BLM public land

=promote primary 2/18as of 717  rep fed public land, see also nat parks, dept interior, zinke1019 bak<div>=</div><div>
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</div><div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-gas-leases-public-lands-2645367415.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-gas-leases-public-lands-2645367415.html</a></div><div>
</div><div>A federal judge threw out <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil-and-gas" target="self" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">oil and gas</a> leases on nearly one million acres of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" target="self" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">public lands</a> that are important habitat for the greater sage grouse, arguing that a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump-administration" target="self" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">Trump administration</a> policy that curtailed public input on the leases was "arbitrary and capricious."</div><div>
</div><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body css-listicle-body-2645367415" style="margin-top: -15px; line-height: 1.5;"><div class="body-description" style="clear: both;"><div class="rebellt-item col1" data-basename="particle-1" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-gas-leases-public-lands-2645367415.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" data-id="1" data-is-image="False" data-reload-ads="false" id="rebelltitem1">At the start of 2018, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had issued a memo shortening the period for public comment and protest on oil and gas leases from 30 days to 10, <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/sage-grouse-oil-gas-leases-federal-land_n_5e59e833c5b6450a30bebc9c?ri18n=true&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaHVmZnBvc3QuY29tL3RvcGljL2Vudmlyb25tZW50&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAKY_5wc_yI8AD-aKGvmxuiEHi22ewjB-kyG0cGXtjy4MCKNyl39nNHNg33c5xa-mJHJLDr_XfC63CCyD01oLX5wH_BdH_3RPH5ud4cuP4eMtJIQ3Z_cOlz6jU3JmuJgcyGcHCmO9KcnaKeBv3Uqo00dJT333lhLDhD7MyeZPQx4" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">Huffpost reported</a>. But U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Ronald Bush ruled in Idaho Thursday that around $125 million worth of leases issued under the new policy be tossed out and the full 30-day comment period restored. In his <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/birds/greater_sage_grouse/pdfs/Sage-Grouse-174-Phase-One-Decision.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">decision</a>, Bush argued that BLM could not only consider the economic needs of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">fossil fuel</a> industries at the expense of all other concerns.</div><div class="rebellt-item col1" data-basename="particle-2" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-gas-leases-public-lands-2645367415.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" data-id="2" data-is-image="False" data-reload-ads="false" id="rebelltitem2" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"If the words 'justice so requires' are to mean anything, they must satisfy the fundamental understanding of justice: that it requires an impartial look at the balance struck between the two sides of the scale, as the iconic statue of the blindfolded goddess of justice holding the scales aloft depicts," he wrote. "Merely to look at only one side of the scales, whether solely the costs or solely the benefits, flunks this basic requirement."</div><div class="rebellt-item col1" data-basename="particle-3" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-gas-leases-public-lands-2645367415.html?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3" data-id="3" data-is-image="False" data-reload-ads="false" id="rebelltitem3">The lawsuit was brought by the <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">Center for Biological Diversity</a> (CBD) and the <a href="https://www.westernwatersheds.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">Western Watersheds Project</a> in a bid to protect greater sage grouse habitat, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/02/27/judge-voids-nearly-1-million-acres-oil-gas-leases-saying-trump-policy-undercut-public-input/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">The Washington Post explained</a>. The sage grouse, whose numbers have fallen from around 16 million to fewer than 500,000 because of disease and development, reflects the overall health of the Western sagebrush habitat that also houses hundreds of other species.Bush's ruling tossed out five leases on more than 1,300 square miles — or more than 800,000 acres — of public lands in Nevada, Utah and Wyoming, according to HuffPost and <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/485133-judge-voids-almost-1-million-acres-of-oil-and-gas-leases-on-public" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">The Hill</a>. However, it could have implications for around 67 million acres of sage grouse habitat in 11 Western states.</div><div class="rebellt-item col1" data-basename="particle-4" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-gas-leases-public-lands-2645367415.html?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4" data-id="4" data-is-image="False" data-reload-ads="false" id="rebelltitem4" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">"This is an enormous victory for greater sage grouse and hundreds of other animals and plants that depend on this dwindling habitat," CBD senior campaigner Taylor McKinnon said in a <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/judge-voids-trump-oil-and-gas-lease-sales-nearly-1-million-acres-sage-grouse-habitat-2020-02-27/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">press release</a>. "The judge confirmed that it's illegal to silence the public to expand fossil-fuel extraction. It's a win for millions of acres of our beautiful public lands and a major blow to the Trump administration's corrupt efforts to serve corporate polluters."</div><div class="rebellt-item col1" data-basename="particle-5" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-gas-leases-public-lands-2645367415.html?rebelltitem=5#rebelltitem5" data-id="5" data-is-image="False" data-reload-ads="false" id="rebelltitem5" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The BLM said it was considering whether or not to appeal the ruling, according to The Washington Post. However, spokesperson Derrick Henry told The Washington Post that the agency remained committed to streamlining the leasing process."To do this, we have been working within our legal authorities to alleviate or eliminate unnecessary and burdensome regulations, while at the same time upholding public health and environmental protections, including sage-grouse conservation," Henry said.</div><div class="rebellt-item col1" data-basename="particle-6" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-gas-leases-public-lands-2645367415.html?rebelltitem=6#rebelltitem6" data-id="6" data-is-image="False" data-reload-ads="false" id="rebelltitem6" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">However, environmental advocates have complained that, under the Trump administration, streamlining often comes at the expense of public participation. In one particularly ironic example last week, Democratic Congresspeople, activists and former government workers said that the White House's Council on Environmental Quality is making it harder to comment on its plans to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-attacking-nepa-2644853997.html" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">restrict the National Environmental Policy Act</a>, itself a law designed to give communities a say in projects that might impact their local ecosystems. However, <a href="https://earthjustice.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">Earthjustice</a> attorney Drew Caputo told The Washington Post that the administration's attempts to work around public input also often ended up flouting the law, leading to court defeats like Thursday's."This administration has been relentless in its efforts to cut the public out of public lands decision-making, starting in 2018," Western Watersheds Project staff attorney Talasi Brooks said in a press release. "The court wasn't fooled by the agency's efforts to disguise its intention to provide greater influence to extractive energies, and the sage grouse and 350 other sagebrush-dependent species will benefit from today's win."Correction. An earlier version of this article stated that a judge had banned oil and gas leases on nearly one million acres of public land. It has been updated to reflect the fact that he threw out existing leases rather than banning leasing generally.</div><div class="post-pager js-listicle-pager" data-listicle-style="" data-async_load_parameters="platform=desktop&display_ads=1&settings=%7B%22enter_url%22%3A+false%2C+%22no_post_section%22%3A+false%2C+%22ads_breaks%22%3A+null%2C+%22prevent_last_break_repetition%22%3A+false%2C+%22use_numeration%22%3A+false%2C+%22allow_url_change%22%3A+true%2C+%22ads_order%22%3A+%5B%5D%2C+%22pagination_order%22%3A+%5B%5D%2C+%22list_breaks%22%3A+null%2C+%22reorder_voting%22%3A+false%2C+%22cooldown_in_seconds%22%3A+null%2C+%22source%22%3A+%22post_listicle_settings%22%2C+%22next_post_url%22%3A+null%2C+%22up_down_voting%22%3A+false%2C+%22show_columns_on_mobile%22%3A+false%2C+%22numeration_sort%22%3A+-1%2C+%22allow_url_update%22%3A+true%2C+%22use_pagination%22%3A+false%2C+%22body_text_above%22%3A+false%2C+%22use_ads%22%3A+false%2C+%22items_as_posts%22%3A+false%2C+%22multiple_answers%22%3A+false%2C+%22no_redirect%22%3A+false%2C+%22is_guest_voting_allowed%22%3A+true%2C+%22layout_type%22%3A+1%7D" style="display: table; width: 780px;" /><div class="around-the-web" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin-top: 5px !important;"><div class="from-your-siteheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase; visibility: hidden !important; margin-bottom: -5px !important;" /><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none;"><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-public-lands-2639897277.html" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">How to Counter Trump's Disastrous Attack on Our Public Lands ... ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-and-gas-public-lands-2645150899.html" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">New Report Details Impacts of Oil and Gas Development on Public ... ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/california-public-lands-fracking-trump-2644818244.html" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Green Groups Sue to Stop Trump Admin From Allowing Fracking on ... ›</a></li><li class="from-your-siteitem"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-climate-censorship-public-lands-2644826529.html" class="from-your-sitelink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Trump Admin Ordered 'Climate Censorship' in Plans to Lease Texas ... ›</a></li></ul><div class="around-the-webheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase; visibility: hidden; margin-top: 20px !important; margin-bottom: -5px !important;" /><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none;"><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.loe.org/shows/segments.html?programID=19-P13-00015&segmentID=8" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Greater Peril for the Greater Sage Grouse - Living on Earth ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/reports/2019/05/23/470140/backroom-deals/" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Backroom Deals - Center for American Progress ›</a></li></ul></div></div></div><div class="tags" style="margin: 20px 0px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a class="tagsitem" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" style="text-decoration-line: none; margin: 4px 2px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; border-radius: 20px; border: 2px solid rgb(232, 232, 232); padding: 6px 11px;">public lands</a> <a class="tagsitem" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greater-sage-grouse" style="text-decoration-line: none; margin: 4px 2px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; border-radius: 20px; border: 2px solid rgb(232, 232, 232); padding: 6px 11px;">greater sage grouse</a> <a class="tagsitem" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/animals" style="text-decoration-line: none; margin: 4px 2px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; border-radius: 20px; border: 2px solid rgb(232, 232, 232); padding: 6px 11px;">animals</a> <a class="tagsitem" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump-administration" style="text-decoration-line: none; margin: 4px 2px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; border-radius: 20px; border: 2px solid rgb(232, 232, 232); padding: 6px 11px;">trump administration</a> <a class="tagsitem" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil-and-gas" style="text-decoration-line: none; margin: 4px 2px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; border-radius: 20px; border: 2px solid rgb(232, 232, 232); padding: 6px 11px;">oil and gas</a> <a class="tagsitem" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/positive-news" style="text-decoration-line: none; margin: 4px 2px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; border-radius: 20px; border: 2px solid rgb(232, 232, 232); padding: 6px 11px;">positive news</a> <a class="tags__item" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" style="text-decoration-line: none; margin: 4px 2px; display: inline-block; line-height: 1; border-radius: 20px; border: 2px solid rgb(232, 232, 232); padding: 6px 11px;">conservation</a></div><div> </div><div>=</div><div>BUFFER</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-national-monuments-2645060606.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-national-monuments-2645060606.html</a></div><div>The <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump-administration" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">Trump administration</a> <a href="https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-restores-access-blueprint-managing-national-monuments-and-public-lands-utah" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">finalized plans Thursday</a> to open <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">public lands</a> in Utah to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">fossil fuel</a> industry.