White House

 

Biden-Harris Administration Agencies Sign Interagency Agreement To Address Wildfire Risk And Protect Communities From Smoke — “On Friday, Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Mandy Cohen announced a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, to further their joint work to protect communities from the impacts of wildfire smoke, while promoting land management practices that reduce the risk of large, severe fires. The four agencies — the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — also released a joint plan outlining wildland fire-related priorities the agencies will focus on over the next two years. ‘This year has shown the entire country and the world that wildfires don’t stop at a state or country line – they impact all of us and require a coordinated and collaborative approach,’ said Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland. ‘The Biden-Harris administration is committed to using every tool available to protect communities from the hazards of wildfire smoke, while also ensuring we have the tools we need to reduce the future risk of large, high severity wildfire events.’” [Lake County News, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

White House Announces New Efforts To Prevent Wildfires, Limit Smoke Hazards — “The Biden administration this week is announcing an interagency focus on protecting communities from wildfire smoke, part of an ‘all of the above’ approach to prevent large fires that put communities at risk. ‘This year has shown the entire country and the world that wildfires don’t stop at a state or country line – they impact all of us and require a coordinated and collaborative approach,’ Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a statement. ‘The Biden-Harris administration is committed to using every tool available to protect communities from the hazards of wildfire smoke, while also ensuring we have the tools we need to reduce the future risk of large, high severity wildfire events,’ Haaland said. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed between the Interior Department, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Agriculture and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” [ABC News, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

 

Congress

 

Senate

 

Committee Sets Vote On Public Land, Hydropower Bills — “The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is planning to vote on major outdoor recreation and hydropower permitting bills Thursday, in addition to several conservation measures. Senators are scheduled to vote on S.1634, the ‘Colorado Outdoor Recreation and Economy (CORE) Act,’ introduced by Colorado Democratic Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper earlier this year. The bill has been politically contentious, as Republicans argue it would be overly restrictive of mineral development and grazing, while Democrats say it would boost local economies and preserve important public land. It would provide federal protections to approximately 420,000 acres of public land in Colorado, safeguard existing outdoor recreation in the area, and establish new wilderness areas. ‘The CORE Act is the result of over a decade of hard work and collaboration from Coloradans to protect our lands,’ said Hickenlooper earlier this year. ‘This bill promotes conservation to combat climate change, invest in our outdoor recreation economy, and protect our public lands for the next generation — let’s get it done!’” [E&E News, 11/13/23 (=)]

 

Senate Panel Revisits Need For Wildlife Corridors — “A Senate panel this week will trod the familiar terrain of wildlife corridors, notable both for their environmental significance and their consistent bipartisan appeal. The Tuesday afternoon Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water and Wildlife hearing will give state wildlife officials from California and Wyoming a chance to illuminate opportunities to improve migration corridors. A wildlife corridor is a defined pathway that provides species a safe route for connecting habitats. It can include wildlife crossings, which allow animals and humans to interact safely on roads. Last year, for instance, California broke ground on the $90 million Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, which will allow mountain lions and other animals to cross over a busy Los Angeles freeway. ‘It’s a big, complicated project,’ Chuck Bonham, director of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said at the groundbreaking ceremony. ‘It has science, it has law, economics, engineering. Inevitably, it has politics.’” [E&E News, 11/13/23 (=)]

 

Barrasso, Lummis Propose The Use Of Federal Land For Affordable Housing — “U.S. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) along with co-sponsors Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyoming) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) have co-sponsored the Helping Open Underutilized Space to Ensure Shelter (HOUSES) Act, which would allow federal land to be used for public housing. The Joint Economic Committee of Congress estimates the HOUSES bill would lead to the construction of 2.7 million more homes in the U.S., alleviating 14 percent of the nation’s housing shortage. The HOUSES Act is endorsed by the National Association of Counties and offers small parcels of federal land at a reduced price or Payment in Lieu of Taxes ratioed price to states or local government entities. Payment in lieu of taxes essentially means that the state will receive money from the U.S. government for federal land in the absence of state tax revenue.” [Buckrail, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

House

 

AZ GOP Rep Gosar Pushes To Open Protected Grand Canyon Area To Uranium Mining On Sacred Tribal Lands — “Arizona Representative Paul Gosar added to the Interior Appropriations Bill an Amendment that would prohibit using Interior Department funds to implement, administer, or enforce the Presidential Proclamation that established the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The proclamation was made by President Biden in August 2023 to protect over 900,000 acres of BLM and Forest Service land adjacent to Grand Canyon National Park from new uranium mining claims. The land protected from these claims is culturally significant to the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Yavapai Apache Nation, Pueblo of Zuni, and the Colorado River Indian Tribes.” [Daily Kos, 11/12/23 (=)]

 

