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


** Biden administration shrinks eligible drilling area at Alaska reserve
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
Aerial view of the BLM-managed National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Photo by Bob Wick, BLM ([link removed])

The Biden administration will reverse ([link removed]) a Trump-era plan that would have opened up 82% of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) for oil and gas exploration. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had indicated it would return to a plan released under the Obama administration that would allow the government to lease up to 52 percent of the reserve. The BLM made it official yesterday by issuing a formal Record of Decision ([link removed]) .

The National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska was set aside in 1923 ([link removed]) by President Harding as an emergency oil reserve for the Navy. It was later transferred to the BLM, which can sell leases for companies to drill for oil. The reserve consists of approximately 23 million acres on Alaska’s north slope which contains Teshekpuk Lake, an area “of critical importance for nesting, breeding, and molting waterfowl and the Teshekpuk Caribou Herd," according to the BLM ([link removed]) .

The Trump administration had pushed to expand drilling in the Arctic, both at the NPR-A and more controversially in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The BLM says ([link removed]) its decision to revert to Obama's 2013 plan will offer “greater protections to environmental values and subsistence uses in the NPR-A while still allowing for oil and gas exploration and development consistent with BLM’s management responsibilities.”
Quick hits


** New report shows over 8 million acres of inaccessible public land in the West
------------------------------------------------------------

WyoFile ([link removed])


** Gas is over $4 per gallon—oil CEOs took home more than $20 million
------------------------------------------------------------

The Guardian ([link removed])


** BLM wants unplugged wells in Utah reclaimed as condition for new drilling leases
------------------------------------------------------------

Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Fallon Tribe seeks protection for sacred land as Navy and development close in
------------------------------------------------------------

Nevada Independent ([link removed])


** After discovery of illegal pot growing operations in Colorado, BLM faces costly clean-up bill
------------------------------------------------------------

Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])


** Here's what you need to know about the changing etiquette for "waste management" in the outdoors
------------------------------------------------------------

Outside ([link removed])


** Biden administration shrinks eligible drilling area at Alaska reserve
------------------------------------------------------------

The Hill ([link removed]) | CNBC ([link removed]) | Reuters ([link removed]) | Alaska Public Media ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Editorial: Pause on new Chaco leases remains the right call
------------------------------------------------------------

Santa Fe New Mexican ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” We should pay more attention. We’re just mistreating Mother Nature—that’s like being ugly to your mama.”
—Dolly Parton, American singer & songwriter, National Geographic ([link removed])
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Step into a fantasy world of strange rock formations and fossils at @BLMNewMexico ([link removed]) Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness. Time and the elements have weathered the rocks in the form of pinnacles, spires, cap rocks and “cracked eggs.” Photo by Jessica Fridrich

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Copyright © 2022 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.

Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])