White House

 

Biden To Invoke Defense Production Act On Battery Minerals. According to Politico, “The plan calls for Biden to invoke Title III of the Defense Production Act, according to the person. Title III allows the president to use loans, direct purchases and other government-backed business investments to incentivize production of goods and materials. Biden has used the law in the past to boost medical equipment manufacturing to aid hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has rattled the clean energy sector by increasing volatility in metals markets, driving up the prices for key minerals like nickel, aluminum and palladium. It has also shaken those most likely to deal with the immediate impacts from a domestic push on mineral mining, including Native American communities (Greenwire, March 10). If Biden goes through with the order, it would certainly please Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who wrote a letter to the president earlier this month requesting the law be invoked for mineral production (Greenwire, March 25). Last night, House Natural Resources Chair Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) wrote his own letter to the president, urging him ‘to forgo any action on critical minerals using the Defense Production Act,’ citing a risk to ‘natural resources and environmental justice communities.’ … The Interior and Energy departments will help implement the plan and help ensure it will not bypass or expedite the permitting or environmental review process, the person said.” [Politico, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

Interior

 

Tribal Leaders Push For More Involvement In Federal Water Policymaking. According to KNAU-Radio, “Several tribal leaders met with U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland this week to advocate for their involvement in federal water policymaking. They want full participation in water allocation decisions in a time of increased scarcity. Monday’s meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., focused on long-term management of the Colorado River Basin. Leaders of the Navajo Nation and 19 other tribes want assurances that Indigenous communities in the West will have universal access to clean drinking water as part of the government’s federal trust responsibility. Tribal leaders pressed Haaland to include them in future decision-making and, according to Navajo President Jonathan Nez’s office, she committed to more government-to-government consultation with tribes over water policy. ‘The Navajo Nation has a dire need for access to clean water ... Proposed operations of the Colorado River Basin can directly impact water sustainability for Navajo communities,’ said Nez in a press release. ‘The Navajo Nation needs to be included as a full participant in all discussions that affect the Navajo Nation’s water.’ Nez says tribes have historically been excluded from federal and state water management decisions. About 30% of Navajo residents lack running water.” [KNAU-Radio, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

A Crisis Could Be Brewing In The Gulf Of Mexico. According to Rigzone, “Jeopardized American energy security and a cost of thousands of U.S. jobs and billions in government revenue. That’s what we could see if there is a lapse in the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) five-year program for leasing in the Gulf of Mexico, according to a new analysis by the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), which was prepared by Energy and Industrial Advisory Partners (EIAP). The next five-year offshore leasing program must be in place by July 1, 2022, but is well behind schedule, and no offshore lease sales can be held unless DOI implements a new program, API noted in a statement posted on its website. Nearly 60,000 jobs could be lost without the five-year offshore leasing program and a delay could mean nearly 500,000 barrels per day less in Gulf of Mexico production from 2022 to 2040, according to the report. On average, $1.5 billion per year in government revenue could be lost with reduced offshore production, the report noted. A lapse in the program would impact Louisiana more than any other state, costing thousands of jobs and millions in lost economic activity in Louisiana, the report highlighted. Nearly 14,000 jobs could be lost without the program and a delayed program could result in a loss of around $1.3 billion in contributions to Louisiana’s economy, according to the report.” [Rigzone, 3/30/22 (-)]

 

BLM

 

Stone-Manning: BLM Sage Grouse Changes, Grazing Rule Coming Soon. According to Politico, “Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning told a ranching advocacy group today that the bureau will soon propose amendments to sweeping federal greater sage grouse plans covering millions of acres in an effort to save the bird. Stone-Manning, speaking at the Public Lands Council’s online annual legislative conference by Zoom, also indicated that BLM is nearing completion of a new rule governing livestock grazing on more than 150 million acres of federal lands. While Stone-Manning did not disclose specifics about the potential ‘amendments’ to the sage grouse management plans, or details on the grazing rule, she did say that both are key components of an overarching effort by the Biden administration to make federal rangelands ‘resilient’ to the effects of a warming climate and the ongoing drought plaguing much of the West. ‘We’re working really hard to develop a suite of policies and management actions to manage drought, provide flexibility of use, restore ecologic function and conserve really important resource values in the face of climate change and extreme drought,’ Stone-Manning said. ‘You all know this much better than I do because you are literally on the ground facing it every day.’ The extreme drought will mark how BLM manages grazing and other activities on federal lands in the future, she said.” [Politico, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

