** In New Mexico, BLM continues to lease critical habitat for oil and gas
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Wednesday, January 15, 2020
Oil and gas development in New Mexico's Permian Basin | BLM New Mexico ([link removed])
As oil and gas development booms in New Mexico's Permian Basin, conservation advocates are pushing to protect key wildlife habitat ([link removed]) , but facing roadblocks from the Trump administration. The Bureau of Land Management is in the process of revising a major plan that will guide management decisions in the southeastern corner of the state for years to come, and conservationists have asked the agency to protect four areas with herons, falcons, and a vast array of bird species.
However, even while developing the new management plan, BLM's Carlsbad office has continued to offer oil and gas leases within those areas identified as key habitat. The Carlsbad office has come under fire ([link removed]) in recent years for skirting cultural and environmental laws in favor of oil and gas companies.
Conservationists have continued their push to protect the region's wildlife, but remain wary of the agency, particularly in this administration. Judy Calman, Policy Director for the New Mexico Audubon Society noted ([link removed]) , "At this point, in Carlsbad, 98 percent of BLM land is open to leasing, and most of it is already leased. So it’s not like we’re asking for that much. BLM is supposed to be a multiple use agency. It’s not supposed to be a single-use field office."
Quick hits
** Under Trump administration, environmental agencies run by extractive industry veterans
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New York Times ([link removed])
** Analysis finds Interior Department disregards public comments in rush to drill and mine public lands
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KUNR ([link removed])
** Cost analysis justifying BLM headquarters move faces scrutiny
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The Hill ([link removed])
** World's largest asset manager puts climate at center of investment strategy
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NPR ([link removed])
** Colorado communities band together to protect wild landscape with Land and Water Conservation Fund
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
** As administration weighs allowing uranium mining next to the Grand Canyon, Arizonans push back
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KJZZ ([link removed])
** Facing legal challenges, Interior Department delays oil and gas lease sale in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
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Washington Post ([link removed])
** Amid coal downturn, western Colorado towns race to survive another energy bust
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KUNC ([link removed]) | KUNC ([link removed])
Quote of the day
This really isn’t a cost-benefit analysis. It’s a couple of spreadsheets”
—Craig Thornton, president of the Society for Benefit-Cost Analysis, on the justification for moving BLM headquarters | The Hill ([link removed])
Picture this
Winter at Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in Colorado
@Interior ([link removed])
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