National

Interior Department (Again) Hosts People Who Want To Sell Off Public Land. “On a Wednesday morning last June, Susan Combs, a high-ranking political appointee at the Interior Department, stepped to a microphone to welcome those gathered for an event at the agency’s headquarters titled “Federal Land Policies: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.” The event’s keynote speaker: Myron Ebell, a prominent climate change denier and advocate of shrinking the federal estate. Ebell led President Donald Trump’s transition work at the Environmental Protection Agency and continues to be a vocal cheerleader of the administration’s pro-industry, deregulatory agenda.” [HuffPost, 2/14/20 (+)]

NPS employees ask: Where is P. Daniel Smith? “When P. Daniel Smith left his job as acting director of the National Park Service on Sept. 30, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt asked him to take a new role leading the agency's efforts to celebrate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence on July 4, 2026. Under the arrangement, his colleagues said, Smith would be allowed to telework from North Carolina as a "special assistant to the director," receiving a salary estimated at $165,000 a year.” [E&E News, 2/13/20 (=)]

Pendley blasts 'naysayers in Washington' over BLM move. “Bureau of Land Management acting chief William Perry Pendley told a conservative talk show host in Colorado this week the agency is successfully filling positions at its new headquarters in Grand Junction, Colo., which should be fully operational in April. Pendley also repeated previous claims that two-thirds of the 159 or so employees in Washington who are being relocated to Grand Junction and other offices across the West have agreed to move.” [E&E News, 2/13/20 (=)]

McConnell sets vote on Interior deputy secretary. “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) moved yesterday to close debate on the nomination of Katharine MacGregor to be Interior Department deputy secretary. The move means the chamber will likely take a procedural and final vote on MacGregor soon after the Presidents Day recess next week.” [E&E News, 2/14/20 (=)]

Republicans slam 'ignorant' attempt to block ANWR drilling. “The CEOs of nearly a dozen banks are getting mixed messages from Washington on whether to fund drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where oil and gas development may soon be possible. The Alaska delegation penned a letter to bank leadership Tuesday as a clap back to a letter Democrats sent in late January opposing the industrial development of ANWR's coastal plain. Sixteen members of Congress, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I) and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), pleaded with big banks to block investment dollars for drilling in the virgin refuge (E&E News PM, Feb. 3).” [E&E News, 2/13/20 (=)]

State and Local

Big Alaska timber project could swell under Trump rules. “One of the biggest proposed timber harvests in years in Alaska's Tongass National Forest might be poised to grow, even as a lawsuit to slow the project awaits a decision this spring. At issue is the Prince of Wales Landscape Level Analysis Project, which targets 42,000 acres for harvest over the next 15 years, including thousands of acres of old-growth temperate rainforest that's never been logged.” [E&E News, 2/13/20 (=)]

Minn. agency appeals ruling against PolyMet project. “The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources yesterday asked the state Supreme Court to overturn a lower court decision that rejected some of the most important permits for the proposed PolyMet copper-nickel mine.” [E&E News, 2/13/20 (=)]

California scrambles to increase hunting to help protect public lands. “Every winter, duck hunter Randall Smith invites a flock of friends and family members to join him on the wetlands, but no one ever takes him up on the offer. So he makes the trip alone, driving hours to hunt at dusk rather than dawn because development has claimed the public lands that were once much closer to his Santa Cruz home.” [Santa Cruz Sentinel, 2/13/20 (=)]

Op-Ed, Editorial, and Analysis

Op-Ed: Speculative leasing is a threat to recreation economy. “U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto from Nevada has proposed new legislation that would end the practice of speculative leasing and provide more opportunity for outdoor recreation. I urge my fellow business owners to talk to our elected officials in DC about this legislation and other ways that they can support the public lands which make Utah the best place in the nation to get outside.” [Salt Lake Tribune, 2/13/20 (+)]

Op-Ed: Red Rock Wilderness Act drives Utah’s wilderness debate. “As Utah’s population grows, protected lands become more precious. We need these places more than ever to hold carbon in the ground, to protect Native American homelands, to shelter stressed wildlife and, ultimately, for our own well-being. We’re always ready to roll up our sleeves and engage on tough public lands issues, and we look forward to the next opportunity.” [Salt Lake Tribune, 2/13/20 (+)]

Editorial: Pendley has thick skin. “Voters will ultimately be the judge of Trump’s record, Pendley said. “The president did this. If you like this, then you re-elect the man. If you don’t, you run him out.” In the meantime, Pendley seems content trying to fulfill the “hardest mission” of any domestic federal agency, which he feels he’s doing openly and transparently. We found Pendley’s candor refreshing.” [Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, 2/13/20 (-)]