Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** Judge restores wolf protections
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Friday, February 11, 2022
Gray wolf | Gary Kramer, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ([link removed])

On Thursday, a federal judge restored protections for gray wolves ([link removed]) across much of the United States, overturning a last minute decision by the Trump administration to remove them from the Endangered Species List. In his ruling, Senior District Judge Jeffrey S. White in the Northern District of California found that ([link removed]) the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service did not adequately consider threats to wolves outside of the Great Lakes and Northern Rocky Mountains where they have rebounded most significantly. Notably, the ruling does not apply to wolves in Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and portions of several surrounding states.

The decision comes as hunters have decimated wolf populations throughout the country. This year alone, hunters killed more than 20% of Yellowstone's iconic wolves ([link removed]) as they wandered outside of park boundaries, eliminating one of the park's wolf packs entirely. Last year, Wisconsin hunters killed at least 216 wolves in just 60 hours ([link removed]) , far exceeding the state's quotas and enraging local tribes, which consider wolves sacred.

Reports of widespread wolf killings have gotten the attention of senior Biden administration officials. Last week, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland wrote ([link removed]) that she was alarmed by reports out of Yellowstone and pledged that the Fish and Wildlife Service would evaluate whether to relist wolves in the Northern Rockies.
Quick hits


** More calls to designate Texas' Castner Range as national monument
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KTSM ([link removed])


** How ski resorts are fighting climate change
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** Here are the last coal plants clinging to life in the American West
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** Our roads are killing wildlife. The new infrastructure law aims to help.
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NPR ([link removed])


** Bridger-Teton forest officials look to close loophole that allowed early hunt for shed antlers
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Jackson Hole News&Guide ([link removed])


** Judge restores Endangered Species Act protections for wolves across much of the United States
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | New York Times ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed])


** Sandhill cranes flock to southern Arizona, giving nature buffs a 'magnificent sight'
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Arizona Republic ([link removed])


** Is it time to change how we talk about natural gas?
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Vox ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” Moreover, a National Monument designation of Castner Range by President Biden would benefit marginalized communities, specifically indigenous and Latino peoples. These communities have been paramount to our military’s success, but disproportionately bear the brunt of climate impacts and traditionally have less access to nature. Additionally, designating Castner Range as a National Monument would stimulate the local economy through expanded outdoor recreational opportunities.”
—Eight retired generals and flag officers in a letter to President Biden and Secretary Haaland, KTSM ([link removed])
Picture this


** @GrandCanyonNPS ([link removed])
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"Our job is to record, each in his own way, this world of light and shadow and time that will never come again exactly as it is today." —Edward Abbey

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