People Have An Extra Month To Weigh In On Chaco Canyon Drilling Ban. According to Source NM, “The public will have another month to give the Bureau of Land Management input on the proposal that would ban mineral extraction for more than 351,000 acres around Chaco Canyon National Historical Park. Last week federal officials said the public comment period would extend to May 6, 2022. The extension also allows for the federal government to host two in-person meetings for people to weigh in on the change. The two listening sessions scheduled the last week of April are in Farmington and Albuquerque They require registration for people to attend and speak. Bureau of Land Management officials said the meetings will be capped at 45 individuals, and a person can attend only one session. Each session will have Navajo-language translators available for participants, they said. In November, the Biden administration initiated the process that, if approved, would issue a 20-year ban of new federal oil and gas leasing within a 10-mile radius around Chaco Canyon. The move was celebrated by a coalition of Pueblo, Hopi and Navajo leaders who have fought for decades to end oil and gas operations around Chaco Canyon.” [Source NM, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

Navajo Fight Biden Administration’s Plan To Fence Off Drilling Around New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon. According to The Washington Times, “President Biden is looking to other countries such as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for oil even as he seeks to throttle drilling near New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon, much to the frustration of Navajo Nation members, including Ervin Chavez. Mr. Chavez is one of the thousands of Navajo who own mineral rights around Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwestern New Mexico. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland wants to establish a 20-year ban on new oil and gas leasing on federal lands within a 10-mile buffer zone of the park. The proposed withdrawal of 351,479 acres would not apply to privately held lands. Given that the region is a checkerboard of public and private property, the measure effectively would strand mineral resources on the allotted lands of Navajo families. ‘If they freeze all the federal lands in and around the allotment lands out in the northern part of Chaco Canyon, it basically will isolate the allotment lands,’ said Mr. Chavez, who heads the Shii Shi Keyah Association, a group of Navajo Nation mineral allottees. ‘It would not make it feasible for oil companies to go in and drill when they know all the other lands are frozen.’ Drilling provides an important source of revenue in struggling San Juan County, and the allotments support U.S. energy production as the nation grapples with a fuel crunch exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine last month.” [The Washington Times, 3/30/22 (+)]

 

Damage To Utah Dinosaur Tracks May Not Be Fixable. According to Politico, “A Bureau of Land Management paleontologist has found that BLM staffers building a new boardwalk at Utah’s Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite damaged priceless fossil beds by driving over them with a backhoe and other equipment, and that not much can be done to repair the damage. The paleontological assessment released today also found that BLM’s construction crew failed to properly mark areas with sensitive resources, making it easier to accidentally drive over or place heavy equipment on top of them. The report concludes that, overall, ‘damage to the tracks and traces as the result of impacts from construction activities appears minor.’ But the damage that was done likely cannot be fixed. ‘Unfortunately, little can be done to restore broken or eroded tracks left exposed in situ,’ the assessment says. ‘In addition, small microfractures may well have formed because of the weight of the machinery on the track-bearing surface.’ The result, it concludes, is that ‘natural degradation may be accelerated in these areas in the future.’” [Politico, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

FWS

 

FWS Director Seeks Common Ground With Ranchers.  According to Politico, “Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams showed two facets of her agenda this morning, taking endangered species action and pitching cooperation with ranchers and other public land users. In a presentation this morning before a virtual meeting of the Public Lands Council, Williams repeatedly stressed the benefits of building good working relationships with those affected by her agency’s sometimes controversial actions. ‘I want to be very strong on building within the Fish and Wildlife Service a culture where our partnerships in this coordinated effort [come] first and foremost, so that we’re not seen, as I think is so often the case, as being [just] a regulator,’ Williams said. The Public Lands Council represents cattle and sheep producers who hold public land grazing permits, many of whom have chafed, in particular, under the federal agency’s application of the Endangered Species Act. ‘A lot of our producers are frustrated with the durability of [ESA] delisting rules,’ noted Kaitlynn Glover, executive director of the Public Lands Council, noting the example of litigation that’s shifted the listing status of the gray wolf.” [Politico, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

