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


** Biden set an ambitious goal for nature—can he meet it?
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Thursday, January 5, 2022
Looking down on the Hulahula River in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Photo Credit: Danielle Brigida/ USFWS, Flickr ([link removed])

Last month, the United Nations convened a biodiversity conference in Montreal during which delegates from countries around the world agreed to the ambitious goal of protecting 30 percent of the Earth's land and waters by 2030, otherwise known as the 30x30 goal. While the United States was not one of the nations to formally ratify the convention on biodiversity, President Joe Biden embraced the 30x30 goal ([link removed]) shortly after taking office, calling for a plan recommending steps the U.S. can take to reach the goal ([link removed]) .

Robert Semple Jr., a former reporter and writer for the New York Times editorial board, published an opinion on Biden's progress toward reaching the 30x30 goal, stating ([link removed]) , "Biden must rapidly accelerate conservation measures on federal, state, and private lands while keeping intact natural carbon sinks like the old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest and the mangroves, wetlands, and timberlands in the Southeast." In order to meet the urgency of addressing the inextricably linked biodiversity and climate crises, Semple identifies ([link removed]) "many steps, big and small, that must be taken on the road to 30x30."

Semple gives President Biden credit ([link removed]) for undoing some of the damage caused by the Trump administration, including restoring the boundaries of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments, as well as restoring protections for the Tongass National Forest and effectively halting oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

However, Mr. Semple argues ([link removed]) that President Biden has yet to "make vigorous use of the Antiquities Act ([link removed]) " to create more new national monuments and encourages Biden to follow through on his promise to protect Nevada's Avi Kwa Ame, or Spirit Mountain, area. He also urges ([link removed]) Biden to direct the Interior and Agriculture departments to complete an inventory of old growth forests that are most in need of protection. Finally, he recommends ([link removed]) that Biden nudge Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to facilitate the Bureau of Land Management's pivot toward conservation and away from its historical emphasis on mining and drilling, particularly through the increased establishments of Wilderness Study Areas.
Quick hits


** Biden administration to miss deadlines on major environmental rules
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Washington Post ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** More than 6,000 acres along Montana's Blackfoot River purchased for conservation
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Great Falls Tribune ([link removed])


** Biden set an ambitious goal for nature—can he meet it?
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New York Times ([link removed]) [opinion]


** Colorado's wildfire risk is so high some homeowners can't get insured
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Secretary Haaland reverses Trump-era California irrigation policy
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Why the age of underground water matters in the thirsty West
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Alaska oil sale was a bust and a potential harbinger of the industry's decline
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Gizmodo ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Opinion: Climate change is the most critical business risk ski resorts face
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” Providing public access for a multitude of recreational users and applying restoration principles to enhance wildlife habitat is paramount to the BLM’s mission. This acquisition also helps to advance President Biden’s America the Beautiful initiative, which seeks to use partnerships and voluntary actions like this one to conserve, connect, and restore 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by 2030.”
—BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning, Great Falls Tribune ([link removed])
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** nationalparkservice ([link removed])
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Hoodoo you think you are? Some kind of superstar? In a way. Bryce Canyon National Park in Southwestern Utah is famous for its large collection of hoodoos. What’s a hoodoo? A hoodoo (also called a tent rock, fairy chimney, or earth pyramid) is a tall, thin spire of rock formed by erosion. Hoodoos typically consist of relatively soft rock topped by harder, less easily eroded stone that protects each column from the elements. They generally form within sedimentary rock and volcanic rock formations.

Image: Hoodoos covered with snow at @brycecanyonnps_gov ([link removed])

#hoodoo ([link removed]) #utah ([link removed]) #brycecanyonnationalpark ([link removed]) #geology ([link removed]) #winterwonderland ([link removed]) #rock ([link removed])

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