November, in brief

Key news from November:

• The Interior Department released a long-awaited review of its oil and gas leasing system, recommending a suite of reforms to ensure taxpayers get a fair return when companies lease and drill for oil on America's public lands and waters. The report 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 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.
• President Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland proposed a 20-year mineral withdrawal around New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon, including a 10-mile buffer surrounding Chaco Culture National Historical Park, removing the threat of oil and gas drilling in one of America’s most archaeologically-rich areas. The administration announced it would begin an extensive process of consulting with Tribal nations in the Four Corners region to establish long-term certainty for energy production and conservation on public and Indigenous lands. President Biden made the announcement at the opening of the White House Tribal Nations Summit as one of several steps intended to strengthen the relationship between the federal government and American Indian tribes.
• The U.S. Senate confirmed Charles "Chuck" Sams to lead the National Park Service, making him the first Senate-confirmed director since the Obama administration, and the first Native American to lead the National Park Service. Sams most recently served on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council. He is an enrolled member of the Cayuse and Walla Walla of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
• The U.S. Forest Service settled a long-running dispute by deciding to ban logging and the construction of roads across 9 million acres of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack proposed reinstating a Clinton administration-era rule to ban logging and road building in more than half of North America’s largest temperate rainforest. “Restoring the Tongass’ roadless protections supports the advancement of economic, ecologic and cultural sustainability in Southeast Alaska in a manner that is guided by local voices,” Secretary Vilsack said in a statement, adding that the rule reflects the input of Alaska’s tribal and community leaders “and builds on the region’s economic drivers of tourism and fishing.”
• The Biden administration has kicked off a process to reevaluate habitat protections for the greater sage-grouse in response to a steady, decades-long decline in the bird's population, which is commonly seen as an indicator of the sagebrush ecosystem's overall health. The action marks the beginning of a 75-day public comment period for the evaluation, which could amend land management plans for 67 million acres across 10 Western states. The Bureau of Land Management announced its plan to reconsider protections for the bird earlier this fall. Millions of sage grouse once lived across the West, but the bird's numbers have dropped 65% since 1986 and 37% since 2002, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The Obama administration increased protections for sage grouse in 2015, but the Trump administration scaled them back, opening almost 10 million acres of protected habitat to oil and gas drilling and cattle grazing. The bird is also threatened by climate change, persistent drought, wildfires, and the spread of invasive plant species.
• The Biden administration offered more than 80 million acres for offshore drilling to oil companies in a widely criticized offshore oil and gas lease sale. ExxonMobil, BP, Chevron, and others purchased the rights to drill on some 1.7 million acres—an area larger than the state of Delaware. Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Jesse-Prentice-Dunn said in response to the sale, “After President Biden and Secretary Haaland traveled to Glasgow to assert America’s leadership on climate, they have now released a carbon bomb in the Gulf of Mexico. Right now, companies are still producing oil offshore on leases granted in the 1940’s. That means the impacts of this lease sale will be measured not in years, but in generations."
• The National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA) is beginning a process to designate a new marine sanctuary off California's Central Coast. The proposed Chumash National Heritage Marine Sanctuary would cover a 7,000-square-mile area of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara Counties. The area is sacred to the Chumash tribes and is home to an abundance of marine life. The Chumash sanctuary would also connect two existing sanctuaries—the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Northern Chumash Tribal Council chairwoman Violet Sage Walker celebrated the news, noting that it is a crucial first step toward President Biden’s goal to conserve at least 30 percent of the country's land and water by 2030. “Successfully designating the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary will protect ocean life, sacred Chumash sites, strengthen Indigenous communities, and serve as a model of environmental justice,” she said.
• The Biden administration unveiled a sweeping set of policies to cut methane emissions from oil and gas operations. The proposals represent one of President Biden's highest-impact efforts so far to combat climate change, and marks the first time that the federal government has attempted to comprehensively address methane leaks from oil and gas infrastructure all across the country. The Proposed rules from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) would establish standards for old wells, increase leak monitoring, and require methane capture.

What to watch for in December:

• Lawmakers must act quickly to avert another government shutdown by passing a stop-gap funding measure before Friday, December 3. Shortly after, they must address a looming debt ceiling negotiation by raising the cap on spending so the federal government can continue to pay its bills. In addition, negotiations continue to approve the Biden administration's proposed $2 trillion budget reconciliation package that narrowly passed the House just before the Thanksgiving holiday and now faces a challenging path to approval in the U.S. Senate. 
• The Senate will likely vote on a few key public lands nominees, including Laura Daniel-Davis, who President Biden nominated to be the assistant Interior secretary for land and minerals management, as well as Biden's pick to lead the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Martha Williams.

@BLMNational #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth is not only a celebration of culture and tradition, it's also a vital part of our work to address climate change, manage public lands, support job creation, and serve communities that have been historically marginalized. More: http://ow.ly/UKtZ50GUYuT.