<div class="rebellt-item col1" data-basename="particle-2" data-href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-national-monuments-2645060606.html?rebelltitem=2#rebelltitem2" data-id="2" data-is-image="False" data-reload-ads="false" id="rebelltitem2" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The move completes a process begun in 2017 when the administration announced the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/amp/trump-utah-national-monuments-2514084239" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">largest rollback of land protection in U,S. history</a>: It shrank Utah's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bears-ears" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">Bears Ears National Monument</a> by 85 percent and its <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/grand-staircase-escalante" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument</a> by nearly half. Now, the Interior Department is releasing a land-use blueprint that would allow <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">oil</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">gas</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="self" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">coal</a> companies to lease land for drilling and mining on around 861,974 acres that were once part of Grand Staircase-Escalante, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/06/climate/trump-grand-staircase-monument.html?auth=link-dismiss-google1tap" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">The New York Times reported</a>."These plans are atrocious, and entirely predictable," <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-color: rgb(82, 149, 70); line-height: 1.5;">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> (NRDC) Senior Director for Lands Sharon Buccino said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch. "They are the latest in a series of insults to these magnificent lands by the Trump administration that began when Trump illegally dismantled Bears Ears and Grand Staircase at the behest of corporate interests two years ago."</div></div><div>...</div><div></div><a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17112019/oil-gas-leases-suspended-climate-impact-federal-nepa-assessment-blm-utah-colorado-wyoming">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17112019/oil-gas-leases-suspended-climate-impact-federal-nepa-assessment-blm-utah-colorado-wyoming</a>Trump administration's relentless push to expand fossil fuel production on federal lands is hitting a new snag: its own refusal to consider the climate impacts of development.The federal Bureau of Land Management's Utah office in September voluntarily suspended 130 oil and gas leases after advocacy groups sued, arguing that BLM hadn't adequately assessed the greenhouse gas emissions associated with drilling and extraction on those leases as required by law.The move was unusual because BLM suspended the leases on its own, without waiting for a court to rule.Some environmental advocates say it could indicate a larger problem for the bureau. "It is potentially a BLM-wide issue," said Jayni Hein, natural resources director at the Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU School of Law, which has been involved in similar litigation in other states. "It could have the effect of suspending even more leases across the West, and not just for oil and gas, for coal as well."Officials in Utah had already pulled back several other lease sales earlier this year. In effect, BLM appears to be trying to get ahead of potential court rulings, advocates say.A series of court rulings have established that BLM must conduct a thorough analysis of the climate impacts of drilling before it allows development in order to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).In the latest ruling, a federal district court in Washington, D.C., in March <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/20/climate/wyoming-climate-change-drilling-interior.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">ordered the bureau</a> to redo its environmental analysis for a slate of leases in Wyoming to better assess climate impacts. In response, BLM suspended the Wyoming leases, as well as leases in Utah and Colorado that were included in the lawsuit but not directly addressed by the ruling. The new Utah suspensions cover a different set of leases, including many sold last year. In letters <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6548459-Crescent-Point-Energy-US-Corp-Suspension-Letter.html" style="box-sizing: inherit; background-color: transparent; text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold;">sent in September</a> to energy companies that had bought the leases, BLM said it was suspending them "based on the parallels" between the lawsuit over them and the case that resulted in the March ruling in Washington, D.C.All told, nearly 1 million acres may now be suspended across the West, said Rebecca Fischer, an attorney with WildEarth Guardians, which filed the lawsuit in the Washington, D.C., circuit, including more than 460,000 acres covered by that lawsuit and some 300,000 acres that Utah's BLM office has suspended since the March ruling....<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/08102019/blm-move-western-states-federal-land-control-mining-sagebrush-rebel-interior">https://insideclimatenews.org/news/08102019/blm-move-western-states-federal-land-control-mining-sagebrush-rebel-interior</a>no lnx grxno lnx
Inside Climate News
What the BLM Shake-Up Could Mean for Public Lands and Their Climate ImpactWith a self-described Sagebrush Rebel in charge, moving nearly 300 Bureau of Land Management staff could give Western states more influence over federal land use.BY JUDY FAHYS, INSIDECLIMATE NEWSOCT 8, 2019Coal mining in Wyoming. Credit: Bureau of Land ManagementThe Bureau of Land Management oversees coal leasing on about 570 million acres of land. Nearly 300 BLM employees are being moved from Washington, D.C., to Western states as the Trump administration puts a federal focus on "energy dominance." Credit: Bureau of Land Management
The changes underway at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management might not seem like much: A few hundred employees are being relocated from offices near the White House and dispersed throughout the West, while agency leaders move in next door to energy companies in newly leased headquarters in Grand Junction, Colorado.
But along with the appointment of a self-described Sagebrush Rebel as acting director, the shuffling of staff could help position conservatives to accomplish substantial political goals: expanding fossil fuel development, easing national environmental protections, and shifting more power to state governments for managing federal forests and energy development.
Many environmental advocates are watching warily in light of what the changes could mean for environmental policy, including actions related to climate change.
"Their steps threaten to set back efforts to manage our public lands as part of a national climate solution," said Chase Huntley of the Wilderness Society's energy and climate program. The extraction and use of fossil fuels from public lands accounts for nearly a quarter of the nation's carbon dioxide emissions, and the BLM oversees more than 245 million acres of that land as well as 700 million acres of minerals underground.
Moving nearly 300 staff members from Washington to the West will give states' rights advocates something they have been clamoring for: more state influence over day-to-day federal land decisions, as well as potential increases in revenue tied to fossil-fuel development. That's already happening as the Trump administration grants western state and local leaders bigger roles in managing public lands.
The Trump administration and its supporters say reorganizing the BLM will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of natural resource programs, including grazing, logging and managing federal coal, oil and gas development.
The bureau is tasked under the Federal Land Planning and Management Act with balancing that resource extraction with recreational and environmental values, including wildlife conservation and cultural resource protection. The changes could tilt that balance further toward industry interests.
Map: BLM Manages Large Areas of the Western U.S.Jayson O'Neill, deputy director of the left-leaning public lands advocacy group the Western Values Project, described the BLM reorganization as "lands-transfer lite." Some Westerners have demanded that the federal government hand over title to public land to the states. The Trump administration rejected that idea early on, but "transfer-lite" amounts to a compromise that gives states more control over natural resources on federal lands, he said.
The states' mandate "is to generate revenue, which is a lot different than the mandate of the Bureau of Land Management ... to balance uses," O'Neill said. He sees the reorganization as an "attack on our public lands so that extractive resource industries and the oil and gas industry can control public lands without public input."
The BLM did not respond to requests for comment. But Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) articulated the thinking behind the move in a video posted on Twitter in July after the BLM announced its new Grand Junction headquarters.
"This means that people will be able to have greater say, greater impact on public lands decisions that affect their community," he said.
The BLM had considered climate change impacts in its decisions until the Trump administration shifted its focus toward "energy dominance."
"American energy production is soaring to new heights thanks to President Trump's policies," proclaimed a White House fact sheet touting a record $1.1 billion in revenue from onshore oil and gas lease sales last year.
A 'Sagebrush Rebel' In ChargeShifting more BLM resources to western states is a boon for states' rights advocates.
So was the appointment of William Perry Pendley to lead the reorganization as acting director of BLM. Pendley, who calls himself @Sagebrush_Rebel on Twitter, has authored five books arguing for limiting federal control of public lands, including, most recently, Warriors for the West: Fighting Bureaucrats, Radical Groups and Liberal Judges on America's Frontier.
In the Reagan Interior Department, Pendley was Secretary James Watt's deputy. He later followed Watt as head of the Mountain States Legal Foundation. Under his leadership, MSLF became a staunch advocate for private-property rights, federal-lands transfer and the New Sagebrush Rebellion—ideas that resurfaced in the public consciousness in recent years by extremists in the Cliven Bundy armed standoff with the BLM and the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge occupation.[pix Acting BLM Director William Perry Pendley, testifying before the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee in September, 2019. Credit: CongressActing BLM Director William Perry Pendley, testifying before the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee, said reorganizing the BLM would bring decision-makers closer to the lands they manage. Conservatives cheered his appointment, while environmental groups fear that having a longtime anti-government lawyer is a step toward dismantling the nation's largest land agency. Credit: Congress]
"I see the reorganization as an effort to get the land managers closer to the lands they're managing," said Jennifer Fielder, a GOP state senator in Montana and director of the conservative American Lands Council, a nonprofit that's led the "lands transfer" movement to have states assume ownership of most federal lands. "It's good to have somebody at the agency who's looking out for the citizens."
Jeff Ruch, western director for the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said having Pendley at the BLM "is all about an extractive agenda, an industry agenda."
The Effects of Isolating BLM StaffStaff at BLM headquarters work closely with other federal agencies, and they are responsible for briefing Congress and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). They also convey the policy goals of agency leaders at the Interior Department, which oversees BLM.
Most of the relocated headquarters staff is being dispersed to 11 state offices in the West that 97 percent of BLM's approximately 10,000 employees already report to. Just over two dozen will relocate to the new Colorado headquarters, where co-tenants include Chevron USA, an oil and gas company, and the local branch of an energy-industry trade group. The site is midway between Denver and Salt Lake City and a four hour drive to the nearest major airport.
That isolation is a concern, said Elaine Zielinski, a member of the Public Lands Foundation, a nonpartisan association of former BLM managers.
She worries that locating the agency so far from Washington will undermine BLM's communications with national decision makers, including Congress, White House budget-makers and partner agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Many important conversations about policies, budget and congressional oversight are "on D.C. time," said Zielinski, who led BLM's Oregon and Arizona state offices and worked at Washington headquarters. Staffers were expected to brief national decision makers at a moment's notice, and if knowledgeable staffers didn't get there within an hour, she said, "Don't bother. They've moved on."
"With Congress, you have a short window to answer these questions, and also with OMB," she said. With the reorganization, "all the people who have the answers are scattered all over the country."
Shrinking Government by Getting Staff to QuitConservative groups like the Heritage Foundation and the American Legislative Exchange Council have been advocating for shifting power out of Washington and for shrinking the federal government, and the BLM reorganization can be seen as another move toward those goals.
BLM headquarters employees began receiving relocation notices a few weeks ago, and some are likely to decline new postings rather than uproot their families.
When two Agriculture Department agencies were reassigned from Washington to Kansas City, two-thirds of the staff refused to relocate.
Mick Mulvaney, acting chief of staff to the president, described relocating staff like that as "a wonderful way to sort of streamline government" by getting federal employees to quit.
BLM Shuffles StaffShifting power to the states is also a longtime goal of some conservative groups. The Trump administration has moved in that direction with the Shared Stewardship forest program, for instance, and beefing up the presence of local government on the Bears Ears National Monument management council. Recent proposals in Congress would also put state and local government in charge of energy management and law enforcement on federal lands.
Martin Nie, director of the University of Montana's Bolle Center for People and Forests, said the BLM reorganization is the administration's latest nod to Sagebrush Rebels and states' rights conservatives.
"We have seen an unprecedented transfer of management authority from the federal government to the states," he said, counting the BLM reorganization as the latest example.
Could It Influence Western Voters?Empowering states, reducing the role of the federal government, expanding public lands energy development—while those ideas resonate in western states, what might be even more important to conservatives is the role the BLM reorganization can play in shoring up the conservative vote in 2020.
Republicans stand to lose Senate seats in Colorado and Arizona if their voters don't turn out. In the U.S. House, the GOP sees winnable Democratic seats in Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada. Montana's sole House seat, held by a Republican now, is considered a tossup. Meanwhile, Nevada and Arizona are both considered swing states in 2020 presidential race.
With the reorganization shifting BLM headquarters and staff to their states, it could appear to conservative voters that the Trump administration is listening to their pleas to give states more influence over federal land.==<a href="https://www.alternet.org/2019/09/inside-the-trump-administrations-chaotic-dismantling-of-the-bureau-of-land-management/">https://www.alternet.org/2019/09/inside-the-trump-administrations-chaotic-dismantling-of-the-bureau-of-land-management/</a>

