Public Lands
It's not all gloom and doom for the environment.
Outside
The Bakersfield Office of the Bureau of Land Management released an environmental study that is the basis for undoing a 2013 de facto moratorium on fracking on federal lands in California. The Supplemental EIS triggers a 45-day public comment period.
San Francisco Chronicle
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) recently published a detailed plan to protect public lands.
Pacific Standard
The politics of the Department of the Interior under the Trump administration aren't likely to change, but new Secretary David Bernhardt is distinguishable from his predecessor thanks to a long history of oil industry lobbying.
Vox
The Natural Resources Management Act enjoyed bipartisan support in both houses of Congress. But it left out contentious issues like wildfires, greenhouse gas emissions, and protecting wildlife corridors.
High Country News
Zinke’s tenure at the Interior Department was not lengthy, but the damage he inflicted will be long-lasting.
Vox
A thriving natural environment creates opportunity for private developers and local economies, an economist argues.
New York Times
Unlike energy issues that will appear in the form of ballot initiatives on Tuesday in three western states, voters in New Mexico will cast their energy vote in their choice for state land commissioner, an arcane position with considerable authority.
NPR
Newly obtained documents reveal the extent of the state's efforts to strip protections from federal lands around the United States.
Pacific Standard
Former chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat wants to transform three failing golf courses into free public spaces.
The Toronto Star
Why is the Department of Interior considering a reduction of the size of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument?
Oregon Public Broadcasting
It's been a tough couple of years for advocates of public lands. Could the cause of conserving and protecting public lands be gaining public support in a staunchly conservative state?
Pacific Standard
EnergyNet auctions off oil and gas leases for state and federal lands—and business is booming under the Trump Administration.
Outside Online
The Sabinoso Wilderness is designated public land, but it's completely surrounded by private property. That could soon change.
High Country News
The Executive Order does not roll back the Antiquities Act nor rescind any designations made by presidents Clinton, George W. Bush, or Obama, but does call for their review if over 100,000 acres. President Trump feels that the act has been misused.
The Washington Post
As the Outdoor Industry Association gathered for its annual advocacy trip to Washington, D.C., the industry is marshaling its resources for an expected political battle with the Trump Administration.
The Denver Post
The congressional battle over public lands is only just beginning. The latest action: the House voted to rescind the Bureau of Land Management's recently approved "Planning 2.0" rule.
The Denver Post
It's the antithesis of what former President Obama and his predecessors did when they gave federal lands and waters more protection. But don't blame Trump's executive actions for this one (not yet, anyway), as it's being proposed by Congress.
The Guardian
Will the acquittal of seven defendants in a U.S. district court who used force to occupy the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon last January embolden other takeovers of public lands by resentful ranchers or militia?
High Country News
