Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** BLM seeks public input to open inaccessible lands
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Tuesday, May 24, 2022
Fly fishing on BLM land in Wyoming, B ([link removed]) LM Wyoming ([link removed])
The Bureau of Land Management unveiled a new online portal ([link removed]) where members of the public can nominate parcels of land for improved access. The agency is looking for help identifying parcels where recreational opportunities are high, but access is difficult or impossible. BLM will use this process to create a priority list of parcels ([link removed]) that Congress could make accessible.
There are currently 8.3 million acres ([link removed]) of public land that remain inaccessible to the public due to inholdings of private land and other barriers. Taking action to open this land to public access is beneficial for hikers, anglers, and hunters ([link removed]) . It will allow recreationists to enjoy public land without risking a trespassing lawsuit, which has been highlighted in the ongoing corner-crossing case in Wyoming ([link removed]) .
"It is clear the American public is passionate about increasing access to public lands," BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in a statement ([link removed]) . "This new technology to gather nominations will help us organize what we anticipate will be an equally robust response in 2022."
** Interior nominee kept waiting over Manchin energy demands
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Environmental groups are increasingly frustrated ([link removed]) by delays to confirm Interior nominee Laura Daniel-Davis in the Senate. The stalled nomination is indicative of the larger political battle over fossil fuel development on public lands. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin delayed the confirmation in March while he waited to see how the administration responded to his demands for more fossil fuel production on public lands. Aaron Weiss, deputy director of the Center for Western Priorities said confirming Daniel-Davis would help address lawmaker concerns, and added ([link removed]) , "If you want Interior to get moving on this stuff, give Interior the people to do it."
Quick hits
** New Mexico seed bank is crucial for post-fire restoration
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** Solar array allows Alaska villages to turn off diesel power for hours a day
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Anchorage Daily News ([link removed])
** California oil regulator confirms methane leak at idle oil wells in Bakersfield
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
** Bernhardt and Zinke inquiries highlight limits of IG reach
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E&E News ([link removed])
** Western courts grapple with climate change
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High Country News ([link removed])
** More heat, more drought: a grim outlook for the West
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Yale Environment 360 ([link removed])
** Climate experts warn of “small window” to act amid deepening climate crisis
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
** New Mexico wildfire evacuees worry about their future
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A ([link removed]) ssociated Press ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” The next decade is a critical time to address the climate crisis. We have a small window to shift to a carbon-neutral economy and hold climate impacts in check.”
—Ko Barrett, senior climate advisor at NOAA, C ([link removed]) olorado Sun ([link removed])
Picture this
** @USFWS ([link removed])
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News of a yellow flower has our biologists excited! Previously known to exist at only 11 sites, a new population of endangered large-flowered fiddleneck was recently discovered in Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve in Contra Costa County, CA.
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