There's a fund to protect national parks, but Congress drastically underfunds it. “The fund protects national parks by buying up pockets of private land in and around the parks, which could otherwise be used for private development, as well as matching state and local funds to create local parks. The plan to make funding permanent now has 227 House cosponsors, including members of both political parties. That's nine more than a House majority. The blueprint was approved by the Senate in 2016, but has not been brought to a vote in the House. A Senate version of the bill was introduced by Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., last year and has 12 cosponsors.” [McClatchy DC, 6/8/18 (+)]
Environmentalists Rip Ryan Zinke For Booting Yellowstone Bison Protector. “Environmentalists have accused Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke of pushing out Yellowstone National Park’s respected superintendent known for protecting bison from area ranchers. Dan Wenk has been in charge of the nation’s first national park since 2011 and has worked in the National Park Service for four decades. He said he was ordered to accept reassignment to a post in Washington, D.C., by August or take early retirement. ‘It felt punitive to me,’ Wenk told Yellowstone Public Radio Friday.” [HuffPost, 6/9/18 (+)]
Construction planned to prepare Alaska's Arctic refuge for oil drilling. “The Trump administration said on Thursday it would spend $4 million on construction projects in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in preparation for oil drilling in the nation’s biggest wildlife park.” [Reuters, 6/7/18 (=)]
Why do so many Mormons back Trump? Some say it's about the land. “Peay is Mormon and his striking claims regarding public land have a long history in Utah. Under Trump, these claims are being taken seriously. Peay believes this helps explain high Mormon approval levels for the president despite the Stormy Daniels affair and other scandals that might be thought shocking to a conservative religious conscience.” [Guardian, 6/10/18 (=)]
Trump commits $256 million to revive long-neglected national parks, gets no thanks from left. “He may never get credit from environmentalists, but President Trump is building a unique conservation legacy by focusing on the restoration and rehabilitation of America’s majestic yet long-neglected national parks. The Interior Department announced last week $256 million in funding for infrastructure projects at 22 national parks, including the Great Smoky Mountains, Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone, marking another step toward the goal of wiping out a stubborn $11.6 billion maintenance backlog. While Mr. Trump, a native New Yorker who built a real estate empire with luxury hotels and resorts, isn’t necessarily known for communing with nature, his decision to prioritize repairs to the national park system does jibe with his appreciation for grandeur and insistence on high-quality surroundings.” [Washington Times, 6/10/18 (-)]
Arizona water utility chooses solar over coal. “Despite a coal-friendly administration, Thursday’s vote for solar by the CAP board suggests that coal is no longer considered an economically viable option for future energy generation. Addressing representatives from both the Hopi Tribe and Navajo Nation at Thursday’s board meeting, CAP’s Board President Lisa Atkins stated that the utility was “not at war with coal.” Rather, it was seeking a “long-term, cost-effective, reliable and diverse power portfolio.” Coal, it would appear, no longer has a prime spot in that energy mix.” [High Country News, 6/8/18 (+)]
If Trump frees ranchers, would it end 'war on the West'? “Advocates for incarcerated father-and-son ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond believe the duo could see their current prison sentences commuted, saying high-level Trump administration officials are considering a petition urging that the pair be released from federal custody. The Hammonds were convicted in 2012 of using fire to maliciously damage U.S. property over blazes set on federal lands. After a judge doled out relatively short sentences in that case — three months for Dwight Hammond and one year for Steven Hammond — federal prosecutors appealed, eventually forcing a new decision that returned the Hammonds to jail to meet the minimum five-year requirement for arson.” [E&E News, 6/8/18 (=)]