Nevada Test Range Land Controversy Up For House Hearing — “A House Natural Resources subcommittee this week will debate the merits of a bipartisan bill addressing long-sought efforts by the military to expand training operations onto other nearby federal lands in southern Nevada. The Subcommittee on Federal Lands is also scheduled to discuss a draft bill by Natural Resources Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) designed to promote the use of biochar, which is burned biomass that can store carbon. The test range bill, H.R. 6070, from Nevada Republican Mark Amodei, is likely to draw the most attention at Tuesday’s legislative hearing. The bill is co-sponsored by Nevada Democrats Steven Horsford and Susie Lee. It deals with the Air Force’s long-running desire to expand at least a small part of its footprint inside the Nevada Test and Training Range that already covers nearly 3 million acres of federal land north of Las Vegas managed by the Bureau of Land Management or Fish and Wildlife Service. The NTTR overlaps in many areas with the Desert National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Nevada. The wildlife refuge includes important desert bighorn sheep habitat and is a popular hiking and biking area.” [E&E News, 11/13/23 (=)]

 

Hearing Will Press Interior Employees To Stop Phoning It In — “House Republicans this week will turn up the heat on the Interior Department’s remote staffing policies and continued use of telework. A recurring concern for some GOP lawmakers since the subsidence of the Covid-19 pandemic, Interior’s telework policies will get the latest going-over by the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations. The thrust of the hearing convened by the panel’s chair, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), echoes the sentiments of Republicans at large. ‘It is beyond time to require that the teleworking federal employees return to work in order to remedy widespread, terribly poor customer service,’ Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana, now the House speaker, said during floor debate in February. ‘We have federal employees at all these agencies who literally have not come to work. Well, we’re going to end that.’ The GOP-controlled House passed H.R. 139 by a near-party-line 221-206 margin. It would return all federal agencies to their pre-pandemic telework policies within 30 days, and give departments six months to report back on ‘the impacts on the agency and its mission of expanding telework.’ The House bill has not gone anywhere in the Senate.” [E&E News, 11/13/23 (=)]

 

 

Department of the Interior (DOI)

 

Alaska Tribes To Haaland: Nix Trump-Era Orders Opening 28M Acres — “Dozens of Alaska Native leaders have asked Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to reject a Trump-era proposal that would open 28 million acres of federal lands in the state to energy development and mining. At issue is a series of public land orders signed by then-Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in the closing weeks of the Trump administration that would lift restrictions on the use of the lands that have been in place for decades. The Bureau of Land Management is currently conducting an environmental impact statement evaluating the five public land orders, which were placed on hold by the Biden administration in 2021 to analyze what the Interior Department has labeled legal ‘deficiencies’ contained in them. The coalition of Alaska Native leaders last month sent several letters to Haaland — the first Native American to serve as secretary of the Interior — asking her to reject the Bernhardt orders and not to reopen the lands to development, noting that they contain productive hunting and fishing grounds critical to their subsistence way of life.” [E&E News, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

Bureau of Land Management (BLM)

 

BLM Releases Sage-Grouse, Game Habitat Proposals — “The Bureau of Land Management has released proposed management plans for helping the recovery of the Gunnison sage-grouse in western Colorado and eastern Utah and for helping protect Colorado big game habitat from oil and gas development. The Gunnison sage-grouse is federally listed as a threatened species, with only a few thousand of the birds estimated to be alive today. It is found primarily in the Gunnison Basin, but small populations are found in other area, including a population on Piñon Mesa in Mesa County. The BLM had released a draft Gunnison sage-grouse plan amendment in 2016 but canceled that planning effort in 2018 to wait for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife to complete a recovery plan for the bird, which it did in 2020. The BLM plan amendment will require revising management plans for area BLM field offices and national conservation areas and Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. The planning process comes in response to declining numbers of the species over the past decade and changing ecological and climate conditions such as drought, habitat loss and fragmentation and more frequent wildfires. The planning process considers activities such as livestock grazing, energy development and recreation that can affect occupied and unoccupied habitat.” [Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

BLM Plan Focuses On Protecting Gunnison Sage Grouse Habitat — “The Bureau of Land Management proposed Thursday to add land-use restrictions to potentially hundreds of thousands of acres of bureau lands in Colorado and Utah in an effort to recover the federally protected Gunnison sage grouse. BLM published a draft environmental impact statement analyzing amendments to nearly a dozen resource management plans in both states that seek to stem a near-decade-long ‘rangewide downward population trend’ of Gunnison grouse. That population loss has been driven by drought, habitat loss and wildfires, among other things. The ‘preferred alternative’ in the draft EIS, which BLM began working on last year, focuses on conserving ‘resource values while sustaining and enhancing ecological integrity across the decision area,’ which covers 2.1 million acres of BLM lands. The proposed plan would establish 1-mile buffers around Gunnison grouse habitat and, potentially, ‘linkage-connectivity areas’ for the bird — the genetically unique, smaller cousin of the greater sage grouse.” [E&E News, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

