** Biden admin outlines $2.8 billion for park maintenance, public lands access
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Friday, June 4, 2021
Guided ranger hike in Glacier National Park | National Park Service ([link removed])

On Thursday, the Biden administration released a $2.8 billion plan ([link removed]) to tackle deferred maintenance in our parks and public lands, while also increasing access for recreation. The plan seeks to implement the recently-passed Great American Outdoors Act, which provides full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and established a new program to update public lands infrastructure.

The list of more than 500 projects stretches from coast to coast, from rehabilitating campgrounds ([link removed]) in Zion National Park to repairing facilities in Boston's Minute Man National Historical Park, and will begin to address the roughly $20 billion in deferred maintenance facing public land managers. Combined, the projects are expected to address more than $1.2 billion of the maintenance backlog within the Interior Department alone.

"One of the best investments we can make is in stewarding the lands and waters that sustain us and the generations to come," said ([link removed]) Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. "Today we are making critical investments that will create tens of thousands of jobs, safeguard the environment, and help ensure that national parks and public lands are ready to meet the challenges of climate change and increased visitation." Combined, the deferred maintenance projects identified for FY2022 are expected to support ([link removed]) more than 20,000 jobs and generate more than $2.2 billion in local communities.
Quick hits


** How returning land to Native Tribes is helping protect nature
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Yale Environment 360 ([link removed])


** This is what Biden's budget does for the environment
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Outside Magazine ([link removed])


** A hot summer is coming. Can California keep the lights on?
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** After resigning as Interior Secretary amid scandal, Ryan Zinke launches Montana congressional bid
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Helena Independent Record ([link removed])


** Biden administration pushes to tackle deferred maintenance projects at parks, public lands
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The Hill ([link removed]) | St. George Spectrum & Daily News ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed])


** Colorado legislators near deal with Governor Polis over sweeping climate bill
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Colorado Public Radio ([link removed])


** Klamath water battle lines blur as protests escalate
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E&E News ([link removed])
Quote of the day
If you look at it from a land justice perspective, we need to support a strengthening and healing of that relationship. If you look at it practically, Indigenous people are the original stewards of all the lands and waters in North America, and there’s an extensive knowledge and management practices that date back millennia.”
—Erin Myers Madeira ([link removed]) , director of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities program for the Nature Conservancy
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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At Interior, we are devoted to preserving, protecting, and telling the stories of ALL Americans. We acknowledge the continuing efforts of all those who fight for equality, promote tolerance and acceptance, and embrace diversity. Happy LGBTQ+ #PrideMonth ([link removed]) !

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