Interior

 

Haaland To The Hill. According to Politico, “Interior Secretary Haaland will also be on the Hill, appearing before the House Appropriations Committee in the morning to discuss the Biden administration’s request to bump the Interior Department’s budget to $17.5 billion. Much of the increase would be to help the agency beef up its Bureau of Indian Affairs and aid efforts to quantify the effects of climate change. But ME has a sneaking suspicion that at least a few Congressional lawmakers will want to discuss the same thing they brought up when Haaland appeared before them last year: Interior’s plans for its oil and gas drilling on federal land. The department in November released the leasing program report that caused Haaland so much grief from lawmakers last year. But with the administration only now planning its first onshore oil lease, Republicans will likely want to bring up federal oil production amid continuing high crude prices.” [Politico, 4/28/22 (=)]

 

U.S. Interior Secretary To Promote Big Spending Jump For Tribal, Climate Programs. According to Louisiana Illuminator, “Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will ask a U.S. House spending panel to increase funding for the department’s tribal programs and climate resilience efforts, according to written testimony released ahead of a hearing scheduled for Thursday. The administration’s budget request for fiscal 2023 would significantly increase spending for the Interior Department. Its agencies oversee onshore oil and gas drilling, tribal assistance, national parks and wildlife policy, and manage public lands accounting for 10% of acreage across the country. Haaland’s written testimony to the House Appropriations Energy-Environment Subcommittee was published on a House website ahead of the hearing. The budget ‘sets ambitious goals, but they are achievable,’ Haaland’s written testimony to the committee reads. ‘Working together, we have the opportunity to invest now to strengthen our Nation for all Americans, protect our environment, and ensure our future generations continue to not only enjoy, but improve our way of life.’ Haaland is scheduled to appear before the panel Thursday. Her opening statement will likely be shortened from the written version. Members of the panel will be able to question her. Though President Joe Biden released a budget request last month, Congress has the sole authority to write spending bills. Cabinet officials typically appear on Capitol Hill to defend the spending request as part of the process.” [Louisiana Illuminator, 4/27/22 (=)]

 

Native American Hires Reflect Changing Interior Leadership. According to Politico, “Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is recruiting a notable number of Native American political appointees, a trend advocates hope will lead to greater consideration of Indigenous perspectives within a department that touches tribal lives in myriad ways. In the most recent moves, Interior last week announced a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Joel West Williams, as deputy solicitor for Indian Affairs, and a member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, Tracy Canard Goodluck, as a senior adviser to the assistant secretary for Indian affairs. Haaland, a member of New Mexico’s Laguna Pueblo, is the first Native American to head the Cabinet-level department. ‘We’ve never seen so much Native leadership,’ Kevin Washburn, a former Interior assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, told E&E News, adding that ‘we have seen less pigeonholing of Natives into the obvious positions, such as in Indian Affairs.’ Williams, for instance, is joining an office led by Solicitor Robert Anderson, an enrolled member of the Bois Forte Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. A key player in some of Interior’s decisionmaking, Anderson in particular has a top staff with significant Native American representation (Greenwire, July 23, 2021).” [Politico, 4/27/22 (=)]

 

BLM

 

AP | Disease Outbreak Kills Dozens Of Wild Horses At BLM Facility. According to Politico, “An outbreak of an undetermined and highly contagious disease has killed dozens of wild horses at a federal holding facility in southern Colorado. Bureau of Land Management officials say 67 horses have died since the outbreak began Saturday at the agency’s holding pen in Canon City, about 150 miles southwest of Denver. ‘We are working with local, state and federal officials to determine what is impacting horses in the facility and how we can respond as effectively as possible,’ said Stephen Leonard, the manager of the BLM Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Program. The facility, which is under voluntary quarantine, currently holds 2,550 horses. BLM officials say the horses that have been most affected by the disease were gathered from the West Douglas area last fall. No other information has been released.” [Politico, 4/27/22 (=)]

 

BOEM

 