Major Renewable Energy Projects Announced Across Western U.S. — “U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said the agency’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is developing 15 new renewable energy installations across the western U.S., including some that recently have begun commercial operation. Haaland provided an update on the projects Nov. 6 as she addressed the Western Governors Association Winter Meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Haaland highlighted several installations, including the 500-MW Oberon Solar Project in Riverside County, California, that includes energy storage and came online Nov. 3. Haaland also noted the Arlington Solar Energy Center, a 364-MW project in Riverside County that includes energy storage and entered commercial operation on Nov. 6. The Biden administration has set a goal of 25 GW of onshore renewable energy generation capacity on public lands by 2025. Interior Dept. officials in a Nov. 3 call with media said the BLM in the past two years has approved 46 renewable projects on public lands. Officials said the installations have combined generation capacity of more than 11.2 GW.” [Power Magazine, 11/12/23 (=)]

 

Biden’s Latest Clean Energy Approvals Are Good, But Not Enough — “On the surface, the Biden administration’s recent announcement that it was forging ahead with more than a dozen renewable energy projects on Western public lands sounded like a big deal. In some ways, it was. The U.S. Department of the Interior reported important steps forward for 15 solar farms, electric transmission lines and potential geothermal power plants in California, Arizona, Nevada and Utah — crucial tools for replacing the coal, oil and fossil natural gas that are fueling deadlier heat waves and polluting our air with dangerous fumes. ‘The projects we are advancing today will add enough clean energy to the grid to power millions of homes,’ Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a written statement last week. Yes, they will — if they ultimately get approved, and then built. It can take many years for federal officials to go through all the required steps to evaluate proposed solar farms, wind turbines and transmission lines, including an in-depth study of how they might harm wildlife and local ecosystems. It’s an important but, at times, painfully slow process, during which the climate crisis keeps getting worse.” [Los Angeles Times, 11/9/23 (~)]

 

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS)

 

Endangered Species In Path Of Border Patrol Road — FWS Email — “The Biden administration could risk the extinction of an endangered plant if it pursues a new road in southern Texas designated for use by U.S. Border Patrol, according to newly disclosed internal documents. The Center for Biological Diversity on Thursday published internal emails, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, between Fish and Wildlife Service officials warning of a bleak future for the endangered Zapata bladderpod, a trailing perennial, if a new road is built through its habitat. ‘This very large proportion of the total Zapata bladderpod population … would likely be impacted by the [U.S. Customs and Border Protection] road, [and] undoubtedly triggers a potential jeopardy to the species’ existence,’ wrote Chris Best, a FWS state botanist for Texas, to other service employees in an April email. The email exchange focuses on the Department of Homeland Security’s planned expansion of border barriers in the Rio Grande Valley, where DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declared an ‘acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers’ last month. In a bid to speed construction of the project, the Biden administration seized on provisions of the Real ID Act of 2005 to waive the National Environmental Policy Act and two dozen other laws that normally govern public lands.” [E&E News, 11/10/23 (=)]

 

Feds Take Aim At Barred Owls In Bid To Protect Threatened Species — “The Fish and Wildlife Service will lure western barred owls to their doom as part of a new draft management strategy for the vexatious species. Euphemistically called ‘removal,’ the death sentences have been pronounced as the best step to protecting the threatened northern spotted owl and other vulnerable species. ‘Lethal removal of barred owls from identified management areas is the only population reduction method that is proven to work in reducing barred owl populations, thereby improving spotted owl population response,’ the Fish and Wildlife Service declared in the draft strategy. Specifically, FWS states in a draft environmental impact statement, ‘the act of removing barred owls involves discharge of shotguns.’ The northern spotted owl is protected under the Endangered Species Act, and the California spotted owl has been proposed for the federal protections. Both populations are troubled by the presence of barred owls, which snatch habitat and food.” [E&E News, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

 

Courts & Legal

 

Lawsuit: Feds Failed To Protect Imperiled Species From Mines — “Environmental groups sued the Biden administration Wednesday for failing to protect endangered and threatened species from water pollution tied to coal mining. The Center for Biological Diversity and Appalachian Voices filed a lawsuit against the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement in federal court, arguing the agencies did not provide proper oversight or enforcement over state-run coal permitting programs in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia. Specifically, the lawsuit says the federal government has failed to ensure that states are requiring coal companies to operate in a way that protects the Guyandotte River crawfish and Big Sandy crawfish, which are found in streams in the region. Ultimately, the agencies violated the Endangered Species Act, the groups told the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. ‘For decades, coal mining has been destroying watersheds, decimating wildlife populations, and upending ecosystems without effective mitigation from regulatory agencies,’ the lawsuit maintains.” [E&E News, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

