Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** A proposed California wildlife refuge will protect species, boost outdoor access
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Thursday, September 15, 2022
The latest edition to the Center for Western Priorities' Road to 30 Postcards ([link removed]) campaign, a podcast about the Western Riverside National Wildlife Refuge ([link removed]) .
In honor of the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Center for Western Priorities is excited to share a podcast episode ([link removed]) in partnership with the Hispanic Access Foundation ([link removed]) that illustrates the benefits and ecological importance of creating the Western Riverside National Wildlife Refuge in southern California. ([link removed]) The podcast includes an interview with Brenda Gallegos and Juan Rosas of the Hispanic Access Foundation. The podcast is part of our Road to 30 Postcards campaign ([link removed]) to share the stories of people behind efforts to protect special places across the country.
In July ([link removed]) , U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla of California introduced the Western Riverside National Wildlife Refuge Act ([link removed]) , which would establish the Western Riverside National Wildlife Refuge. The proposed refuge would protectaround 340,000 acres ([link removed]) southeast of Los Angeles in southern California, helping preserve habitat for around 150 native species—over 30 of which are endangered—as well as green space for the county's largely Latino population.
Riverside County is currently one of the fastest growing regions in the country, with housing and development replacing agricultural fields and open space every day. That means the county’s residents are quickly losing access to nature. The refuge would help preserve and restore green space close to underprivileged communities, giving residents a safe and accessible way to get outside. ([link removed])
To learn more about the Postcards campaign and to read, listen to, or watch other stories, please visit www.RoadTo30.org/postcards ([link removed]) . More postcards are coming your way this fall!
** Controversial California water pipeline proposal dealt legal setback
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A controversial water pipeline proposal in California has been dealt another legal setback ([link removed]) . A federal judge ruled that the Bureau of Land Management acted properly when it remanded two rights of way permits granted to Cadiz, Inc. during the Trump administration, paving the way for BLM to withdraw the approvals for the project.
The Cadiz pipeline project proposed to transport water through an existing 64-mile gas pipeline that runs across federal lands as part of a plan to extract water from a desert aquifer and sell it to urban areas near Los Angeles. U.S. District Judge George Wu wrote in his ruling of the Trump administration's decision ([link removed]) , “there is no Environmental Assessment, Environmental Impact Statement or accompanying record of decision…only what appears to be a rushed, cursory decision to grant the rights-of-way.”
Environmentalists who opposed the Cadiz pipeline hailed the decision. “Cadiz’s water-privatization scheme would dry up irreplaceable desert springs and seeps that are crucial to wildlife, even more so now because of climate change,” said Lisa Belenky, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. ([link removed])
Quick hits
** PR firms declined to attend hearing investigating their work for oil and gas companies
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Reuters ([link removed])
** New atlas of bird migration shows extraordinary journeys
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Associated Press ([link removed])
** Controversial California water pipeline project proposal dealt legal setback
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E&E News ([link removed])
** Conservation groups sue over expanded grazing near Yellowstone for impact on grizzlies
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Bozeman Daily Chronicle ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** Chevron uses Captain Planet and Batman Returns to deflect blame for its climate denial
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Gizmodo ([link removed])
** Essay: Landscapes endure even when the infrastructure of our hubris does not
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Yes Magazine ([link removed])
** A proposed California wildlife refuge will protect species, boost outdoor access
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The Landscape podcast ([link removed])
** Opinion: Mr. President, conserve Castner Range as a national monument
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El Paso Matters ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” All national parks are located on Indigenous ancestral lands and this policy will help ensure tribal governments have an equal voice in the planning and management of them.”
—National Park Service director Chuck Sams, USA Today ([link removed])
Picture this
** @USFWS ([link removed])
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A gentle reminder as you are inundated with National Preparedness Month tweets this September, that wetlands are just out here protecting us all from powerful storms and floods. Wetlands are worth protecting because they protect us: [link removed] ([link removed])
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