Congress

 

Pushing For Wildfire Solutions Is An Uphill Battle In Congress, Rep. Joe Neguse Says. According to Colorado Public Radio, “Marshall. Cameron Peak. East Troublesome. Calwood. And now NCAR. These are just some of the wildfires that have burned through Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse’s district since 2020. ‘I’ve been frustrated by the inability of the Congress to take this threat as seriously as I think it needs to be taken,’ Neguse said, who spoke on the House floor Wednesday urging Congress to do more. In his office later, he recounted a conversation he had the day before. A colleague had come up to him to say that wildfire season’s really rough in Colorado. ‘There is no season. It’s year-round,’ Neguse responded. ‘I do think that the proliferation, the pervasiveness of wildfires in Colorado…underscores the need for Congress to get serious about … taking the steps necessary to address what is clearly a crisis that is not going to go away,’ Neguse added. For his part, Neguse has offered several bills to tackle this issue over this tenure in the House. His proposals range from helping homeowners in the wake of a wildfire to increasing wildfire management funds. He and GOP Rep. John Curtis of Utah even launched a bipartisan wildfire caucus at the start of 2021 to push the issue in the House, as well advocate for legislative solutions, though the caucus hasn’t grown as fast as Neguse had hoped.” [Colorado Public Radio, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

Op-Ed: Uranium Industry Is The Latest To Hop On The Bandwagon Taking Advantage Of Tragedy In Ukraine. According to an op-ed by Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ-03) in The Hill, “What the industry’s long sought-after price controls and taxpayer subsidies would do, however, is allow currently unprofitable operations to come back online. At the top of industry executives’ wish list would undoubtedly be the Grand Canyon region, an area that has been under constant threat of uranium mining for decades. In 2011 alone, uranium speculators filed more than 10,000 mining claims in and near the Grand Canyon. The benefits of mining in the area are minimal—the Grand Canyon region contains less than one percent of known U.S. uranium reserves—but the risks to the environment and people living in the area are astronomical. The Grand Canyon region is home to some our most unique scenic and natural resources. It is also the ancestral homeland of the numerous tribal communities, including the Havasupai Tribe, also known as the Guardians of the Grand Canyon. One of the uranium mines—the Canyon mine—sits above the sole drinking water source of the Havasupai tribe and risks impacting the Colorado River, on which 40 million Americans, from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, rely for their drinking water. The mine has already pierced a major aquifer, leading to the mining company having to pump water out of the mine shaft and spray the uranium-contaminated water into a nearby national forest.” [The Hill, 3/30/22 (+)]

 

States

 

Why Newsom's 30x30 Plan Excludes Sustainable Agriculture. According to Agri-Pulse, “California has eight years to complete Gov. Gavin Newsom’s goal of conserving 30% of the state’s land and coastal waters—adding about six million acres to an already sizable portion of protected lands. Since Newsom launched the 30x30 commitment in 2020, the agriculture community has been asking how the administration will factor in existing efforts like agricultural easements and healthy soils practices. A draft plan released in December shows that many of those practices would not fall within the 30x30 framework. Farm groups worry that excluding agriculture in this way portrays farmers as not contributing to the objectives of protecting biodiversity, sequestering carbon and building climate resilience. Those groups, along with environmental interests, are hoping for significant changes to the document before the administration finalizes it in a month. Further logistical hurdles stand in the way as the 30x30 program seeks to inventory all existing conservation efforts—information often buried within an array of local, state and federal programs and that may exist only in paper form in a forgotten filing cabinet. The state is also grappling with a range of definitions for conservation that occasionally contrast with broader federal objectives in conserving land. State officials have recently narrowed the focus of the 30x30 effort to prioritize land that is ‘durably protected’ and now describe 30x30 as just ‘one piece within a larger conservation puzzle’ for the administration.” [Agri-Pulse, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

