** June, in brief
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Lake Mead, the reservoir created by Hoover Dam, has dropped to historic lows. Photo: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation ([link removed])


** Key news from June:
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* Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has recommended ([link removed]) that President Biden fully restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. In 2017, Trump slashed ([link removed]) the size of both by 85% and 50%, respectively. In April, Secretary Haaland visited Utah to meet with stakeholders. The restoration of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears is long awaited by tribes and nearby communities, and is supported by a strong majority of voters in the West ([link removed]) . Both monuments have significant natural and cultural resources that have been under threat since protections were removed. The White House has not yet made a decision on its next steps, though Secretary Haaland's recommendation is
a positive sign for the protection of these important landscapes.
* President Biden's nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, Tracy Stone-Manning, testified before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Her nomination has received broad and robust support from numerous allies and supporters, including her former boss, Montana Senator Jon Tester, who said in a statement said that his former legislative aide is a "dedicated public servant who has devoted her life to advocating for the public lands that drive our economy and serve as the backbone of Montana's outdoor heritage. I look forward to her confirmation." However, following the hearing, ranking member Senator John Barrasso has launched a bad-faith attack on Stone-Manning's nomination based on a 30-year-old incident in which Stone-Manning warned officials ([link removed]) about activists spiking trees in Idaho’s Clearwater National Forest, and later testified
against two people who were convicted in the case.
* The Interior Department made a stunning confession ([link removed]) : just three BLM employees accepted their forced relocation to the agency's new headquarters in Grand Junction, Colorado. Previously, the agency had said that 87 percent of affected employees ([link removed]) had resigned or found new jobs rather than move out of Washington, DC. Colorado Newsline reporter Chase Woodruff recently visited the headquarters building and found it completely deserted ([link removed]) .
* Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts is on a tour of his state to amplify a far-right disinformation campaign against land conservation. Ricketts met with antigovernment extremist Trent Loos in late May to discuss Loos's opposition to the administration's 30x30 plan. Loos falsely told The Daily Beast ([link removed]) that the 30x30 plan called for placing more than 60 percent of land under federal control, and claimed that “the natural state of the United States before Lewis and Clark was a horrific place.” Gov. Ricketts and Loos are using talking points from the group American Stewards of Liberty, which spreads disinformation about 30x30 ([link removed]) to draft county resolutions opposing land protection. American Stewards is the subject of an IRS complaint
([link removed]) by the watchdog group Accountable.US, alleging it is abusing its nonprofit status to lobby against 30x30.
* 50 of the world's leading climate and biodiversity scientists issued a warning to global leaders ([link removed]) : in order to protect the planet—and humanity—we must stop treating climate change and biodiversity collapse as separate issues. The report highlights the need for increased land and water conservation efforts, confirming the science behind the Biden administration's “America the Beautiful” initiative, which set a goal of protecting 30 percent of America's land and water by the end of the decade.
* Demonstrating a stark policy shift, the Biden administration froze the oil and gas leases ([link removed]) issued during the Trump administration that are within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska pending the results of a more comprehensive environmental review. The Biden administration also announced plans ([link removed]) to restore protections for Alaska's Tongass National Forest. The forest was stripped of 20-year old protections under the "roadless rule" in the final months of the Trump administration. This action will reinstate protections that restrict roads and other types of development across 9.3 million acres of forest.
* Senator Michael Bennet (CO) introduced legislation to reform public lands drilling ([link removed]) . A first bill would provide significant funding to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells ([link removed]) —wells whose owners have gone bankrupt or can no longer be identified. Additionally, the legislation would strengthen federal oil and gas bonding rules ([link removed]) , ensuring that companies foot the bill for cleaning up wells should they go bankrupt. A second bill would ensure transparency ([link removed]) in the public lands leasing process.


