Congress

 

Senate

 

'Over My Dead Body': Senators Slam Klein Over Leasing Plan — “Senate lawmakers took their turn bombarding administration officials Thursday about President Joe Biden’s offshore oil strategy and proposed protections for the Rice’s whale. Republicans were the administration’s main critics during a House Natural Resources hearing last week. On Thursday, officials had to contend with scorn from Energy and Natural Resources Chair Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). ‘This administration has been doing everything it can to discourage development of offshore oil and gas,’ Manchin said during a hearing. … Ranking member John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) accused Elizabeth Klein, director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, of trying to ‘kill’ the offshore oil business. … When Klein pointed to sustained disinterest from oil companies, Murkowski blamed the administration for being hostile to fossil fuels. ‘When you’re wondering why you can’t get interest in your lease sales, maybe you need to be looking to some of the self-imposed barriers that the administration is placing on us,’ Murkowski said. ‘The fact that people like you can go up there and have a nice vacation is great,’ said the senator. ‘But we need jobs.’ Murkowski said the state would import liquefied natural gas from Canada to replace declining supplies ‘over my dead body.’” [E&E News, 10/27/23 (=)]

 

House

 

House Committee Approves Bill To Expand Offshore Drilling — “A deeply divided House Natural Resources Committee approved legislation Thursday to mandate at least 10 oil lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and three more off the coast of Alaska by Aug. 31, 2028. In a sharp Republican retort to the Biden administration’s smaller lease-sale plan, the amended bill authored by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.), H.R. 5616, passed largely along party lines 22-17 margin. It expands Graves’ original bill, which would have ordered four lease sales to start next March and conclude in August 2025. ‘President [Joe] Biden has a dismal track record on energy, most recently issuing the worst offshore energy plan in history,’ said Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.). ‘There’s no way around it. The world has an ever increasing need for energy and American resources are the best possible solutions.’ Graves’ ‘Bringing Reliable Investment into Domestic Gulf Energy Production Act’ mandates that each of the 10 Gulf of Mexico lease sales cover at least 80 million acres. The original bill was also bolstered by a separate amendment from Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) that added three more mandatory lease sales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.” [E&E News, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

GOP Seeks To Mandate Lease Sales — “The House Natural Resources Committee on Thursday sent a bill to the floor from Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) that would require the Interior Department to hold at least 10 offshore oil lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and three more off the Alaska coast in the next five years. That would be a sharp increase from Interior’s plan to hold only three Gulf lease sales through 2029, a schedule that has drawn criticism from Republican and some moderate Democrats. Alaska Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola voted for the amendment to mandate the three Alaska sales, as well as to advance the bill, H.R. 5616 (118), out of committee.” [Politico, 10/27/23 (=)]

 

Dems Say Not So Fast — “More than 50 Congressional Democrats urged the Biden administration Thursday to protect more of the Arctic by heading off any plans to expand oil drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska. ‘In order to meet our nation’s stated climate and conservation goals, it is critical that your Administration considers additional protective measures and takes proactive action to safeguard the Reserve from any planned developments, such as a westward expansion of Willow and the Peregrine Oil Project,’ wrote the lawmakers, led by Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Maria Cantwell of Washington, along with Rep. Jared Huffman of California. The missive comes the same day that Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska blasted the administration from failing to include the Arctic federal waters off her state for consideration for offshore oil leases in its proposed five-year offshore lease plan. Murkowski said the decades-long slowdown in energy production in the state could lead to shortages of fuel in what had once been an oil and gas powerhouse.” [Politico, 10/27/23 (=)]

 

Op-Ed: Rep. Boebert Seeking To Leave Taxpayers With Oil & Gas Cleanup — According to Aaron Weiss, “The House Natural Resources Committee held a subcommittee hearing yesterday on a draft bill sponsored by Colorado Representative Lauren Boebert that would prevent the Interior department from completing a rule that implements reforms to the federal oil and gas leasing system, signed into law as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. During the hearing, Rep. Boebert claimed that the rule is ‘proof that Joe Biden is using every tool in his administration to dismantle American energy production,’ and went on to call it ‘unjustifiable.’ On the contrary, the rulemaking that is underway would simply implement the law as passed, and enact long-overdue reforms to the bonds that drillers have to post in order to ensure oil and gas wells are cleaned up if companies go bankrupt. The recent reforms to the oil and gas leasing system are already working. It’s no wonder Representative Boebert wants to erase them and put industry back in charge of America’s public lands. When companies profit off publicly-owned oil and gas, the least they can do is clean up after themselves. Representative Boebert’s bill would let them walk away and leave taxpayers with the bill.” [Pagosa Daily Post, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

