** BLM to split up environmental review team
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Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Bureau of Land Management
The Trump administration's plan to break up Bureau of Land Management headquarters would also split up the team that looks at the environmental impacts of major projects on American public lands. Documents reviewed by The Hill show BLM intends to scatter the 20-person team that performs analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) across seven states ([link removed]) .
Steve Ellis, BLM's former top career official, told The Hill, “It’s more apparent than ever to me what the goal is for this proposal, and it’s not to make things more efficient and to get things on the ground.”
The news comes days after acting BLM director William Perry Pendley told a conference of environmental journalists that “NEPA is essentially where projects go to die. ([link removed]) ”
Other interdisciplinary teams are also being broken up under the BLM plan, including the Fish and Wildlife Conservation and Environmental Protection division, which would see its staff split between Denver and Salt Lake City.
“Staff is being scattered so they can’t work together efficiently and effectively,” Ellis said.
Quick hits
** Tribes raise concerns over Trump border wall
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NPR ([link removed])
** BLM move would split apart environmental review team
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The Hill ([link removed]) | KJZZ ([link removed])
** Acting BLM head tries to rehabilitate image with enviro reporters, calls horses an "existential threat"
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The Revelator ([link removed]) | KJZZ ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** How private donors are building a new kind of wildlife reserve in Montana
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KUER ([link removed])
** Bison group sues for public documents delayed for more than a year
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Montana Standard ([link removed])
** Public has just 2 weeks to comment on plan to lease 17,000 acres in New Mexico for oil and gas drilling
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Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])
** Opinions: Off-road vehicles are a threat to America's most beautiful places
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed])
** San Juan County, Utah voters to consider new form of government after judge overturned gerrymandered white majority
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S ([link removed]) alt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
Quote of the day
There is no question that NEPA would require preparation of an environmental impact statement, with significant input from the public, from affected communities, tribal governments, land owners, and land managers throughout the process. And it is outrageous that a project of this magnitude is getting a complete exemption from NEPA and all the other laws."
—Dinah Bear
Former general counsel, White House Council on Environmental Quality, NPR News ([link removed])
Picture this
** @mypubliclands ([link removed])
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Take in the stunning view of Utah’s Desolation Canyon from above! Seen from the window of an airplane at 35k feet, this perspective puts the otherworldly landscape on display. Over time, the winding Green River has carved out incredible canyons- giving us a stunning sight! Photo by Bob Wick, BLM.
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