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


** Is this anti-30x30 group breaking the law?
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Thursday, September 29, 2022
Margaret and Dan Byfield, YouTube screengrab ([link removed])

A Texas-based, Koch-funded nonprofit may be breaking lobbying laws, according to Accountable.US and the Texas Observer ([link removed]) . ([link removed]) The American Stewards of Liberty is run by Margaret Byfield ([link removed]) , daughter of sagebrush rebel and public lands extremist Wayne Hage, and her husband Dan Byfield, a former registered lobbyist. The group has taken aim at President Joe Biden's America the Beautiful initiativ ([link removed]) e ([link removed]) to conserve 30 percent of U.S. land and waters by 2030, tying it to the Agenda 21 conspiracy theory that the United Nations is attempting to spread communism in the West.

At a recent event in north Texas, Margaret Byfield bragged about lobbying counties ([link removed]) across Texas, Nebraska, and the Western U.S. to pass resolutions opposing 30x30. That's a straightforward violation of U.S. law, which prohibits most nonprofits from engaging in substantial lobbying, which is defined by the Internal Revenue Service ([link removed]) as “attempting to influence legislation.” Resolutions passed by local governments are included ([link removed]) in the IRS definition of legislation.

In May 2021, Accountable.US filed a complaint with the IRS alleging American Stewards has been lobbying in violation ([link removed]) of its nonprofit status. But Margaret Byfield and her husband seem undeterred by the complaint ([link removed]) . ([link removed]) This spring, Accountable.US found that the number of counties that have passed American Stewards' form resolution has tripled since Accountable.US filed its complaint last year ([link removed]) . ([link removed])


** The last piece of federal drilling reform
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The Inflation Reduction Act brought long overdue reforms ([link removed]) to the majority of the federal oil and gas leasing program, but bonding was dropped at the last minute ([link removed]) , leaving taxpayers holding the bag for abandoned oil and gas wells on federal public lands.

A 2019 report by the Government Accountability Office ([link removed]) found that only between 1 and 16 percent of federal bonds are sufficient to cover the cleanup of their wells, depending on the cost estimates used. And, unlike states, the Bureau of Land Management is unable to levy a tax or fee on the oil and gas industry to pay for orphan well cleanup.

Until bonding is fixed by Congress or the Interior Department, taxpayers will continue to foot the bill ([link removed]) for cleaning up wells on public land. It’s time for politicians and public servants in D.C. to fix the last vestige of a system that was designed to benefit the oil and gas industry at the expense of everyone else.
Quick hits


** The key piece still missing from federal oil and gas leasing reform
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Westwise ([link removed])


** Report: Most agriculture conservation spending doesn’t help climate, environment
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Bloomberg ([link removed]) | Inside Climate News ([link removed])


** BLM approved 700-mile OHV trail in desert tortoise habitat without an environmental review
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Report: Huge expansion of oil pipelines is endangering the climate
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Grist ([link removed])


** Haaland: How we expunged a racist, sexist slur from hundreds of public lands
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** BLM rescinds approval of 5,750-well oil and gas project in Utah
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Oil and gas industry goes on PR blitz in New Mexico
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Source NM ([link removed])


** Opinion: Climate change is fueling extremism, raising tempers along with temperatures
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” America’s public lands belong to all of us, and we have a responsibility to ensure that these lands are accessible and welcoming to everyone. However, over the course of our history, many such lands were named using a hateful and derogatory term for Indigenous women. It’s a word that carries with it a history of brutality, misogyny and dehumanization. This month, we succeeded in removing it from the names of nearly 650 federal land units.”
—Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Washington Post ([link removed])
Picture this


** @KatmaiNPS ([link removed])
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Bring on the pudgy palooza of blobular baby bears! Cubs overcome adversity by stuffing their faces for survival (and your vote). See the lineup for Fat Bear Junior at [link removed] ([link removed]) .

Vote at [link removed] ([link removed]) 9/28 at 8am AK. #FatBearWeek ([link removed])

Photo courtesy of L. Law

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