BOEM Moves Toward Opening Oregon, Central Atlantic Coasts To Offshore Wind. According to Politico, “The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is taking initial steps to lease offshore wind off the coast of Oregon and in the Central Atlantic, the agency announced Wednesday. The action marks the first time the federal government has pursued such action with respect to offshore wind development off the Oregon coast. The information gained will be used to help determine potential impacts or conflicts before the agency officially designates areas for leasing. Details: BOEM said Wednesday it will publish two calls for information and nominations for possible leasing off the coast of Oregon and in the Central Atlantic. Off the Oregon coast, the agency is requesting information on two areas — the Coos Bay call area and the Brookings call area — that comprise nearly 1.2 million acres. Both areas begin about 12 nautical miles from the shore at their closest points and are off the coast of central and southern Oregon, respectively, the agency said. In the Central Atlantic, BOEM is seeking information on six areas representing about 3.9 million acres. The closest point to the shore is about 20 nautical miles off the Central Atlantic coast.” [Politico, 4/27/22 (=)]

 

Biden Admin Weighs Offshore Wind In Deepwater Atlantic, Ore. According to Politico, “The Biden administration announced today it is weighing a future round of offshore wind auctions by inviting feedback on potential leasing in the deep waters off the Mid-Atlantic states and the Oregon coast. It’s the latest move from the renewables-focused Interior Department to kick-start the nascent industry in the United States during Biden’s first term by approving the first fleet of offshore wind developments, auctioning federal waters for future projects, and advancing potential new areas for lease. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management will prepublish the invitation for public and industry feedback tomorrow in the Federal Register, weighing eight potential wind energy areas in the ocean. Two of those wind areas, representing more than 1.1 million acres roughly 12 nautical miles from shore, are being considered off the Oregon coast. An additional six areas, totaling 3.9 million acres, will also be evaluated. Those span from Maryland to North Carolina, including two in deep water as much as 56 nautical miles from the mid-Atlantic shore.” [Politico, 4/27/22 (=)]

 

FWS

 

Feds To Weigh Protections For Gopher Tortoises In Florida. According to WFOR-TV, “Federal wildlife officials will decide in the coming months whether increased protections are needed for gopher tortoises, as Florida looks for ways to move the animals out of the path of development. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Center for Biological Diversity reached a settlement Tuesday that will require the federal agency to determine by Sept. 30 whether gopher tortoises in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and eastern Alabama should be listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. The settlement came in a lawsuit that the Center for Biological Diversity filed last year that accused the federal agency of ‘dragging its feet’ on listing gopher tortoises and other species. ‘The tortoises need large, unfragmented, long-leaf pine forests to survive,’ the center said Tuesday in an announcement about the settlement. ‘They’re severely threatened by development-caused habitat loss and fragmentation, which limits food availability and options for burrow sites and exposes them to being crushed in their burrows during construction, run over by cars or shot.’” [WFOR-TV, 4/27/22 (=)]

 

Biden Administration Files Placeholder For Wolf Appeal. According to Duluth News Tribune, “The Biden administration this week filed a placeholder to appeal the February court order restoring federal protections for wolves across much of the U.S., including in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan. The administration filed a notice of appeal to a federal judge’s order in February restoring endangered species protections for gray wolves that were removed under the Trump administration late in 2020. It’s unclear, however, if the administration will continue with the appeal, with agency officials saying it was done only as a placeholder with the deadline for any appeal approaching. ‘The U.S. Department of Justice filed a protective notice regarding the recent decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on federal protections for gray wolves,’ the Interior Department said in a statement to the News Tribune on Wednesday afternoon ‘This action is a procedural step that will provide the federal government the time needed to assess its path forward and does not signal that the federal government has determined that an appeal will be pursued.’ … The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in November 2020 that the wolves no longer qualified for protections under the Endangered Species Act. The delisting rule applied to gray wolves across much of the contiguous U.S. and drew multiple lawsuits from environmental groups.” [Duluth News Tribune, 4/27/22 (=)]

 