** What to watch for in July:
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* This summer, the Biden administration is expected to release an interim report ([link removed]) outlining next steps and recommendations on the future of the federal oil and gas program, as well as a decision on Secretary Haaland's recommendation ([link removed]) to restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments.
* The Bureau of Land Management's oversight of 245 million acres of public lands sits at the crossroads of progress toward addressing climate change and transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy development. However, the agency has been without Senate-confirmed leadership for four and a half years, underscoring the importance of President Biden's nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning to be a collaborative and qualified BLM director. Her nomination has not yet been voted on by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and will also require the approval of the full Senate. Similarly, the Biden administration nominated Laura Daniel-Davis to serve as the Interior department’s Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management, a post that oversees some of the most vital agencies within the Interior department, including the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Office of Surface Mining,
Reclamation, and Enforcement. Expect a committee hearing on her nomination in the coming weeks.
* While lands saw a brief respite during the pandemic last year, this summer, national parks across the country are easily on track for record-breaking visitation seasons ([link removed]) , causing extended lines, closures, and frustration from both visitors and land managers. Booming public lands visitation shows the deep desire of Americans to get outside and experience our treasured protected areas and conserved landscapes, and highlights problems that park officials and land managers have raised concerns about for years, that America's public lands are underfunded and overrun ([link removed]) . Part of the solution must be to match supply to demand and conserve 30% of America by 2030 ([link removed]) while ensuring that conservation efforts focus on user access.
* Following an unprecedented heat wave across the Western United States, wildfire fuel conditions have worsened ([link removed]) and wind gusts and incredibly dry humidity have led to a critical fire threat. The outlook moving forward doesn't look much better. Climate change continues to exacerbate fire season risk factors ([link removed]) , such as drought, heat waves, and even lightning strikes ([link removed]) . One forecast is that up to 9.5 million acres could burn this year, 140% of the 10-year average ([link removed]) (which is still not as much as last year, when more than 10 million
acres ([link removed]) were scorched). The potential for “significant fire activity” is “above normal” ([link removed]) for pretty much all of the West at some point this year. Heat waves are now three times more likely compared to 100 years ago ([link removed]) , and more than 83 percent ([link removed]) of the West is in a drought.
* Now in the 22nd year of a megadrought, extreme conditions are raising tensions across the West. Lake Mead, the country's largest reservoir has dropped to its lowest level ([link removed]) on record. As of last week, the reservoir hit a record of 140 feet below "full," a level not seen since it was first filled in the 1930s. Dropping water levels could impact the region's energy supply, with insufficient water supply affecting the efficiency of hydropower produced by the Hoover Dam. In southern Oregon, a crippling lack of water in the Klamath basin is causing immense die-offs of birds and endangered fish. Antigovernment extremists with ties to Ammon Bundy have set up a literal circus tent ([link removed]) next to the headgates of the main irrigation
canal off Upper Klamath Lake. The agitators are threatening to open the gates by force, as the drought has caused water levels to drop so low that most farmers and ranchers won't get any water this year.

Best Reads of the Month


** A Colorado ski company is powered by methane from an abandoned coal mine—but can it be replicated?
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Washington Post ([link removed])


**
How do animals safely cross a highway? Here's a look
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New York Times ([link removed])


**
Why a California oil workers union is getting behind clean energy
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])



** Opinion: 30x30 plan is no land grab
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Lincoln Journal Star ([link removed])


**
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on being the first—and the future
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InStyle ([link removed])


**
Yellowstone is losing its snow as the climate warms, and that means widespread problems for water and wildlife
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The Guardian ([link removed])


**
The drought in the West is bad and it’s gonna get worse
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Outside ([link removed])


**
Opinion: Tracy Stone-Manning is the leader we need for public lands
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Durango Herald ([link removed])


** 30x30 Fact vs. Fiction: Pulling back the curtain on misinformation ([link removed])
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** Although the 30x30 initiative has widespread support, bad actors have spread misinformation.
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The future of water in the West ([link removed])

This episode ([link removed]) features two conversations about the unprecedented drought and the future of water across the West: Chairwoman Amelia Flores of the Colorado River Indian Tribes, and Haley Paul of Audubon Southwest discuss the challenges and opportunities for how the drought may shift how we think about water.
Dan Gibbs on finding balance in Colorado ([link removed])

This episode of The Landscape ([link removed]) features a conversation with Dan Gibbs ([link removed]) , executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Dan talks about his role overseeing everything from forests to wildlife to oil and gas production, as well has his experience as a wildland firefighter ([link removed]) .
Quote of the month


** "Stone-Manning is far more qualified than the last BLM leader [Senator] Daines supported — William Perry Pendley, the lawyer who advocated selling off federal lands. Her confirmation would go far toward restoring professionalism to a politicized agency, and would clearly be both an honor and an advantage for Montana.”
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** —Billings Gazette Editorial Board ([link removed])
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At Interior ([link removed]) , 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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