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


** Time is running out for oil and gas rulemaking
------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
A pumpjack operates on Bureau of Land Management land, BLM Wyoming ([link removed])

Time is running out for the Biden administration to ensure the oil and gas leasing reforms in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have a lasting impact. The Center for Western Priorities' recent progress report ([link removed]) emphasized that implementing the IRA will require an extensive rulemaking process, and the administration will need to act quickly. Currently, the IRA is implemented via Instruction Memoranda ([link removed]) (IMs) released in November 2022. However, IMs only provide guidance, and they can be altered or revoked at any point by a future administration. To protect against this, a full rulemaking under the Administrative Procedures Act is necessary. This would ensure the reforms can only be revoked or revised if a future administration goes through the same rulemaking process.

Given that rulemaking is an inherently lengthy process, realistically the Biden administration needs to publish draft rules by this March or April in order to cement the reforms promised by the IRA. However, no proposed rules have been released yet.

Yesterday, 32 environmental organizations signed a letter ([link removed]) to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland urging the Department of the Interior to move forward with a rulemaking. The letter offers specific recommendations for the federal onshore oil and gas leasing program to improve stewardship of public lands, waters, and wildlife. The recommendations include measures such as preventing companies with past lease violations from participating in the leasing process and guaranteeing public participation and Tribal consultation.

By implementing these recommendations, President Biden could protect his legacy on America's public lands. However, time is of the essence, and the administration must act quickly.
Quick hits


** Interior data counters Biden statements on 9,000 oil permits
------------------------------------------------------------

E&E News ([link removed])


** Strong support for conservation among Colorado communities of color
------------------------------------------------------------

Public News Service ([link removed])


** Tulsa County asks Biden to make Greenwood District a national monument
------------------------------------------------------------

KOCO ([link removed]) | KTUL ([link removed])


** Opinion: President Biden, can you please make Castner Range a monument?
------------------------------------------------------------

El Paso Times ([link removed])


** New Mexico governor pans Forest Service amid wild cow fight
------------------------------------------------------------

Associated Press ([link removed])


** More wildlife crossings may be coming soon to the Mountain West
------------------------------------------------------------

Wyoming Public Radio ([link removed])


** Visits to National Park Service sites rose 5% in 2022
------------------------------------------------------------

E&E News ([link removed]) | Kansas City Star ([link removed])


** Navajo community residents wary of 'devastating' plan to move uranium tailings nearby
------------------------------------------------------------

Arizona Republic ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” There’s a lot more that needs to be done in that area. Sanders is a small community, and everyone knows one another and they would talk about their neighbors, family, or themselves having cancer or talking about cancer survivors. It's a small community, to see that amount of cancer is surprising. They’re being ignored.”
—Tommy Rock, Navajo researcher, Arizona Republic ([link removed])
Picture this

[link removed]


** @USFWS ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
While it might look like a goth cardinal, the phainopepla is a member of the silky flycatcher family. Limited to the Southwest and MX, phainopeplas love to snack on fruit like mistletoe berries. They also love to judge you.

📸 Mick Thompson, CC BY-NC 2.0 [link removed] ([link removed])

============================================================
** 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])