Rather than rushing to lease over 100,000 acres of public land, the BLM should focus on permanently implementing oil and gas leasing reforms.
Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** BLM rushing to lease public lands without locking in reforms
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Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Gas well near Pinedale, Wyoming, BLM Wyoming ([link removed])
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced yesterday that it is considering leasing nearly 112,500 acres in oil and gas lease sales scheduled for 2023 in Utah ([link removed]) and Wyoming ([link removed]) . The announcement follows similar announcements earlier this fall of oil and gas lease sales in Nevada, Utah ([link removed]) , New Mexico ([link removed]) and Wyoming ([link removed]) .
The BLM recently published instructional memoranda ([link removed]) directing BLM field offices to implement the reforms to the federal oil and gas leasing system included in the Inflation Reduction Act, including raising royalty rates, minimum bids, and rental rates for onshore oil leasing, adding a $5 per acre fee for expressing interest in federal land for leasing, and eliminating non-competitive leasing. While these instructional memoranda will apply to the recently-announced lease sales, they also can be easily rewritten or rescinded in the future.
Rather than rushing to lease over 100,000 acres of public land, the BLM should focus on permanently implementing reforms to the oil and gas leasing system via a formal rulemaking process. The BLM should also use the rulemaking process to address major problems highlighted by the Interior Department in a report on the federal oil and gas leasing system ([link removed]) released last year. This includes requiring oil and gas companies to fully pay for potential clean-up costs so taxpayers aren’t stuck with the bill for cleaning up abandoned wells; avoiding the leasing of areas with low potential for oil and gas development; and creating a more transparent process that provides meaningful opportunities for public engagement and tribal consultation.
The lease sales announced yesterday and earlier this fall lock in more leasing that lacks some of these needed reforms. "For decades, the federal oil and gas leasing system has shortchanged wildlife and taxpayers while threatening the health of our communities and our environment. New, durable rules are long overdue and desperately needed to ensure the program better serves everyone—not just the oil and gas industry," Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby said in a statement ([link removed]) . "Oil and gas companies have already leased a stockpile of 12 million acres of undeveloped public land and nearly 9,000 approved but unused permits to drill, so the BLM does not need to rush any more acres out the door."
** Spending bill proposes funding boost for Interior Department
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The omnibus spending package released yesterday by appropriators proposes a budget increase of $574 million for the Interior Department. This includes increases of $300 million for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, $210 million for the National Park Service, $128 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and $103 million for the U.S. Geological Survey.
The BLM is slated to receive a funding increase of $83 million. The BLM's National Conservation Lands system, which manages over 35 million acres and which lawmakers called "chronically underfunded," ([link removed]) would receive an increase of $12.1 million, or about 25 percent, compared to the previous year. Though these funding levels are less than what President Joe Biden requested, they represent increases compared to previous years, and are likely to be the last increases for a while with Republicans set to take control of the House in January.
Not included in the package are an extra $450 million for the Land and Water Conservation Fund ([link removed]) and t ([link removed]) he popular Recovering America's Wildlife Act ([link removed]) after lawmakers couldn't agree on the mechanism to pay for the measure. The bill also includes a rider, included in every spending bill since 2015 ([link removed]) , that prevents the federal government from listing the greater sage-grouse as endangered.
Congress has until Friday December 23rd to pass the package in order to avoid a government shutdown.
Quick hits
** Communities, Tribes have seen historic funding for conservation during Biden administration
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Center for American Progress ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])
** ConocoPhillips says scaling down Arctic drilling plan would kill project
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Bloomberg ([link removed])
** Why California's 2022 wildfire season was unexpectedly quiet
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New York Times ([link removed])
** Fight between Wyoming landowners, hunters over access is coming to a head
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KHOL ([link removed])
** Boomtown: A solar land rush in the West
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Harper's Magazine ([link removed])
** Historic ship resurfaces on Utah's shrinking Great Salt Lake
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ABC News ([link removed]) | Sacramento Bee ([link removed])
** Babbitt: It's time for the feds to pull rank and enforce already agreed water cuts
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Arizona Republic ([link removed])
** Opinion: We need real oil and gas reform to solve the orphaned well crisis
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Colorado Newsline ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” We need to fix the underlying problem threatening our public lands through federal bonding reform to ensure that clean-up is funded in full by the companies who are making the mess.”
—Pegah Jalali, Colorado Fiscal Institute Environmental Policy Analyst, Colorado Newsline ([link removed])
Picture this
** @zionnps ([link removed])
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Winter is coming... *cold face emoji*
Usually, we talk about animals you can see in the park, but let's talk about those creatures that you might not see this season! Winter is upon us and for some animals in the park that means it's time to close up shop for the year and wait for spring.
Many animals hibernate to make it through winter when food can be scarce. But some animals, like our cold-blooded reptiles, also hibernate because it's just too chilly. Cold-blooded animals need warm days and sunlight to regulate their body temperatures and the winter days just don't cut it. But under the ground, temperatures stay more constant and comfortable enough to survive until spring.
Mojave Desert Tortoises burrow deep into the ground to avoid winter cold. Great Basin Rattlesnakes hibernate too, emerging in spring to start the mating season. Many lizards in Zion enter brumation in the winter- a period of very low activity used to conserve energy.
So while you may see many animals still out and about in Zion in the winter, think about those who you might not see! And hey, maybe you're hibernating too this winter - we get it. We'll see you and the reptiles in the spring.
#ParkedAtHome ([link removed])
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