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


** Feds consider delisting grizzly bears
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Monday, February 6, 2023
Grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park, National Park Service ([link removed])

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday ([link removed]) that it will consider removing grizzly bears in parts of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming from the Endangered Species Act. The decision is a result of petitions from Montana and Wyoming ([link removed]) requesting that state governments be responsible for the management of grizzly populations in the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, which includes Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, as well as the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

The Service will now conduct a review of the grizzly population in these regions to make a 12-month finding. At that point the agency will decide if removing ESA protections for the species is warranted. If that happens, a separate rulemaking process including a public comment period would follow.

The agency indicated that it will carefully consider laws and regulations in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho throughout the 12-month-finding period to ensure a smooth transition to state management, but significant legislation outlining state-level protection plans consistent with the requirements of the USFWS has yet to be offered by any of the three states. In 2021, a bill ([link removed]) passed in the Montana Senate that would allow Montanans to kill grizzly bears that were attacking or threatening livestock. The agency notified the Montana legislature that the bill cannot be enacted because of an ESA regulation that only allows killing grizzlies as a means of self-defense, but the bill would become law if the grizzly is officially delisted.
Quick hits


** Threat of losing water outweighs fear of regulation in Arizona
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CNN ([link removed])


** Is pumping Mississippi River water to Lake Powell and Lake Mead a solution or dream?
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Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])


** Colorado River states fail to strike agreement
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WyoFile ([link removed]) | Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** Tribes, researchers debate final fate of P-22, famed LA puma
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** Colorado considers using public land for affordable housing
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])


** Ruling puts drilling near historical park on hold
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** New Mexico ghost town's mining disasters still echo a century later
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Santa Fe New Mexican ([link removed])


** Rock hunter stumbles across significant dinosaur fossil
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Colorado Sun ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” The drought is so critical that this recent rainfall is a little like finding a $20 bill when you’ve lost your job and you’re being evicted from your house.”
—Rhett Larson, Arizona State University professor of water law, Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
Picture this


** @ ([link removed]) carlsbadcavernsnps ([link removed])
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Welcome back to a new recurring social media series, Speleothem Saturday! Over the next several Saturdays, we will show off some of the weird, wacky, and wonderful formations found inside the caves at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. The term speleothem is greek in origin, meaning cave deposit. Share your favorite photos of each week's featured speleothem in the comments!

We will start with stalactites. These icicle-like structures hanging from the ceiling are some of the most famous speleothems, often defining many conceptions of what caves should look like. They are typically made up of a calcium carbonate mineral called calcite. Like most speleothems you'll learn about in this series, they form when water sitting on a surface leaves a mineral deposit behind.

In this case, water dripping from the cave ceiling leaves a tiny bit of calcite behind with every drop. As more minerals are deposited on the cave ceiling, water will seek the lowest point before dripping down, creating an angular shape reminiscent of icicles. However, unlike icicles, which take hours to form, stalactite formation is measured in hundreds or thousands of years.

Photo: NPS

Image Description: Several large white stalactites are hanging from a cave's ceiling.

#CarlsbadCaverns ([link removed]) #FindYourPark ([link removed]) #EncuentraTuParque ([link removed]) #SpeleothemSaturday ([link removed]) #YourParkStory ([link removed])

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