Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** National Park Service faces large backlog of site studies
------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, January 25, 2023
The Amache National Historic Site was added to the National Park System on March 18, 2022; Kelly Michals, Flickr ([link removed])
The National Park Service is facing a backlog ([link removed]) of 28 studies ordered by Congress meant to determine whether to add new park sites, national trails, national heritage areas, and wild and scenic rivers to the National Park System. This backlog is causing the studies to take longer than expected, producing frustration among advocates who would like to see new sites added to the system or existing sites elevated in status.
Each study costs an average of $350,000 and is expected to be done within three fiscal years, according to a report ([link removed]) submitted to Congress last year. But “in practice studies have taken longer to prepare," it says. The report attributes the delays to “the large number of studies authorized by Congress and the extent of available resources.”
Congress added 11 new studies ([link removed]) to the backlog in December. Among the 28 studies in the backlog right now, three are in the West. ([link removed]) They include the Dearfield Homestead, Colorado's largest black homesteading settlement; locations along the Transcontinental Railroad in Utah; and new parks along the California coast in the Los Angeles area.
Quick hits
** Biden rubberstamped Trump-era oil and gas leases in New Mexico
------------------------------------------------------------
Reuters ([link removed])
** Frustrations mount as National Park Service studies pile up
------------------------------------------------------------
E&E News ([link removed])
** Depleted by Trump, a ‘traumatized’ EPA struggles with its mission
------------------------------------------------------------
New York Times ([link removed])
** Environmental advocates express frustration over Biden regulation delays
------------------------------------------------------------
The Hill ([link removed])
** Study: US can reduce future need for lithium by up to 92 percent by incentivizing public transit
------------------------------------------------------------
The Guardian ([link removed])
** LDS environmentalists want Church to address the Great Salt Lake’s collapse
------------------------------------------------------------
High Country News ([link removed])
** Opinion: Expand Berryessa National Monument to include sacred tribal lands
------------------------------------------------------------
Press Democrat ([link removed])
** Havasu Falls to reopen after three years. What to know about reservations and permits
------------------------------------------------------------
Arizona Republic ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” We in the advocacy community have seen this film before where a nominally progressive president comes in with grand promises about leveraging the administrative state to advance progressive policy goals and then just waits until the last minute... It is a total unforced error. It is points left on the field.”
—James Goodwin ([link removed]) , senior policy analyst with the Center for Progressive Reform
Picture this
** @Interior ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
.@USGS ([link removed]) Landsat satellites provide scientists with the data needed to tackle problems crucial to everyday life on our planet, including:
🌎 Water use
🌎 Wildfire impacts
🌎 Coral reef degradation
🌎 Glacier and ice-shelf retreat
🌎 Tropical deforestation and more
============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Copyright © 2023 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.
Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
