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


** With the CORE Act stalled in Congress, supporters want Biden to act
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Thursday, August 18, 2022
Historic photo of Camp Hale, where 10th Mountain Division soldiers trained during World War II. Source: Wikimedia Commons ([link removed])

Supporters of the Colorado Outdoor Recreation Economy (CORE) Act are asking President Joe Biden to take executive action ([link removed]) to protect thousands of acres of federal land in Colorado after watching the bill stall in the U.S. Senate.

The CORE Act supporters appear to have a strong ally in their corner: U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Speaking Tuesday to a group gathered for a roundtable near Camp Hale, the former military base near Leadville, Colorado where 10th Mountain Division soldiers trained before heading to battle in World War II, Secretary Vilsack said he would encourage Biden to help get further protections for the area ([link removed]) . “Frankly,” Vilsack said, “I don’t want to disappoint.”

The decision to seek executive action from President Biden on portions of the CORE Act is tacit acknowledgement that the legislation doesn’t currently have a path forward in the bitterly divided Senate. ([link removed]) U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a sponsor of the CORE Act, said, “I think our preference, obviously, is to pass the CORE Act,” but also conceded that national monument designations and mineral withdrawals enacted through executive authority should be part of the discussion.

The CORE Act, in addition to protecting the land around Camp Hale by designating it the nation’s first National Historic Landscape, calls for creating roughly 100,000 acres of wilderness, recreation, and conservation areas in the White River National Forest, and wilderness designations for roughly 60,000 acres of land in the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado ([link removed]) . It would also formally establish the boundary for the Curecanti National Recreation Area near the Blue Mesa Reservoir in Gunnison and prevent mineral development on about 6,500 acres outside of Norwood at Naturita Canyon.


** Court clears path for Biden's leasing pause
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Federal judges struck down ([link removed]) a court order that had barred the Biden administration from pausing new oil and gas leasing on public lands and waters. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found that the order requiring the Interior Department to resume lease sales "lacked specificity ([link removed]) ." At issue is President Biden's Executive Order 14008 ([link removed]) , which he issued at the start of his term to address the harms of climate change that required Interior to put new lease sales on hold as the department reviewed the environmental impact of its leasing program. A coalition of 12 Republican-led states mounted a legal
challenge against the pause, and in June 2021 a Trump-appointed judge issued an injunction requiring lease sales to restart.
Quick hits


** The nuclear industry has a deadly planning problem
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Westwise ([link removed])


** Biden's signing of climate law kicks off marathon of rulemaking
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Bloomberg Law ([link removed])


** Will logging help save California's giant sequoias from future wildfires?
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** With the CORE Act stalled in Congress, supporters want Biden to use his executive authority
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Colorado Sun ([link removed]) | Denver Post ([link removed])


** Poll: Arizonans want to ban uranium mining near the Grand Canyon
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Grist ([link removed]) | KJZZ ([link removed])


** As the Colorado River dries, tribes see Indigenous water management as essential
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KUNC ([link removed])


** BLM reconsiders Trump's midnight orders opening Alaska lands to development
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E&E News ([link removed])


** The uber wealthy are fueling a luxury ranch market out West
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Washington Post ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” Anyone who claims that we need to be able to mine for uranium near the Grand Canyon in order to be independent of Russia is at best exaggerating the uranium potential of this region and possibly only seizing on a geopolitical crisis to benefit their own bottom line.”
—Amber Reimondo, Grand Canyon Trust Energy Director, Grist ([link removed])
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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Happy World Lizard Day! (August 14). A female collared lizard or “mountain boomer” enjoys the sunshine and shows off her vibrant colors at Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. Photo courtesy of Larry Smith

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