National

A Push Emerges for the First Native American Interior Secretary. “The nomination of Representative Deb Haaland, Democrat of New Mexico, as Interior secretary would have undeniable symbolic power. If confirmed, a Native American for the first time would oversee 500 million acres of public lands, including national parks, oil and gas drilling sites, and endangered species habitat, and control the federal agencies most responsible for the well-being of the nation’s 1.9 million Indigenous people.” [New York Times, 11/20/20 (=)]

Rep. Haaland: Cabinet Pick 'Would Mean A Lot To Indian Country'. “Haaland currently serves as the vice chair of the House Natural Resources Committee. If tapped for the Interior Department job, she would break another barrier as the first Native American Cabinet secretary. "First of all, it would mean a lot to Indian Country," Haaland told NPR's Rachel Martin, when asked about the potential nomination. "When Sharice [Davids] and I got sworn in, everybody was so happy. It means a lot to a group of people who have been here since time immemorial to know that they're truly being represented. I think it would really change the way people see our federal government."” [NPR, 11/23/20 (=)]

AP | Proposal for national parks to become free for wounded veterans poised to become law. “A proposal from lawmakers in New England and California to give free access to national parks to wounded veterans is poised to become law. The Wounded Veterans Recreation Act has passed the U.S. House of Representatives after previously passing the U.S. Senate. Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Democratic California Rep. Raul Ruiz proposed the law.” [USA Today, 11/21/20 (=)]

Trump admin offers new details on implementing outdoors bill. “The outgoing Trump administration is starting to fill in the blanks about how it plans to spend millions of dollars for conserving and refurbishing national parks and public lands. The Interior Department this afternoon released detailed descriptions of proposed projects to be prioritized for funding in fiscal 2021 through two pots of money made available by the Great American Outdoors Act, which was enacted over the summer.” [E&E News, 11/20/20 (=)]

Trump Swiftly Blows Up His 1 Decent Conservation Action. “The Great American Outdoors Act is no doubt a major victory for America’s public lands and for LWCF, which has been plagued by funding shortfalls all of its 50-year history. The administration’s claimed support for it, on the other hand, was “a ruse” and a “bald-faced lie,” Aaron Weiss, deputy director of Colorado-based conservation group Center for Western Priorities, told HuffPost. He expects Bernhardt was always planning to undercut the law, whether or not Trump won a second term.” [E&E News, 11/20/20 (+)]

Biden faces uphill battle to 'permanently' protect Alaska wildlife refuge. “President-elect Joe Biden faces several obstacles to fulfilling his pledge to work toward “permanently protecting” the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but he’ll also have a few executive tools at his disposal that could thwart drilling across large parts of the Alaskan wilderness. Biden’s climate plan, released during the campaign, included a promise to protect the 1.6 million acres in Alaska that were opened up to oil drilling during the Trump administration.” [The Hill, 11/20/20 (=)]

Banks Can’t Deny Services to Entire Industries Under OCC Proposal. “Big U.S. banks can’t refuse to lend to entire categories of lawful businesses under a rule proposed Friday, following complaints that the oil-and-gas industry was unfairly denied financing  by large lenders.” [Wall Street Journal, 11/20/20 (=)]

7 Ways Biden Can Fight Climate Change Without Any Help from Congress. “We’re subsidizing fossil fuels in other ways as well, by setting the fees companies pay the government for drilling, known as royalties, too low to account for drilling’s external costs. Royalties do bring in billions in revenue each year, but they don’t reflect the true environmental costs from the drilling that the taxpayer will some day have to clean up. During the pandemic, Trump cut these royalties from their typical range of 12.5-18.75 percent to 0.5 percent, according to the Center for Western Priorities.” [Mother Jones, 11/23/20 (+)]

Methane hits record high as oil majors plan new emission cuts. “More than 60 oil and gas companies committed to a new framework today to report methane emissions as the United Nations reported that atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas reached a record high.” [E&E News, 11/23/20 (=)]

State and Local

Trump admin will raise Calif. dam, expand reservoir. “The Trump administration yesterday announced it has finalized its plan to extend one of the largest dams in Northern California, one of its most ambitious and controversial water projects. At issue is a proposal to raise the 600-foot Shasta Dam by about 18.5 feet, to store more water. The dam impounds one of the largest reservoirs in the state, and that water is then shuttled to farmers in California's Central Valley.” [E&E News, 11/20/20 (=)]

Anaconda conservationist takes a walk through history on new public land. “On Oct. 30, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks closed the deal, and the 600-acre Stumptown Addition to the Garrity Mountain Wildlife Management Area west of Anaconda opened to the public. Last week, Chris Marchion, an Anaconda public lands advocate at the center of the acquisition, bundled himself and his dog, Jordy, in Green Bay Packers gear, and drove up Stumptown Road to explore the parcel’s crown jewel — a 0.7-mile section of Warm Springs Creek, 1.5 miles from town.” [Montana Standard, 9/22/20 (=)]

Op-Ed, Editorial, and Analysis

Op-Ed: Ending Trump's transactional arrogance on our public lands. “Cynical, transactional arrogance like the Twin Bridges lease have driven management decisions in Trump’s America. The Biden administration must do better, returning science, Native traditional knowledge and restraint to stewardship of our legacy landscapes.” [The Hill, 11/20/20 (+)]

Op-Ed: Biden opens the door to protecting the Arctic Refuge. “Permanent protections for these and other Alaskan public lands are critical to addressing the climate crisis. Voters have given the incoming Biden administration a mandate to advance the most ambitious, pro-conservation and climate agenda of any president in American history. It’s now on all of us to roll up our sleeves and do the hard work to organize, advocate and fight for the legacy we hope to leave future generations.” [The Hill, 11/22/20 (+)]

Op-Ed: Administration has honored Native cultures. “These sacred artifacts were on display in the National Museum of Finland for over a century, and for more than 70 years, the United States government attempted to negotiate the return of these items. However, it was only under President Donald Trump’s leadership that the Interior and State Departments were able to successfully work alongside tribal governments to secure the return of these sacred remains and artifacts to their rightful resting place.” [Santa Fe New Mexican, 11/22/20 (-)]

Op-Ed: Political payback zeroes out LWCF funding for NM. “The New Mexico Wildlife Federation and its members look forward to working with a new administration, new state and federal leaders, and a new DOI secretary that will make equitable, science-based decisions about the management of our state’s beautiful public lands and natural resources. Sportsmen will continue to fight to make sure we get our fair share.” [Albuquerque Journal, 11/23/20 (+)]