 

Energy Industry

 

Offshore Wind Is At A Crossroads. Here’s What You Need To Know. — “A few years ago, the future of the U.S. offshore wind industry looked brighter than ever before. The Biden administration was pushing an exceptionally aggressive timeline to build the nation’s first fleet of offshore wind farms. Companies were standing shoulder to shoulder with lawmakers dockside from Massachusetts to Maryland, promising good jobs, ship building, clean energy and climate action. But that optimism has soured in recent months, with canceled wind contracts in New England, massive financial losses from major developers, stalled manufacturing plans, and calls on President Joe Biden from states like Massachusetts and New York to do more to save the industry from the economic storm. The bad news was capped late last month when Ørsted, the nations’ largest offshore wind developer, canceled two massive wind projects in New Jersey — the first to go down amid inflation and supply chain pressures. Ripple effects continue to emerge, like Siemens Energy’s recent decision to not build a turbine blade manufacturing plant in Portsmouth, Va., that had been heralded by the state’s former governor.” [E&E News, 11/13/23 (=)]

 

Wind Power Industry In Moment Of Reckoning As Stocks Fall And Earnings Crumble — “KEY POINTS In a report published last week, Allianz Research noted that the eight largest renewable energy firms in the world reported a combined total $3 billion decrease in assets in the first half of the year. ‘The whole sector is grappling with rising construction and financing costs, quality-control problems and supply-chain issues,’ the report said. Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen told CNBC that the sector was at an inflection point and that the market would eventually identify its ‘winners and losers’ over time.” [CNBC, 11/13/23 (=)]

 

 

Advocacy

 

A Whale Of A Campaign Issue: The GOP Loves, Hates Sea Mammals — “Republicans and conservative groups are making a big deal about whales as the 2024 campaign season ramps up. Viewers of Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate on NBC saw commercials blaming high gasoline prices on President Joe Biden and his ‘E-ZPass lane for whales in the Gulf, making it harder to produce energy here at home.’ Another even more incendiary version of the ad, now posted online, has one of the actors say, ‘Biden’s a whale fucker,’ though it partly bleeps out the curse word. The actor then calls Biden a ‘whale hugger.’ The ad was produced by a group called Building America’s Future, which offers few details about its operation online. Requests for comment were not immediately returned. The confusing ads don’t explain what an ‘E-ZPass lane for whales’ is, but the group’s website links it to the Biden administration’s proposed protection for the endangered Rice’s whale in the Gulf of Mexico. When it comes to another whale hundreds of miles away, the GOP is taking a decidedly different tone in accusing the offshore wind industry of hurting the animals.” [E&E News, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

 

States & Local

 

Alaska

 

AP | Federal Judge In Alaska Upholds Biden Administration’s Approval Of Massive Willow Oil Project — “A federal judge on Thursday upheld the Biden administration’s approval of the massive Willow oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope, a decision that environmental groups swiftly vowed to fight. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason rejected requests by a grassroots Iñupiat group and environmentalists to vacate the project approval, and she dismissed their claims against Willow, which is in the federally designated National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. The administration’s approval of Willow in March drew the ire of environmentalists who accused the president of backpedaling on his pledge to combat climate change. The company behind the project, ConocoPhillips Alaska, has the right to develop its leases in the reserve ‘subject to reasonable restrictions and mitigation measures imposed by the federal government,’ Gleason wrote. She added that the alternatives analyzed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management as part of its review were consistent with the policy objectives for the petroleum reserve and the stated purpose and need of the Willow project.” [Anchorage Daily News, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

Climate Groups Plan To Appeal As Judge Upholds Biden Approval Of Willow Drilling Project — “A federal judge in Anchorage ruled Thursday that ConocoPhillips’ $8 billion oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope can proceed, rejecting a pair of lawsuits arguing that the Biden administration failed to adequately consider the initiative’s impact on the climate, local communities, and wildlife before approving it earlier this year. Willow is the largest proposed oil and gas drilling project on public lands in U.S. history, and it comes at a time when scientists are warning that any new fossil fuel extraction is incompatible with preventing catastrophic planetary warming. But despite warnings about Willow’s potentially devastating impact, U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason—an Obama appointee—deemed the Biden administration’s environmental assessments of the project sufficient and in line with federal law. The ruling was handed down a day after a U.N.-backed report cautioned that fossil fuel expansion plans by the world’s top producers are ‘throwing humanity’s future into question.’” [Common Dreams, 11/9/23 (+)]

 

