** October, in brief
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On fall nights at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in Kansas, a glance to the sky will yield shadowy shapes flying past the light of the moon. Thousands of sandhill cranes use this unique and rare inland salt marsh for food, cover, and a place to rest. Pic by Matthew Gerlach. Source: @Interior ([link removed])


** Key news from October:
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* President Joe Biden restored the original boundaries ([link removed]) of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts national monuments, while slightly expanding the original boundaries of Bears Ears National Monument. Former-president Donald Trump shrunk all three monuments, in a move many viewed as illegal. Biden campaigned on a promise to review and overturn the reductions, which he did on the Friday before Indigenous People's Day. The move was widely cheered by tribes, environmental and conservation groups, including the Center for Western Priorities ([link removed]) . But Utah's congressional representatives and leaders expressed frustration at the President's decision, saying they would have rather he worked with Congress to find permanent solutions for Bears Ears
and Grand Staircase. However, the director of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition questioned the sincerity ([link removed]) of the Utah delegation's desire to compromise, saying the delegation refused to share a plan it would support with the tribes. And it didn't take long for Utah's attorney general to announce he plans to sue the Biden administration ([link removed]) over the size of the reinstated monument.
* Tracy Stone-Manning was confirmed ([link removed]) by the U.S. Senate and officially sworn in ([link removed]) as the director of the Bureau of Land Management. Stone-Manning survived a vicious and unwarranted attack on her character to become the first confirmed director of the agency since January 2017. “Tracy Stone-Manning is the experienced and well-qualified leader that the Bureau of Land Management needs as it rebuilds after the devastation of the Trump years," said Center for Western Priorities Executive Director Jennifer Rokala ([link removed]) . "I know firsthand that Tracy is someone who will put months of baseless partisan attacks behind her and manage America’s public lands for all Americans," she added.
* President Biden nominated Martha Williams ([link removed]) as the next director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Williams, who currently serves as the Principal Deputy Director of the agency, spent more than three years as the director of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. She previously served as the Deputy Solicitor for Parks and Wildlife at the Interior Department and was a law professor at the University of Montana. Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director Aaron Weiss praised the decision: “Martha Williams is exceptionally qualified to lead the Fish and Wildlife Service," he said. ([link removed]) "The planet is on the brink of a sixth mass extinction, so America needs experienced and passionate leadership at the agency responsible for
protecting and restoring endangered species."
* Senator John Hickenlooper introduced a bill ([link removed]) to end non-competitive leasing on our public lands. A 100-year-old federal law currently allows oil and gas companies to purchase 10-year leases to our public lands that don't sell at auction for just $1.50 an acre. “Noncompetitive leasing encourages speculation on public lands at taxpayers’ expense,” said Hickenlooper ([link removed]) , a Democrat from Colorado. According to a Center for Western Priorities analysis ([link removed]) , over 25.3 million acres of public lands have been leased non-competitively since 1987.


** What to watch for in November:
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* It appears negotiations on the budget reconciliation package and the bipartisan infrastructure bill will continue into next month. Progressive members of the House say they won't vote to pass the infrastructure bill without a budget package that addresses major issues, like climate change. But lawmakers are having a hard time coming to an agreement on the budget bill, which has been almost entirely gutted of effective climate provisions, thanks in large part to Senator Joe Manchin. Manchin, whose vote is needed to pass the budget package, has worked to cut a transformational clean energy program ([link removed]) and a much-needed fee on methane emissions ([link removed]) from the bill. However, it appears the methane fee is still in play ([link removed]) . Democrats and the White House are racing to finalize the language
([link removed]) of both bills, so anything could happen.
* President Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will attend COP26 ([link removed]) —a global climate summit in Glasgow—next week, where Biden hopes to tout America's climate progress under his leadership as well as encourage other nations to take steps to cut emissions. However, unless he and his fellow Democrats can get the infrastructure and budget bills over the finish line before then, he won't have much to show ([link removed]) . And with the Interior Department set to auction off 80 million acres ([link removed]) in the Gulf of Mexico for drilling in November, Haaland will also have a hard time defending the Biden administration in Glasgow.
* The Senate will likely vote on a few key public lands nominees in November, including Laura Daniel-Davis, who Biden nominated to be the assistant interior secretary for land and minerals management, and Charles F. Sams III, who Biden nominated to direct the National Park Service. Sams had a smooth committee hearing ([link removed]) in October, while Daniel-Davis had a mildly contentious hearing in September ([link removed]) . Biden's pick to lead the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Martha Williams, will likely have a confirmation hearing in November, as well.
* And, last but not least, keep an eye out for a new release from the Center for Western Priorities. We've been working hard on a multimedia series that will tell stories of grassroots conservation efforts from Texas to California that can help us reach the goal of protecting 30% of U.S. land and water by 2030.

