Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Arrest of Forest Service employee puts federal wildfire strategy on the line
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Friday, October 28, 2022
A prescribed burn conducted in Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in 2015, Carla Burnside/USFWS ([link removed])
A Forest Service employee in charge of a prescribed burn was arrested last week ([link removed]) by a county sheriff after the burn in Malheur National Forest briefly escaped onto a private ranch in Oregon. The fire burned about 20 acres of private land before firefighters got it under control within an hour ([link removed]) . The unusual arrest is reflective of the tension and distrust that exists between rural Oregon sheriffs and the federal government.
Experts worry that this incident will make it even more difficult to plan a prescribed burn in the future, especially after a controlled burn in New Mexico sparked the Calf-Canyon/Hermit's Peak Fire earlier this year, creating public distrust. Prescribed burns are a critical wildfire management tool, and it is extremely rare for a burn to get out of control.
Steve Ellis, chair of the National Association of Forest Service Retirees, worries that fear of ramifications will make forest managers reluctant to conduct burns. “Among my concerns is it could make it difficult for fire managers to approve and conduct prescribed burns if they feel they could face criminal charges or personal liability," Ellis said ([link removed]) . "The result would be more high-intensity devastating wildfires threatening lives, destroying properties and livelihoods, and damaging ecosystems.”
Forest Service Chief Randy Moore defended the employee and reiterated the importance of prescribed burns, stating ([link removed]) , “This is the work I and your leaders ask you to do—no one is in this work alone. We must, and will, remain committed to learning and sharing the risk and responsibility together, always.”
Quick hits
** Forest Service boss decries arrest of worker in planned burn
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** Conservation groups threaten lawsuit to protect Arctic grayling fish
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Helena Independent Record ([link removed])
** Essay: A new climate reality is coming into view
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New York Times Magazine ([link removed])
** After California, Colorado could become the second state to stop subsidizing natural gas connections
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CPR News ([link removed])
** Forest Service drops plan to kill native plants as part of invasive species management plan
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WyoFile ([link removed])
** Shell announces $4 billion share buyback as profits double
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CNN ([link removed])
** Members of Colorado’s only known wolf pack may have been killed in Wyoming
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CPR News ([link removed])
** New federal funding aims to plug hundreds of orphan wells in Louisiana
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New Orleans Public Radio ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” Thanks to astonishing declines in the price of renewables, a truly global political mobilization, a clearer picture of the energy future and serious policy focus from world leaders, we have cut expected warming almost in half in just five years.”
—David Wallace-Wells, New York Times Magazine ([link removed])
Picture this
** @RockyNPS ([link removed])
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It's Bat Week! 3 new species of bats were recently confirmed in #RMNP ([link removed]) ! 9 species of bats live here & do important things like pollination & help control insect populations [link removed]… ([link removed]) (NPS/Townsend's big-eared bat, one of the newest species of bats identified in RMNP)
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