 

Department of the Interior (DOI)

 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

 

Outrage, Disinformation And Threats Rise Up In Wyoming Around A BLM Land Plan — “‘This is probably the biggest disaster in the United States, affecting more people than the Civil War, Pearl Harbor or 9/11 combined,’ Wyoming state Rep. Bill Allemand said. ‘I urge everyone to call the governor and ask him to stop this state-killing … plan.’ Of what calamity was Allemand speaking? Was it the state’s suicide epidemic (highest rate in the nation)? Or perhaps the ongoing opioid crisis? Nope. The state lawmaker was referring to the new resource management plan proposed by the Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs field office, which recommends increased protections on portions of a 3.6-million-acre swath of public lands in southwestern Wyoming, including the sparse and spectacular endorheic basin of the Red Desert. Oh, the horror. Allemand’s not alone in his hyperbolic reaction to the 1,300-page, two-volume document, 12 years in the making. The plan has become the focal point of the latest Sagebrush Rebellion flare-up, inspiring a storm of incendiary rhetoric, a flood of disinformation and threats to federal land managers. Sen. John Barrasso said it is ‘attacking our Wyoming way of life,’ while Rep. Harriet Hageman said it would ‘prohibit and bar all access, management and use of vast swaths of federal land.’” [High Country News, 10/26/23 (+)]

 

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)

 

AP | Gulf Oil Lease Sale Postponed By Court Amid Litigation Over Endangered Whale Protections — “A sale of federal Gulf of Mexico oil and gas leases that had been scheduled for Nov. 8 was delayed Thursday by a federal appeals court, pending court arguments that focus on protections for an endangered whale species. The Biden administration announced the sale in March and originally scheduled it for Sept. 27. But, in August, the administration reduced the the area available for leases from 73 million acres (30 million hectares) to 67 million acres (27 million hectares), as part of a plan to protect the endangered Rice’s whale. The changes from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, also included new speed limits and new requirements for personnel on industry vessels in some of the areas to be leased. Oil and gas companies sued, resulting in a Lake Charles-based federal judge’s order throwing out the changes. The administration appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. The appeals court initially set the sale for Nov. 8 while the appeal proceeded. On Thursday, however, the court issued an order that delays the sale until some time after the case is argued on Nov. 13. BOEM had adopted the reduced area and new rules for the lease sale as part of an agreement the administration reached with environmentalists in efforts to settle a whale-protection lawsuit filed in federal court in Maryland.” [KOB-TV, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

Latest Gulf Of Mexico Oil And Gas Auction Is On Hold Again After Appeals Court Ruling — “A New Orleans federal appeals court has paused a contested Gulf of Mexico oil and gas auction that was scheduled for November, court records show. Oil and gas supporters and environmentalists have fought over the fate of the auction ever since the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management planned to reduce the scope by several million acres about a month before the auction’s original late September date. That reduction was tied to a settlement the Biden administration reached with environmental groups in a separate court case related to marine species regulations from the Trump administration. That settlement was made in an effort to help the Rice’s whale, a critically endangered Gulf species. Industry advocates cried foul, and the American Petroleum Institute — along with Chevron, Shell and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, now the state’s governor-elect — took the Biden administration to court over what they called ‘arbitrary and unlawful last-minute changes’ to the auction. The auction, also known as a lease sale, will allow oil and gas companies to bid for potential exploration and extraction space in the Gulf.” [The Advocate, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

Last Gulf Of Mexico Oil Lease Sale Until 2025 Blocked By Court — “The Biden administration will be at least temporarily barred from selling new offshore oil leases in the Gulf of Mexico amid concerns about the risks to a critically endangered whale, under a ruling Thursday by a Louisiana-based federal circuit court. The ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans is a blow to the oil industry, including the American Petroleum Institute as well as units of Chevron Corp. and Shell Plc which had pushed for the auction, set to be the last of its kind until 2025. The Fifth Circuit stayed an earlier injunction that had required the Interior Department to hold the lease sale by Nov. 8, including some 6 million acres it had previously pulled off the auction block. The agency also would have been forced to scrap planned vessel traffic limitations meant to provide habitat for the Rice’s whale. The sale and those requirements are now effectively on hold until the Fifth Circuit can consider the merits of the issue.” [Bloomberg, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