Approval Of Divisive Alaska Oil Project Upheld In Blow To US Climate Goals — “A federal judge has upheld the Biden administration’s approval of the Willow oil-drilling project in a remote part of northern Alaska in a move that environmental groups warned will have ‘tragic consequences’ for the Arctic. On Thursday, the US district court judge Sharon Gleason rejected requests by a grassroots Iñupiat group and environmentalists to undo the approval for the project in the federally designated National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Gleason wrote that the company behind the project, ConocoPhillips, had the right to develop its oil and gas leases in the reserve ‘subject to reasonable restrictions and mitigation measures imposed by the federal government’. She added that the alternatives analyzed by the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) were consistent with the policy objectives of the petroleum reserve and the stated purpose and need of the Willow project.” [The Guardian, 11/9/23 (+)]

 

Court Upholds Biden’s Approval Of Willow Oil Project  — “A federal court Thursday upheld the Biden administration’s approval of a massive oil drilling project in Alaska, over objections from environmentalists. Judge Sharon Gleason, an Obama appointee, upheld the approval, finding that the Biden administration took adequate steps to assess the project’s impacts in areas challenged by the plaintiffs. Under the Willow Project, which the Biden administration approved earlier this year, ConocoPhillips will be able to drill 576 million barrels of oil in Alaska over 30 years. In light of the decision, ConocoPhillips said it would move ahead with construction plans for this winter. ‘Willow underwent nearly five years of rigorous regulatory review and environmental analysis, including extensive public involvement from the communities closest to the project site,’ said Erec Isaacson, president of ConocoPhillips Alaska, in a written statement. ‘We now want to make this project a reality and help Alaskan communities realize the extensive benefits of responsible energy development,’ Isaacson added.” [The Hill, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

Green Groups Lose Bid To Stop ConocoPhillips' Willow Project — “Conservation groups can’t block ConocoPhillips from moving forward with its planned Willow drilling project in Arctic Alaska, an Anchorage federal judge ruled Thursday, rejecting the groups’ arguments that federal approval of the project failed to fully consider the enormous environmental consequences. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason’s lengthy order allows ConocoPhillips to push ahead with the oil and natural gas drilling project that the Bureau of Land Management reauthorized back in the spring, but the conservation plaintiffs — including the Center for Biological Diversity and Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic — vowed on Thursday to appeal her decision to the Ninth Circuit. ‘While today’s ruling is disappointing, we are entirely confident in our claims, and plan to appeal to the higher court,’ Erik Grafe of Earthjustice said in a statement. ‘Beyond the illegality of Willow’s approval, [the U.S. Department of the] Interior’s decision to greenlight the project in the first place moved us in the opposite direction of our national climate goals in the face of the worsening climate crisis.’” [Law360, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

Judge Rules Willow Oil Project In Alaska's Arctic Can Proceed — “The massive Willow oil project on Alaska’s North Slope can move forward, a federal judge in Anchorage ruled Thursday. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason rejected the claims of environmental groups, who argued the government’s decision to approve the ConocoPhillips project didn’t adequately consider its contribution to climate change and potential harm to the region’s threatened polar bears. The decision removes one of the last obstacles to the project, which would be the largest oil development on federal land in decades, and has become a flashpoint for climate activists. Environmental groups said they plan to appeal.” [NPR, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

Judge Tosses Willow Project Challenges — “A federal judge on Thursday rejected lawsuits brought by environmental groups and Native Alaskans over the Biden administration’s approval of ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil project in Alaska. Details: Judge Sharon Gleason of the U.S. District Court for Alaska, an Obama appointee, rejected various arguments made by the challengers against the approval. Gleason shot down arguments that Interior violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act and the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act by not considering ‘a reasonable range of alternatives.’ She also rejected arguments that Interior failed to study greenhouse gas emissions from future oil development near Willow that may come about because of the project. The environmental study ‘appropriately analyzed the indirect and cumulative GHG emissions impacts’ of the Willow project, Gleason found. Gleason also rejected arguments that the Fish and Wildlife Service didn’t account for the project’s impacts on polar bears or that they failed to account for its greenhouse gas emissions’ impact on endangered species.” [Politico, 11/13/23 (=)]

 

Conocophillips' $8 Billion Willow Project Approvals Upheld By Us Judge — “A federal judge in Alaska on Thursday upheld U.S. approvals for ConocoPhillips’ multibillion-dollar Willow oil and gas drilling project in the state’s Arctic, rejecting environmental and indigenous groups’ concerns that the project poses too large of a climate threat. U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason in Anchorage dismissed a lawsuit filed by environmental and indigenous groups challenging the $8 billion project’s approvals, which the U.S. Interior Department had issued in March. Opponents claim the project would release hundreds of millions of tons of carbon pollution into the atmosphere, aggravating climate change and damaging pristine wilderness. Gleason said in her decision that the U.S. government had adequately analyzed how greenhouse gas emissions from the project would impact the climate and adequately considered how the project would impact endangered species like polar bears. Erik Grafe, an attorney for Earthjustice, which challenged the approvals, called the decision disappointing but said environmental and indigenous groups are ‘considering all legal options’ to continue the fight, including a potential appeal.” [Reuters, 11/10/23 (=)]

