** Cracking down on “speculative leasing”
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TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2020
Oil well in Railroad Valley, Nevada, Wikimedia Commons ([link removed])

New legislation would stop federal land managers from auctioning off parcels of public land that have little potential for oil and gas development ([link removed]) . The bill was introduced by Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto of Nevada, whose state has seen a massive influx in speculative oil leases under the Trump administration.

Cortez-Masto noted that since 2016, less than ten percent of land in Nevada nominated by the oil and gas industry was actually leased ([link removed]) , and most of that went for the minimum bid of $2 an acre or less. Her legislation would require the Bureau of Land Management to study a parcel's potential for development and hold a public comment period before offering a lease sale.


** Park Service rejects listing of Utah rock art
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The National Park Service has rejected a proposal to list 199 rock art sites in the Moab area ([link removed]) on the National Register of Historic Places, turning away thousands of hours of field work by volunteers who meticulously documented the sites across 180,000 acres of public land. The rejection comes just days after the Bureau of Land Management revealed it's preparing to offer oil and gas leases ([link removed]) inside the nearby Sand Flats Recreation Area.

Organizers of the listing effort had partnered with BLM to nominate all 199 sites together using a process that successfully listed multiple locations in 2012 and 2014. After initially accepting the latest submission, the Trump administration pulled a "bureaucratic bait and switch" that could now delay the listing for years.
Quick hits


** Top Interior lawyer falsely testified to Congress about contact with Koch network
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Huffpost ([link removed])


** 125 million tons of heat-trapping and hazardous gases released in Colorado each year
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Denver Post ([link removed])


** California AG sues to block administration's plans to open California to oil and gas drilling
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Los Angeles Times ([link removed])


** President mocks environmental reviews, turtles, rattlesnakes, sharks in secret recording
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Washington Post ([link removed])


** New legislation would ban oil leasing on public land with little to no potential for development
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Nevada Independent ([link removed]) | Nevada Current ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Judge says conservation group can look into illegally-created industry advisory group at Interior
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Associated Press ([link removed])


** BLM plans revamp of grazing rules in “clear nod to Bundy crowd”
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Looking back at 25 years of wolves at Yellowstone
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Washington Post ([link removed]) | 60 Minutes ([link removed])
Quote of the day
As far as I’m concerned, you can kill those rattlesnakes. I’ll give you a little secret. As many as we kill, they’ll be here long after us. The rattlesnake. You can kill every son of a bitchin’ rattlesnake.”
—President Donald Trump ([link removed])
Picture this


** @usfws ([link removed])
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Although it can kill large prey, such as mule deer fawns or coyote pups, the golden eagle generally eats small to midsize reptiles, birds and mammals. A golden eagle confronts a desert bighorn sheep at Desert National Wildlife Refuge in Nevada. Photo by USFWS

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