Zinke criticized for 'juvenile' comment at hearing. “Democrats rebuked Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday for comments he made during a House budget hearing about planned cuts to grant programs that fund institutions focusing on the history of Japanese-Americans. ‘The internment of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans is no laughing matter, @SecretaryZinke. What you thought was a clever response to @RepHanabusa was flippant & juvenile,’ Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Calif.) tweeted, sharing a clip of the exchange.” [The Hill, 3/15/18 (+)]
Duckworth on Zinke improper use of Japanese: ‘Racism is not ok’. “Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) offered a condemnation of racism and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday after he responded in Japanese to a lawmaker’s question about funding historical sites memorializing Japanese internment camps. ‘Nope. Racism is not ok,’ Duckworth tweeted, posting a news article about the exchange between Zinke and Rep. Colleen Hanabusa (D-Hawaii).” [The Hill, 3/16/18 (+)]
Konnichiwa: Ryan Zinke Finds Humor Where There Is None As His Week Goes From Bad to Worse. “Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke found a new way to make headlines this week, offering a response to an inquiry from Democrat Rep. Colleen Hanabusa that has been critized as ‘juvenile’ at best, and ‘racist’ at worst. Hanabusa questioned Zinke about some aspect of President Donald Trump’s budget, which proposes cutting the Obama-era Japanese-American Confinement Sites Grant, during a House budget hearing on Thursday. The Congresswoman, whose U.S.-born grandfather was imprisoned in a Japanese-American camp because of his heritage during World War II, said that she only recently learned about her family’s history because of how little the issue is discussed.” [Newsweek, 3/16/18 (+)]
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says he's cut cost of pricey doors. “Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Thursday that his department has nearly cut in half the $139,000 bill for replacing six historical doors in his office. The six-figure cost drew headlines last week as the spending of several Trump administration Cabinet secretaries has been in focus. ‘We got it down to $75,000,’ he said at a House Natural Resources Committee hearing Thursday. ‘It was 139 -- I was reading the article, too, how could doors be $139,000? So I asked the question.’” [CNN, 3/15/18 (=)]
Ryan Zinke: 'We have not imported one elephant'. “Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said Thursday morning that his department has not authorized the import of any elephant trophies since the Fish and Wildlife Service announced it will consider these imports from African countries on a case-by-case basis. ‘We have not imported one elephant,’ Zinke said in testimony about the Interior Department’s budget before the House Natural Resources Committee. His remarks came after conservation and animal rights groups have criticized the Trump administration’s move to allow some imports, saying the new policy will be difficult to monitor.” [Washington Examiner, 3/15/18 (=)]
Semper Fi: Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke offended by Democrat's jab at Navy SEALs. “Criticize his travel expenses or pricey new office doors, if you’d like. But don’t ever insult Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s beloved Navy SEALs. Zinke, who has come under fire for traveling aboard chartered planes and buying three office doors costing $139,000, fielded lots of questions about those expenses and other topics during a House committee hearing on Thursday. But it was a jab at the Navy SEALs that really got under his skin.” [USA Today, 3/15/18 (=)]
Ryan Zinke to look into unpopular Montana land exchange proposal. “The US interior secretary, Ryan Zinke, has promised to look into a Montana land exchange proposal from Texas oil and gas billionaires Dan and Farris Wilks that was twice rejected under the Obama administration, the Guardian can reveal. The Wilkses and their lobbyist met Zinke, a Montana native, last September. ‘Zinke said he’ll look into the Wilkses’ proposal but was noncommittal,’ said the brothers’ representative, Darryl James, a Montana-based lobbyist who attended the meeting. Local conservationists and hunters are opposed to the deal, wary of a takeover of protected lands by wealthy out-of-state landowners.” [Guardian, 3/16/18 (+)]
GOP members urge Ryan to include LWCF in 'must-pass' bill. “More than two dozen Republican lawmakers called on House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to endorse permanent reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and pressed him to include the program in ‘must-pass legislation’ before it expires in September. In a March 9 letter, 28 members of the House Republican Conference urged Ryan to lend his support to the popular conservation and recreation program.” [E&E News, 3/16/18 (=)]
Trump administration seeks swift action on Alaska oil leases. “The Trump administration is seeking to sell leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as quickly as possible – drawing fire from opponents of drilling in the sensitive area, who are warning against a rushed process. A top Department of Interior official who traveled to Alaska last week promised an imminent start to the leasing process, saying he wanted to wrap up environmental studies within a year, more quickly than such documents have been completed in the past.” [Reuters, 3/15/18 (=)]
