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


** The new mining rush at Bears Ears
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, October 17, 2022
The Mi Vida uranium mine near Moab, Wikimedia Commons ([link removed])

Speculators are staking hundreds of new mining claims for uranium and lithium in the Four Corners area, hoping to cash in on America's transition away from fossil fuels.

Journalist Jonathan Thompson dug into the new mining claims in his newsletter, The Land Desk ([link removed]) , and found more than 1,200 new claims filed in the last 12 months on national public land in Utah's San Juan and Grand Counties alone. They include uranium claims on thousands of acres adjacent to Canyonlands National Park and Bears Ears National Monument, including some areas that were proposed for protection but were not included in the final monument maps. Several of the claimants are connected to Energy Fuels Inc, which runs the White Mesa uranium mill.

Companies also filed claims in the last year on thousands of acres of land for potential lithium mining in the Lisbon Valley of San Juan County and near the Green River in Grand County.

As Thompson points out ([link removed]) , mining claims alone are "not a reason to panic"—staking a mining claim is cheap, while getting a permit to open a mine is an extensive process. But the ease and speed at which the new claims were filed are more evidence that the General Mining Act of 1872, which allows anyone to stake claims without notice and not pay a dime in royalties to taxpayers, needs to be replaced with a modern mining law.
Quick hits


** How much mining is needed to save the planet?
------------------------------------------------------------

E&E News ([link removed])


** Native Americans recall torture, hatred at boarding schools
------------------------------------------------------------

Associated Press ([link removed]) | NPR News ([link removed]) | Reveal ([link removed]) | Dakota News Now ([link removed])


** Ute battles, past and present, loom over Camp Hale designation
------------------------------------------------------------

Colorado Times Recorder ([link removed])


** Biden action revives debate over Thompson Divide oil leasing
------------------------------------------------------------

Grand Junction Daily Sentinel ([link removed])


** Wildland firefighters share the toll the job takes
------------------------------------------------------------

Washington Post ([link removed])


** Analysis: With the Supreme Court in session, every case is potentially a climate case
------------------------------------------------------------

The Guardian ([link removed])


** Judge denies stockgrowers' appeal over bison grazing in Montana
------------------------------------------------------------

Billings Gazette ([link removed])


** Opinion: Conserving cultural heritage is vital for climate adaptation
------------------------------------------------------------

The Hill ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” There was one night on the Caldor where we had done a [firing operation] and then the main fire kind of blew up, so we were woken up in the middle of the night and had to go into immediate structure protection. We were in the thick of the smoke until probably 9 a.m. or so. And all of us definitely felt it the next day. We were pretty sick, like wheezy, raspy throats. I always feel exhausted the next day after long smoke exposure, and who knows what that can lead to in the long term.”
—Courtney McGee, Former assistant fire engine operator for the U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe National Forest, Washington Post ([link removed])
Picture this


** @mypubliclands ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
A big THANK YOU to the 2022 Red Cliffs National Conservation Area (NCA) Desert Tortoise Week volunteers! 👏 Last week, volunteers at the Conserve Southwest Utah and Red Cliffs NCA event helped restore critical Mojave desert tortoise habitat affected by 2020's Cottonwood Trail wildfire.

📸 John Kellam, BLM Wildlife Biologist

============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Copyright © 2022 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.

Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])