 

Feds Urge Supreme Court To Uphold EPA Veto Of Alaska Mine — “Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar is calling on the Supreme Court to ignore a request by Alaska to upend EPA’s veto of the Pebble gold and copper mine in the Bristol Bay watershed. Alaska’s claims ‘do not rise to the level of ‘seriousness and dignity’ of pleas that rely on the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction in legal battles between states, Prelogar wrote in a brief docketed Thursday. ‘Alaska’s suit involves challenges to federal agency action of the sort that are the routine business of the lower courts — not the kind of ‘delicate and grave’ dispute warranting this Court’s adjudication in the first instance,’ she wrote. Instead of slugging it out in the lower courts, lawyers for Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) brought their plea directly to the Supreme Court. If granted, the Last Frontier’s motion to file a bill of complaint against the United States would allow the state to invoke the justices’ original jurisdiction, meaning the Supreme Court would be the first — and only — court with the power to hear Alaska’s case. At stake in Alaska v. United States is the fate of the proposed Pebble mine, which would unlock access to 57 billion pounds of copper and 71 million ounces of gold, according to Alaska’s Supreme Court filing.” [E&E News, 11/10/23 (=)]

 

Alaska Tribes To BLM: Protect Lands From Extraction — “Alaska tribes are urging the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to keep protections in place for more than 28 million acres they say are critical to their way of life. The BLM is expected to release a draft environmental impact statement next month on the effects of opening the acreage up to mining and extraction. Known as D-1 lands, large parcels across the state were originally protected from development under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act more than 50 years ago. Eugene Paul, tribal Chief of Holy Cross and chairman of the Bering Sea Interior Tribal Commission, said these lands are important for their food sources. ‘Other places have these big stores, Costco and stuff, that they buy a great amount of goods and stuff, but we don’t choose that,’ he said. ‘We choose what we were taught to do and to live off our land, and it means a lot for us to take what we need and then gather what we need to put our families through the winter.’” [Kiowa County Press, 11/11/23 (=)]

 

The Biden Administration Won’t Let Alaska Responsibly Develop Its Natural Resources — “Last month, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released preliminary environmental documents that cast doubts on the future of the Ambler Road, an infrastructure project aimed at unlocking the mineral-rich Ambler Mining District in northwest Alaska. The Interior Department did not single out what route it prefers, which suggests it will not allow construction of the road after public comments end on December 22. Dragging out permits for environmental reasons only limits Alaska’s economic progress. Policy uncertainties at the federal level have ultimately hurt the state’s capacity to attract investment and further hamstrung the opportunities available to residents.” [National Review, 11/9/23 (-)]

 

Biden Administration Urges Supreme Court To Reject Alaska Lawsuit Over Pebble Mine Veto — “The Biden administration on Thursday urged the Supreme Court not to ‘open the floodgates’ by accepting a novel lawsuit filed by Alaska over EPA’s veto of the Pebble Mine. The state filed the challenge directly with the high court, but there is nothing special about Alaska’s legal challenge that warrants the unusual step of immediate Supreme Court review, the Justice Department argued in a brief. ‘The interests Alaska invokes here could be asserted by any number of States seeking to challenge significant regulatory action by the federal government or alternatively seeking money damages,’ Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote. ‘This Court should not open the floodgates to routine disputes about the meaning and application of federal law that the lower courts are fully capable of resolving in the first instance.’” [Politico, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

California

 

Controlled Burns In California Could Reduce Risk Of Catastrophic Wildfire By 60 Percent  — “Deploying low-intensity burns could reduce the initial risk of catastrophic wildfire by more than 60 percent, while helping protect the area for at least six years, a new study has found. To be effective, wildland fuel treatments need to occur in an ongoing, period manner, as opposed to a one-time intervention, according to the study, published Friday in the journal Science Advances. While previous work has demonstrated that California needs either prescribed burns or vegetation thinning on about 20 percent of the state’s lands, researchers had yet to quantify the precise value of such activity. Reaping the rewards of the risk reduction project — including prescribed blazes, managed wildfires and tribal cultural burning — requires careful selection and targeted intervention efforts, the scientists found. ‘Beneficial fire is not without its own risks,’ co-author Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, said in a statement.” [The Hill, 11/10/23 (=)]

 