Early this month, workers at the Washington headquarters of the

Bureau of Land Management gathered to discuss a Trump administration

plan that would force some 200 people to uproot their lives or find

other jobs.

With a vague plan that keeps changing as officials describe it — and

no guarantees that Congress would fully fund their relocations — the

employees were being detailed to distant locations in the West like

Grand Junction, Colorado, and Reno, Nevada. Many career staff saw the

move as part of a wider Trump administration effort to drive federal

employees out of their jobs. Acting White House chief of staff Mike

Mulvaney has described that approach as a “wonderful way to streamline

government.”<div class="alt_ad_block story-page-in-content-graph-2">

</div>

The hemorrhaging has already begun. After an hour of exasperated

questions from employees, Steve Tryon, a deputy assistant director, told

the room he had taken an assignment elsewhere in the Interior

Department, the BLM’s parent agency. The post, he explained, had a

chance of leading to a permanent placement in Washington.

“I hope you can forgive me,” he said to the crowd. “I have two kids

in high school. One’s a senior and one’s a sophomore. If I don’t get

another job, I’m moving to Grand Junction or Denver without them. And

that’s that. That’s my Plan B. Move to Denver without my family.”<div class="alt_ad_block story-page-in-content-graph-4">

</div>

“It’s not fun to be without your family,” a colleague replied....
719<p style="margin: 0px 0px 15px; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-stretch: normal; line-height: 21px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The areas in Greater Chaco Landscape contain the threatened ruins of Chaco Canyon — what some have referred to "as close as the U.S. gets to Egypt’s pyramids and Peru’s Machu Picchu" — as well as "the remnants of great houses, kivas, ancient roads and sacred places built a millennium ago by an indigenous people who became proficient in architecture, agriculture, astronomy and the arts."1,2 Today, the Diné or Navajo people rely on the Chaco Landscape to sustain their livelihoods and traditional practices and modern New Mexican Pueblos, the descendants of Chaco culture, still consider these sites sacred.3More than 91% of the area around Chaco Canyon has already been leased to the oil and gas industry, yet Sec. Bernhardt and his Big Oil cronies are eager to wipe out the last remaining protected sacred areas with dangerous drilling and fracking techniques. The democratically-led House or Representatives recently passed an amendment to a spending bill that included a one-year moratorium on drilling in the area, yet it's unclear whether the Republican-controlled Senate will include the provision in their version, and BLM continues to approve more fracking in the area.<span style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-weight: inherit; font-style: inherit; line-height: 0; vertical-align: baseline; position: relative; top: -0.7em;">4 That's why pressure on the BLM is so important right now.= <a href="https://thinkprogress.org/agriculture-usda-blm-move-dc-climate-trump-protests-science-e8e534ec12fc/">https://thinkprogress.org/agriculture-usda-blm-move-dc-climate-trump-protests-science-e8e534ec12fc/</a>719Employees and Democratic lawmakers are pushing back on the Trump administration’s plans to relocate hundreds of positions within two agencies outside of Washington, D.C. — a move some see as an effort to clamp down on science.While the planned moves of both the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and parts of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) differ in their scope and rationale, resistance to both plans has shaped up similarly.Critics are expressing concern over the motivations behind the efforts, which would lead to a mass-exodus of agency experts unwilling to relocate. This would spur a science brain drain in line with President Donald Trump’s crackdown on reports and research from within his own government.“These decisions… are meant to displace seasoned scientists and regulators who have honorably served Republican and Democratic Administrations alike,” said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in a statement to ThinkProgress responding to both the BLM and USDA relocation plans. Van Hollen sits on the Interior and Environment Appropriations subcommittee.Responsible for administering public lands, BLM has become a battleground under the Trump administration as the White House has rolled back the boundaries of national monuments and advocated for fossil fuel drilling on U.S. acreage.Now, the bureau is sparking controversy again. Administration officials confirmed this week that the overwhelming majority of BLM positions in D.C. are set for relocation. Around 84% of BLM staffers will be asked to relocate by the end of next year to areas outside of the nation’s capital, mostly to western states.That announcement comes a month after Secretary Sonny Perdue mandated that over 500 USDA employees move en masse to Kansas City — located in both Missouri and Kansas — by Sept. 30, and gave them a deadline of July 15 to respond.<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: inline !important;" /><div class="related-contentbody" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 513px; display: inline !important;"><h3 class="related-contenttitle" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 2rem; margin: -7px 0px 0.5em; display: inline !important;"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: inline !important;">[Lack of demand hasn’t stopped Trump from opening tons of land </a></h3></div><div class="related-contentwrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><div class="related-contentbody" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 513px;"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><h3 class="related-contenttitle" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 2rem; margin: -7px 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/trump-interior-oil-gas-drilling/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;">to oil and gas drilling</a></h3></div></div>In the case of BLM, the Interior Department (DOI) plans to concentrate many of the positions in Grand Junction, Colorado, in addition to a range of western states stretching from Arizona to Alaska. Joe Balash, DOI assistant secretary for land and minerals, called the decision “demonstrably cost-effective” in a July 16 letter to Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Interior and Environment.The Trump administration argues that the move would both cut expenses and shift workers closer to the public lands they focus on, an argument supported by many Republicans including Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT), who sits on the Natural Resources Committee.But Democrats immediately raised objections. Udall said he had “serious reservations” about the move, as did his subcommittee counterpart in the House, Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN). Democrats in both chambers of Congress indicated this week that they feel the plan is largely an effort to push out the D.C.-based senior staff who do not want to relocate.Many of those employees are experts in their field, including scientists. “It’s a way for them to get rid of a lot of professional staff here in Washington,” <a href="https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060749573" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">said</a> Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) in a statement.<div class="related-contentwrapper" style="box-sizing: inherit; padding: 0px; margin: 0px 0px 2rem; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><div class="related-contentbody" style="box-sizing: inherit; width: 513px;"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; 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text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; 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text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><h3 class="related-contenttitle" style="box-sizing: inherit; line-height: 2rem; margin: -7px 0px 0.5em;"><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; 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text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;" /><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/former-interior-scientist-calls-out-culture-of-fear-censorship-and-suppression-under-trump-2b8813e95b18/" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border: none; display: flex;">Former Interior scientist calls out ‘culture of fear, censorship, and suppression’ under Trump</a></h3></div></div>Many BLM employees are already located in other parts of the country and support for moving the bureau has been somewhat bipartisan over the years. But the latest push for relocation by the Trump administration coincides with a heated clash between USDA and its employees.Given until this past Monday to make their decision, scores of USDA workers have opted out of moving. Of the employees with the USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), more than half declined to relocate, <a href="https://www.politico.com/morningagriculture/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">according to Politico</a>.ERS workers in particular argued that the move would disrupt their work and efforts to publish important scientific reports. NIFA, meanwhile, is responsible for grant funding that touches climate, economic, and agricultural work that uses D.C. as a home base.Many USDA employees have also argued that the move is politically motivated. ERS has <a href="https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/2019/07/03/integrity-nonpartisan-data-farmers-policymakers-risk-usda-move/1639874001/" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">recently released reports</a> critical of Trump’s escalating trade war with China and its impact on farmers.Experts also worry the move is a warning shot with implications for climate science. An investigation by Politico last month found that USDA <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/06/23/agriculture-department-climate-change-1376413" target="blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" style="box-sizing: inherit; text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(144, 141, 255);">has repeatedly sought to bury</a>studies showing the danger of climate change. That report noted that some scientists see the ERS move as a foreshadowing of wider repercussions for research that doesn’t align with the administration’s broader “energy dominance” agenda.USDA workers have fought through their union, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), to dispute the move, but the department has rejected those efforts. Moreover, there is concern that other departments could face similar moves, like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey, both of which are under DOI’s jurisdiction.But Democrats asserted that they are looking into measures to combat the relocations, emphasizing that the move could be costly to taxpayers in addition to dramatically shifting the wealth of knowledge offered by current government staffers.Lawmakers indicated they might seek to halt the relocation by blocking its funding in the upcoming appropriations bill that covers both the DOI and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). A group of senators, including Van Hollen, have meanwhile introduced legislation to keep ERS and NIFA in the D.C. metro area, a move that was made before the BLM move was announced.“This Administration is acting to undermine the subject-matter experts at many of our federal agencies,” said Van Hollen, who added that his office would “continue to use every tool available to push back against these actions.”This article has been updated to note that only USDA would be impacted by the Senate legislation due to timing.