AP | Trump wildlife protection board stuffed with trophy hunters. “A new U.S. advisory board created to help rewrite federal rules for importing the heads and hides of African elephants, lions and rhinos is stacked with trophy hunters, including some members with direct ties to President Donald Trump and his family. A review by The Associated Press of the backgrounds and social media posts of the 16 board members appointed by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke indicates they will agree with his position that the best way to protect critically threatened or endangered species is by encouraging wealthy Americans to shoot some of them. One appointee co-owns a private New York hunting preserve with Trump’s adult sons. The oldest son, Donald Trump Jr., drew the ire of animal rights activists after a 2011 photo emerged of him holding a bloody knife and the severed tail of an elephant he killed in Zimbabwe.” [Great Falls Tribune, 3/15/18 (+)]
Oil rigs and cowboys: Interior agency gives employees new cards to wear. “The Bureau of Land Management has distributed an unusual new accessory for some of its employees to wear: A card with an image of an oil rig on one side and cattle ranching on the other. The cards, which feature artwork then-acting director Mike Nedd commissioned after President Trump took office, reflect the bureau’s renewed focus on energy and agricultural development on public lands. Under the Obama administration, the bureau had promoted recreation and conservation on public lands, but this imagery has receded from its official messaging over the past year.” [Washington Post, 3/15/18 (=)]
Watchdog decries wearable 'vision cards' as propaganda. “But PEER today blasted the vision cards, saying BLM employees are under orders to wear them ‘on their uniforms.’ ‘The person of federal employees should not be used for political messaging,’ PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch said in a statement. Ruch likened the vision cards to propaganda placards used by totalitarian regimes. ‘This is supposed to be the Bureau of Land Management, not Mao’s Red Guard,’ he said.” [E&E News, 3/15/18 (=)]
The shale boom could prove a two-edged sword for America. “Stephen Cheney and Andrew Holland of the American Security Project, a think-tank, argue that America’s greatest contribution to global energy security since the oil shocks of the 1970s has been to keep global energy markets fluid. Some analysts worry that this fluidity would be jeopardised if the Trump administration were to use oil and gas as a bargaining chip in bilateral relations, as China has done.” [The Economist, 3/15/18 (=)]
Public to get 4 chances to comment on Bears Ears, Grand Staircase-Escalante plans. “Now the agency has scheduled four public meetings for later this month as part of a required scoping period, two each for the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante areas. Meetings on the Bears Ears area are scheduled for March 26 in Blanding and March 27 in Bluff, with meetings on the Grand Staircase-Escalante area slated for March 28 in Kanab and March 29 in Escalante.” [St. George’s Spectrum, 3/14/18 (=)]
Zinke tries to thread needle on offshore drilling questions. “Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke indicated this morning that all coastal states are still under consideration for potential offshore drilling in the administration’s ongoing analysis of its five-year proposal. ‘Florida did not get an exemption,’ Zinke told the House Natural Resources Committee during his second appearance this week on Capitol Hill to testify on the fiscal 2019 budget. ‘I could have put Florida off the list from the beginning, but if I had done that, it would have been arbitrary and capricious,’ Zinke said during an exchange with Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.), who asked about California’s status with respect to Interior’s draft plan to open more than 90 percent of federal waters to potential oil and gas drilling.” [E&E News, 3/15/18 (=)]
Does Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have amnesia? “Does Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have amnesia? During an appearance Thursday before the House Committee on Natural Resources, Zinke bizarrely claimed ‘Florida did not get an exemption,’ from the administration’s offshore oil drilling plan.” [Tampa Bay Times, 3/15/18 (+)]
Lawmakers to Zinke: No Offshore Drilling for Virginia. “Zinke responded that he heard from every member of the Florida delegation and the governor there asked for an immediate meeting, plus he says there’s already an existing moratorium for Florida. As far as the other states on the Eastern Seaboard… ‘I can tell you most of the congressional districts on the coast are opposed to it with a few exceptions. The governors on the East Coast other than Maine and Georgia is on the fence. On the East Coast, the governors are opposed.’” [WVTF, 3/15/18 (=)]
Ex-Interior solicitor debunks 'creation myths' Bundys espouse. “Over the course of an hour, former Interior Department official John Leshy sped through nearly 250 years of U.S. public lands history, from boundary disputes that held up adoption of the Articles of Confederation to present day budget battles for land-management agencies. The urgency of his message to a packed audience stems in part from a desire to seize on the current wave of attention to the federal estate — spurred by incidents like President Trump’s decision to slash the size of two Utah national monuments last year (Greenwire, Dec. 4, 2017). Leshy, who served as Interior’s top lawyer during the Clinton administration, wants to debunk what he calls the ‘creation myths’ of the federal estate — before state land transfer advocates use those arguments to dismantle the 610 million acres overseen by four federal agencies.” [E&E News, 3/15/18 (+)]