AP | US Approves Bison Grazing On Montana Prairie Amid Criticism. According to WTOP-Radio, “U.S. officials on Wednesday announced approval of a conservation group’s proposal to expand bison grazing on prairies in north-central Montana as part of a vast nature reserve over objections from some ranchers and elected officials. The decision allows the American Prairie group to graze bison on U.S. Bureau of Land Management property and to remove about 30 miles (48 kilometers) of fences so the animals can roam more freely. The Bozeman-based group already has more than 800 bison on a mix of public and private land. Its long-term goal is to piece together a 5,000-square-mile (12,950-square-kilometer) expanse that would include the C.M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge and have thousands of bison and other wildlife. Some cattle ranches have sold property to the group as it amasses land to create the reserve, but others have fiercely opposed the effort. The critics worry that bison will displace cattle and that their agriculture-dependent communities will be forever altered.” [WTOP-Radio, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

Report: Habitat Loss Causing Significant Impact On Game Species. According to Public News Service, “New York’s game species are literally losing ground, as human development and climate change is restricting their native habitats. A new report from the National Wildlife Federation found game species across the country lost, on average, 6.5 million acres of habitat over the past two decades. It is a trend advocates contended will continue unless lawmakers take action. Aaron Kindle, director of sporting advocacy for the National Wildlife Federation, said hunters and anglers are important partners when discussing the issue with legislators. ‘Hunters and anglers, the ones who go out and pursue those species, are the ones who are appropriate for finding the solutions, advocating for the solutions, talking to members of Congress and getting this stuff happening,’ Kindle asserted. Kindle pointed out one possible solution to America’s habitat loss is the 30x30 target, which calls for restoring and preserving 30% of America’s lands by 2030. The plan has earned the endorsement of the Biden-Harris administration, which has renamed the strategy the America the Beautiful initiative. Kindle noted the 30x30 plan would provide an avenue to restore and rehabilitate the nation’s lands and waters. He added restoring natural infrastructure such as rivers, forests and wetlands would benefit everyone.” [Public News Service, 3/31/22 (=)]

 

Advocates Urge Moving Renewables Away From Public Lands And Into Cities. According to KUNM-Radio, “Scientists often point to large-scale solar power as a big solution to our climate crisis. But, these energy projects do come with a cost — the damage and even destruction of our public lands and wildlife. In a historic move, the Bureau of Land Management has proposed that over 90,000 acres of public lands in Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada be set aside for solar development. This would be the single largest solicitation of utility-scale solar energy development to date, with just about 30,000 acres up for grabs in New Mexico. That’s the equivalent of putting solar paneling on one-fourth of Albuquerque. State Trust Lands, which are mostly open to the public for hunting, fishing, hiking, and other outdoor recreational uses, also house large solar arrays. New Mexico has leased 11 total active projects on these lands across the state, with around 35 more applications for future endeavors coming down the pipeline. Solar is growing fast in the Southwest. But this has activists like Kevin Emmerich, co-founder of the environmental organization Basin and Range Watch, alarmed about the serious demands solar puts on the landscape. ‘They need thousands of acres and they’re just removing habitat for several of the iconic desert species like the desert tortoise and the Joshua Tree,’ Emmerich said.” [KUNM-Radio, 3/30/22 (=)]

 

Op-Ed: Thank You, Rep. Blake Moore, For Making Public Lands More Accessible. According to an op-ed by Lauren Ryan in Deseret News, “The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache and Ashley National forests are iconic public lands in our neck of the woods. They provide countless opportunities to pursue big game such as elk and mule deer, fish for trout in cold streams, habitat for upland game birds and space to enjoy the great outdoors. Utah GOP Rep. Blake Moore, a member of the House Natural Resources Committee, helped successfully pass legislation this week that would have significant benefits for hunters, anglers and outdoor recreators who enjoy these Utah gems and others like them. HR3113 — the Modernizing Access to our Public Land Act — is important for hunters, anglers and outdoor recreators because it requires public land management agencies to digitize map records on accessible public lands. This means less accessible paper maps are going to be available on a cellphone screen, our modern mapping device, and more easily accessible for the vast majority of Americans. The Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Forest Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers have thousands of paper records to standardize, compile and release for digital access. This new wealth of publicly available information will allow us to discover new opportunities on our public lands and waters.” [Deseret News, 3/30/22 (+)]

 

 

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