 , despite being affected by the government shutdown, the Bureau of Land Management is holding public meetings in Alaska to push forward plans for new oil and gas leases in the Arctic. citizens get cut?our hizzy 2x one day<div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Trump Moves to Open 1.6 Million Acres of California Public Lands to Fracking</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2594203156" data-authors="Olivia Rosane" data-headline="Trump Moves to Open 1.6 Million Acres of California Public Lands to Fracking" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px;"><div class="body-description">The <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Trump</a> administration took the first steps on Wednesday towards opening up 1.6 million acres of public land in California to <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fracking/" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none;">fracking</a> and oil drilling, <a href="https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article216322295.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Sacramento Bee reported</a>.In a <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/08/08/2018-16957/notice-of-intent-for-potential-amendment-to-the-resource-management-plan-for-the-bakersfield-field" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">notice of intent</a> published on the Federal Register Wednesday, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said it would prepare an environmental impact statement on the use of fracking on 400,000 acres of public land and 1.2 million acres of mineral estate overseen by BLM in California counties including Fresno, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/400939-trump-administration-opens-door-to-fracking-in-california" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Hill reported</a>.Concerned citizens have 30 days from Wednesday to comment on the proposal.The move would lift a five-year moratorium on leasing federal land in California to oil companies, <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Center for Biological Diversity</a> (CBD) said in a <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2018/california-oil-drilling-08-08-2018.php" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">statement</a>.It also comes less than a week after the Trump administration <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-fuel-efficiency-proposal-2592345279.html" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none;">proposed</a> revoking California's waiver to set its own vehicle emissions standards under the Clean Air Act and just days after Trump <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-says-california-lawmakers-to-blame-for-wildfires-2593274782.html" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none;">blamed</a> the state's environmental policies for the record-breaking <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" target="self" style="text-decoration-line: none;">wildfires</a> it is currently battling."It's a coordinated attack on California by the Trump administration," CBD senior attorney Clare Lakewood told The Hill.No federal lands in the state have been leased to oil companies since 2013, when a federal judge found that the BLM had leased land in Monterey County without fully considering the environmental impact of fracking.Environmentalists are concerned that fracking can increase the risk of earthquakes and contaminate groundwater, The Sacramento Bee reported.The later risk is increased in California, a 2015 report from the California Council on Science and Technology found, because fracking in the state happens in areas with shallow depths close to groundwater and uses an especially high amount of toxic chemicals, The CBD reported.Residents of San Luis Obispo are even considering a ballot measure this November that would ban new fracking operations and oil wells in parts of the county that are unincorporated, though it would have no impact on what happens on federal land, The Sacramento Bee reported.One of the key movers behind that initiative, Charles Varni of the Coalition to Protect San Luis Obispo County, told The Sacramento Bee that he was angered by the BLM's decision."We don't want to see any expansion of oil and gas extraction in San Luis Obispo County," he said. "We want to protect our groundwater resources for higher uses."<a href="https://earthjustice.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Earthjustice</a> attorney Greg Loarie said that, while he was glad that the BLM was investigating the impacts of fracking, he thought such an investigation was a little beside the point."[A]nalyzing the impacts of fracking is like analyzing the impacts of smoking cigarettes: there's really no question that more fracking would be terrible for California," he said in the CBD statement.<div class="around-the-web" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="around-the-webheadline" style="font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;">RELATED ARTICLES AROUND THE WEB</div><ul class="around-the-weblist" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; list-style: none;"><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/mexico-bans-fracking-2592125998.html" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Newly Elected President of Mexico to Ban Fracking ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/second-controversial-fracked-gas-pipeline-runs-into-legal-trouble-2593893066.html" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Second Controversial Fracked Gas Pipeline Runs Into Legal Trouble ›</a></li><li class="around-the-webitem"><a href="http://mb.boardhost.com/UntilRitaReturns/msg/1533769616.html" class="around-the-weblink" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; line-height: normal; display: inline-block; margin-top: 10px;">Trump officials open door to fracking in California ›</a></li></ul></div></div></div>Bureau of Land Management continues to reshuffle its top leadership, replacing acting Deputy Director of Operations Mike Nedd with a senior Interior Department official who has never worked at BLM.4/18 alec conf piece of priority legislation for the companies is ALEC’s <a href="https://www.alec.org/model-policy/critical-infrastructure-protection-act/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out;">Critical Infrastructure Protection Act</a>. The bill, a punitive measure designed to frighten protestors with stiff penalties and discourage large-scale demonstrations like the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, was adopted by ALEC’s Energy, Environment and Agriculture Task Force in 2017. Similar bills have been signed into law in Oklahoma and Iowa and introduced in Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, and Ohio. Wyoming’s bill passed the legislature but was vetoed by Gov. Matt Mead.“Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a number of powerful examples of people publicly coming together to raise their voices and push for change—from water protectors and their allies challenging pipeline construction near Standing Rock and elsewhere, to racial justice advocates taking to the streets to protest police shooting deaths,” said Vera Eidelman, Legal Fellow with the ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. “And yet, rather than respond to the protesters’ substantive messages…many elected representatives are instead introducing bills that would label them ‘terrorists’ or ‘saboteurs,’ chill their speech, and discourage others from associating with them.”In Michigan, ALEC politicians will be asked to vote on new bills that advance the interests of the industry, including the <a href="https://www.alec.org/model-policy/resolution-supporting-states-ability-to-permit-and-regulate-oil-and-gas-development-on-federal-lands-within-their-borders/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background: 0px 0px; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out;">Resolution Supporting States Ability to Permit and</a><a href="https://www.alec.org/model-policy/resolution-supporting-states-ability-to-permit-and-regulate-oil-and-gas-development-on-federal-lands-within-their-borders/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out;"> Regulate Oil and Gas Development on Federal Lands within their Borders</a> and the <a href="https://www.alec.org/model-policy/gas-tax-transparency-act/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; background-image: initial; background-position: 0px 0px; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; box-sizing: inherit; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out;">Gas Tax Transparency Act</a>.The oil and gas permitting bill is the latest from ALEC <a href="https://www.alec.org/tag/public-lands/" target="blank" rel="noopener" style="text-decoration-line: none; font-weight: bold; outline: none; box-sizing: inherit; background: 0px 0px; transition: all 500ms ease-in-out;">in its push</a> to hand over America’s public lands to the fossil fuel companies that started almost 20 years ago. The latest resolution calls on Trump and Congress to hand over the power to regulate and permit fossil fuel development on public lands to the states, where the industry has its greatest power and influence over government.The Gas Tax Transparency Act requires fuel tax stickers to be placed on gas pumps detailing state and federal taxes to promote “transparency.” ALEC hopes that voters will be up in arms about the taxes and will pressure their representatives to lower them.<h1 class="widgetheadline h1" style="margin: 10px 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px; cursor: pointer; word-wrap: break-word; line-height: 22px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a class="widgetheadline-text custom-post-headline" href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-methane-rule-2538582743.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-break: break-word; outline: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; line-height: 31px;">Court Orders Trump Administration to Enforce Obama-Era Methane Rule</a></h1><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2538582743" data-authors="Lorraine Chow" data-headline="Court Orders Trump Administration to Enforce Obama-Era Methane Rule" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body-description"><div class="widget__brief">A federal judge reinstated a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/senate-vote-methane-rule-2401565593.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">widely supported</a> methane waste rule that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">President Trump's</a> administration has <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/methane-rule-public-lands-2442132755.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">repeatedly tried to stop</a>.Judge William Orrick of the U.S. District Court for Northern California ruled Thursday that Bureau of Land Management's (<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/blm" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">BLM</a>) decision to suspend core provisions of the 2016 Methane and Waste Prevention Rule was "untethered to evidence."</div></div></div><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/earthjustice-sues-federal-agencies-2505939690.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/earthjustice-sues-federal-agencies-2505939690.html</a><div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Fate of National Monuments Remains Shrouded in Secrecy: Earthjustice Sues Federal Agencies for Withholding Information From Public</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url" data-elid="2505939690" data-authors="Earthjustice" data-headline="Fate of National Monuments Remains Shrouded in Secrecy: Earthjustice Sues Federal Agencies for Withholding Information From Public" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px;"><div class="body-description" style="">For months, the Interior Department, Bureau of Land Management and the White House Council on Environmental Quality have repeatedly failed to answer the public's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests for information related to the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Trump</a> administration's <a href="http://email.prnewswire.com/wf/click?upn=n5ev07v3cJt0VZHKGHPmh-2FA8YRzh1iYwLSo1Lz8Ubytl6LzK3Z0ZQlsfMkqOSreu3xP8Sq1oJgDmy-2Bg3mTIMH6fZ-2BZM-2BY-2BWEZRmEuFcTfBmagX3-2BwmtYfuWoFHM2GAxv2YaBndEWfNakC2DxmVwIAKC4W2I3T6wZVUCTvQbDF-2FC7uLZfpMGxCsCRQ12A-2BMBwVBMbIXI-2FROVDiwmBKxYI-2BzsqsdkpnIvBnMcXvdoR6dmvjorHbl21Nx1TVYr87G-2Fj_x-2B8b7bjSgm7PP2pr2-2BBei8tMe7aWJwPQx2ba2DAiMBtwlTMpFE1kltRKbCxHSMYJt7KR3xj1j4LwJRRAhW-2Bvq9LOFZmIXAxA0Tho728a43bYhpC1rL2QR3t4g-2FcgTSpYlCYd9gFNsqE975krcAobQTl-2F-2BNuKoIPM-2FBZztU-2FGnEEoDZDr" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">ongoing review</a> of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-monuments" style="text-decoration-line: none;">national monuments</a>—protected federal <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" style="text-decoration-line: none;">lands</a> and waters that belong to the American people.The review of the country's national monuments has been marked by a lack of transparency—Interior Sec. <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Ryan Zinke</a> has yet to disclose how he incorporated input from Native American tribes and the 2.8 million Americans who urged protections for national monuments in the public comment period into his <a href="http://email.prnewswire.com/wf/click?upn=n5ev07v3cJt0VZHKGHPmh-2FA8YRzh1iYwLSo1Lz8Ubytl6LzK3Z0ZQlsfMkqOSreu3xP8Sq1oJgDmy-2Bg3mTIMH6fZ-2BZM-2BY-2BWEZRmEuFcTfBmagX3-2BwmtYfuWoFHM2GAxv2YaBndEWfNakC2DxmVwIAKC4W2I3T6wZVUCTvQbDF-2FC7uLZfpMGxCsCRQ12A-2BMBwVBMbIXI-2FROVDiwmBKxYI-2BxzWYXKeXZJn9S4qW2qIrozdqYHyKsgVNcjxnN8ki9tZ_x-2B8b7bjSgm7PP2pr2-2BBei8tMe7aWJwPQx2ba2DAiMBtwlTMpFE1kltRKbCxHSMYJt7KR3xj1j4LwJRRAhW-2Bvq9LOFZmIXAxA0Tho728a43bYhpC1rL2QR3t4g-2FcgTSpYlCYd9gFNsqE975krcAobQTl-2F-2BNuKoIPM-2FBZztU-2FGnEEt0cGtdd" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">leaked draft recommendations</a> to shrink monuments and gut their protections. On Thursday, <a href="https://earthjustice.