And a new report finds that conservation actions like this are overwhelmingly popular.

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


** Biden to designate Camp Hale as a national monument
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Friday, October 7, 2022
Proposed Camp Hale National Historic Landscape, Mason Cummings/The Wilderness Society ([link removed])

President Biden will visit Colorado next Wednesday to designate Camp Hale and the surrounding landscape as a national monument, according to the Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) and the Colorado Sun ([link removed]) . Camp Hale, located near Leadville along the Continental Divide, is where 10th Mountain Division soldiers trained for battle during World War II. Colorado’s governor and members of the state’s congressional delegation formally asked Biden to designate the monument ([link removed]) , which was included in legislation called the CORE Act ([link removed]) that passed the U.S. House last year
([link removed]) . Local leaders in Colorado have also urged Biden to protect Camp Hale as a national monument ([link removed]) .

This will be the first new national monument designation President Biden has made since taking office. Earlier in his administration, President Biden restored Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante and Northeast Canyons and Seamounts national monuments to their original sizes, undoing attempted reductions by former President Donald Trump.

Two new analyses ([link removed]) from the Center for American Progress and the Center for Western Priorities found that those restorations, and conservation actions in general, are overwhelmingly popular. The first study ([link removed]) is a public opinion analysis by FM3 Research that found executive action to conserve public lands is consistently and overwhelmingly popular, as well as that specific conservation actions taken by President Biden—both completed and anticipated—are likewise supported. The second study ([link removed]) is a media analysis conducted by the Center for American Progress and the Center for Western Priorities that found executive announcements about national monuments, national parks, and large-scale conservation
initiatives regularly drive positive media coverage in outlets across the political spectrum.

Taken together, these analyses affirm that conserving public lands is a policy option that both speaks to people’s values and is central to Western voters’ way of life. President Biden's expected designation is certain to be welcomed by Coloradans, and is an important first step towards achieving the president's goal of protecting 30 percent of American public lands by 2030. Many other deserving landscapes, including Avi Kwa Ame ([link removed]) in Nevada and Castner Range ([link removed]) in Texas, await their turn to be the next piece of President Biden's conservation legacy.
Quick hits


** President Biden to designate first new national monument
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed]) | Colorado Sun ([link removed]) | Colorado Public Radio ([link removed]) | Associated Press ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Report: Conservation action can win over the media and the public
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Center for Western Priorities ([link removed]) | Center for American Progress ([link removed])


** Great Sand Dunes National Park grows by 9,300 acres
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KDVR ([link removed]) | KOAA ([link removed])


** Prescribed burns remain a crucial tool, experts say
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National Public Radio ([link removed])


** 'We haven't failed yet,' but the Colorado River remains in crisis
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Nevada Independent ([link removed])


** Solar and wind farms have environmental impacts. A new study offers solutions
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** Interior Department moves forward with oil and gas lease sales
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Wyoming Public Media ([link removed]) | Reuters ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** County commissioners: Camp Hale deserves protection as a national monument
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Aspen Times ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” Bold action to conserve our lands, waters, and wildlife is not only necessary to combat accelerating biodiversity loss and climate change, it is also popular with voters across the political spectrum.”
—Jennifer Rokala, Executive Director, Center for Western Priorities ([link removed])
Picture this


** @usinterior ([link removed])
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The majestic South Fork of the Snake River flows 66 miles across southeastern Idaho through high mountain valleys, rugged canyons and broad flood plains. Located near some of the world’s best-known recreation areas, the South Fork is home to 100+ bird species, moose and deer. In autumn, the landscape turns the cottonwood gallery forest ablaze in yellows!

Photo by Jessica Gottlieb / @mypubliclands ([link removed])

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