Court Freezes Gulf Oil Leasing In Whale Habitat — “Federal judges have removed a court-ordered deadline for a massive Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sale as they consider the potential effects on the endangered Rice’s whale. In a brief order Wednesday, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked a decision requiring the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to add 6 million acres of the whale’s habitat back into Lease Sale 261. BOEM had sought to exclude the acreage and include other protections to lessen the impact of the congressionally mandated sale on the whales. The 5th Circuit also froze its own prior order postponing the oil and gas lease sale until Nov. 8. The move effectively delays a requirement that BOEM hold the sale as the 5th Circuit considers the case. The court has set oral arguments for Nov. 13. It’s unclear how quickly it might rule on the case. Steve Mashuda, an Earthjustice attorney representing environmental groups advocating for Rice’s whale protections, said the organization is looking forward to presenting its arguments to the 5th Circuit. ‘We’ll continue to press for restoring basic measures to prevent harm to the critically endangered Rice’s Whale,’ Mashuda said in an emailed statement.” [E&E News, 10/27/23 (=)]

 

Court Indefinitely Blocks Gulf Oil Leasing Deadline Set For Nov. 8 — “A federal appeals court on Thursday indefinitely stayed an earlier order requiring the Biden administration to hold a November oil lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, though it’s unclear whether the administration will immediately proceed with the sale. The Interior Department is required to hold the lease sale under the text of the Inflation Reduction Act, the sweeping climate and infrastructure bill President Biden signed into law last year. This August, the administration announced it would shrink the leasing area by about 6 million acres, citing dangers to the habitat of the critically endangered Rice’s whale. The following month, however, a federal judge blocked the restriction and ordered the sale to include those 6 million acres. Judge James Cain, a Trump appointee, sided with plaintiffs including the state of Louisiana and energy companies, writing they ‘have demonstrated substantial potential costs.’ The sale, which was initially given a deadline of Sept. 27, which was later pushed back to Nov. 8.” [The Hill, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

5th Circ. Puts Removal Of Gulf Whale Protections On Hold — “The Fifth Circuit on Thursday paused a Louisiana federal court’s order stripping protections for endangered whales that had been added to a Gulf of Mexico oil and gas lease sale, agreeing to stay the preliminary injunction while conservation groups appeal that decision. The appellate court stayed the September decision via a one-paragraph order that didn’t elaborate on its rationale. The order pauses U.S. District Judge James D. Cain’s order siding with petroleum interests and removing last-minute restrictions placed on Lease Sale 261, which covers nearly 70 million acres in the Gulf. Judge Cain ordered the government to hold the lease sale — without any protections for the endangered whales — by the beginning of November. Now the terms of the injunction are on hold until the Fifth Circuit weighs in on the groups’ appeal. Oral arguments have been scheduled for Nov. 13, according to Earthjustice, one of the conservation groups that had asked for the stay. The groups, which also include the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity, argued that Judge Cain’s order improperly mandated the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to move forward with the sale without the protections, which they said are needed to defend the nearly extinct Rice’s whale.” [Law360, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

Stay Just A Little Longer — “The Interior Department can strip millions of acres from its upcoming oil lease sale for the Gulf of Mexico, according to an appeals court decision released Thursday. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a lower court’s order from September that barred the department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from removing about six million acres from Lease Sale 261, a move the administration made as part of a legal settlement with environmental groups seeking to protect habitat for the endangered Rice’s whale. An Interior spokesperson said the agency was reviewing the appeals court decision but did not elaborate further on whether the department would revert back to its original plan for the lease sale scheduled for Nov. 8. The American Petroleum Institute, one of the parties that brought the case against Interior, said it believes the stay was ‘fully justified’ and it looks forward to ‘making the case in the Fifth Circuit.’ And Sen. Joe Manchin, the West Virginia Democrat and chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee who has criticized Interior for trying to scale back oil lease sales, issued his own warning against any more changes. ‘BOEM must keep the commitment made...to hold the November 8th lease sale, under the current Final Notice of Sale without the new restrictions and acreage removal announced in August,’ Manchin said in a statement.” [Politico, 10/27/23 (=)]