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Earthjustice</a> filed a lawsuit on behalf of six organizations whose requests for information on national monuments have been met with radio silence."The Trump administration continues its onslaught against America's national monuments, hoping to cover up its misdeeds by blocking public access to information crucial to the protection of these iconic places," said Yvonne Yuting Chi, an attorney in Earthjustice's Rocky Mountains office. "National monuments preserve America's historical heritage, stunning wilderness, geologic wonders, and priceless cultural sites—and they're meant to be protected for future generations under the Antiquities Act. But the Trump administration wants to pretend that the laws of the land have changed. The American people have the right to know the fate of these magnificent places that belong to all of us, and we are taking these agencies to court to get answers.""It's important that the public knows who had the White House and Interior Department's ear to push the president to dismantle <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bears-ears" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Bears Ears</a> and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments," said Stephen Bloch, legal director for the Salt Lake City-based <a href="https://suwa.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance</a>. "We also expect this lawsuit will shed light on the information and factors the White House Council on Environmental Quality and Interior Department considered as part of Secretary Zinke's 'monuments review' and that led him to recommend eviscerating Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, a decision that would place irreplaceable cultural and public natural resources at risk of damage and destruction."Earthjustice is representing the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Natural Resources Defense Council</a>, <a href="http://wilderness.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">The Wilderness Society</a>, <a href="https://www.grandcanyontrust.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Grand Canyon Trust</a>, <a href="http://sierraclub.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">Sierra Club</a>, and <a href="http://www.greatoldbroads.org/" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">Great Old Broads for Wilderness</a> in this lawsuit to compel the agencies to respond to seven FOIA requests, most of which have been overdue for months. The <a href="http://email.prnewswire.com/wf/click?upn=n5ev07v3cJt0VZHKGHPmh-2FA8YRzh1iYwLSo1Lz8Ubytl6LzK3Z0ZQlsfMkqOSreu3xP8Sq1oJgDmy-2Bg3mTIMH6fZ-2BZM-2BY-2BWEZRmEuFcTfBmagX3-2BwmtYfuWoFHM2GAxv2YaBndEWfNakC2DxmVwIAKC4W2I3T6wZVUCTvQbDF-2FC7uLZfpMGxCsCRQ12A-2BMBwVBMbIXI-2FROVDiwmBKxYI-2Bxyc-2Fa9nFJCASoe-2FykoDphPvCMr7SznQomx0XeeApcto_x-2B8b7bjSgm7PP2pr2-2BBei8tMe7aWJwPQx2ba2DAiMBtwlTMpFE1kltRKbCxHSMYJt7KR3xj1j4LwJRRAhW-2Bvq9LOFZmIXAxA0Tho728a43bYhpC1rL2QR3t4g-2FcgTSpYlCYd9gFNsqE975krcAobQTl-2F-2BNuKoIPM-2FBZztU-2FGnEHW5K" target="blank" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); text-decoration-line: none;">complaint</a> alleges that the agencies have failed to meet their response deadlines under the FOIA and have repeatedly rejected or ignored these organizations' inquiries on their requests' status."If Interior Secretary Zinke's 'first step' before telling the president to ravage the Bears Ears National Monument was, as he claims, to 'gather the facts,'" said Aaron Paul, a staff attorney with the Grand Canyon Trust, "why are our months-old requests for those already-gathered facts still unanswered when federal law gives the secretary 20 days to respond? It's a shame that we have to turn to the courts to force the secretary to deliver the transparency that the Freedom of Information Act secures for the American public.""The public deserves to know what Secretary Zinke is recommending for the future of our public lands," said Dan Ritzman, lands, water and wildlife director for Sierra Club's Our Wild America campaign. "The Trump administration's secrecy suggests Zinke is aware that stripping protections from our public lands and monuments is as unpopular as raising fees for the public to enjoy them."Since 1967, the <a href="http://email.prnewswire.com/wf/click?upn=n5ev07v3cJt0VZHKGHPmh-2FA8YRzh1iYwLSo1Lz8Ubytl6LzK3Z0ZQlsfMkqOSreu3xP8Sq1oJgDmy-2Bg3mTIMH6fZ-2BZM-2BY-2BWEZRmEuFcTfBmagX3-2BwmtYfuWoFHM2GAxv2YaBndEWfNakC2DxmVwIAKC4W2I3T6wZVUCTvQbDF-2FC7uLZfpMGxCsCRQ12A-2BMBwVBMbIXI-2FROVDiwmBKxYI-2B-2F-2Bucq0uLCZ9r6Q9RkD3C0wAPAFUjAS8xHjvj-2BJzaYA0_x-2B8b7bjSgm7PP2pr2-2BBei8tMe7aWJwPQx2ba2DAiMBtwlTMpFE1kltRKbCxHSMYJt7KR3xj1j4LwJRRAhW-2Bvq9LOFZmIXAxA0Tho728a43bYhpC1rL2QR3t4g-2FcgTSpYlCYd9gFNsqE975krcAobQTl-2F-2BNuKoIPM-2FBZztU-2FGnEHT" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none;">FOIA</a> has provided the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. It is a law that keeps the American people in the know about their government. When a member of the public lodges a request with a federal agency under the FOIA, the agency must promptly disclose any information requested unless the information falls under one of the nine exemptions protecting interests such as personal privacy, national security and law enforcement."We are dismayed that it takes litigating FOIA requests to learn the fate of public lands that belong to all Americans," said Caroline Munger, Board Chair for Great Old Broads for Wilderness. "This cloak and dagger approach by the current administration on revealing the fate of these national monuments shows a disdain for the law and the legacy of our protected wild lands. Monument proponents like Broads, tribal nations, and others have committed to a long legal battle, if necessary, to protect the Antiquities Act and monuments created under it."</div></div>=<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/national-forests-logging-bill-2505370570.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/national-forests-logging-bill-2505370570.html</a>no linkNational Forests, Endangered Species Under Attack as House Republicans Pass Reckless Logging Bill
In a partisan vote, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation Wednesday that would devastate national forests by gutting endangered species protections and rubber-stamping huge logging projects. The final vote was 232 to 188.HR 2936, sponsored by Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), also limits public comment and environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act. Under the guise of reducing forest fires, the bill would increase unfettered logging across national forests and public lands, increase fire risk and harm forest health, while doing nothing to protect communities."This bill is a dangerous bait-and-switch that rewards the timber industry. It puts the health of our forests and wildlife in grave danger and ignores real solutions," said Randi Spivak, public lands program director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "It would green-light the worst forest management practices from decades ago, when reckless logging devastated wildlife, degraded rivers and ruined recreation opportunities for countless Americans."Westerman's bill is a timber-industry wish list. Among other harmful provisions, it would allow rushed logging projects up to 30,000 acres—46 square miles—without public notice or scientific assessment of potential harm to the environment as required under the National Environmental Policy Act.The bill would render forest plans meaningless, roll back measures designed to protect old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest, waive protections for waterways and water quality across the national forest system, promote harmful logging in otherwise protected roadless areas and force the Forest Service to ignore potential harm to thousands of imperiled species.
It would also give private landowners with easements on public land full ownership of that land and allow herbicides to be sprayed without reviewing the harm to water, fish and wildlife."The knee-jerk response from Republicans is always to gut our environmental laws, no matter what the issue is," said Spivak. "They're willing to sacrifice our wildlife, healthy streams and rivers, and vibrant public lands for private profit."In the first four months of the 115th Congress, Republicans have introduced more than 80 bills that attack public lands, weaken environmental safeguards on those lands or turn over control to states and local governments. These attacks go against the wishes of most Americans, since the vast majority of voters across political parties support protecting and maintaining forests, national parks, monuments and other public lands and waters.<div style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">=</div>=<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/zinkes-monument-review-2492439576.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/zinkes-monument-review-2492439576.html</a><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/zinke-interior-department-2461928957.html">https://www.ecowatch.com/zinke-interior-department-2461928957.html</a><div class="headline-container" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h1 class="headline h1" style="margin: 10px; padding: 0px; position: relative; line-height: 31px;">Public Lands and Waters 'For Sale' at U.S. Dept. of Interior</h1></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-top: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="article-body body js-expandable clearfix js-listicle-body js-update-url selectionShareable" data-url="https://www.ecowatch.com/zinke-interior-department-2461928957.html" data-headline="Public Lands and Waters 'For Sale' at U.S. Dept. of Interior" data-elid="2461928957" style="margin: 10px; line-height: 24px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="article-description body-description" style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><a href="http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Greenpeace</a> placed a giant sign reading "For Sale: By the US Department of Interior, Public Lands and Waters, Inquiries From Oil and Gas Companies Encouraged" outside of the Interior Department Tuesday as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Sec. Zinke</a>held an event outside the building.Sec. Zinke and the Interior Department are currently reviewing the status of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-monuments" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">national monuments</a>, marine sanctuaries, and protections from <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/offshore-oil-drilling" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">offshore oil and gas drilling</a>, potentially opening up new drilling activity in the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/arctic-drilling-2458533481.html" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Arctic</a>, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.Public records <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/05/19/personal-schedule-shows-industry-ceos-frequent-access-to-interior-secretary/?utm_term=.e39638fcf045" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">highlight</a> that Zinke's personal schedule includes several meetings with oil and gas companies and lobbying firms including BP America, Chevron and ExxonMobil, the American Petroleum Institute, the Western Energy Alliance and Continental Resources."The Trump administration and Secretary Zinke want to sell our public lands and waters away to desperate fossil fuel companies," said Greenpeace USA Climate Campaigner Mary Sweeters."Secretary Zinke is meeting almost exclusively with fossil fuel lobbyists, ignoring the voices of people in this country who want to see our public lands, national monuments, and waters protected, not exploited. It's clear that unless you are an executive at Exxon or the company building the Dakota Access Pipeline, Zinke's Interior Department will most likely not listen to you."The Senate <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/342402-senate-moves-toward-vote-on-trumps-interior-deputy-nominee" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">will vote on David Bernhardt</a>, the pick for deputy secretary of the Interior, this week. As head of law and lobbying firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck's natural resource department, <a href="http://www.bhfs.com/people/attorneys/a-b/dbernhardt" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">David Bernhardt</a> has most likely led most of the the firm's energy and mining and work and a significant chunk of his clients are oil and gas companies.</div></div>
<div class="field field-name-field-date field-type-datetime field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">May 24, 2017</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-author field-type-text field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even">Oil Change International</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-source field-type-link-field field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/taypayers-subsidize-public-lands-2420255485.html" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">EcoWatch</a></div></div></div><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"> <article>

