** Haaland revokes Trump orders on drilling, prioritizes climate
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Monday, April 19, 2021
Interior Secretary Deb Haaland | U.S. Department of the Interior ([link removed])

On Friday, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland revoked more than a dozen Trump administration policies ([link removed]) aimed at increasing drilling and mining on public lands, stating they were "inconsistent with our commitment to protect public health, conserve land, water and wildlife, and elevate science." Among the policies revoked were Secretarial Orders ([link removed]) directing the Interior Department to expand offshore drilling, evaluate drilling opportunities in Alaska's National Wildlife Refuge, increase coal mining leases on public lands, reduce reviews for oil and gas leasing across the West, and limit reviews under the National Historic Preservation Act.

In a separate order, Haaland established a new Climate Task Force ([link removed]) aimed at coordinating the Interior Department's efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase renewable energy generation, and prioritize environmental justice. Combined, Haaland's orders represent a stark and much needed shift for the agency tasked with managing our national parks, public lands, and wildlife. "Rescinding the previous administration’s orders that encouraged unfettered drilling in ecologically and culturally sensitive areas and establishing a climate task force will help ensure wise management of our natural resources for people and wildlife alike," said ([link removed]) National Wildlife Federation CEO Colin O'Mara.
Quick hits


** Western US prepares for possible first water shortage declaration
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** Public land managers facing visitation crunch face permitting dilemma
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Outside Magazine ([link removed])


** Utah governor threatens lawsuit if Biden restores Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Interior Secretary Haaland scraps Trump orders that accelerated drilling, moves to create climate task force
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | Reuters ([link removed]) | Huffington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | National Parks Traveler ([link removed]) | Bloomberg Law ([link removed]) | Grist ([link removed])


** Biden looks to revitalize coal country
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Politico ([link removed])


** Biden administration seeks to clean up abandoned wells, but in Utah, bonding is the real problem
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KUER ([link removed])


** Kill the filibuster to save a bipartisan American West that cares about conservation, climate
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KCET ([link removed])


** Opinion: Use oil and gas leasing pause on public lands to rethink our energy future
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Santa Fe New Mexican ([link removed])
Quote of the day
With regards to Bears Ears, it would be hard to think of a national monument that more squarely sits under the plain language and the intent of the Antiquities Act than a national monument advocated for specifically by Native American tribes. And the objects that are repeatedly referenced in the proclamation from Obama are the types of cultural, sacred, paleontological resources squarely within the act.”
—Steve Bloch ([link removed]) , legal director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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Wow! The swirling sandstone of White Pocket at Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is like a scene from a dream. Pic by Jessica Fridrich

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