National

Pendley: Black Lives Matter based on 'terrible lie' “William Perry Pendley's views on racial inequality and social justice could prove a bigger obstacle to the Senate's confirming him as director of the Bureau of Land Management than his controversial statements on public lands.” [E&E News, 6/29/20 (=)]

Witnesses describe 'excessive force' used by law enforcement in Lafayette Square. “Witnesses testified Monday that Park Police met largely peaceful protests with escalating force during a now-infamous incident at Lafayette Square earlier this month.  Protester Kishon McDonald and reporter Amelia Brace, during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing, described a scene where officers cleared protesters, saying they did not hear any warnings before projectiles and chemical munitions were fired.” [The Hill, 6/29/20 (=)]

Confederate flag flap may roil Interior-EPA debate. “House Democrats are signaling they may revive the fight over Confederate imagery as the fiscal 2021 appropriations process kicks off, resuscitating an issue that has dogged Interior-Environment spending bills in recent years but one that may be losing its partisan potency in the current climate. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) confirmed to E&E News last week that he planned to pursue an amendment that would prohibit Confederate flags at national parks — the same proposal he pushed in 2015 that took down the Interior-Environment appropriations bill that year.” [E&E News, 6/30/20 (=)]

House bill would prohibit changes to Mount Rushmore. “A South Dakota congressman has introduced legislation that would make it illegal to use federal funds to make any changes to Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The bill, H.R. 7358., called the "Mount Rushmore Protection Act," would prohibit the use of federal funds "to alter, change, destroy, or remove, in whole or in part, any name, face, or other feature on the Mount Rushmore National Memorial."” [E&E News, 6/30/20 (=)]

Op-Ed, Editorial, and Analysis

Op-Ed: Upstate SC's 30% conservation goal ambitious. “But, we need a strong commitment to this goal by government and community leaders at all levels. At the federal level, our congressmen can successfully represent South Carolina’s passion for protecting its resources by supporting the “Thirty by Thirty” Resolutions to Save Nature, as well as full funding for critical conservation programs like the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Local governments and leaders can also play a role by implementing local comprehensive plans as well as other conservation efforts.” [Greenville News, 6/29/20 (+)]

Op-Ed: Congress needs to do more to protect land and oceans. “In the West, we understand that a healthy economy and healthy communities depend on a healthy environment. Here and across the globe, nature gives us clean water, food, shelter, medicine, and economic opportunity. Today natural resources drive at least 40% of the global economy. As former Interior Secretary Stewart Udall often said: “When we plan to protect air, water, wilderness and wildlife, we are in fact protecting ourselves.” It is time for Congress to listen to the growing bipartisan chorus across the West and act to save nature and our way of life for future generations, before it is too late.” [Denver Post, 6/26/20 (+)]

Editorial: Trump’s scorched-earth handling of environment extends to oceans too. “President Donald Trump’s cruelty to the environment and wildlife clearly is never far from the top of his mind. He proved it again this month when, with the coronavirus pandemic heating up again and Black Lives Matter protests, he took a special trip to Maine. There, he issued a proclamation allowing commercial fishing to resume in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, a pristine swath of the Atlantic Ocean off Cape Cod.” [Las Vegas Sun, 6/29/20 (+)]