Developers Say Marine Sanctuary Would Impede California Wind Farms — “Offshore wind developers hoping to build turbines off the coast of California say a marine sanctuary proposed by the Biden administration could stand in the way. Equinor, Golden State Wind and Invenergy California Offshore said that as proposed, the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary’s boundaries would ‘increase technical and regulatory risk’ for offshore wind farms and ‘could impede development of offshore wind on the Central California Coast,’ in a joint letter to NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries late last month. They want a path large enough to allow for their transmission cables to land on shore. The administration released the final draft proposal for the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary in August. NOAA’s preferred option would protect about 134 miles of coastline, from Morro Bay in the north to nearly Santa Barbara in the south. The 5,617 square miles of proposed coastal waters for protection is less than the Chumash Tribe had sought when it proposed the sanctuary in 2015, but leaves open an area identified for offshore wind potential.” [E&E News, 11/10/23 (=)]

 

Maine

 

Lobstermen Watching Closely As Federal Regulators Refine Area For Potential Offshore Wind — “Lobster fishermen are watching closely as regulators continue to refine an area in the Gulf of Maine that could be used for offshore wind development, and they’re looking for more reassurances that the federal government will avoid popular fishing grounds. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has identified a 3.5 million acre draft area off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts that could be used for commercial offshore wind development. That proposed area excludes most of Lobster Management Area (LMA) 1, a popular offshore fishing area in Maine. But Zach Jylkka of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said some fishing grounds near or part of LMA 1 are still being studied and may be up for consideration, because they would be less expensive to develop. ‘We have to take into account the cost of these projects, and the farther offshore projects go, generally the higher the cost is,’ he said late last week during a virtual meeting with fixed gear fishermen. ‘So if all the secondary areas are removed, Maine does have a goal of 3 gigawatts of offshore wind by 2050, and that’s going to have to come from areas that are significantly offshore.’” [Maine Public, 11/6/23 (=)]

 

Nevada

 

BLM Sets Aside Land For Proposed Solar Project In White Pine County — “The Bureau of Land Management is setting aside lands proposed to be used by the Pantheon Solar Development Project for two years, preventing the land from being sold or subject to new mining claims while the BLM studies the proposal to develop renewable energy resources in the area. The project proposes the use of 4,210.6 acres of public lands managed by the BLM Bristlecone Field Office in Jakes Valley south of U.S. Highway 50, about 15 miles west of Ely, in White Pine County, Nevada. Under the Code of Federal Regulations, the BLM has the authority to temporarily remove lands from appropriation under the public land laws as part of right-of-way applications proposing generation of renewable energy. The land will be set aside while the BLM completes the variance process to determine whether the area is suitable for a potential solar energy project. If approved, the project could generate up to 400 megawatts of solar energy.” [The Ely Times, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

New Jersey

 

With Ørsted's Offshore Wind Farms Stopped, What Will Happen To $300M In Guarantees? — “An offshore wind developer that is backing out of deals to build windfarms off New Jersey is under new criticism as the company attempts to pull out of paying millions of dollars in performance guarantees. Denmark-based Ørsted announced last month it would not build two wind energy farms off the southern New Jersey coastline, despite initial approvals from New Jersey and federal officials. This month, the company sent a letter to the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities stating it withdrawing a Compliance Filing on its Ocean Wind 1 project. The company had deposited $200 million into escrow for the project, which would be put toward manufacturing facilities for turbine monopiles in Paulsboro, Gloucester County, according to board documents.” [Asbury Park Press, 11/13/23 (=)]

 

Ohio

 

State Agency Will Meet Nov. 15 To Decide On Fracking Permits In State Parks And Wildlife Areas — “A meeting for the Ohio Oil and Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) to decide to permit or deny fracking four Ohio state parks and wildlife areas will be held Wednesday at the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) office, 2045 Morse Road, Columbus. Save Ohio Parks will host a press conference outside the ODNR building on a grassy area at 9:30 a.m., just before the 10:30 a.m. meeting. The public is invited. ‘The OGLMC has had almost a year to educate itself on the human health effects, environmental impacts and climate concerns that would likely affect citizens, Ohio state parks and the world should these fracking leases be granted,’ said Randi Pokladnik, steering committee member of Save Ohio Parks. ‘We and other environmental groups and citizens have inundated the commission with thousands of emails, citing research, peer-reviewed health studies and climate data associated with fracking. Now it’s up to them to do the right thing for Ohioans by denying leases to frack under our state parks and public lands.’” [The Athens Messenger, 11/9/23 (=)]

 

Texas

 

