October, in brief

Key news from October:

• President Joe Biden signed a proclamation to create Colorado's Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument, his first new national monument. The monument encompasses more than 53,800 acres and also includes the Tenmile Range. In addition to the monument designation, Biden is expected to initiate a temporary withdrawal of 225,000 acres in the nearby Thompson Divide from potential new mining or drilling. The President also created a national historic site at the Blackwell School in Marfa, Texas. The site was a segregated school for children of Mexican descent from 1906 to 1965, when schools were integrated. Now that he has demonstrated a willingness to listen to Westerners and use his authority under the Antiquities Act to support locally-led conservation efforts, the question is, where will he go next?

• As coal-fired power plant shutdowns drive a steep decrease in demand for coal in the Western U.S. and elsewhere, policymakers have struggled to balance the need for urgent action on climate with the responsibility to ensure a just transition for communities that have depended for generations on coal plants and coal mines. Two new reports from the Rocky Mountain Institute offer hope — and some policy solutions. Researchers analyzed legislation designed to support communities transitioning away from coal-dependent economies that was considered or passed by state legislatures over the past decade. Colorado and New Mexico are highlighted in the report for their efforts that could serve as models for other states looking to ease the transition to 21st-century energy sources.

• On the first day of its new term, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, a case with the potential to restrict the scope of the Clean Water Act. Recently, the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of narrowing the scope of other environmental protection laws, as it did in West Virginia v. EPA, which relied on the "major questions doctrine" to prevent the EPA from regulating carbon emissions from power plants under the Clean Air Act. Depending on what the Court decides, up to 80 percent of streams in the southwestern U.S. could lose Clean Water Act protections.
   
• A Forest Service employee in charge of a prescribed burn was arrested by a county sheriff after a prescribed 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. 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 conduct a prescribed burn in the future. Prescribed burns are a critical wildfire management tool, and it is extremely rare for a burn to get out of control.
   
• Major oil companies raked in $50 billion in third-quarter earnings, showing only a minor profit decrease while the global economy suffers and consumers pay the price. The five biggest companies—ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, and BP—are on track to have their second-highest earnings since the early 2000s, while consumers pay the price at the pump. These profits are not being used to help stabilize prices for consumers—companies are instead pocketing them as stocks and dividends. President Biden recently denounced Big Oil profits and called on companies to "invest in America" by using profits for increased production. In the past, Big Oil has invested in production during boom periods, but in this year of record profits, it seems companies are holding on to their cash. 

What to watch for in November:

• Election Day is November 8
• Will the Bureau of Reclamation announce a plan for the Colorado River?
• Will President Biden keep up the momentum and designate another national monument?

Report: Conservation action can win over the media and the public

A new report from the Center for American Progress and the Center for Western Priorities highlights the consistent popularity of conservation.

New analyses of media and public opinion find that executive conservation action is wildly popular, cuts through the public’s distrust of Washington, is accessible to broad and bipartisan audiences, and garners incredibly positive media coverage. These studies also suggest that further use of executive conservation action by President Biden would be well-received by the voting public and result in ownership of the media narrative.

Now is the time for President Biden to build on his conservation legacy by designating national monuments such as Camp Hale-Continental Divide, Castner Range, and Avi Kwa Ame; finalizing the protection of critical places such as Bristol Bay; and tightening regulations to conserve intact landscapes. Bold action to conserve our lands, waters, and wildlife is not only necessary to stave off biodiversity loss and climate change, it also garners nearly universal support in America’s increasingly divided political sphere.

Author and outdoors enthusiast McKenzie Long joins Aaron and Kate on the Landscape to chat about her new book, This Contested Land: The Storied Past and Uncertain Future of America’s National Monuments. The book is an exploration of national monuments—why they matter, what it takes to create them, and how they impact nearby communities. McKenzie visited 13 national monuments across the country for the book, interviewing locals in some, while setting out on solo adventures in others.

How drought is threatening Navajo ties to ancestral lands

The Guardian
 

Beavers offer natural solution to fighting wildfires

Washington Post
 

Cultural sites are being revealed by a dwindling Lake Powell

Salt Lake Tribune
 

Tribal co-management movements are transforming the conservation of public lands

Popular Science
 

Report: Wildlife migrations sustain species, ecosystems, and economies

Pew Charitable Trusts
 

Forest restoration in the age of climate change

Ensia
 

Idaho cobalt mine is a harbinger of what’s to come

High Country News
 

Opinion: Enough messing around. Will the feds mandate cuts to save Lake Mead or not?

Arizona Republic

“For over 100 years, places like the Grand Canyon have been protected using the Antiquities Act. I encourage the president to consider other special places that could benefit from these same protections, including those named in widely supported bills that have passed the House numerous times.”

—House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl Grijlava, E&E News