** Federal leasing pause hasn't impacted oil production
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Tuesday, July 13, 2021
Oil rigs | John Ciccarelli, California Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])

The oil industry has been crying wolf for months ([link removed]) that an onshore oil and gas federal leasing pause would devastate their operations—and data has shown again ([link removed]) and again ([link removed]) that they are just trying to fool the public. As vast reserves of public lands have already been stockpiled by the industry ([link removed]-----------------------) , the leasing pause is not impacting drilling rates.

New reporting shows that approvals for companies to drill on public lands are on pace to reach their highest level since the Bush years ([link removed]) , underscoring the fact that the Biden administration's leasing pause is not an attempt to hamstring the industry and undermining complaints from the industry and oil-backed politicians ([link removed]) . Rather, the leasing pause is a commonsense step to assess the state of federal leasing. This first step is essential to reforming a broken system so that it protects taxpayers and communities, ensuring a fair return for publicly held resources, a transparent process, and intentional siting and cleanup of environmentally-damaging infrastructure.

Research analysts have confirmed that Biden administration policies have not had a material impact on oil and gas production ([link removed]) , and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland has made it clear that industry fears of a permanent leasing ban are overstated, telling lawmakers ([link removed]) , "I don’t think there is a plan right now for a permanent ban... Gas and oil production will continue well into the future and we believe that is the reality of our economy and the world we’re living in."

The next steps in reforming the broken federal leasing system likely await in a report that is set to be released within weeks ([link removed]) by the Interior Department. The leasing pause provided the time necessary to create the set of recommendations, which are likely to include key changes such as ([link removed]) boosting long-outdated royalty rates companies pay to extract fossil fuels and overhauling financial bonding requirements to ensure U.S. taxpayers don’t pay for any future cleanup.
Quick hits


** National parks are embracing Indigenous astronomy
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Outside ([link removed])


** Firefighters make some progress against big fires in West even as heat wave scorches for another day
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed])


** Balancing conservation, crowds, and economics in parks
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Westword ([link removed]) [Colorado] | Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed]) [Opinion]


** Climate change fueling smoky skies in the West
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Fox 21 News ([link removed]) | CU Boulder Today ([link removed]) [Health impacts] | Coloradoan ([link removed]) [Colorado]


** Bankrupt oil companies will never pay fines, and bond money put down up-front isn't nearly enough to cover clean-up
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Movement to establish new national monument in Nevada gains steam, local support
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Nevada News Service ([link removed])


** How the West-wide drought is affecting California's crops
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New York Times ([link removed]) | KGUN ([link removed]) [Animated maps show drought levels] | Denver Channel ([link removed]) [Climate change drives drought]


** Opinion: Forest Service should update old management plans to reflect modern science
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Pew ([link removed])
Quote of the day
The Navajo Nation in particular experiences many of the first and worst impacts of climate change. We have faced intense droughts for decades, hampering our ability to drink safe, clean water and to farm on our lands. Air pollution also disproportionately harms Indigenous communities and other communities of color. The basic elements to sustain life are under direct threat."

—Arizona Senator Jamescita Peshlakai, member of the Navajo Nation and a U.S. Army veteran | Arizona Central ([link removed])
Picture this


** @I ([link removed]) nterior ([link removed])
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A collective effort by @USFWS ([link removed]) & partners, adds an additional 4,800 acres to Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge! This new addition will connect the north & south units of the refuge and provide critical habitat for wildlife and the endangered ocelot. Pic by Steve Sinclair

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