Never Heard Of The Nelson's Checker-Mallow? Well, It's Back! According to Politico, “With more than 300,000 individual Nelson’s checker-mallow plants now inhabiting the West Coast, the Fish and Wildlife Service reckons the species is ready to stand on its own again. In an Endangered Species Act success story involving an otherwise unheralded plant, the service announced today its proposal to remove the Nelson’s checker-mallow from the ESA list of threatened species. The move marks a turnaround for a plant that has received federal protection since 1993. ‘Despite permanent habitat loss and modification, habitat restoration and protection projects have been implemented on both public and private lands throughout the range of Nelson’s checker-mallow,’ the service said. The agency added that ‘these projects offset some of the permanent habitat losses and, as a result, Nelson’s checker-mallow habitat is increasing.’ A herbaceous perennial, the Nelson’s checker-mallow produces 30 to 100 lavender to deep-pink flowers. It is found in the Willamette Valley and the Coast Range of Oregon and Washington, occupying a variety of habitats. Considering only sites that meet the minimum threshold of 200 individuals required to be considered an independent population, the service reports there are 332,935 individual plants, found in 42 populations.” [Politico, 4/27/22 (=)]

 

Reclamation

 

Lawmakers Question Water Program Cuts, Drought Response. According to Politico, “House lawmakers pressed leaders of the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation yesterday to explain how their agencies can help communities facing increasingly submerged coastlines, historic drought and an onslaught of floods. The House Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee reviewed budget proposals for the corps and Reclamation, touching on budget cuts and contentious rules taking shape at the corps and other agencies. Subcommittee Chair Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) said she was ‘discouraged’ by the Biden administration’s proposal to cut the corps’ budget by $1.7 billion and Reclamation’s budget by $486 million. Similar frustration was expressed among Senate appropriators earlier this month, with members pointing out President Joe Biden’s budget proposal would cut the corps’ budget by 21 percent compared to current spending levels (E&E Daily, April 7). ‘While historic investments were made through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in both of your agencies, we have more work to do to rebuild our nation’s crumbling infrastructure,’ Kaptur said.” [Politico, 4/28/22 (=)]

 

USDA

 

USFS

 

Forest Service Takes The Lead In E-Bike Access. According to Politico, “When the U.S. Forest Service updated its policy on e-bikes last month, the agency boasted that it now leads the way in allowing riders of electrical bicycles on 60,000 miles of trails. By comparison, the agency said, that’s more than three times the amount allowed by either the National Park Service or Bureau of Land Management. The Forest Service said it now allows the increasingly popular e-bikes on 38 percent of its trails. And the agency said its new policy would provide the guidance for expanding the use of e-bikes on even more trails. ‘National forests and grasslands are a place for all people to recreate, relax and refresh,’ Forest Service Chief Randy Moore said on March 31, when the agency rolled out its new policy. While the Forest Service is setting the pace for e-bike access, the agency is following the lead of both NPS and BLM in letting local officials decide exactly where they can be used. And while the issue has stirred plenty of controversy in recent years, officials at the public land agencies defend the use of e-bikes, saying they’ve made it much easier for older and disabled Americans to gain access to public trails. ‘Where appropriate, electric bikes are a great resource to enhance accessibility for people who may not be able to use traditional bicycles and expanding opportunities for people to recreate and travel within the park system,’ said Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, the NPS chief of public affairs.” [Politico, 4/27/22 (=)]

 

Congress

 

Op-Ed: The World Is Watching, Stop The Double Talk. According to an op-ed by Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) in The Washington Times, “The Biden administration’s energy policy, or lack thereof, is mind-boggling. This 2050 fantasy has distorted their vision to the point they can’t see the geopolitical moment before us today. Our allies are asking for help. We can meet it if we unleash American energy production, but the absolute intransigence of the administration’s environmental regime stands in the way. Here are the facts. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, total U.S. energy-related carbon dioxide emissions fell by 12% from 2005 to 2018. During the same period, the U.S. became the number one energy producer in the world, but global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions increased over 23.8%. So, our energy production increased while our emissions decreased, but the globe trended the opposite direction. Somehow President Biden concluded American energy was the problem. We need more domestic energy production to meet global demand, not less. This President and his administration want to impose their mediocrity not only on North Dakota, but the entire nation by hamstringing our energy independence. On Day One, they canceled the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have delivered heavy Canadian crude to Gulf Coast refineries instead of relying on Russia or Venezuela. They banned new oil and gas leases on federal lands despite quarterly lease sales mandated in the Mineral Leasing Act. They halted drilling in Alaska’s 1002 area, which again, contradicts the law.” [The Washington Times, 4/27/22 (-)]