California doesn't want this towering water project. Trump administration may build it anyway. “The Trump administration is pushing forward with a colossal public works project in Northern California — heightening the towering Shasta Dam the equivalent of nearly two stories. The problem is that California is dead-set against the plan, and state law prohibits the 602-foot New Deal-era structure from getting any taller. But in these times of unprecedented tension between Washington and California, the state’s objection to this $1.3-billion project near the Sacramento River is hardly proving a deterrent. The Trump administration is pursuing the project with gusto, even as it seeks to make deep cuts in popular conservation programs aimed at California's water shortages.” [Los Angeles Times, 3/15/18 (+)]
Tester, Gianforte want spending bill to include protecting land around Yellowstone from mining. “Two of Montana’s three congressional members have requested that their legislation to protect 30,000 acres of public land north of Yellowstone National Park from mining be included in the 2018 federal spending bill. Rep. Greg Gianforte, a Republican, and Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat, made the requests in letters to their respective House and Senate Appropriations Committee chairmen and vice chairmen last week.” [Helena Independent Record, 3/16/18 (+)]
Report shows outdoor recreation's economic worth to Colorado Springs area. “Long considered a nice backdrop, the area’s outdoors is now bringing in the green. During its second annual State of the Outdoors event, the Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance revealed that locals spend $2.14 billion every year on their activities on trails, open spaces and waters. That’s according to the Outdoor Industry Association report that will be released in its entirety next month, showing spending across the nation’s congressional districts.” [Colorado Springs Gazette, 3/15/18 (+)]
AP | Lawmaker Panel Says Idaho Should Cover Ranchers' Legal Fees. “Idaho should reimburse two ranchers for legal costs they spent fighting the federal government for rights to streams and other water bodies that livestock rely on when grazing on federally managed land, a panel of state lawmakers said Thursday. The House State Affairs Committee passed the proclamation on a voice vote, stating that $600,000 from the Constitutional Defense Fund should go to the Joyce Livestock and Lu Ranching companies to pay them back for the money they spent in the water rights cases more than a decade ago.” [U.S. News, 3/15/18 (=)]
Op-Ed, Editorial, and Analysis
Zinke’s Cynical Plan to Make America’s National Parks Dependent on Mining and Drilling. “Next Tuesday, a bill to codify the Zinke proposal will get a hearing in the House Natural Resources Committee and a companion bill has already been introduced in the Senate. But Congress should think twice before giving Zinke a blank check to drill on public lands and waters under the guise of supporting national parks. This column outlines three ways that Zinke’s proposal—and his characterization of it—is both misleading and irresponsible.” [Center for American Progress, 3/16/18 (+)]
Op-Ed: National monuments heal and inspire. “Conserving national monuments ensures that future generations of Americans, including military veterans, will forever have places to hunt and fish, to hike and camp, and to heal. Undoing the protection of these public lands for the benefit of developers is shortsighted. We encourage the president to take the long view, to embrace the promise of our natural legacy of public lands, and leave the monuments as they are.” [Las Vegas Sun, 3/16/18 (+)]
Op-Ed: Will Zinke support Land and Water Conservation Fund? “Secretary Zinke should re-join the Montana delegation’s bipartisan support of LWCF. Senator Jon Tester has been an outstanding champion for full-funding and permanent reauthorization of LWCF, with Senator Steve Daines and Congressman Greg Gianforte also showing strong support for LWCF. Montana’s commercial guides and outfitters depend on good access and healthy water resources for our careers. And we are depending on you as leader of the Interior Department to work with the President and Congress to save the Land and Water Conservation Fund.” [Helena Independent Record, 3/15/18 (+)]
Op-Ed: Trump’s public lands attack economically misguided. “So many of California’s most iconic places are or were national monuments at one time. In fact, Death Valley, Lassen Volcanic, Pinnacles and Joshua Tree national parks were national monuments before they were made national parks. Feinstein and Harris are standing up for our state’s ability to recruit top talent in the shadow of our parks and monuments. If President Trump is to continue to position himself as an economics-focused President, he must re-think any further attacks on our national monuments.” [Mercury News, 3/15/18 (+)]
Op-Ed: A Ground-Breaking Opportunity: Mining Critical Minerals in America. “This EO commits the country to reducing its vulnerability from mineral-import overreliance while paving the way for a cleaner and safer planet through existing and new technologies used by America’s mining industry. Increased domestic mining of abundant mineral resources is absolutely necessary for the economic health of our nation and is a long overdue America First strategy.” [National Review, 3/15/18 (-)]
Op-Ed: We don’t need Trump’s offshore oil and gas drilling. Californians, speak out. “No one should ever have to worry about whether their water is clean or the air is safe to breathe. The Trump administration’s plan to allow offshore drilling off California’s beaches has the potential to do irreparable environmental damage while taking our energy economy in the wrong direction. We urge Californians to speak out against this plan and help us protect our beautiful coastline and our climate.” [Sacramento Bee, 3/15/18 (+)]