3 days until government funding expires.

>>If you say one thing today: American families deserve a public lands steward who will take the mission of the office seriously instead of kowtowing to fossil fuel lobbyists. In order to save our irreplaceable parks, lands, waters, and wildlife, Americans need the next Interior Secretary to enter office free of corruption and scandal, and ready to fulfill our moral obligation to offer our children and grandchildren the same chance at our nation’s outdoor way of life that we had.

It’s time to start putting American taxpayers and families first again. The next Interior Secretary must be prepared to clean up a corrupt culture and halt this administration’s disastrous, illegal, and undemocratic giveaways to fossil fuel industry executives.

>>If you do one thing today: Tweet- Hardworking families deserve a new @Interior Secretary that will end Zinke’s #CultureOfCorruption by working to protect public lands for future generations instead of giving them away to corporate polluters! #PeopleOverPolluters 💪

• Set the stage for nominee announcement using guidance here.
• Beehive backgrounders on Bernhardt, Laxalt, Heller, Denham, and Bishop (more to come)
• Updated social on Zinke resignation can be found here.
• Statement guidance on nom announcement to come!

On the Horizon…

December 21: Government funding deadline and mercury-focused #ClimateFriday

December 22: Republican Tax Bill Anniversary

December 28: 45^th Anniversary of the ESA

January 3: 116^th Congress begins

Help Needed

• Zinke/DOI
  • Intel
    • Nomination may come out today
    • Rumors that Bernhardt turned down the job preferring to stay behind the scenes

• Other rumored nominees: Heller, Bishop, Denham, Otter

• Amplify this Podesta op-ed in the Washington Post detailing Interior’s culture of corruption (social guidance)

• Arctic
  • December 22^nd marks the one year anniversary of the passage of the Republican tax bill which among its harmful provisions, mandated oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
    • Use this social guidance to elevate this attack on public lands, climate, and the Gwich’in way of life
  • Join an Arctic message briefing webinar from Earthjustice and NRDC on Wednesday 12/19 at 3pm ET
  • Use this social to amplify an op-ed against S. 785 (Alaska Native Veterans Land Allotment Equity Act)
• Mercury Rule
  • Join a CAC call on Thursday 12/20 at 11am ET
    • Dial in: (866) 774-1290
    • Code: 929 008 3027#
  • Participate in a mercury-focused #ClimateFriday this week!
• #JusticeForJakelin
  • Join an online petition demanding a Congressional investigation and public hearing into the death of 7-year old migrant girl, Jakelin, as well as other mistreatments of minors in detention centers
• Use this toolkit to message on the Dirty Water Rule
• Atlantic Seismic Airgun Blasting
  • Various groups joined together to bring a lawsuit that was announced yesterday.
  • Before the boats can go into the water, they need a second permit in BOEM - Likely to come in early January
  • Resources
    • Use this guidance to amplify bipartisan opposition to this announcement
    • NRDC social guidance
    • Oceana toolkit
  • >>Respond
    • Share these Facebook and Twitter videos on litigation announcement (toolkit here)
    • Pressure Republican senators to come out against this and increase noise from governors (Oceana toolkit)
• Sage Grouse
  • Continue to push back on the sage grouse FEIS out of DOI using this toolkit
    • Accountability social
  • Use this toolkit to drive comments around the Forest Service's recent proposed changes to its 2015 greater sage grouse conservation plans (includes a sample comment, topline messaging, a sample action alert, sample social media guidance, and a summary of the Forest Service's proposal)
    • Comment period open until 1/3/19

• Message on LWCF using this Lame Duck toolkit
  • Sample social
  • Talking points
  • Sign up here to do member outreach
• Use this #PeopleOverPolluters toolkit to elevate and push back on the worst rollbacks around toxins
  • Will be continuously updated

Intel

• McConnell has introduced a Continuing Resolution to fund the government through February 8, 2019
• Zinke’s meeting on Monday at the White House was focused on briefing the president on the five year offshore plan. Likely to see that out in January.
• May see some new nominees get pushed through in the next few days. If there’s a controversial one you’re tracking, please alert us.
• House returns today
• LWCF could move but it’s unclear if the lands package will get through
  • Murkowski and Cantwell reached an agreement on the lands package after additional negotiations on the Alaska Vets bill, but there’s opposition from the Republican leadership to attaching it to the CR

Dirty Budget

• McConnell has introduced a Continuing Resolution to fund the government through February 8, 2019
  • We will pivot back to demanding no cuts, no riders on the approps bills
• We’ll hold off on target specific guidance and CEO blurbs for now
• Press briefing will still take place today, as sound bites will still be useful when we’re in this fight again come January
• Keep telling a strong story about the impacts of a government shutdown on the DOI and EPA’s ability to function
• >>Plug in
  • Elevate the stakes and message on what the shutdown means for the American people
    • Help pull out impacts of the shutdown on parks, programs etc – please flag those resources for CDP so we can compile them into this central document tracking the impacts of a Trump shutdown.
    • Keep using this dirty budget toolkit to help make sure the blame for a shutdown rests squarely on Trump’s shoulders

Topic	Agency	Status	Deadline	Comment Guidance	Hearing
Environmental Reviews for Rural Infrastructure Projects	USDA	Open	12/24
Sage Grouse	USDA-FS	Open	1/3	here
WOTUS Proposal (Dirty Water Rule)	EPA	Not Yet			Listening Session 1/23 in Kansas City
DOE emergency authority	DOE	Open	N/A
Methane Rule Rollback	EPA	Open	12/17	here	11/14 Denver