 

Ryan Zinke's Fossil Fuel Ties A Focus In House Race. According to Politico, “Ryan Zinke’s ties to the fossil fuel industry are coming under increasing scrutiny as the former Interior secretary attempts to win a House seat. In his bid to represent Montana’s newly created 1st District, the Republican has brought in more than $90,000 in campaign contributions from employees and political action committees of oil and gas companies, according to an OpenSecret analysis. That total, which doesn’t include first-quarter disclosures that were filed this month, is more than any other nonincumbent congressional candidate, the organization found. Meanwhile, Monica Tranel, one of the Democrats vying to run against Zinke in the November election, is aiming to make Zinke’s industry connections a pocketbook issue for voters amid historically high fuel prices. She sent an open letter this month to ConocoPhillips Co. CEO Ryan Lance, asking the company to stop paying Zinke, citing the $460,000 in consulting fees the candidate received over two years and disclosed last year as part of his campaign. ‘I believe that the minimal effort Conoco/Phillips should take to have any credibility here in Montana, your home state, is to cut off the financial spigot to Ryan Zinke and discontinue the lucrative contracts you have provided him,’ she wrote, calling it ‘tiny ‘belt-tightening’ that ‘will at least be symbolic to Montanans who are going through belt-tightening of their own.’ … His funders have included ConocoPhillips’ PAC, along with the PACs of Marathon Petroleum Corp., TC Energy Corp., Occidental Petroleum Corp., Continental Resources Inc., Chesapeake Energy Corp., the American Petroleum Institute and the National Mining Association, among others, according to Federal Election Commission filings.” [Politico, 4/28/22 (=)]

 

Supreme Court

 

Supreme Court Returns To Landmark Okla. Tribal Lands Dispute. According to Politico, “Supreme Court justices yesterday considered calls by Oklahoma to rein in the reach of a landmark ruling that recognized nearly half the state as Indian Country. In Oklahoma v. Victor Manuel Castro-Huerta — the final oral argument of the Supreme Court term and the last case to be heard by Stephen Breyer before he retires — liberal justices and Neil Gorsuch questioned the Sooner State’s argument for limiting the scope of the court’s 2020 ruling in McGirt v. Oklahoma. The 5-4 ruling established that 19 million acres in Oklahoma was the land of the Muscogee (Creek), Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and Seminole nations — a decision that has affected state energy regulation. Yesterday’s arguments focused on whether the federal government had exclusive jurisdiction over crimes committed by non-Native Americans against tribal members on reservation land. … In the years since McGirt, the Supreme Court has shifted from a 5-4 to a 6-3 conservative majority. Oklahoma had urged the court’s newly bolstered conservative wing to overturn the decision, which has expanded federal control over coal mining and other issues (E&E News PM, Dec. 22, 2021). Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the latest addition to the court since McGirt, did not appear to tip her hand during arguments. She asked clarifying questions about criminal statutes and asked if a decision from the Supreme Court could lead to conflict about whether or not the perpetrator of a crime was a tribal member.” [Politico, 4/28/22 (=)]

 

States

 

Indigenous Groups Fight Climate Change By Getting Their 'Land Back’. According to ABC, “Native and Indigenous tribes are using traditional skills on reacquired ancestral land to combat climate change.” [ABC, 4/27/22 (+)]

 

How Placement Of Private Land Makes Public Areas In The West Inaccessible. According to KJZZ-Radio, “Dating back to the earliest days of western expansion in the Untied States is a collection of checkerboard patterns that divide public lands from private lands. As a challenge to what they considered to be archaic policies, a group of hunters from Missouri decided to cut some of those checkerboards in Wyoming — and they found themselves facing federal trespassing charges. To learn more about Western land policies and what the Missouri hunters may have been trying to accomplish, The Show spoke with Aaron Weiss, deputy director for the Center for Western Priorities.” [KJZZ-Radio, 4/27/22 (+)]

