** Interior's oil and gas leasing report (finally) arrives
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Monday, November 29, 2021
Bureau of Land Management ([link removed])

The Interior Department released a long-awaited review of its oil and gas leasing system on Friday, recommending a suite of reforms ([link removed]) to ensure taxpayers get a fair return when companies lease and drill for oil on America's public lands and waters.

The report ([link removed]) focuses on the fiscal impacts of oil and gas leasing, while acknowledging that the department is separately starting to account for “new stressors and new opportunities,” including “biodiversity loss, tackling climate change, and deploying new technology ranging from harnessing offshore wind in public waters, to sequestering carbon on public lands.”

The biggest recommendation in the report ([link removed]) is to raise the royalty rate that companies pay when extracting oil and gas, which has been set at 12.5% for more than a century. That rate is significantly lower than what companies pay for oil on state and private land. The report also argues for increasing the bonds that companies must post for future cleanup, and encourages the Bureau of Land Management to avoid offering leases on land with low potential for future oil development.

The Center for Western Priorities was among the conservation and government accountability groups that praised the review. Executive Director Jennifer Rokala said that the report ([link removed]) “provides a critical roadmap to ensure drilling decisions on public lands take into account (climate) impacts on our land, water and wildlife, while ensuring a fair return for taxpayers.”
Quick hits


** California regulators slow oil permitting across the state
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Bakersfield Californian ([link removed])


** Native American leaders say Chaco prayers being answered
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** Gulf lease sale means more oil drilling in 1970s toxic dump site
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HuffPost ([link removed])


** Biden sets out fiscal agenda for oil and gas leasing reform
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]) | CNN ([link removed]) | CBS News ([link removed]) | NBC News ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Opinion: Too much is still not enough for Wyoming oil companies
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Sheridan Press ([link removed])


** Bureau of Land Management considers new protections for greater sage-grouse
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Mother Jones ([link removed]) | Colorado Newsline ([link removed]) | CPR News ([link removed])


** Colorado voters typically reject tax hikes—except when it comes to parks and trails
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Meet the amateur scientist who's spent 50 years measuring climate change in the Rockies
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Washington Post ([link removed])
Quote of the day
My stuff has basically become useless other than the fact that it goes back a good ways, and it’s got easy-to-measure information that we can continue. I just want to keep it going. It is interesting — it is, I think. And it’s helpful.”
—71-year-old climate researcher Billy Barr, The Washington Post ([link removed])
Picture this


** @nationalparkservice ([link removed])
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"Your body is like day-old rice. If it ain't warmed up properly, something real bad could happen." - Ted Lasso

Whether hiking, backpacking, or planning to be on your feet for an extended period of time, stretching before and after is a highly effective way to prepare your body for any physical activity and to prevent injuries.

Image: A hiker beneath towering redwoods @redwoodnps ([link removed]) . NPS/A.Gran

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