** New land protections show the many roads to 30x30
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Tuesday, November 30, 2021
The ghost town of Aravaipa, Arizona. Photo: Trust for Public Land ([link removed])

Several recent announcements across the West show the breadth of tools that are available to conserve 30 percent of America's land and waters by the end of the decade—a pillar of the Biden administration's “America the Beautiful” initiative.

In Southern Arizona, nonprofit land trusts brokered two separate deals ([link removed]) to protect thousands of acres of land from development while also opening up public access to tens of thousands more previously inaccessible areas. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) partnered with federal and state agencies to purchase the Cross F Ranch, which includes a ghost town and a wildlife migration corridor used by bighorn sheep. It also protects natural springs that feed into the Aravaipa Canyon Wilderness. The acquisition was possible thanks to the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which uses royalties from oil and gas production to pay for conservation projects.

Separately, the Arizona Land and Water Trust facilitated a private conservation easement on a ranch near Sonoita, ensuring the land will continue to be a wildlife migration habitat while also being used for livestock grazing. The easement prevents the land from being broken up or developed into private homes—an arrangement similar to the easements that Colorado rancher Jay Fetcher told CWP about ([link removed]) on a recent episode of our podcast, The Landscape.

In Montana, the state land board worked with the Flathead Land Trust to purchase more than 700 acres along the Flathead River ([link removed]) . That acquisition protects wildlife habitat while also ensuring public access to the river and protecting against future development. The LWCF provided a majority of the funds for that project as well.

And in Casper, Wyoming, LWCF money will create a riverfront park on the North Platte River ([link removed]) , building a boat ramp, planting native grasses, and adding picnic areas to an area that is currently difficult for the public to access.

These projects, all announced in the last few weeks, encompass federal, state, local, and private conservation efforts. Individually, they're a series of small and large projects, supported by local communities. Taken as a whole, they demonstrate how collaborative conservation is the key to reaching 30x30.
Quick hits


** Elk, deer, and bear find safe passage under I-25 using new animal crossings
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Denver Post ([link removed])


** Western leaders praise order removing derogatory names from federal lands, but change will be slow
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Arizona Mirror ([link removed]) | OPB News ([link removed])


** Navajo Nation Council unanimously supports protecting more of Utah public lands as wilderness
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Infrastructure law gives wildland firefighters a boost
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Mountain West News Bureau ([link removed])


** Geography poses a challenge to renewing coal communities in the clean energy transition
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Sediment studies reveal aftermath of mine spill in Lake Powell—and something much worse in the 70s
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Column: BLM lost diversity coming to Colorado, breaking its promise
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Colorado Springs Gazette ([link removed])


** Photos: National monuments are a testimonial to wild America
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National Parks Traveler ([link removed])
Quote of the day
The removal of such language is bittersweet as it addresses an everyday indignity that Native Americans are continuously subjected to, but also highlights the deeply-rooted anti-Native sentiments that our country was founded on and for which our government is yet to atone.”
—County Recorder Gabriella Cázares-Kelly ([link removed]) , the first Native American elected to countywide office in Pima County, Arizona
Picture this


** @mypubliclands ([link removed])
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Did you know....Oregon's Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument is located on the ancestral homelands of the Klamath, Siletz, and Karuk tribes.

Situated at the crossroads of the Cascade, Klamath, and Siskiyou mountain ranges, this place represents an outstanding ecological wonderland. This convergence of three geologically distinct mountain ranges has resulted in an area with unparalleled biological diversity and a tremendously varied landscape.

The Monument was established in 2000 in recognition of its remarkable ecology and to protect its diverse range of biological, geological, aquatic, archeological, and historic resources.

📸 Bob Wick.

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