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


** 28 million acres in Alaska could be opened to mining
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Tuesday, September 27, 2022
Iditarod trail between Kaltag and Unalakleet, Alaska. Photo by Bob Wick/BLM ([link removed])

The majority of Bureau of Land Management lands in Alaska have been off-limits to new mining claims since the 1970s. But that could change under the Biden administration, which is currently considering whether to open about 28 million acres ([link removed]) across the state to mineral development.

The land the BLM is considering opening was nearly made available ([link removed]) for mining almost two years ago, in the final days of the Trump administration. Then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed orders to revoke the withdrawals, making it the largest opening of public land to mining in contemporary U.S. history. The Biden administration paused Bernhardt’s order, citing legal errors and setting a 2023 deadline ([link removed]) for a final decision on the matter.

Tribal organizations support keeping the withdrawal in place. They say ([link removed]) that allowing mining on the BLM land "threatens critical habitat for our subsistence hunting, fishing and cultural values," but the BLM is also facing pressure ([link removed]) to lift the ban from the mining industry and Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski.

The BLM is taking public comment until mid-October ([link removed]) on how it should assess the potential environmental impacts of allowing mining on these lands.


** Permitting reform faces test in Senate
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The Senate is set to take a test vote ([link removed]) today on Senator Joe Manchin's permitting reform bill. Manchin has been working to secure the 60 Senate votes he needs for his permitting measure, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is whipping his party against the legislation ([link removed]) . The bill also faces an uphill battle in the House, where more than 70 Democrats have indicated they'll oppose it.

Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer struck a deal that ties the permitting bill to legislation to fund the federal government, known as a continuing resolution. If Congress fails to pass a continuing resolution, it would lead to a government shut down ([link removed]) . Government funding expires Friday, making that the deadline to pass a continuing resolution—with or without permitting attached.
Quick hits


** Forest Service behind on prescribed burns in parts of California
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KCRW ([link removed])


** Opinion: Make Camp Hale a national monument
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Colorado Newsline ([link removed])


** Inside the tug-of-war over Camp Hale National Monument designation
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Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])


** How New Mexico’s largest wildfire set off a drinking water crisis
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New York Times ([link removed])


** In Colorado, a new plan aims to protect wildlife migration routes
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Pew ([link removed])


** Colorado’s state fish, once considered extinct, is reproducing naturally in native waters
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Colorado Public Radio ([link removed])


** The Muscogee get their say in national park plan for Georgia
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** How over 200 of Colorado's orphan wells went dormant overnight
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” Whatever version Congress chooses to put forth, ‘permitting reform’ only leads to violating the sovereignty of tribal people, excluding communities from input on major development projects, and increasing greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. The type of ‘reform’ needed for communities would increase public input and increase accessibility to challenge bad projects.”
—Jordan Harmon ([link removed]) (Mvskoke/Creek), Policy Advisor to the Indigenous Environmental Network
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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Bears aren't the only mammals fattening up in preparation for hibernation. Hoary marmots build large fat stores in the summer and early fall that will get them through the roughly 200 days of hibernating. Photo by Samuel Blumenthal

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