Zinke gives new life to Every Kid in a Park program. “After getting lobbied hard by advocacy groups, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has decided to maintain a popular program that gives fourth-graders and their families free access to national parks. The National Park Service made the announcement this morning. ‘Secretary Zinke has reauthorized the Every Kid in a Park program and starting on September 1, 2018, the National Park Service will issue Every Kid in a Park passes for the upcoming school year while Congress considers more permanent proposals,’ said Jeremy Barnum, the Park Service’s chief spokesman.” [E&E News, 6/8/18 (=)]
This powerful N.J. Republican could have voted to block drilling off the Jersey Shore. He didn’t. “Efforts to keep the Atlantic Coast closed to offshore oil drilling -- something pushed by advocates of the Jersey Shore -- came up for a vote this week. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, New Jersey's most powerful House member, voted no. And the bill failed to pass a key House committee.” [NJ.com, 6/9/18 (+)]
Lucas St. Clair Turns Recreation into Political Capital. “St. Clair thinks he has a solution to that as well: He’s now running for Maine’s solidly purple, almost entirely rural 2nd Congressional District, which includes the monument. If he wins the June 12 primary, St. Clair will face Republican incumbent Bruce Poliquin, a fierce monument opponent. With the economic power of outdoor recreation at the core of St. Clair’s campaign, his candidacy is a test of whether the business of the outdoors really can unite our country’s bitter partisan divides.” [Outside Online, 6/8/18 (+)]
Senate amendment would push PolyMet land exchange. “Senate Amendment 2523 to the National Defense Authorization Act, apparently proposed by Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., would mandate the Forest Service move ahead with the trade of 6,650 acres of Superior National Forest land at the spot where PolyMet wants to dig Minnesota's first ever copper-nickel mine. In exchange, PolyMet would give the Forest Service an equal value of what had been private forest land to add to the Superior National Forest. Without the land deal PolyMet couldn't move forward with the mine, proposed for just north of Hoyt Lakes, which is currently awaiting state and federal mining and pollution permits.” [Duluth News Tribune, 6/8/18 (-)]
Conoco’s big plans for NPR-A are getting even bigger. “uring an especially upbeat quarterly earnings call this spring, a top ConocoPhillips executive gave a special shout-out to Alaska. ‘This was our largest exploration program in Alaska since 2002, and a successful one,’ Al Hirshberg, Conoco’s vice president for production, drilling and projects, said. Hirshberg noted that after drilling a half-dozen exploration wells in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska area this past winter, Conoco made three new oil discoveries. And, Hirshberg said, the company confirmed the discovery it announced last year, called Willow, holds quite a lot of oil — 300 million barrels.” [Alaska Public Media, 6/8/18 (=)]
Oregon hires director of newly created Office of Outdoor Recreation. “Oregon has a new outdoors czar. Cailin O’Brien-Feeney, a graduate of Lewis and Clark College, has been hired to lead Oregon’s newly created Office of Outdoor Recreation, state officials said in a news release Friday. O’Brien-Feeney will head a small team tasked with ‘elevating outdoor recreation in every corner of the state,’ by promoting legislation and practices that improve access, encourage public participation and protect natural resources, the release said.” [Statesman Journal, 6/8/18 (+)]
Wolves to make a comeback on Isle Royale. “Federal officials yesterday signed off on a plan to rebuild the wolf population at Isle Royale National Park after three years of debate. The National Park Service formally launched plans to bring 20 to 30 gray wolves to the archipelago on Lake Superior over the next few years. The decision was announced in the Federal Register in March, but NPS gave time for public comments on the final environmental impact statement before finalizing the plan (Greenwire, March 16). It’s an unusual hands-on management decision, but it was necessary to cull the moose population and prevent it from overeating shrubs and trees, said Superintendent Phyllis Green.” [E&E News, 6/8/18 (=)]
Reckoning with History: The devolution of conservation’s trust fund. “When Congress debated the law in the early 1960s, National Park Service Director Conrad Wirth urged senators to support it so that unborn generations could develop “their God-given right to understand, enjoy, and obtain inspiration and healthful benefits from the very land, water, and air from whence all have sprung.” No such rhetoric may be able to save the fund now, even if Wirth’s faith in parks and wildernesses still widely endures. For more than 50 years, the Land and Water Conservation Fund has helped create a full range of outdoor recreation and conservation opportunities, from favorite neighborhood parks to remote wild canyons and sometimes the trails that connect them, adding immeasurable wealth to the United States. Unfortunately, a conservative bloc in our partisan Congress seems unwilling to admit that.” [High Country News, 6/8/18 (+)]
