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


** Biden revives interagency outdoor recreation council to boost access
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Friday, July 22, 2022
Photo: BLM Flickr ([link removed])

The Biden administration announced ([link removed]) yesterday the Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, and Defense departments will revive the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation (FICOR) in order to intensify its efforts to expand access to recreation on public lands.

The council—first established in 2011 and then disbanded during the Trump administration—is tasked with ([link removed]) creating "more safe, affordable, and equitable opportunities for Americans to get outdoors." Previously ([link removed]) , the FICOR launched the Recreation.gov website, where visitors can reserve campsites and research activities offered by a dozen federal agencies, and also worked with the Bureau of Labor Statistics to track outdoor recreation as its own economic sector.

In a fact sheet ([link removed]) coinciding with the announcement, the White House touted the revival of the council as part of its America the Beautiful initiative, which aims to set aside 30 percent of the nation's lands and waters in a natural state by 2030 (the 30x30 goal) as well as address inequitable access to the outdoors. While the fact sheet identifies areas where the administration has made progress ([link removed]) in providing equitable opportunities to access public lands, there is plenty of room for growth through the use of President Biden's executive authority to designate new public lands in Texas' Castner
Range ([link removed]) and Nevada's Avi Kwa Ame ([link removed]) national monument proposals.


** Senate energy committee deadlocks on key Interior nominee
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The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a vote on the nomination of Laura Daniel-Davis to be the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management ([link removed]) yesterday morning—over a year since Daniel-Davis was nominated for the position ([link removed]) . The vote was split 10-10 ([link removed]) , which will allow Daniel-Davis’ nomination to move on to the full Senate. Center for Western Priorities' executive director Jennifer Rokala said in a statement ([link removed]) in response to the vote, "It’s crucial that President Biden has the staff in place to manage our
public lands and implement critical reforms to the broken oil and gas leasing system, and it was wrong to use Daniel-Davis’ nomination as a political football. I look forward to the Senate confirming her so the Interior Department can get to work.”
Quick hits


** Infrastructure law funds Superfund clean-ups but not at uranium mines on Indigenous lands
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Arizona Republic ([link removed])


** Beloved monarch butterflies to be listed as endangered
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | Washington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Forest Service nearing a decision on Arizona copper mine at Indigenous sacred site
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Biden revives interagency outdoor recreation council to boost access
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E&E News ([link removed]) | White House Fact Sheet ([link removed])


** Conservationists turn to restoring land and water after economic void from extractive activities
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High Country News ([link removed])


** Westerners struggle to manage booming wild horse populations
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Pew Stateline ([link removed])


** Artificial light poses a growing threat to nocturnal wildlife
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Popular Science ([link removed])


** Opinion: A step forward for environmental justice in Colorado
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Colorado Newsline ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” For modern humans, the night sky is the stuff of poetry, romance, and spiritual wisdom. To be cut off from it is painful, but not usually a matter of life and death. Wildlife, on the other hand, may struggle to survive when artificial light disrupts the night."
—Becky Robins, journalist for Popular Science ([link removed])
Picture this


** @NatlParkService ([link removed])
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Puppy Cams are now live at @DenaliNPS ([link removed]) ! In commemoration of the #KennelCentennial ([link removed]) , these puppies share their names with the first dogs to patrol the park in 1922: Bos'n, Skipper, Dynamite, Mike, and Rowdy. Get your PUPDATES at: [link removed]… ([link removed]) #ToeBeans ([link removed])

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