The federal government is providing extensive support for fossil fuel production on <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" target="_blank">public lands</a> and

waters offshore, through a combination of direct subsidies, enforcement

loopholes, lax royalty collection, stagnant lease rates and other

advantages to the industry, a <a href="http://priceofoil.org/2017/05/24/unequal-exchange-taxpayers-burden-fossil-fuel-federal-lands/" target="_blank">report</a> released Wednesday found.

The government is contributing at least $7 billion per year in

subsidies to support fossil fuel production on federally held lands and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-expand-offshore-drilling-2383011441.html" target="_blank">offshore waters</a> alone,

and is holding some $35 billion in public liabilities for drilling in

public waters of the Gulf of Mexico. These subsidies support increased

fossil fuel production on U.S. lands and waters out of step with efforts

to meet international climate objectives.

The report, released by Oil Change International in partnership with <a href="https://350.org/" target="blank">350.org</a>, <a href="http://www.wildearthguardians.org/site/PageServer#.WSWMlBPyuu4" target="blank">WildEarth Guardians</a>, <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a>, <a href="http://www.cleanwateraction.org/" target="blank">Clean Water Action</a>, <a href="https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/" target="blank">Food & Water Watch</a> and <a href="https://www.citizen.org/" target="blank">Public Citizen</a>,

for the first time outlines in detail the subsidies and other public

support being provided in the U.S. to the fossil fuel industry for its

activities on public lands.

The report, Unequal Exchange: How Taxpayers Shoulder the Burden of Fossil Fuel Development on Federal Lands,

presents an accounting of the minimum amounts of direct taxpayer

dollars going to support fossil fuels on public lands, not including

externalities such as climate and health impacts, which would bring the

totals even higher. If those factors are taken into account, for

example, mining <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="_blank">coal</a> in the Powder River Basin alone would have a net cost to the U.S. public of some $17.8 billion per year as of 2015.

"<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/rex-tillerson" target="blank">Rex Tillerson</a> and other members of the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/rex-tillerson" target="blank">Trump administration</a> deny that these subsidies even exist just like they deny <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_blank">climate change</a>.

The reason is clear—in both cases, if you admit the truth, the only

answer is a managed decline of the fossil fuel industry," said Stephen

Kretzmann, executive director of Oil Change International.

"The first step towards that is to stop supporting the industry with

our public dollars. These subsidies are a raw deal for American

taxpayers, and a disaster for our climate."

Particularly notable is a finding that some royalty and lease rates

for fossil fuel development on public lands have remained unchanged

since the 1920s.

"As if simply allowing the toxic, climate-killing extraction of

fossil fuels on our sensitive public lands isn't shameful enough, that

the federal government actually subsidizes this foolish activity with

taxpayer money is downright absurd," said Wenonah Hauter, executive

director at Food & Water Watch.

"For the sake of climate stability, the transition to a clean energy

future must begin immediately. An ideal place to kick-start the

transition is with a ban on fossil fuel extraction on our precious

public lands, and most certainly, a halt to the underhanded propping-up

of this antiquated industry with our precious public dollars."

The report makes a number of key recommendations, starting with a

basic determination that the fossil fuel leasing program on public lands

should be phased out in line with climate science. Until that become

reality, the report finds immediate action to reduce large, unfunded

liabilities for U.S. taxpayer money associated with fossil fuel

production on public lands should be reduced and royalty and lease rates

should be increased to better reflect the full costs to the public of

these activities.

"This report makes it clear as day that the Trump agenda is the

fossil fuel billionaire agenda," said Jason Kowalski, policy director at

350.org.

"The industry finances corrupt politicians, who in turn help them

keep fossil fuels economically viable at a time when the science

suggests most oil, gas and coal needs to be kept in the ground. They set

out to rig the system and they succeeded. History will judge them

harshly."

</article></div></div></div><section class="field field-name-field-topic field-type-taxonomy-term-reference field-label-inline clearfix clearfix">

      <h2 class="field-label"><font size="4" face="Times New Roman">Topic(s):&nbsp;</font></h2>

        <font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://movetoamend.org/topics/community-rights">Community Rights</a>      </font></li><li class="field-item odd">
        <font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://movetoamend.org/topics/corporate-rule">Corporate Rule</a>      </font></li><li class="field-item even">
        <font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://movetoamend.org/topics/environment">Environment</a>      </font></li><li class="field-item odd">
        <font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://movetoamend.org/topics/history">History</a>      </font></li><li class="field-item even">
        <font size="4" face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://movetoamend.org/topics/money-free-speech">Money as Free Speech</a>      </font></li></ul>