 

Montana Oil And Gas Industry Welcomes Resumed Federal Lease Sales, But Economic Hurdles Still Exist. According to The Center Square, “Montana’s oil and gas industry welcomes the continuation of lease sales on federal lands, but it could still be tough economically, industry representatives say. Earlier this month, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) posted notices for resumed lease sales after a federal judge halted the Biden administration’s executive order freezing lease sales on federal lands. The BLM, however, increased royalty rates to 18.75% and said the onshore lease sales would only be offered at 20% of eligible acreage. Alan Olson, executive director of the Montana Petroleum Association, told The Center Square that the signals coming from the Biden administration aren’t encouraging. ‘The industry listens to the signals coming out of the administration and believe me that the Biden administration is not sending out very strong signals that they want this industry to proceed,’ he said. Whether companies will take part in lease sales depends on where the land is located, according to Olson. ‘If they’re located in some of these regional shale plays, they’ll take advantage of it,’ he said. ‘If they’re located in an area where a company is trying to put together an exploration package, it could work out.’ But if it’s near an exploration site, the leases could gum up the works, he said.” [The Center Square, 4/27/22 (=)]

 

Nevada Tribe Claims ‘Desecration’ As Digging Begins At Site Of Planned Lithium Mine. According to Aspen Public Radio, “As archaeologists begin excavation work at a site in northern Nevada that could become the largest open-pit lithium mine in the world, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony is demanding that the archaeologists, hired by miner Lithium Nevada, halt the dig. ‘These sanctioned excavations are inappropriate and they’re unethical,’ said Michon Eben, the tribe’s historic preservation officer. The tribe says the site is sacred ground, where their Paiute ancestors were massacred by U.S. cavalry in 1865. They call it ‘Peehee Mu’huh,’ or rotten moon, though it’s more commonly known as Thacker Pass. Last week, the tribe sent a letter to the archaeology firm, Far Western Anthropological Research Group, urging the company to ‘refuse to participate in the desecration of Thacker Pass for corporate greed.’ A federal judge ruled last fall that historical accounts of the massacre provided by the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and the Oregon-based Burns Paiute Tribe were ‘too speculative’ to warrant blocking the dig. The tribes say that’s because the federal government failed to consult all area tribes who attach religious and cultural significance to Thacker Pass as it rushed to approve the mine before the end of Donald Trump’s presidency in early 2021. Mine developer Lithium Nevada says it’s working with the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes to ensure artifacts are protected and preserved. The company noted that last month it hosted, at the tribes’ request, a training for about 30 tribal members interested in monitoring the archaeological excavations. But the mine itself has the Fort McDermitt community – and other stakeholders – deeply divided.” [Aspen Public Radio, 4/26/22 (=)]

 

Nonsurface Drilling On State Lands In Pennsylvania Could Spur Hundreds Of Millions In Royalties. According to KPVI-TV, “A Pennsylvania House Republican wants to end the state’s moratorium on oil and natural gas leases on state-owned land, as a matter of foreign policy and of solving some of the state’s economic issues. ‘I’m looking for ways to say, ‘Hey, what can we do in Pennsylvania to stop buying gas from people who absolutely hate us?’ said Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Wellsboro. Owlett’s proposed HB2461 would allow oil and natural gas development on state forest and park property for nonsurface drilling. Essentially, well sites outside state-owned land could drill horizontally for natural resources without building new well pads on state property, subject to approval from the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The secretary would have 60 days to approve or deny a lease. Owlett argued that allowing drilling would be more environmentally friendly than in the past, given better data and technological improvements. ‘We’ve learned a lot since 2010 and we know where the gas is at – the technology has gone in an amazing way that we can access vast amounts of those resources without even touching foot on state property,’ Owlett said.” [KPVI-TV, 4/27/22 (=)]

 

 

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