National

 

Zinke yields to states on fish and wildlife. “Individual states will wield more clout over fish and wildlife on about 780,000 square miles of Interior Department land nationwide under a new policy outlined by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. In a move that’s welcomed by Western conservatives but worries environmentalists, Zinke has directed Interior agencies to draft new action plans consistent with the states’ ‘fundamental responsibility’ for fish and wildlife management.” [E&E News, 9/11/18 (=)]

Committee to mark up bill cutting maintenance backlog. “The House Natural Resources Committee plans to vote tomorrow on a bill that would pay for a good chunk of the maintenance backlog facing the National Park Service. The bill is a top priority for the panel's chairman, Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah), who wants to create a five-year, $6.5 billion fund for the Park Service and three other Interior Department agencies for deferred maintenance.” [E&E News, 9/12/18 (=)]

National park officials were told climate change was ‘sensitive.’ So they removed it from a key planning report. “Park officials scrubbed all mentions of climate change from a key planning document for a New England national park after they were warned to avoid ‘sensitive language that may raise eyebrows’ with the Trump administration.” [Reveal, 9/10/18 (+)]

More visitors, climate change cause concern. “More visitors as well as rising temperatures and other effects of climate change are causing concern for managers of Yellowstone National Park. A new Park Service report, ‘The State of Yellowstone Vital Signs and Select Park Resources 2017,’ follows earlier documents published in 2013, 2011 and 2008. ‘The [greater Yellowstone area] is becoming more arid, and global climate models project this trend will continue in the future,’ the report states.” [E&E News, 9/11/18 (=)]

Votes set on rural broadband bill, 'Every Kid Outdoors Act’ “The House this week will fast-track votes on 10 natural resources bills, including one that would give states discretion over environmental compliance for broadband projects in rural areas. Utah Republican Rep. John Curtis' H.R. 4824 would ease broadband permitting in rural areas by providing categorical exclusions from the National Environmental Policy Act for certain broadband facilities on federal land.” [E&E News, 9/12/18 (=)]

 

Ex-nominee for mining post looks back with regret. “By the time his family farm became an obstacle to his Senate confirmation, J. Steven Gardner said, he had already lost hope of becoming the next director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. The Kentucky mining consultant withdrew his nomination last week, nearly a year after President Trump tapped him to lead the Interior Department’s mining agency, a year and a half after he was first approached about the job and almost two years after his name was floated (Greenwire, Sept. 6).” [E&E News, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

State and Local

 

Criticism high, bidding low for Utah’s biggest oil, gas lease sale since the Bush years. Sensitive areas near Canyonlands auctioned. “Critics have been saying it for months. Under President Donald Trump, Utah’s scenic public lands are being sold off to the highest bidder. But if Tuesday’s oil and gas lease auction is any indication, plenty of parcels aren’t worth bidding on, and many of those ‘highest’ bids are pretty low.” [Salt Lake Tribune, 9/11/18 (=)]

Business owners, Tester push for conservation fund’s reauthorization as deadline nears. “Without direct action by Congress, the Land and Water Conservation Fund will cease to exist on Sept. 30 – and with it, a program that has invested in 42,000 projects nationwide that expanded public access and recreation while preserving ecosystems. Montana Sen. Jon Tester has issued repeated calls to action – not only for Congress to permanently reauthorize the program and to fully fund it. He’s introduced legislation that would accomplish both those goals, and his voice has been joined by those of hundreds of business owners from Western states.” [Missoula Current, 9/11/18 (+)]

Sen. Tammy Baldwin hosts roundtable discussion with Wisconsin hunters. “On Tuesday, Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin hosted a roundtable discussion with hunters and sportsmen in Marathon County regarding the Land and Water Conservation Fund. While at the discussion, she made her stance clear about allowing future generations to carry on Wisconsin’s traditions of hunting, fishing, and other outdoor actives. Although this is legislation that both Republicans and Democrats have supported in the past, Sen. Baldwin says other politicians would like to see the funding go elsewhere.” [WSAW, 9/11/18 (+)]

Federal judge erred in scrapping forced leases, Idaho says. “A U.S. District Court judge made a legal error, Idaho officials say, and should reverse his ruling that Idaho violated the U.S. Constitution by forcing several landowners to sell their natural gas and oil to a Texas company. The Idaho attorney general's office in documents filed yesterday says Chief U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill "was clearly erroneous" in a ruling last month that could have significant ramifications for a state-approved process intended to prevent a minority of mineral rights owners from stopping natural gas and oil production.” [E&E News, 9/11/18 (=)]

AP | Top Colorado Dems Object to Trump Plans for Oil-Gas Drilling. “Top Colorado Democrats on Tuesday accused the Trump administration of rushing to open public lands to oil and gas drilling without giving the public nearly enough time to comment. In letters to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Sen. Michael Bennet and Gov. John Hickenlooper also asked the government not to go ahead with plans for oil and gas drilling on habitat for the greater sage grouse, a bird that Western states and federal agencies are trying to protect.” [U.S. News, 9/11/18 (=)]

 

Op-Ed, Editorial, and Analysis

 

Op-Ed: Congress must reauthorize Land, Water Conservation Fund. “If you enjoyed a park on Labor Day weekend, odds are the Land & Water Conservation Fund helped fund its acquisition or pay for amenities such as boat ramps and ball fields. From iconic national parks such as Biscayne and the Everglades to places in our own backyard, such as Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge and Sandsprit Park in Stuart, the fund has protected the outdoor places we love in South Florida and across the country for more than 50 years.” [TCPalm, 9/11/18 (+)]

Op-Ed: Time is running out (again) for conservation’s bank account. “Typically, LWCF spending is connected to appropriations for the Interior Department, but as of mid-September, it has not been attached to any legislation. As members of Congress jockey for spending priorities ahead of midterm elections and the LWCF edges closer to expiration, one of the most important funding sources for recreation and conservation is caught in the Capitol’s political crosswinds.” [High Country News, 9/12/18 (+)]

Op-Ed: Act Now to Help Preserve Our American Public Lands Legacy. “Without funding for the further protection and enhancement of America’s public lands and waters, the economic success and cultural vitality of mountain communities may be at risk. The continued health, cultural well-being, and economic success of our communities are inextricably linked to the American public land system and outdoor recreation. The LWCF is too important for public lands, waters, and recreation to let it expire. Congress must act now to help preserve our American public lands legacy.” [Flathead Beacon, 9/12/18 (+)]

Editorial: Public land in the Ozarks can use your help. “The Ozarks is rich with public land — places your can wander for an hour or for two weeks. And there is no better time to show your appreciation for that than during an upcoming event: National Public Lands Day on Sept. 22. It is billed as the nation's largest single-day volunteer event; last year, nearly 170,000 volunteers around the country donated 680,000 hours of community service at 2,100 sites around the country.” [Joplin Globe, 9/11/18 (+)]