National

Ethics program earns high marks for improvements. “The Interior Department has made marked improvements in its ethics program since 2016, a new Office of Government Ethics assessment indicates. All 14 Interior recommendations made by the OGE during the Obama administration have since been satisfactorily resolved, according to the new review. In what amounts to a clean report card, no additional recommendations are made.” [E&E News, 8/31/20 (=)]

Trump’s ban on Chinese drones is making fighting wildfires harder, says leaked memo. “Last year, the US Interior Department, which is responsible for maintaining federal land, grounded its fleet of more than 800 drones over fears they could be compromised by Chinese spies. Now, an internal memo from the department leaked to The Financial Times says the decision is hampering the federal government’s ability to fight wildfires.” [The Verge, 9/1/20 (=)]

Groups pressure Biden to exclude fossil fuel execs from team. “More than 100 climate and advocacy groups are asking Joe Biden's presidential campaign to commit to blocking fossil fuel representatives from its transition team or administration should the former vice president win the election.” [The Hill, 9/1/20 (=)]

4 Trump rules Democrats could try to erase. “A handful of Trump administration environmental rules could be the first on the chopping block under a Biden administration and a Democratic Congress. Actions on methane emissions, the National Environmental Policy Act, cost-benefit analyses and an EPA science rule may die under the Congressional Review Act, experts say.” [E&E News, 8/31/20 (=)]

Forest Service to ease curbs on leasing and development. “The Forest Service will publish a proposed rule tomorrow easing its 20-year-old oil and gas regulations, sparking complaints from environmentalists who say it represents a fossil fuel giveaway on American grasslands and forests.” [E&E News, 8/31/20 (=)]

State and Local

BLM’s acting director enthusiastic about plans for Radium site. “The Radium Recreation Site looked nearly full Friday afternoon with trailers parked back to back and swimsuit-clad rafters climbing in and out of the Colorado River. The high-use facility southwest of Kremmling is managed by the Bureau of Land Management as a popular put in and take out site for rafting and fishing on the Upper Colorado River. That’s why Kremmling Field Office officials brought the acting director of the Bureau of Land Management, William Perry Pendley, to Radium.” [Vail Daily News, 8/31/20 (=)]

Op-Ed, Editorial, and Analysis

Op-Ed: America’s largest land manager now amidst the public’s lands. “Thanks to an unprecedented, all-hands-on-deck hiring effort, the BLM is now or soon will be blessed not with just outstanding new executive leaders but also with extraordinarily talented rank and file employees who, with the BLM’s well-known proficiency at training leaders, will take the helm and lead the BLM into an even brighter future.” [Denver Post, 8/31/20 (-)]