Op-Ed: Selling the Protected Area Myth. “Governments that boast about their protected areas without actually protecting them, Mr. Watson said, are ‘selling a myth.’ Even Unesco’s Natural World Heritage sites — supposedly the planet’s greatest natural treasures — have a human footprint closer on average to farmland than to wilderness, he notes. When Tanzania, for instance, wanted to dig a uranium mine in its vast and storied Selous Game Reserve, once home to the one of the world’s largest population of elephants, Unesco approved the 135-square mile project — and duly moved the Selous onto its list of endangered World Heritage sites.” [New York Times, 6/9/18 (+)]
Op-Ed: Offshore drilling is wrong for New England. “The meeting will include a review of the use of the Plan and the Northeast Ocean Data Portal to inform decision making, and a presentation about submerged paleocultural landscape research. As we head out to our magnificent New England beaches this summer, let’s remember that the time to get active to protect our precious ocean, is now.” [Bangor Daily News, 6/10/18 (+)]
Op-Ed: Health hazards of methane necessitate rule. “This month PLC signed a letter, along with 15 other Latino organizations, asking the BLM to not gut this important rule. This letter was also submitted as part of the BLM’s comment collection period. Our comment, like an overwhelming majority of those submitted, is in favor of keeping the existing rule strong and in place. If the rule is modified allowing oil and gas companies to continue to wasting our public resources and endangering our public health, the message would be clear – the special interests from the oil and gas industry are placed squarely ahead of our communities, families and children. The land, air and water are part of New Mexico’s cherished outdoor heritage. Let’s pause the partisanship and fulfill our moral obligation to protect it.” [Albuquerque Journal, 6/11/18 (+)]
Op-Ed: Conservation fund supports WV's recreation economy. “The program has support from both West Virginia Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, who applauded $778,000 in funding from the fund for improvements to outdoor facilities in Tucker, Summers, Wayne, Marshall and Berkeley counties just last fall. Congress currently has more than enough support to reauthorize this critical conservation tool. Please join me in urging all of West Virginia’s representatives in Congress to support reauthorization of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and fully fund this program that has protected key recreation areas at 98 percent of counties in the country, supporting millions of outdoor recreation and tourism jobs, including ours.” [Charleston Gazette-Mail, 6/10/18 (+)]
Op-Ed: Sage grouse has nothing to do with military pay. “I hope Heller will stop playing politics with our armed forces. And I hope Democrats will oppose any riders that undermine our public lands, including any sage grouse rider. Finally, I expect all elected officials to take the high road and vote against any version of the defense bill that includes these types of nonsensical provisions. Our men and women in uniform deserve nothing less.” [Las Vegas Sun, 6/9/18 (+)]
Op-Ed: Bill would restrict input on mine projects. “We hope Sens. Udall and Heinrich will do the right thing and tell their Senate colleagues that the ‘Strategic and Critical’ special favor to the mining industry should be stripped from the bill that funds our national defense.” [Albuquerque Journal, 6/10/18 (+)]
Op-Ed: Our national landscapes are under strain. “This time, even in the Grand Staircase, was little different. The jump-off point, the town of Escalante, is one of the most isolated in Utah. It was filled with tourists from around the world, and the trails also showed the strain. We hiked to Calf Creek Falls early, and had 30 minutes of silence before the hordes started descending. I think of parks as non-political, and you'd think we would be able to agree on this across the political spectrum. These are things that are vital to support with tax dollars, yet we're not doing it. I'd encourage all of you to tell our representatives and senators, as they tour through here, that parks matter. And that means putting our government's money where their mouth is.” [Moscow-Pullman Daily News, 6/9/18 (+)]