September, in brief

Key news from September:

• President Biden is expected to designate the landscape surrounding a historic military site in Colorado as a new national monument in the coming weeks. Though it is officially known as Camp Hale, the site was referred to as "Camp Hell" by soldiers who trained there during World War II for the U.S. Army’s 10th Mountain Division. President Biden has yet to create a new national monument since taking office. Doing so with the establishment of the Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument would circumvent the legislative gridlock that has stood in the way of this and other avidly supported land protection proposals across the country. “There are so many conservation bills languishing in Congress that have local support, but it is hard to get anything through the Senate when it comes to land protection. This is exactly why the Antiquities Act exists,” said Center for Western Priorities deputy director Aaron Weiss.
   
• As the law that governs the use of Colorado River water nears its 100-year anniversary, states are struggling to come up with a plan for cutting water use in the drying river system, and Colorado River Basin tribes are still struggling to fully secure water rights. Colorado River Basin water managers who gathered at a recent conference say they don't have a comprehensive solution for the drying river system. The conference, hosted by the Colorado River District, came one month after states missed a federal deadline to propose ways to cut their use of water supplied by the Colorado River. It is now recommended that water managers plan for the river to provide just 9 million acre-feet of water annually, a 25 percent cut from 2021. 
   
• The Interior Department announced new guidance to expand tribal co-management of federal lands, waters, and wildlife. This guidance is a follow-up to commitments made by the Interior Department and other agencies during November's White House Tribal Nations Summit. The Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service each individually released policy memorandums with specific measures about how each department will collaborate with tribes. Tribes have fought for years to play a role in decision-making about federal lands, and this new guidance will give tribes a more powerful voice in the management of the lands they were wrongfully removed from.
   
• After releasing the text for his permitting reform bill, Senator Joe Manchin removed it from must-pass legislation to fund the federal government, clearing the funding package's passage in the Senate. Manchin came up short on votes in the Senate, in part due to a push by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to sway Republicans to instead support a permitting reform bill filed by the other senator from West Virginia—Republican Shelley Moore Capito. While it's likely Manchin will continue to push for expedited energy project permitting, it's unclear how he will be able to get it passed in the closely divided Senate. That's because anything he does to appease Republicans in the Senate could doom the bill to fail in the House, which is dominated by Democrats who are opposed to permitting reform that would help the fossil fuel industry.
   
• The Biden administration is currently considering whether to open about 28 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land in Alaska to mineral development. The land the BLM is considering opening was nearly made available 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 for a final decision on the matter. Tribal organizations support keeping the withdrawal in place, saying that allowing mining on the BLM land "threatens critical habitat for our subsistence hunting, fishing and cultural values." The BLM is taking public comment until mid-October on how it should assess the potential environmental impacts of allowing mining on these lands.

What to watch for in October:

• President Biden is expected to use the Antiquities Act to protect his first new national monument, Camp Hale-Continental Divide.
• National Wildlife Refuge Week begins October 8, be sure to find a refuge near you!
• October 10 is Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Road to 30 Postcards Campaign:

The Center for Western Priorities is excited to share three new Road to 30 Postcards!

Dolores River Canyon

Center for Western Priorities released a new short film about the Dolores River Canyon in Southwest Colorado. The Dolores River is an important tributary of the Colorado River system, the water source for 40 million people living in the Southwestern United States. It’s not only people who depend on a healthy Dolores River ecosystem—a diversity of plants and wildlife also rely on a healthy Dolores River, including native fish, river otters, beavers, black bears, mountain lions, bighorn sheep, and a variety of songbirds. Drought and overuse pose an existential threat to this fragile riparian corridor and more protection is needed to sustain the Dolores River landscape into the future.

Great Bend of the Gila

A short film from our friends at Archaeology Southwest and Respect Great Bend illustrates the unique features and importance of protecting the Great Bend of the Gila in the Sonoran Desert. The film features Pee-Posh (Piipaash) elder Arnie Bread Sr. and his family, and archaeologists from Archaeology Southwest. Great Bend of the Gila, located between the cities of Phoenix and Yuma in Arizona, is a river valley and desert landscape of critical importance to Indigenous communities, local recreation economies, and wildlife habitat conservation. As a source of reliable water and fertile soils, the region contains unique archaeological and historical sites with ties to at least 13 Indigenous tribes, as well as Spanish, Mexican, and colonial American history. 

Western Riverside National Wildlife Refuge

Brenda Gallegos and Juan Rosas of the Hispanic Access Foundation joined us on the Landscape podcast to discuss the proposed Western Riverside National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge would protect around 340,000 acres southeast of Los Angeles in southern California. 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 heavily Latino population is 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.

The proposed Western Riverside National Wildlife Refuge would protect around 340,000 acres 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. Hear more about the proposed Western Riverside National Wildlife Refuge from Brenda Gallegos and Juan Rosas of the Hispanic Access Foundation, which is involved in pushing for the establishment of the refuge. The interview is also available in Spanish.

Environmental engineers help store water and rejuvenate land ravaged by climate change. They're also beavers.

New York Times
 

Utah leaders pick another legal fight instead of embracing public lands

Salt Lake Tribune
 

Native American massacre site renews calls to halt Nevada lithium mine

Nevada Current
 

Opinion: Mr. President, conserve Castner Range as a national monument

El Paso Matters
 

Utah’s youth climate activists held a funeral for Great Salt Lake

Salt Lake Tribune
 

It’s the thirstiest crop in the Southwest. Will the drought put alfalfa farmers out of business?

The Guardian
 

Report: Compared to oil and gas, offshore wind is 125 times better for taxpayers

Grist
 

Haaland: How we expunged a racist, sexist slur from hundreds of public lands

Washington Post

“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