 

US Appeals Court Blocks Gulf Of Mexico Oil And Gas Sale Expansion, Pending Appeal — “A U.S. appeals court on Thursday temporarily paused a federal judge’s order last month that had required the Biden administration to expand a planned offshore oil and gas auction in the Gulf of Mexico by 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit stayed the September decision pending an appeal, according to a court document. Oral arguments are scheduled for Nov. 13 in New Orleans. The order was the latest in a legal fight over offshore drilling and federal protection of an endangered species of whale. The oil and gas industry and the state of Louisiana sued the Interior Department in August over its decision to scale back an auction to reduce conflicts with the Rice’s whale habitat. The dispute reflects the difficulty for Biden’s White House of seeking to balance national energy security with environmental concerns.” [Reuters, 10/27/23 (=)]

 

Manchin Presses For Offshore Oil Auction After Court Ruling — “Senator Joe Manchin called on the Biden administration to swiftly auction drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico, following a federal appeals court ruling Thursday that casts doubt on the future of that oil lease sale. ‘Shrinking or further delaying Lease Sale 261 threatens both our energy security and climate goals and could make us more dependent on dirty foreign oil and gas,’ Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, said following the ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana.” [Bloomberg Law, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)

 

Feds Say Water Cuts To 3 States Are Enough To Protect Colorado River – For Now — “A robust water year for the Colorado River has given states that rely on the mighty waterway a few more years of stability as climate change takes its toll, federal officials said Wednesday. Last year, federal officials gave western states two options to protect the over-allocated Colorado River from the effects of a two-decade megadrought: Either reach a consensus to voluntarily reduce water use or be forced to by the federal government. California, Arizona and Nevada agreed to collectively reduce water use by at least 3 million acre-feet through the end of 2026, when the Colorado River’s current operating guidelines are set to expire. Federal officials believe those voluntary conservation efforts, largely supported by federal funds, will be enough to keep the river basin stable over the next three years, according to an analysis by the U.S. Department of the Interior released Wednesday.” [Nevada Current, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

Lower Basin Officials See 'Victory' In Colorado River Review — “The Interior Department appears on track with a state plan for making reductions to water allocations form the drought-stricken Colorado River, according to key Western officials. JB Hamby, chair of the Colorado River Board of California, told the Associated Press that he expects the Biden administration will implement a plan from his state, Arizona and Nevada to conserve a combined 3 million acre-feet of water through 2026. ‘This is a victory for collaboration as an approach rather than conflict, which is where we started,’ Hamby told the Associated Press. The California official’s comments came in response to the Thursday publication of a Bureau of Reclamation analysis of potential emergency management actions on the waterway, which highlighted the basin’s improved hydrology and weighed two options: maintaining the status quo, or making additional cuts proposed by the trio of Lower Basin states. More than two decades of drought have reduced flows in the river that serves some 40 million individuals and irrigates 5.5 million acres of farmland across seven states, as well as decimating water levels in lakes Powell and Mead — reservoirs with electricity-generating dams.” [E&E News, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)

 

Interior Calls For Removal Of Calif. Offshore Oil Platforms — “The Biden administration said Thursday that California’s remaining offshore oil platforms should be removed, dropping a prior proposal to create artificial reefs from the aged structures or leave cleaned-out pipelines on the seafloor. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement published a final environmental assessment in the Federal Register of how to eventually retire the 23 remaining oil and gas platforms standing in the Pacific Ocean. Built between 1967 and 1989, the structures are from an era when California’s oil industry was booming. Now, most are headed toward retirement or are actively being decommissioned. The environmental review undertaken by the Biden administration, which won’t be final until release of a record of decision in coming weeks, could create a road map for future oil and gas clean up on other parts of the outer continental shelf where climate activists want to retire drilling. ‘We completed a robust analysis based on sound science, Tribal consultation, public input, and the best available information,’ said Bruce Hesson, BSEE Pacific region director in a statement.” [E&E News, 10/27/23 (=)]

 

