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


** Meet the 30x30 Disinformation Brigade
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Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Center for Western Priorities

Days ahead of a "Stop 30x30 Summit" in Nebraska, the Center for Western Priorities is exposing the anti-public lands extremists ([link removed]) behind an organized disinformation campaign against American conservation efforts.

At the center of the “30x30 Disinfo Brigade ([link removed]) ” is the American Stewards of Liberty, a Texas anti-conservation group with its roots in the "Sagebrush Rebellion" of the 1980s.

“It can be tempting to dismiss the anti-30×30 effort as an extremist sideshow,” said Aaron Weiss, deputy director at the Center for Western Priorities and author of the report. “But our research reveals how American Stewards of Liberty acts as a bridge between fringe anti-government groups and mainstream political operatives who are working for big oil companies that try to keep an arms’ length from insurrection supporters and conspiracy theorists like this.”

While American Stewards claims to stand for “private property rights, defending the use of our land, and restoring local control,” CWP's research reveals the organization primarily exists as a financial pass-through for its only employees, Margaret and Daniel Byfield. The report highlights American Stewards’ actual mission to restrict the rights of private property owners, particularly those who wish to protect family farms through the use of voluntary conservation easements.

The organized disinformation network ([link removed]) also includes Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar, Former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, Utah State Representative Ken Ivory, and Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts, who is hosting the Nebraska event on Earth Day.


** A warning for Nebraskans
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Kyle Herrig of the watchdog group Accountable.US, who grew up in Nebraska, also warned the state to not fall for American Stewards' lies ([link removed]) .

“Sadly, there is a well-documented history of grifters suckering local governments that can least afford it out of hundreds of thousands of tax dollars in the name of fighting conservation,” Herrig wrote in the Lincoln Journal Star ([link removed]) . “Some of these individuals will be on hand for the American Stewards summit. Utah State Rep. Ken Ivory spent years going county to county attempting to secure taxpayer money for his anti-conservation organization. Now he’s coming to Lincoln as a featured speaker thanks to an invite from American Stewards.”
Quick hits


** Coalition of current and former NPS employees encourage Biden to invoke the Antiquities Act, establish six new national monuments
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HuffPost ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Biden restores climate safeguards under bedrock conservation law
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Washington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Groups push Congress to pass climate package before Memorial Day
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** Resuming oil leases, raising royalty rates, not enough to end legal challenges
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Bloomberg Law ([link removed]) | Boise State Public Radio ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed])


** Biden's ethanol order sparks worries about pollution
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The Hill ([link removed])


** Suggested replacement names pouring in for geographic features with Indigenous slur
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed]) | KUOW ([link removed])


** Two wildfires burning structures, forcing evacuations in Arizona
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AZ Family ([link removed]) | Fox 10 ([link removed]) | KPNX ([link removed])


** Power companies admit carbon capture from coal plants is too expensive, not feasible
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Wyofile ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” As a group, we collectively represent over 40,000 years of experience managing and protecting America’s most precious and important natural and cultural resources.... Now, through the use of the Antiquities Act, you can continue to build an inclusive and resilient conservation legacy that reflects the diversity of our natural heritage and permanently protects our lands and waters.”
—The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks,
in a letter to President Biden ([link removed])
Picture this


** @drmansfeldt ([link removed])
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Spotted in Denver. Talk about a sea change moment.

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