** Trump rushes to drill the Arctic
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Tuesday, December 8, 2020
USFWS ([link removed])

With 42 days remaining in the Trump presidency, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt is rushing to finish favors for the oil and gas industry—especially in the Arctic.

On Monday alone, the Interior Department officially scheduled an oil lease auction in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ([link removed]) for January 6th, and moved ahead with plans to allow seismic testing ([link removed]) that will disturb polar bears in their dens. This morning, the department published a proposed rule ([link removed]) that would eliminate numerous Obama-era safety requirements ([link removed]) for offshore drilling in the Arctic.

The breakneck speed of the final rulemakings and sales puts all of the actions on shaky legal ground. While the Arctic Refuge lease sale is technically scheduled for January 6th, exactly 30 days after the notice was published in the federal register ([link removed]) , the Bureau of Land Management is requiring sealed bids to be submitted by December 31st, just 23 days after the sale notice.

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva and several of his colleagues warned Bernhardt ([link removed]) that the accelerated timeline will be subject to court challenges. “BLM appears to be pretending to adhere to the regulation by waiting until January 6, 2021, to open the bids, but simply saying that is the date of ‘the lease sale’ defies common sense and almost certainly violates the regulation,” they wrote.
Quick hits


** What are Joe Biden's options for slowing oil leasing on day one?
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American Prospect ([link removed])


** How Biden could expand national monuments
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Grijalva worries future Interior secretary is being undercut by leaks
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Washington Post ([link removed]) | HuffPost ([link removed])


** Bernhardt's last-minute Arctic rush is on shaky legal ground
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E&E News ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed]) (seismic testing) | The Hill ([link removed]) (lease sale)


** Interior hides new analysis of Arctic seismic data, even from its own agencies
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Sierra Magazine ([link removed])


** Interior wiped or can't access Ryan Zinke's government phones, violating public records law
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Opinion: As biodiversity threats mount, New Mexico must commit to 30x30 goal
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Santa Fe New Mexican ([link removed])


** Man who found Forrest Fenn's treasure reveals his identity
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Outside ([link removed]) | CNN ([link removed]) | Medium ([link removed])
Quote of the day
The bottom line is the incoming Biden administration will have pretty unrestricted authority to do whatever they want to in terms of stopping or interrupting the leasing process. The applicable statutes, the Mineral Leasing Act, gives the Interior Secretary broad power to lease or not lease. If they do it right and carefully, the odds of a court setting aside what they do are pretty slim.”
—Former Interior Department Solicitor John Leshy
The American Prospect ([link removed])
Picture this


** National Park Service ([link removed])
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Bears rub on many objects: trees, signs, fence posts, power poles, mysterious monoliths, outbuildings, cabins, and even boulders. A typical bear rub tree is often characterized by the lack of branches and little vegetation growing around the base where the bear has been standing. It’s believed bears use rub trees to communicate with each other, assert dominance, or establish territory. By leaving their scent or hair behind, they can make their presence known.

Image: Two bears converging on a shiny object at Lake Clark National Park & Preserve ([link removed][0]=AZVQHv07nUg8Y9aOJAaIvG-F7uuB-su2ZHrUyIK4npNmnnRvSjFbokgRVWHN_rvoyvgl3PtTUOfn3cLzHHDOBtOEbv0y9fmOhSfZ-wY0ZG3eHq1qmKi8Mo2N8kjTWqtUy3DoQC82RApktkCDqdvXpTOh&__tn__=kK-R&utm_source=1500+CWP+List+Daily+Clips+and+Updates&utm_campaign=949492cc2d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_12_08_01_42&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_4369a4e737-949492cc2d-84302525) , Alaska.

P.S. The shiny object is no longer in the park. The waiting list to scratch became unbearable.

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