** Utah stuck between gears for public use of state trust lands
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Thursday, November 14, 2019
Mountain biking at McCoy Flats near Vernal, Utah. Source: BLM Utah ([link removed])

The McCoy Flats located southeast of Vernal, Utah have become a popular mountain biking destination. ([link removed]) The network of trails sits at the intersection of Utah's extractive industries past and its recreation-focused future as tensions mount around public use of state trust lands.

The intent of state trust lands is to generate revenue for schools, which typically means oil and gas development. The School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration ([link removed]) (SITLA) worries that the more the agency works to accommodate mountain bike trails the more difficult it will be to eventually switch gears and develop mineral resources.

In addition to mountain biking, hunters and anglers use the area to hunt for game and fish. While the state has a legal obligation to develop state trust lands ([link removed]) , the SITLA will have to carefully consider what they are taking away from the public if such an opportunity arises.


** Rosemont Mine construction likely delayed to 2023
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Hudbay Minerals, Inc, the company behind the proposed Rosemont Mine in southern Arizona said ([link removed]) construction will likely be delayed until 2023 due to litigation around the controversial project. The company hopes to develop an open pit copper mine just southeast of Tucson.
Quick hits


** New Mexico's GDP fueled by oil and gas development
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Carlsbad Current-Argus ([link removed])


** Utah stuck between gears for public use of state trust land
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Construction of Rosemont copper mine in southern Arizona likely delayed to 2023 due to litigation
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Arizona Daily Star ([link removed])


** More details on the forced relocation of D.C.-based BLM employees
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Government Executive ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | Washington Examiner ([link removed])


** Utah BLM suspends oil and gas leases under legal scrutiny for not considering climate change impacts
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The Hill ([link removed])


** Environmental Protection Agency moves forward with effort to restrict the science it uses to draft regulations
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New York Times ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Nevada water agency objectives conflict with tribe's sacred site
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Reno Gazette Journal ([link removed])


** Is it time for Smokey Bear to retire?
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Huffington Post ([link removed]) | The Conversation ([link removed])
Quote of the day
I will continue to work in a bipartisan way on this issue, because the Trump administration should not be deliberately weakening the BLM and upending the lives of the dedicated staff who work there.”
—Senator Tom Udall ([link removed]) on the forced relocation of Washington, D.C.-based BLM employees
Picture this


** The first winter snowfall at Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve ([link removed]) in Colorado. Photo: Patrick Myers/NPS
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