** Congress to partially fund popular conservation program
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Tuesday, December 17, 2019
Glacier National Park's Swiftcurrent Lake | J ([link removed]) acob Frank ([link removed])

A $1.4 trillion year-end spending package ([link removed]) released last night includes increased spending for environmental agencies. However, the package only partially funds the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) for next year. The program has funded conservation and recreation projects in every county of the United States through offshore oil and gas royalty fees rather than taxpayer dollars. Earlier this year LWCF was made permanent, but wasn't allocated full and permanent funding. Since Congress' promise to the American people through the creation of LWCF over 50 years ago, less than half of the money authorized by Congress has been appropriated for the program. LWCF is an extremely popular program with broad bipartisan support and 78% of the western public ([link removed]) in support of full funding.

A bill to create full, permanent appropriations of $900 million per year advanced out of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on November 17th. However, lawmakers now seek to allocate only $495 million ([link removed]) to the fund, which is about half of the amount originally intended by Congress. Although LWCF is not to be fully nor permanently funded this year, the package will receive its highest appropriation since 2004 ([link removed]) .

Other boosted environmental spending includes funding for wildfire and forestry programs, a $500 million increase ([link removed]) for the Interior-EPA, a $1.8 billion increase ([link removed]) for the Energy-Water bill, and an Energy Department budget increase of $2.9 billion ([link removed]) primarily designated for renewable energy research. On the other hand, no money ([link removed]) was allocated for the transfer of the BLM's headquarters to the West. The spending package is expected to pass the House today and clear the Senate later this week.
Quick hits


** Trump considers escalating rule-killing plans
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Spending package to only partially fund popular conservation program
Bloomberg ([link removed]) | KJZZ ([link removed]) | Montana Standard ([link removed]) | E&E ([link removed]) ([link removed]) News ([link removed])
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** House Natural Resources chairman demands data on BLM relocation plans
E&E News ([link removed])
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** US officials to review Colorado River deal
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Colorado regulators propose tougher emissions controls on oil and gas after being dubbed a serious violator of federal air quality standards
Colorado Independent ([link removed]) | Denver Post ([link removed])
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** Exxon well blowout causes extreme methane leak, as measured by satellite
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New York Times ([link removed]) | Axios ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Opinion: Banishing the few BLM staffers who work in D.C. a bad move for land, people, and wildlife
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A ([link removed]) lbuquerque Journal ([link removed])


** Opinion: Selling off Nevada’s land and heritage for pocket change
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Las Vegas Review-Journal ([link removed])
Quote of the day
This mad rush to lease huge chunks of Nevada to oil and gas prospectors is all the more bizarre given the fact that Nevada’s geology is mostly devoid of oil and gas."
—Dave Jenkins,
president of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship
L ([link removed]) as Vegas Review-Journal ([link removed])
Picture this


** @I ([link removed]) nterior ([link removed])
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Desert winds whip up the sand @DeathValleyNPS ([link removed]) . Pic courtesy of Joshua Snow #California ([link removed]) #FindYourPark ([link removed])

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