** Wyoming oil and gas lease sale advances, calls to defer leasing begin
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Wednesday, October 6, 2021
Pronghorn and oil infrastructure in the Ultra Energy Field in Wyoming. Photo: Tara Boucher, BLM Flickr ([link removed])

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it would resume onshore lease sales in 2022 after a federal judge ended the Biden administration’s pause on new oil and gas leasing this summer. Since then, the BLM initiated a public scoping period ([link removed]) of the proposed leases that lasted from September 1 to October 1. The majority of proposed leases are located in Wyoming, and all of the Wyoming parcels were requested for leasing by oil and gas companies.

Courtney Whiteman, a public affairs specialist for the agency’s Wyoming state office says that while the agency has considerable discretion over its lease offerings, it still has to justify its reasoning. “The decision needs to be backed up by science, by facts, and be appropriately explained. We can’t make a decision to offer a parcel, or to not offer a parcel, without a solid reasoning for why we’re doing that,” said Whiteman ([link removed]) .

Even so, on the final day of the scoping period, 13 organizations submitted a joint public comment ([link removed]) calling for all of the proposed leases to be deferred pending further environmental review, including a comprehensive analysis of the climate impacts of federal oil and gas leasing. Michael Saul, senior attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the 13 groups challenging the current review process, said ([link removed]) , “It’s our feeling that if and when such an adequate review occurs, the inevitable conclusion is that continuing business as usual, and leasing more public land for oil and gas development, is not
justifiable. None of these leases can be on sound legal footing unless and until there’s a systematic and comprehensive evaluation of the emissions consequences of the entire program.”
Quick hits


** Meet 480 Otis: the 2021 Fat Bear Week champion and 4-time winner
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USA Today ([link removed])


** Exploring an epic Colorado River during record-breaking drought
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National Geographic ([link removed])


** States call on BLM to weigh environmental justice, climate in coal leasing on federal lands
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Bloomberg Law ([link removed])


** Communities struggle after closure of the Navajo Generating Station—what happens next?
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AZ Mirror ([link removed])


** Wyoming oil and gas scoping period ends, calls to defer leases begin
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Casper Star-Tribune ([link removed])


** Tribal youth are collecting seeds to restore prairie grasslands
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High Country News ([link removed])


** Montana cyclists are helping make the state's roads safer for people & wildlife by cataloging roadkill
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Western Confluence ([link removed])


** Opinion: A clean electricity grid is possible, if Colorado and federal lawmakers follow through
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Quote of the day
For society as a whole to support the use of fossil fuels, it just doesn’t make sense, especially when we have alternatives now.”
—Drew Shindell, climate scientist at Duke University, Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
Picture this


** @KatmaiNPS ([link removed])
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The people have spoken! The portly patriarch of paunch persevered to pulverize the Baron of Beardonkadonk in the final match of #FatBearWeek ([link removed]) 2021. 480 Otis can now boast a bevy of bests w/ this fourth 1st place finish. As we celebrate, like a true champ 480 is still chowing down.

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