California's Half-Century Offshore Oil Industry Gets A Retirement Plan — “Nearly two dozen oil and gas platforms off the southern California coast should be fully removed when they stop producing, according to an Interior Department plan that will shape the end of the region’s more than half-century legacy with offshore drilling. The final environmental impact statement, set to be published Friday and summarized by the agency Thursday, recommends a decommissioning plan that would compel companies to strip away power cables, close up wells and remove other facilities down to 15 feet (4.6 meters) below the sea floor. Interior intends to issue a final decision, expected to embrace that approach, in 30 days. The blueprint is set to govern the retirement of aging offshore oil facilities installed between 1967 and 1989. Though some are still eking out crude and gas, eight are already in various stages of being decommissioned, and the others are nearing the end of their lifespans. A 2020 report for Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement estimated a range of decommissioning costs for the US Pacific, from $19 million to $189 million per platform.” [Bloomberg, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

Biden Admin Paves Way To Cease All Offshore California Fossil Fuel Drilling Operations — “The Biden administration issued a federal plan Thursday to remove all remaining oil and gas infrastructure located off the California coast once they stop producing. The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) published a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) for ‘Oil and Gas Decommissioning Activities on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf.’ The filing formally recommends a plan ensuring no fossil fuel infrastructure remains off California’s coast that could interfere with other offshore operations like navigation and commercial fisheries. ‘We completed a robust analysis based on sound science, Tribal consultation, public input, and the best available information,’ Bruce Hesson, BSEE’s Pacific region director, said in a statement. ‘This final PEIS provides BSEE with important guidance on future decommissioning applications for the complete removal and disposal of oil and gas platforms, associated pipelines, and other facilities offshore Southern California,’ he continued.” [Fox News, 10/26/23 (-)]

 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

 

Sens. Cruz, Cornyn Send Letter Confronting The Biden Administration’s Weaponization Of The Endangered Species Act In Texas — “U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Fish and Wildlife Service to express their strong concerns with the agency’s recently proposed rule that lists the toothless and widemouth blindcats, two underground species of blind, translucent catfish, as endangered under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). The rule directly impacts the Edwards Aquifer in Bexar County, Texas, where these two catfish species reside, which provides over 1.7 million Texans with drinking water. The Biden administration has prioritized the well-being of blind catfish over the needs of people in San Antonio and south-central Texas for clean drinking water. If the Department of the Interior deems a species endangered, then it grants unelected federal bureaucrats power over Texans’ land even though scientists have never directly observed either species in their natural subterranean habitat.” [Texas Insider, 10/26/23 (-)]

 

 

Department of Commerce (DOC)

 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

 

NOAA Plan Revives Red Snapper Management Debate — “Long criticized for its management of the red snapper, NOAA said Wednesday that it will spend $20 million from the Inflation Reduction Act to address the impacts of climate change on the popular species and other reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico. Among its goals, the agency said it wanted to collect better and more timely information to guide decision-making on quotas and the length of fishing seasons. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who oversees NOAA, said the new funding will improve data collection and management decisions ‘for red snapper and dozens of other species, thereby benefiting millions of anglers.’ ‘Red snapper is one of the Gulf of Mexico’s most iconic species and perhaps one of the region’s greatest management success stories,’ she said. The agency’s plan immediately revived debate over the question of whether states would be better equipped to manage the red snapper. Jeff Angers, president of the Center for Sportfishing Policy, said Thursday that state oversight of the red snapper species would be ‘the true management success story.’” [E&E News, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

 

Courts & Legal

 

Water Fights In US West Inspire New Judge Training — “Water disputes have become so pervasive in Utah that the state Judicial Council established a new program last year that designates and trains judges to handle these cases. ‘It was inspired by panic,’ says Senior Judge Kate Appleby. She helped create the program, which taps district court judges to serve in this role. Appleby began dreaming it up when she got assigned in 2007 to a particularly unwieldy water case. Litigation tied to what’s called general adjudication is so rare, lengthy and complicated that most judges, such as Appleby, aren’t familiar with how it works. ‘What inspired me was realizing that I have this humongous case, which would affect thousands of people and endure for decades, and that I had no idea what I was doing,’ she says. It took a while to turn Appleby’s dream into reality. Late last year, District Court Judge Laura Scott was named one of Utah’s first water judges. She has a general adjudication of her own, deciding water rights for the Utah Lake-Jordan River watershed, home to about 2 million people.” [Bloomberg, 10/27/23 (=)]

 

 