</section><div>=</div><div>
</div><div><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/05/10/senates-poised-to-repeal-a-final-obama-era-rule-as-soon-as-wednesday/">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/05/10/senates-poised-to-repeal-a-final-obama-era-rule-as-soon-as-wednesday/</a></div><div>
</div><div><div>no link many</div><div>
</div><div>Senate unexpectedly rejects bid to repeal a key Obama-era environmental regulation</div><div>
</div><div>By Chelsea Harvey and Juliet Eilperin May 10 at 12:10 PM </div><div> </div><div>Oil pumps and natural gas burn off in Watford City, N.D. Methane emissions will likely be the next big environmental issue to face North Dakota’s booming oil industry according to a top official at the state’s Department of Health. (AP/Charles Rex Arbogast)</div><div>This story has been updated.</div><div>
</div><div>The U.S. Senate narrowly voted down a resolution on Wednesday to repeal an Obama-era rule restricting methane emissions from drilling on public lands — with three Republicans joining every Democrat  to preserve the rule.</div><div>
</div><div>The 51 to 49 vote marked the first time since Trump’s election that Republicans have failed in their attempt to use the Congressional Review Act to overturn Obama-era rules.</div><div>
</div><div>Thirteen earlier resolutions, based on the 1996 law that allows Congress to overturn rules within 60 days of their adoption,  all succeeded. But the deadline for repealing such regulations through the Congressional Review Act is on Thursday.</div><div>
</div><div>The methane emissions rule, issued by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management in November, addresses a potent greenhouse gas that is accelerating climate change.</div><div>
</div><div>[Earth could break through a major climate threshold in the next 15 years, scientists warn]</div><div>
</div><div>The rule would force oil and gas companies to capture methane that had been previously burned off or “flared” at drilling sites.</div><div>
</div><div>The previous administration estimated the rule would prevent roughly 180,000 tons a year of methane from escaping into the atmosphere and would boost federal revenue because firms pay only royalties on the federal resources they capture and contain.</div><div>
</div><div>Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) unexpectedly voted no against a motion to proceed with consideration of the resolution, along with GOP Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.).  Two Democrats who had considered backing the rule’s elimination — Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota and Joe Manchin of West Virginia — voted against the motion as well.</div><div>
</div><div>In a floor speech after the vote, Sen. Tom Udall (D-N.M.), said “the very first victory” lawmakers have had in beating back a Congressional Review Act bill this year came from a combination of Democratic unity and a few Republicans’ willingness to buck their leadership. “Thank you so much for coming forward and seeing the common sense nature of this issue,” Udall said, referring to Collins, Graham and McCain.</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Jamie Williams, president of The Wilderness Society, praised the lawmakers who supported the rule. “In recent months, thousands of Americans asked the Senate to stand up for clean air and against the oil lobby, and their efforts were successful today,” he said.</div><div>
</div><div>Republicans and industry officials said they would now switch their focus to getting the Interior Department to rewrite the rule.</div><div>
</div><div>Barry Russell, president of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, said his group “looks forward to working with the Interior Department on a targeted, meaningful solution that will achieve the common goal of ensuring the American taxpayers receive a fair and equitable return in the form of royalties while developing a workable regulation, instead of this one-size-fits-all approach.”</div><div>
</div><div>[EPA dismisses half of key board’s scientific advisers; Interior suspends more than 200 advisory panels]</div><div>
</div><div>And Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said in a statement that Interior should withdraw the regulation outright. “If left in place, this regulation will only discourage energy production, job creation, and economic opportunity across the West.”</div><div>
</div><div>Before this year, Congress had only nullified one rule, a regulation on ergonomics Bill Clinton enacted during his final year in office. In less than four months Republicans have wiped away rules covering everything from limits on the dumping of waste from surface mining operations to enlarging states’ power to offer retirement accounts to private-sector workers.</div><div>
</div><div>But the move to strike a rule requiring companies to limit the practice of flaring, or leaking, methane from oil and gas operations on federal and tribal land had given some Republicans–who control 52 seats in the Senate–pause.</div><div>
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</div><div> Senate Press Gallery ? @SenatePress</div><div>#senate vote on HJ Res 36, the CRA on the methane rule was NOT agreed to 49-51. Collins, Graham and McCain joined all Dems/IND against.</div><div>7:27 AM - 10 May 2017</div><div>  236 236 Retweets   516 516 likes</div><div>
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</div><div>Many Republicans and fossil fuel producers criticized the regulation after it was finalized last year, and a resolution to repeal it passed quickly in the House of Representatives at the end of January. But despite Trump’s support, the repeal measure had been sitting in the Senate for months. It had to pass by Thursday to be eligibleto be signed into law.</div><div>
</div><div>Democrats, as well as environmental and public health groups, ran a months-long campaign to persuade Heitkamp and Manchin not to disclose their position publicly while arguing to centrist Republicans that abolishing the rule would cost taxpayers money as well as harm the environment.</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>[Trump undertakes the most ambitious regulatory rollback since Reagan]</div><div>
</div><div>Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) also remained on the fence until Monday, when he announced in a statement that he would vote to overturn the BLM regulation. Two other wavering Republicans, Cory Gardner (Colo.) and Dean Heller (Nev.), ultimately joined Portman in voting to proceed with the bill’s consideration.</div><div>
</div><div>“Unfortunately, the previous administration’s methane rule was not a balanced approach,” Portman said. “As written, it would have hurt our economy and cost jobs in Ohio by forcing small independent operators to close existing wells and slowing responsible energy production on federal lands.  There’s a better way.”</div><div>
</div><div>He added that he believes the Interior Department should still work to reduce venting and flaring on public lands. Last week, Portman wrote to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, calling for a commitment that the department would continue to work to reduce methane waste if the Obama rule were reversed. On May 4, Zinke responded, affirming that “the Department is committed to reducing methane waste, and under my leadership, we will take important steps to accomplish this goal.”</div><div>
</div><div>Environmentalists urged Portman to reconsider. In a statement on Tuesday, Environmental Defense Action Fund Executive Director Fred Krupp said Zinke’s assurances were “unfounded” and argued that the strategies for reducing methane waste outlined in his letter would have little impact.</div><div>
</div><div>A coalition of industry groups have argued they are taking steps to reduce fugitive methane emissions, because they recognize capturing them can yield additional profits. The American Petroleum Institute noted that the Environmental Protection Agency  data, released in March, shows about an 8 percent drop in methane emissions from petroleum production since 2014, largely because of improved gas venting and flaring techniques.</div><div>
</div><div>The legislative window for Congressional Review Act resolutions to be considered ends on Thursday, though a handful of conservative analysts believe that agencies’ failure to submit a 2-page report on previous rules to Congress could open the door to reconsideration of dozens of much older rules.</div><div>
</div><div>
</div><div>Curtis Copeland, a regulatory expert who specialized in American government at the Congressional Research Service, said in an email that regardless of how many rules this Congress ultimately overturns, “The CRA can no longer be described as ‘obscure’ or ‘little known.’ It now has to be viewed as a substantive tool of congressional oversight regarding an outgoing President’s rules, and it is likely be used again in the future.”</div></div><a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/blm-website-coal-2349325685.html">http://www.ecowatch.com/blm-website-coal-2349325685.html</a><div class="headline-container" style="margin: 0px; padding: 10px 12px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="headline" style="position: relative; line-height: 22px;">BLM Changes Website Banner From Green Mountains to Big Hunk of Coal</div></div><div id="utm_campaign" style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><span class="js-scroll-trigger" data-target="body" data-triggers="render-rebelbar" data-toggle-class="with-floating-shares" data-loaded="true" style="margin-bottom: 10px; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="article-body js-expandable sm-mb-2 md-mb-4 js-update-url selectionShareable" data-url="http://www.ecowatch.com/blm-website-coal-2349325685.html" data-headline="BLM Changes Website Banner From Green Mountains to Big Hunk of Coal" data-elid="2349325685" style="margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px 12px;"><div class="article-description" style="margin-bottom: 20px;">This week, the <a href="https://www.blm.gov/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Bureau of Land Management</a> (BLM), which operates more than 200 million acres of public land, made a statement by changing the banner image on their website from a vast mountain range to a massive coal seam in Wyoming—staking an obvious claim in the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Trump administration</a>'s campaign to bring coal and other industry jobs back to the U.S.The change comes just days after the president granted his entire salary since being in office, about $78,000, to the National Park Service, which is under the same umbrella as the BLM, both managed by the Department of the Interior. The <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Sierra Club</a> was quick to point out that this sum was minuscule compared to the budget cuts Trump has proposed on the Interior, which will amount to a 12 percent slash in funding, or about $2 billion overall."If Donald Trump is actually interested in helping our parks, he should stop trying to slash their budgets to historically low levels," said Sierra Club executive director <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/community/michael_brune/" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Michael Brune</a>. "This publicity stunt is a sad consolation prize as Trump tries to stifle America's best idea."The BLM manages streams and rivers, hiking trails, oil and gas fields, and coal mines. The shift from green mountains to dingy coal on their website might signify, therefore, that the little funding they have left will go to the latter. BLM spokesperson Jeff Krauss said, however, that the new image is simply part of an IT redesign, which allows for rotating photos of the many public lands BLM manages.The hype surrounding the switch comes as no surprise, as the BLM has been a political target for decades. Under President George W. Bush, the organization received backlash from environmental groups for approving the expansion of oil drilling on public lands. More recently, the organization has been slammed by Standing Rock activists for similar moves on the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dakota-access-pipeline" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Dakota Access Pipeline</a>.In February, the Trump administration completed the <a href="https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-front-office/projects/nepa/65707/96911/117067/Press_Release.08Feb2017.Feburary2017_LeaseSale_Results.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration-line: none; word-wrap: break-word;">largest lease sale of oil drilling rights</a> in years—128 parcels, mostly in Wyoming, for $129.3 million. So it seems, whether it's coal or mountains, that the BLM is just following government orders.</div></div>The Trump administration intends to scrap and rewrite an <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/new-fracking-rules-on-public-lands-a-giveaway-to-oil-and-gas-industry--1882022945.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">Obama-era rule</a> designed to make <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/fracking/" style="text-decoration: none;">fracking</a> on federal lands safer.Drilling has taken place on federal lands for years, with more than 100,000 wells in existence. In 2015, the Interior Dept. issued new standards aimed at making the process safer, including stricter and higher design standards for wells and waste fluid storage facilities to mitigate risks to air, water and wildlife. Companies would also be required to publicly disclose chemicals used in fracking.However, U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl blocked the Obama rule in June after accepting the argument from energy companies and several states that federal regulators lack congressional authority to set rules for fracking.The Obama administration appealed the decision to the 10th Circuit, but the rule could be killed for good. The Trump administration said in court filings Wednesday it is withdrawing from the lawsuit.Justice Dept. lawyers representing Interior and the Bureau of Land Management asked the court to "continue the oral argument and hold these appeals in abeyance pending a new rulemaking" on the issue."As part of this process, the Department has begun reviewing the 2015 Final Rule (and all guidance issued pursuant thereto) for consistency with the policies and priorities of the new Administration," the motion reads. "This initial review has revealed that the 2015 Final Rule does not reflect those policies and priorities."A spokeswoman for Interior Sec. <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke" style="text-decoration: none;">Ryan Zinke</a> confirmed with the <a href="https://apnews.com/c1ad47bf4dff4b3e99c061611f510807" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">Associated Press</a> that the administration intends to submit a new rule.Neal Kirby of the Independent Petroleum Association of America praised the withdrawal of the rule, calling it "unnecessary, duplicative and would further drive away independent producers from federal lands.""Every energy-producing area has different needs and requirements, which is why the states are far more effective at regulating hydraulic fracturing than the federal government," he said.Many environmental advocates felt that the 2015 rule was already too lenient, but the Trump administration's latest action could be even more worrisome to fracking opponents."This disturbing decision highlights Trump's desire to leave our beautiful public lands utterly unprotected from oil industry exploitation," said Michael Saul, an attorney with the <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">Center for Biological Diversity</a>. "Backing away from these modest rules is doubly dangerous given the administration's reckless plans to ramp up fracking and drilling on public lands across America."Other environmental organizations spoke out against the announcement."Today's news demonstrates the degree to which Secretary Zinke and the Trump administration are in the pocket of the oil and gas industry," said <a href="http://earthjustice.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">Earthjustice</a> attorney Mike Freeman. <div class="in_content_ad_container ad_13" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); width: 300px; height: 250px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; margin: 0px 15px 15px 0px;"><div id="div-gpt-ad-1420251685282-1" data-google-query-id="CPXF7Jug49ICFY99fgodsEsAgw" style="width: 300px; height: 250px;"><div id="google_ads_iframe/1010624/New_AlterNet_300x250_STORY_EMBED_2_0container" style="border: 0pt none; display: inline-block; width: 300px; height: 250px;"></div></div></div><a href="https://www.earthworksaction.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">Earthworks</a> policy director Lauren Page said: "By moving to overturn these common-sense protections, the Trump administration is positioning itself against the disclosure of toxic chemicals, protecting clean water and preserving our public land."Groundwater contamination is one of the biggest concerns about unconventional oil and natural gas production. While the industry maintains the safety of the process, in December the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its highly anticipated <a href="https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/hfstudy/recordisplay.cfm?deid=332990" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">final report</a> identifying cases of impacts on drinking water at each stage in the hydraulic fracturing water cycle.The disposal of fracking wastewater into underground wells has also been linked to the alarming increase in seismic activity in states such as <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/oklahoma-earthquake-largest-on-record-1998208742.html" style="text-decoration: none;">Oklahoma</a> and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/fracking-wastewater-kansas-earthquake-2045480679.html" style="text-decoration: none;">Kansas</a>."With [Wednesday's] decision, Trump is making it clear that he thinks we need more fracking operations contaminating our drinking water, causing <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/earthquakes" style="text-decoration: none;">earthquakes</a> and polluting our environment, not less," <a href="http://www.sierraclub.org/" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">Sierra Club</a> Beyond Dirty Fuels campaign director Lena Moffitt said. "The Sierra Club will continue to defend this rule, ensuring that our publicly-owned lands remain protected from fracking and Donald Trump."President Trump has <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/big-oil-drill-national-parks-2188885054.html" style="text-decoration: none;">plans to open up federal lands</a> for more energy development. As a candidate, Trump campaigned on a <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/energy" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">promise</a> to "unleash America's $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil, and natural gas reserves, plus hundreds of years in clean coal reserves."He accused President Obama of "denying millions of Americans access to the energy wealth sitting under our feet" by restricting leasing and banning new coal extraction.Incidentally, the actions of the current administration go against the sentiments of the majority of Americans, who are opposed to fracking and drilling of public lands, according to <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/206159/americans-tilt-toward-protecting-environment-alternative-fuels.aspx" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">a new Gallup poll</a>.The poll, released on Tuesday, determined that 53 percent of Americans oppose fracking as a means of increasing the production of natural gas and oil in the U.S. Only 46 percent support for opening up federal lands for oil exploration, compared to 65 percent who favored it in 2014.2/174. The <a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/planning2" style="text-decoration: none;">Planning 2.0</a> rule: Issued by the BLM and aimed at protecting the voice of local communities in public lands management decisions.<ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><li>Benefits and Costs: <a href="https://www.blm.gov/sites/blm.gov/files/documents/files/PlanningandNepa_Planning_FinalPlanningRuleEconomicAnalysis.pdf" style="text-decoration: none;">No definitive costs or benefits</a>: “[T]he final rule affects the procedures used to develop resource management plans, but would not directly affect the land management decisions themselves. As a result, none of the changes will result in direct monetary impacts on any individual or group.”</li><li style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Following the money: According to MapLight.org, mining, livestock, and oil and gas industry opponents of the rule have donated $802,507 to members of Congress sponsoring the resolution to repeal the rule. Among the most vocal opponents of the rule is the Western Energy Alliance, a trade association representing oil and gas companies in the West, which <a href="https://www.westernenergyalliance.org/knowledge-center/land/land-use-plans" style="text-decoration: none;">opposed</a> nearly every land management and energy reform initiative of the Obama administration.</li></ul>The striking commonality among these rules is the scale of the campaign contributions and the political connections of the affected industries to the sponsors of the legislation. Thus far, industries that have succeeded in having Congress overturn an environmental rule have donated an average of $2.3 million to the sponsors of the CRA resolutions in both chambers.<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none;">=<p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none;"><a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/big-oil-drill-national-parks-2188885054.html">http://www.ecowatch.com/big-oil-drill-national-parks-2188885054.html</a><p style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 19.2px; background-image: none;">under threat: <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/anniversary-national-park-service-1986247990.html">http://www.ecowatch.com/anniversary-national-park-service-1986247990.html</a>The president-elect plans to open up federal lands for more energy development and, according to <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-energy-nationalparks-idUSKBN14V1EP" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">Reuters</a>, energy companies and industry lobbyists are already expecting a flurry of new federal drilling and mining leases with the incoming administration."This opportunity is unique, maybe once in a lifetime," Jack Gerard, president of the Washington DC-based American Petroleum Institute lobby group, told the news service in regards to increased access to federal leases.
Vast quantities of oil, natural gas, coal and uranium are tucked away in government-owned national parks and forests, wildlife refuges and tribal territories from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico.As Reuters noted, under the Obama administration, oil output on federal land made up about a fifth of the national total in 2015, down from more than a third in 2010. Onshore drilling leases also fell about 15 percent.However, Trump campaigned on a <a href="https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/energy" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">promise</a> to "unleash America's $50 trillion in untapped shale, oil, and natural gas reserves, plus hundreds of years in clean coal reserves." He has accused Obama of "denying millions of Americans access to the energy wealth sitting under our feet" by restricting leasing and banning new coal extraction.The U.S. government owns roughly <a href="https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42346.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">640 million acres</a> of land, and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) manages most of it. In December, Trump <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/zinke-climate-change-2150733875.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">nominated</a> U.S. Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana, a <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" style="text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">climate change</a> skeptic and coal mining advocate as head of the department.As it happens, The Wilderness Society calculated that <a href="http://wilderness.org/open-business-and-not-much-else-analysis-shows-oil-and-gas-leasing-out-whack-blm-lands" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;">90 percent of the lands</a> held by the Bureau of Land Management, a bureau of the DOI, is already open to oil and gas development. Most of these lands are in the West and Alaska....<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/opinion/keeping-my-fossil-fuel-in-the-ground.html?r=0">http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/29/opinion/keeping-my-fossil-fuel-in-the-ground.html?r=0</a>http://www.sltrib.com/home/3845389-155/terry-tempest-williams-leaving-us-laudedTempest Williams is leaving her University of Utah teaching post and walking away from the Environmental Humanities program she founded rather than agree to administrators' demands she move her teaching from the state's desert landscapes onto campus.
"For reasons I will never know or understand, the University of Utah wanted me gone — and in the end, what was most threatening was my teaching. Why? Because each of you and our current students are challenging the status quo, each in your own way with the gifts that are yours," the acclaimed author wrote in an email last week to about 80 current and past students of the U.'s Environmental Humanities graduate program.