Best Reads of the Month


** Opinion: The healing work of Bears Ears has just begun
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O ([link removed]) utside ([link removed])


**
Two men paddled across the Great Salt Lake to document its decline. Here's what they saw.
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S ([link removed]) alt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


**
Meet the man getting rich off of dying oil wells
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B ([link removed]) loomberg ([link removed])


**
The Colorado River's Humpback Chub faces an uncertain future
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N ([link removed]) ational Geographic ([link removed])


**
See how California's Dixie Fire created its own weather
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N ([link removed]) ew York Times ([link removed])


**
Opinion: Can Indigenous leadership save our national parks and monuments?
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S ([link removed]) ierra ([link removed])


**
How public lands factor into the housing crisis
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High Country News ([link removed] do public lands factor into the homelessness crisis?)


**
Mom of climber Alex Honnold ascends El Capitan on 70th birthday
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N ([link removed]) ew York Times ([link removed])


From the Center for Western Priorities:


** Report: New analysis shows popularity of camping on public lands skyrocketed over last decade and spiked during pandemic
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New interactive map allows outdoor enthusiasts to search for less crowded public land camping opportunities

A new report, The Camping Crunch ([link removed]) , released by the Center for Western Priorities, shows the popularity of camping on national public lands has skyrocketed over the past decade, with a notable spike during the pandemic.

The report analyzed public lands camping data in the lower 48 states between 2014 and 2020. During that time, the analysis revealed summer use of reservable national public lands camping facilities increased by an estimated 39 percent.

The Camping Crunch analysis found the COVID-19 pandemic helped drive a large bump in reservable campsite occupancy between 2019 and 2020. Growth in national park visitation was particularly well documented during the summer of 2021 as numerous national parks smashed records, bringing attention to the incredible popularity of these special landscapes. And the analysis shows that reservable campgrounds in national parks are indeed some of the most crowded across the country.

However, the report also shows that reservable campsites in protected areas—even excluding national parks and their immediate surroundings—are more occupied during the peak season than other public lands, demonstrating the popularity of all protected lands, not just national parks. The report also reveals a rapid increase in popularity of campgrounds outside of the National Park Service, suggesting that other types of national public lands have entered into the public consciousness in a new way.
Read the report & browse the interactive map ([link removed])
Read the blog ([link removed])
Inside America’s camping crunch ([link removed])

This episode of The Landscape features Center for Western Priorities Conservation Policy and Research Manager Tyler McIntosh ([link removed]) , whose new report, The Camping Crunch ([link removed]) , looks at the increase in popularity of camping on national public lands, especially near protected areas.
Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury on the role of climate in politics ([link removed])

Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury ([link removed]) represents New Mexico’s 1st congressional district, which includes her hometown of Albuquerque. She took office in the summer of 2021 ([link removed]) , replacing now-Interior Secretary Deb Haaland. The congresswoman centered climate change in her campaign, a message she says resonated with the vast majority of her voters.

In this episode of The Landscape, she talks about running on a climate platform, centering climate in the reconciliation process, and the tough challenges facing New Mexico related to climate change.
Quote of the month


** "I learned how to suffer through all kinds of discomfort because what you get from it makes it worthwhile. It’s the same for anybody who wants to follow a path of bliss. There’s a lot of suffering. With climbing, you just have to deal. It’s not like you can say, ‘oh, it’s raining, let’s go back to the car’ when you’re 2,500 feet up. It’s such a privilege to be up there. Climbers get to go to the most unimaginable, beautiful, inspiring places, and the only way to experience them is to put in the hard work."
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** —Dierdre Wolownick, The New York Times ([link removed])
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Picture this
@I ([link removed]) nterior ([link removed])
The Grand Staircase-Escalante landscape is a geologic treasure. With its bold plateaus, multihued cliffs, and narrow slot canyons, it has a rich human history spanning from Indigenous peoples and cultures to early pioneers.

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