States & Local

 

California

 

Arrowhead Bottled Water Company Sues To Continue Piping From California Forest — “The company that sells Arrowhead 100% Mountain Spring Water is suing to challenge California regulators’ recent ruling that the company must stop taking much of the water it pipes from the San Bernardino National Forest for bottling. BlueTriton Brands filed the lawsuit this month in Fresno County Superior Court, arguing in its complaint that the State Water Resources Control Board overstepped its authority ‘far beyond what California law allows.’ The board voted unanimously in September to order the company to halt its ‘unauthorized diversions’ of water from springs in the San Bernardino Mountains. Board members adopted the order after the agency’s staff determined the company has been unlawfully diverting water without valid water rights. They told BlueTriton to stop taking water for bottling from most of its water collection tunnels and boreholes. Lawyers for the company argued during a hearing last month that the process was rife with problems and that they are entitled to the water.” [Los Angeles Times, 10/27/23 (+)]

 

Montana

 

Montana Releases Draft Of First Wolf Management Plan Update In 20 Years — “Montana has released the draft of its first updated gray wolf conservation and management plan in 20 years, along with a draft environmental impact statement, and is asking for public input on the plans and holding regional public meetings in December. The conservation and management plan and draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) were the product of Gov. Greg Gianforte’s directive in January that Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks come up with a new plan 20 years after the original plan was put in place, and after the 2021 legislature directed the state to reduce Montana’s wolf population and allowed for more types of hunting and trapping to be used to take the animals. Montana reduced the quota of wolves that could be harvested this current season to 313, down from 450, as FWP cited a slight decline in the state’s wolf population over the past two years. Thus far, 33 wolves have been killed by hunters and trappers, according to state data. Perhaps the biggest prong of the draft management plan and DEIS is how FWP plans to manage wolf populations and newly added requirements from the legislature, and signed by Gianforte, under his administration.” [Daily Montanan, 10/26/23 (=)]

 

Washington

 

Federal Funds Boost Tribal-Led Revival Efforts For Salmon In Upper Columbia River Basin — “In June of 1940, Native American tribes from across the Northwest gathered at Kettle Falls in northeast Washington to mourn the loss of their historic fishing grounds. Known as the ‘Ceremony of Tears,’ the gathering drew thousands of tribal citizens from the Colville Reservation in Eastern Washington, Tulalips from Western Washington, Blackfoot from Montana, and Nez Perce, Yakimas, Flatheads, and Coeur d’Alenes. Together, these tribes united at the site to commemorate the end of an era that had once been abundant with salmon. The completion of the massive Grand Coulee Dam gave rise to Lake Roosevelt, the reservoir situated adjacent to the dam’s structure. This reservoir would eventually submerge the fishing spot linked to their heritage and sever their access to salmon. However, these tribes have a renewed sense of hope. After decades of research and new funding from the federal government, tribes in the upper Columbia River Basin are preparing to restore salmon in their ancestral waters. On Sept. 21, the Biden administration announced it is investing $200 million for tribes to reintroduce salmon in habitats blocked by dams in the upper Columbia River Basin. ” [Idaho Capital Sun, 10/27/23 (=)]

 

 

Research, Analysis & Opinion

 

Millions Of Grassland Acres Lost In Great Plains, New Research Report Says — “The Great Plains lost 1.6 million acres of grasslands in 2021. That’s according to a World Wildlife Fund report released on Thursday, detailing the loss of grasslands in the U.S. and Canadian Great Plains. From 2012 to 2021, grassland conversion in the Great Plains totaled 32 million acres, or 50,000 square miles. The Plowprint report identified row-crop expansion as the leading factor in grassland conversion, resulting in a loss larger than the state of Delaware in 2021 alone. Martha Kauffman, vice president for WWF’s Northern Great Plains program, emphasized the significance of preserving grasslands as part of the solution to climate change. ‘Let’s stop plowing grasslands,’ Kauffman said in a written statement. ‘Just allow them to keep storing and sequestering carbon, and providing irreplaceable habitat for wildlife and pollinators as they have done for millennia.’ ‘Sequestering carbon’ is a reference to the carbon dioxide — a heat-trapping greenhouse gas — that grass naturally pulls from the air and stores in the soil.” [South Dakota Searchlight, 10/26/23 (+)]

 

 

 

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