June, in brief

Key news from June:

• Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has recommended that President Biden fully restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. In 2017, Trump slashed 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. 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 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: 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 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. 
• 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 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 to draft county resolutions opposing land protection. American Stewards is the subject of an IRS complaint 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: 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 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 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. A first bill would provide significant funding to clean up orphaned oil and gas wells—wells whose owners have gone bankrupt or can no longer be identified. Additionally, the legislation would strengthen federal oil and gas bonding rules, ensuring that companies foot the bill for cleaning up wells should they go bankrupt. A second bill would ensure transparency in the public lands leasing process.

What to watch for in July:

• This summer, the Biden administration is expected to release an interim report 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 to restore Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments. 
• The Bureau of Land Management 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, 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. Part of the solution must be to match supply to demand and conserve 30% of America by 2030 while ensuring that conservation efforts focus on user access.
• Following an unprecedented heat wave across the Western United States, wildfire fuel conditions have worsened 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, such as drought, heat waves, and even lightning strikes. One forecast is that up to 9.5 million acres could burn this year, 140% of the 10-year average (which is still not as much as last year, when more than 10 million acres were scorched). The potential for “significant fire activity” is “above normal” 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, and more than 83 percent 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 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 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.

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!