Bison Return To Texas Indigenous Lands, Reconnecting Tribes To Their Roots — “Silence falls over a crowd of 40 people on a windy afternoon in early November, each breath held in anticipation as two 800-pound bison slowly approach. Among the spectators are Native Americans from various tribes, some who traveled two to three hours to experience the awe of seeing bison up close for the first time. A female bison less than 100 feet from the crowd bellows, signaling the others with a nod of her head that the coast is clear. The rest follow, advancing toward the mesmerized onlookers. Phones rise as spectators eagerly capture the intimate moment. The bisons’ new home is the 60-acre GP Ranch in Hopkins County, about 90 miles northeast of Dallas, owned by Muscogee (Creek) Nation member Theda Pogue. Pogue, 45, received the four cows and one bull earlier that week from the Medano-Zapata Ranch Preserve, a nature conservancy ranch in Colorado. It’s part of an effort by the Tanka Fund, a native-led nonprofit based in South Dakota, and The Nature Conservancy to restore more than 700 bison — also known as American buffalo — to Indigenous lands across the country this fall in partnership with tribal nonprofits and nations.” [Texas Tribune, 11/13/23 (=)]

 

Utah

 

Sierra Club | Saving Great Salt Lake — “Standing on the exposed dust of Great Salt Lake’s growing shoreline, biologist Bonnie Baxter recently shared an obituary she wrote mourning Great Salt Lake. ‘The Great Salt Lake experienced her final, glimmering sunset today,’ she said in a video recording the performance. It’s just one way Baxter is trying to educate people—and garner support to save the lake before it’s too late. Its water levels hit an alarming record low in 2022. Utah’s state legislature took steps to develop emergency mitigation plans, calling for additional conservation, but these were shelved after the winter delivered a record snowpack. Nevertheless, experts warn that the need for political action is still critical. Without taking drastic and immediate measures, Great Salt Lake’s unique ecosystem is in grave danger. For Maria Archibald, the lands and water programs coordinator with the Utah chapter of Sierra Club, this is a crucial moment for the region. The global climate crisis is driving unprecedented cycles of extreme precipitation, drought, and wildfires in the western United States, she says, but the ability to save Great Salt Lake is still in human hands.” [Grist, 11/9/23 (+)]

 

Wyoming

 

Removing Barriers Along Iconic Sublette Pronghorn Migration Corridor — “The Wyoming Game and Fish Department is moving forward with the Sublette Pronghorn migration corridor designation process. Josh Metten, Wyoming field manager with the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, said the move is an important step to protect key spots along the iconic route between Rock Springs and Grand Teton National Park. That includes places where animals get corralled and funneled into bottlenecks, and places herds recover from winter by hunkering down to feed on green-up vegetation. ‘It’s really important for the whole herd, but especially females that are getting ready to have their fawns,’ said Metten. ‘So making sure that there is appropriate management of development in these high priority areas, like stopovers and bottlenecks.’ A recent threat evaluation released by Game and Fish found that the corridor is at ‘high risk’ of being lost due to human activity. In just the past three years, high priority areas saw developments - including a 3,500 well gas field, a state gas auction leasing 640 acres for $19 an acre within a known bottleneck, and more subdivisions - according to Wyofile.” [Public News Service, 11/13/23 (=)]

 

 

Research, Analysis & Opinion

 

America’s New Wildfire Risk Goes Beyond Forests — “Forest fires may get more attention, but a new study reveals that grassland fires are more widespread and destructive across the United States. Almost every year since 1990, the study found, grass and shrub fires burned more land than forest fires did, and they destroyed more homes, too. But many residents are not as aware of wildfire risk in grasslands and shrublands. When the Marshall fire swept into the Boulder suburbs in 2021, killing two people and incinerating more than 1,000 homes, many residents were shocked that such a fierce blaze could encroach on their community, far from the forests of the Rocky Mountains. The community’s risk was actually high: Many homes were close to wide expanses of tall, dry grass that were primed to burn. When a grass fire sparked, strong winter winds propelled it toward nearby neighborhoods where the flames easily jumped from grasses to homes, sometimes using the wooden fencing that separated human and natural landscapes as a springboard.” [Reuters, 11/9/23 (+)]

 

Op-Ed: Recreation Is The Future Of Wilderness Conservation — According to former Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO), “Next year marks eight decades of protection for public lands under the Wilderness Act. Since its passage in 1964, lawmakers have used Wilderness designations to protect vast tracts of land for their conservation value and capacity to inspire. Our goal in doing so was to protect them for future generations to enjoy, to explore, and to connect with Mother Nature. As a United States senator, I sponsored and helped to pass new Wilderness protections for Colorado’s James Peak Wilderness, Indian Peaks Wilderness, and Rocky Mountain National Park. These bills became law thanks to a united coalition of advocates for conservation and recreation. In my experience, the two cannot be separated. The time we spend outside is what defines every conservationist I know.” [The Hill, 11/11/23 (+)]

 

 

 

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