** Extreme heat sweeps the West
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Thursday, June 17, 2021
Death Valley National Park, CDC ([link removed])

As a record-breaking heat wave sweeps the West, a new report ([link removed]) from NASA shows that the amount of heat the planet traps has doubled since 2005. “The magnitude of the increase is unprecedented. The Earth is warming faster than expected,” said ([link removed]) Norman Loeb, a NASA scientist and lead author of the study.

The effects of the study's findings are evident in the West. With the official start of summer on the horizon, the combination of heat, drought, and an increasingly early start to wildfire season is causing severe impacts. Wildfires have already burned almost 1 million acres ([link removed]) in the U.S., a significant increase even compared to last year's catastrophic fire season. In Arizona, wildfire smoke blocking the sun prevented the area from experiencing a record high of 117 degrees ([link removed]) . “We’re still a long way out from the peak of the wildfire season and the peak of the dry season. Things are likely to get worse before they get better,” said ([link removed]) Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the
University of California, Los Angeles.

National parks in particular are feeling the heat. Death Valley National Park hit 124 degrees ([link removed]) this week, just 2 degrees below the record high for the date set in 2000 and 14 degrees higher than normal. Fire danger in Grand Teton National Park ([link removed]) pushed the park's fire rating to "high." Parks across the West are urging visitors to stay safe in triple-digit temperatures.
Quick hits


** Effort to designate WWII site, preserve 400,000 acres of Colorado land finds more support in Congress
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Colorado Public Radio ([link removed]) | Durango Herald ([link removed]) | Colorado Politics ([link removed])


** Indigenous peoples are crucial to reaching the 30x30 goal
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Sierra Magazine ([link removed])


** The West has all the ingredients for another terrible wildfire season
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Vox ([link removed]) | New York Magazine ([link removed]) [California] | National Parks Traveler ([link removed]) [Grand Teton] | Aspen Times ([link removed]) [Colorado]


** Earth is now trapping an ‘unprecedented’ amount of heat
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Washington Post ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]) | CNN ([link removed]) | National Parks Traveler ([link removed])


** Conte wildlife refuge is a 30x30 example for the nation
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Daily Hampshire Gazette ([link removed])


** Ken Sleight, an inspiration for ‘The Monkey Wrench Gang,’ loses personal archive in Utah wildfire
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Wildfire smoke stopped Phoenix from breaking record high of 115 degrees
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CNN ([link removed])


** Opinion: In Colorado, a wildlife and habitat crisis is quietly unfolding all around us
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Quote of the day
Regarding requests from the Utah delegation and Governor Cox to have President Biden hold off on any Executive Action that would remedy the illegal actions of former President Trump, the Coalition has long been open to hearing legislative proposals from Utah State officials, yet they have been unwilling to provide any written documentation reflecting what they have in mind, despite repeated requests from the Coalition for a draft or outline of these legislative proposals. This failure of the Utah Delegation and Governor Cox to present anything in writing to the Coalition demonstrates a lack of good faith and presents as nothing more than a stall tactic, in the hopes of manipulating the Biden Administration’s dedication to cooperation for their own political gain.”
—Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition ([link removed])
Picture this


**
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Did you know oil and gas companies are able to lease public land for drilling, lands that belong to you and me? The problem is that they haven't been leased responsible for years —even decades. Watch ([link removed]) to learn more about the broken oil and gas leasing system.

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