National

Conservationists: Interior ignores court order on sage grouse protection. “The Interior Department is offering leases to drill for oil and gas in greater sage grouse habitat using a species conservation plan nullified by a federal court last month for being too weak, according to conservation advocates.” [Roll Call, 11/25/19 (=)]

Greens sue Forest Service for kowtowing to grazers. “Environmentalists this week sued the Forest Service, accusing the agency of kowtowing to "scofflaw grazing permittees" on public lands in Utah. The Idaho-based Western Watersheds Project filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging the Forest Service is allowing "excessive stocking rates, repeated trespass, and non-compliance with federal regulations" on Monroe Mountain in south-central Utah.” [E&E News, 11/22/19 (=)]

State and Local

Minnesota to feds: We'll do our own environmental review of Twin Metals. “Pushing back against the Trump administration, state regulators announced Friday that Minnesota will conduct its own, independent environmental review of the fiercely contested Twin Metals copper-nickel mining project because the state needs to ensure a “thorough, scientific and neutral review.” Twin Metals, which wants to build an underground mine on Minnesota’s Iron Range, is expected to submit its official plan of operation next month, and the environmental impact statement, or EIS, is the all-important first stop before the yearslong permitting process begins.” [Minneapolis Star Tribune, 11/23/19 (=)]

Colo. approves flowline safety rules after fatal blast. “Colorado regulators yesterday approved a set of safety measures designed to increase citizen protections in areas surrounding thousands of miles of underground oil and gas pipelines in the state. The rules provide public access to a more detailed and accurate state map of locations of flowlines, which are pipelines that connect an oil or gas well to other pieces of equipment.” [E&E News, 11/22/19 (=)]

Former Malheur Occupier Ken Medenbach Is Running For Congress. “For decades, Ken Medenbach has been driven by his belief that the federal government cannot own land. It’s a notion that’s gotten him arrested repeatedly when he built homes on government property. In 2016, it led Medenbach to Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which he and others occupied for more than a month. But today, with the federal government still controlling vast amounts of property in Oregon, Medenbach has another idea: He’s running for Congress.” [Oregon Public Broadcasting, 11/22/19 (=)]

Op-Ed, Editorial, and Analysis

Op-Ed: Our National Parks Are in Trouble. “Congress must provide more money to turn around the deferred maintenance and run the park’s day-to-day operations. We need to strengthen essential environmental laws like the Clean Water and Clear Air Acts. We must preserve these places, not open them to mining, grazing and timber cutting. And we need to address the international urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Otherwise, the national parks that define us as a country and are visited by hundreds of millions each year will be beyond saving.” [New York Times, 11/22/19 (+)]

Op-Ed: We must permanently safeguard Chaco. “The Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act is a necessary first step in preserving the archaeological record of the greater Chaco landscape for future generations. If we want to protect our irreplaceable landscapes in New Mexico, we need the Senate to follow suit and take action to permanently safeguard this irreplaceable landscape for generations to come.” [Santa Fe New Mexican, 11/23/19 (+)]

Op-Ed: Our public lands don’t diminish individual freedom, they secure it. “The Charter of the Forest sketched a map for the creation of public lands, for shared open space, landscapes, natural resources, even clean air and water. If the advocates of transfer or privatization prevail, the effects will be the same as those the charter tried to dispel: the loss of the commons, of livelihoods and access to nature, of rights that sustain us all.” [Los Angeles Times, 11/24/19 (+)]

Op-Ed: Sen. Alexander's gamble to support national parks. “The key now is whether Alexander can muscle it through. The measure already has passed out of both House and Senate committees. The further key, of course, is whether Alexander's successors — and peers in the Senate and the House — can stand tall against any future park assaults.” [Chattanooga Times Free Press, 11/23/19 (+)]

Op-Ed: Why veteran supports key Conservation Fund. “My military service left me with a greater love for my country - for its democracy, for its people, and for its public lands. Join me in contacting your representatives and urging them to vote for permanent dedicated funding for LWCF.” [Greenville News, 11/23/19 (+)]

Editorial: Gov. Gavin Newsom’s muddy water policy. “A few weeks after Newsom’s veto, the Trump administration unveiled its bid to send more water to San Joaquin Valley farmers in the form of new biological opinions on the federally protected fish and other species that depend on the delta and the rivers that feed it. In July, before the administration ordered a redo of the report, the federal government’s own scientists found that the plan would drive local salmon species closer to extinction and starve the killer whales that rely on them. Among the proposal’s top beneficiaries would be the valley’s largest agricultural consumer, Westlands Water District, whose onetime lobbyist, David Bernhardt, is now Trump’s interior secretary.” [San Francisco Chronicle, 11/24/19 (+)]

Editorial: Not this mine. Not this location. “So it’s surprising that a simple query at the end of an editorial writer’s interview seemed to catch Padilla off-guard: Can Twin Metals say there’s zero risk to the BWCA? After a pause, Padilla responded, “That’s not a fair question.” But Minnesotans shouldn’t take any chances with the wilderness. Twin Metals won’t be operating in a controlled setting, like a factory. It would be dealing with Mother Nature in one of the world’s most extreme climates. Accidents happen, even with modern technology and good intentions. Whether the BWCA will stay pure and pollution-free is not only a fair question, it’s the only one that matters.” [Minneapolis Star Tribune, 11/23/19 (+)]