Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Senate committee deadlocked on public land protection bills
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Wednesday May 4, 2022
Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper introduces the CORE Act in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, May 3, 2022. energy.senate.gov ([link removed])
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee deadlocked on a handful of public land-related bills ([link removed]) yesterday, including the Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act—a longstanding effort to protect around 400,000 acres in Colorado.
Sen. John Hickenlooper introduced the bill in committee, emphasizing broad local support for the legislation.
"The bill has so many supporters... not just hunters and anglers and outdoor recreationists, but farmers and ranchers, as I mentioned, community leaders, mayors, and county commissioners, Democrats, Republicans, political persuasions of all stripes," Hickenlooper said ([link removed]) to the committee, adding that the bill also has support from the White House.
Around 70% of Coloradans support the CORE Act, according to a 2020 Colorado College poll ([link removed]) , while almost 90% of Coloradans support creating new national parks, national monuments, national wildlife refuges, and tribal protected areas, according to a 2022 version ([link removed]) of the same poll.
The CORE Act passed the House last year ([link removed]) , however it received a 10-10 vote in the committee ([link removed]) , meaning it won't move on to the full chamber unless Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calls it up for debate ([link removed]) on the Senate floor.
A handful of other bills aimed at protecting public lands received tie votes in the committee ([link removed]) as well, further highlighting the partisan gridlock that currently dominates Congress. Those include the “Pecos Watershed Protection Act,” which would protect an area in New Mexico from new mining, and the "Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act," which would designate and expand wilderness areas in the Olympic National Forest in Washington.
Quick hits
** The oil and gas industry is trying to hold New Mexico public schools hostage
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Guardian ([link removed])
** Supreme Court leak strikes fear among environmental lawyers
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Washington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** Lake Powell is already so low, federal government will delay releases
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New York Times ([link removed]) | Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** Senate panel deadlocks on CORE Act, other public land bills
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Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed]) | Aspen Times ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** Outdoor Recreation Act contains some concerning provisions
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National Parks Traveler ([link removed])
** As gas prices soar, nobody knows how much methane is leaking
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Bloomberg ([link removed])
** What wildlife management in Africa and Nevada have in common
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Nevada Current ([link removed])
** The Border Wall is outliving Trump
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New Yorker ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” Towns like Hayden, Oak Creek, and Craig will be able to use this just transition funding to invest in projects that diversify rural economies, incentivize new energy jobs, and provide workers with supportive career service... This is the large investment in rural Colorado that our transitioning communities deserve, and I am thrilled this bill is moving forward with strong bipartisan support.”
—Rep. Dylan Roberts, a Colorado lawmaker on just transition funding poised to pass the state legislature, Colorado Newsline ([link removed])
Picture this
** @GlacierNPS ([link removed])
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Mountain goats rest on snow patches to cool down on hot days. Climate change raises temperatures and shrinks snow patches. Researchers worry that these changes could lead to greater stress on the park’s cold-adapted goats.
Learn more: [link removed] ([link removed])
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