removed])
** Washington state's Swinomish tribe offers a blueprint for a modern climate change adaptation strategy
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Washington Post ([link removed])
** Biden's government-wide climate plan has something for everyone, including the Interior Department and the BLM
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E&E News ([link removed])
** BLM releases plan to combat massive wildfires across the West
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** Utah's Leviathan Cave may hold clues about our climate future and a warning about drought in the West
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** What a historic Interior Secretary choice would mean for Native Americans
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Politico ([link removed])
** State AGs slam Trump administration's proposed royalty reforms
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E&E News ([link removed])
Quote of the day
There’s that big push to address climate change because we’re feeling the effects more so than other places. We’ve always been taught and are still being told we have to preserve for the future generations."
—Nikki Cooley ([link removed]) , co-manager of the Tribes and Climate Change Program for the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals ([link removed])
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
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A sweet reminder to give other families you see on the trail plenty of space! Take it from Grizzly 399, the safest way to hike in bear country is with groups of 3 or more. Pic @grandtetonnps ([link removed]) , courtesy of Daniel Ewert #Wyoming ([link removed]) .
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