Known as Utah's most eloquent homegrown voice for conservation, Williams helped launch what has become one of the U.'s premier educational experiences, connecting highly motivated students with the nation's most adventurous writers and artists. Now some are accusing university administrators of being more concerned with procedural bureaucracy than with ensuring Williams continued her leadership.
Williams' departure came as a shock to students, colleagues, program supporters, and at least one foundation, whose executive director said it would not renew a $50,000 grant awarded last year for Williams' "Reading the Book Cliffs" project.
"We saw this course as a national model on how to engage people in new ways for critical issues, such as climate change," said Ellen Friedman of the Compton Foundation, which had premised its support on Williams' field teaching. "We are extremely disappointed."
Williams' supporters are heaping criticism on U. administration for failing to find a way to keep her on faculty, and some suspect her environmental activism may have prompted the move to shackle her coursework to campus.
Former student Alisha Anderson — who loved Williams' field course Art, Advocacy and Landscapes so much she took it twice, serving as a teaching assistant both times — said she was troubled by Williams' exit and what it portends for the program's future direction.
"She has been a huge blessing in my life," said Anderson, who now works for Torrey House Press on community outreach. "Terry and the way she teaches was transformative. At universities there is inertia to change, and Terry was pushing the boundaries. How can we not integrate the land in how we learn?"
Utah Film Center founder Geralyn Dreyfous and Karen Shepherd, a former congresswoman who represented Salt Lake City, resigned their seats on the College of Humanities advisory board in protest this week.
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Williams said she decided to leave after six weeks of "humiliating" contract negotiations in which new Humanities Dean Dianne Harris and Amy Wildermuth, associate vice president for faculty, pressured her to accept a phased retirement and pay concessions. Administrators made it clear her contributions were no longer valued, telling her she "was paid too much for too little," she said.
Her compensation package, including health benefits, is worth $95,700, according to public salary database Utah's Right to Know.
After a deal was reached and Williams agreed to sign a new contract, administrators added one more demand April 16. Her practice of taking students into the deserts of southern Utah and the Wyoming's Tetons did not comply with university guidelines, exposing the school to liability and "engendering resentment" from students who might not want to travel.
"It was at that point, I realized what the university fears most is empowered students, students tutored by the land itself, especially in Utah's erosional landscape of red rocks and rivers, and a bitten horizon that redefines time," Williams said in an email to the Tribune.
"I can no longer work in an institution or program that privileges compliance over creativity, that values the language of bureaucracy over relationships and respect, and that is more concerned over issues of insurance than the assurance of emancipatory curriculum that benefits our students," she wrote in an April 25 letter to Wildermuth. "My fear is that universities, now under increased pressure to raise money, are being led by corporate managers rather than innovative educators."
Wildermuth denied the university insisted on early retirement for Williams, who is 60.
"We really tried hard to come up with terms that were within university requirements and have Terry remain part of our program. We still want her to be part of it. We haven't closed any of our offers," said Wildermuth. "It is truly unfortunate. We are so grateful for what she has done. We will miss her. She is a tremendous asset to our university."
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A naturalist and author of a dozen books about western landscapes and their impact on the human spirit, Williams is Utah's most decorated writer since Wallace Stegner. Her latest book is "The Hour of Land: A Personal Topography of America's National Parks."
Williams' association with the U. dates back to her undergraduate days in the 1970s and later as education curator at the Utah Museum of Natural History from 1986 to 1996. The U. awarded her an honorary doctorate in 2003 and she delivered the commencement address on her signature concept, "the open spaces of democracy."
That was also the year she co-founded Environmental Humanities with then-Humanities Dean Robert Newman.
Williams has been serving in the department as the Annie Clark Tanner Fellow under an endowment provided by philanthropist Carolyn Tanner Irish, the retired bishop for Utah's Episcopal diocese. The two-year Environmental Humanities program, which accepts eight students a year and graduates eight with master's degrees, explores the use of art and words to document the Earth's changing landscapes from numerous perspectives.
Recent guest lecturers included scientist-turned-artist Subhankar Banerjee, anthropologist Wade Davis and Wyoming author Alexandra Fuller.
The program is enjoying a record number of applicants, according to director Jeff McCarthy. "We have a more competitive group than it has ever been. The program is absolutely thriving," he said. "[Williams'] vision was key to success of the program. She is beloved mentor for scores of students."...
=-A California judge struck down a bid Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to expropriate more than 1 million acres in central California for oil drilling.Judge Michael Fitzgerald <a href="http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/files/28-Order-on-XMSJs%209-6-16.pdf" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">found</a> that the BLM failed to consider the dangers of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/fracking/" style="text-decoration: none;">fracking</a>, which is part of the formal application process. Two environmental groups, the Center for Biological Diversity and Los Padres ForestWatch, brought the lawsuit against the BLM.<div class="share-tab-img share-buttons share-trigger" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); max-width: 100%; padding: 0px; margin: 0px; position: relative; overflow: hidden;"><div class="share-media-panel">"The bureau failed to take a 'hard look' at the environmental impact of the resource management plan, when, under the RMP, 25 percent of new wells are expected to use hydraulic fracturing," Judge Fitzgerald said in his ruling.
"The bureau is therefore obligated to prepare a substantial EIS [Environmental Impact Statement] to analyze the environmental consequences flowing from the use of hydraulic fracturing."The bureau's 1,073-page impact statement only mentioned fracking three times, SFGate <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/science/article/Judge-blocks-oil-development-in-Central-9206391.php" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">reported</a>. BLM had commissioned a report from the California Council on Science and Technology two years ago, the judge noted. However, commissioning the study does not absolve the BLM from further analyzing the impact of fracking on the area for its current permit, Fitzgerald added.The area in question involves the following counties: Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura.The agency has until Sept. 21 to present arguments as to why the judge should not issue an injunction to stop the plan.The contested land area provides shelter to more than one-third of the federally listed threatened and endangered species, as well as groundwater systems that provide water for agricultural and residential purposes, <a href="http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2016/oil-and-gas-09-06-2016.html" target="blank" style="text-decoration: none;">according to</a> the Center for Biological Diversity.Environmentalists lauded the ruling."The Obama administration must get the message and end this reckless rush to auction off our public land to oil companies," Brendan Cummings, Center for Biological Diversity's conservation director, said. "As California struggles against drought and climate change, we've got to end fracking and leave this dirty oil in the ground."ForestWatch executive director Jeff Kuyper also praised the ruling: "This ruling will protect public lands from the crest of the Sierra Nevada to the Central Coast from an influx of oil development and fracking. These treasured landscapes provide many benefits to our local communities and are too valuable to sacrifice for a few days' supply of oil."But, the petroleum industry wasn't as happy with the ruling."Hydraulic fracturing and other well stimulation treatments in California have undergone rigorous analysis and review, culminating in the most stringent environmental standards nationwide," Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, said. "Countless independent, state and federal science-based studies all agree. Hydraulic fracturing, when regulated, remains a safe technology that provides enormous benefits to American businesses and customers."This latest ruling is not the first time a federal judge has blocked BLM from developing California land because of its failure to consider the environmental implications of fracking.
In 2013, a different judge ruled that the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act by issuing oil leases on Monterey County land without doing necessary studies on the impact of fracking. BLM is still completing an environmental review on fracking, and has not been able to issue any leases in that area.California has been a battleground state between companies eager to frack for oil and gas, and anti-fracking campaigns. So far, five California counties have banned the industrial practice, with Alameda County becoming the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/alameda-county-becomes-fifth-in-california-to-ban-fracking-1933900702.html" style="text-decoration: none;">latest to do so</a>.</div></div>Kathleen Burton Clarke was the national director of the United States Bureau of Land Management from 2001–2006.
Kathleen Clarke (Bureau of Land Management).jpgClarke received her bachelor's degree from Utah State University.[1] She was a law student at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University.[citation needed]
Clarke is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She was raised in Bountiful, Utah. She was the daughter of Hubert C. Burton, a physician, and his wife the former Elaine Nelson.[2]
Prior to becoming director of the BLM, Clarke served as the executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources.[3] She had worked as a staffer for James V. Hansen and Senator Wallace F. Bennett before that.[4]
During her directing of the BLM it was often criticized by the Sierra Club and other environmental groups for allowing oil drilling at low cost.[5] This action increased domestic oil production and decreased oil production costs, thus keeping the rise in fuel costs below what it otherwise might have been.[citation needed]
Clarke sought to increase energy resource development on public lands. She was criticized for policies that ended up slaughtering many wild horses.[6]
Clarke later served as deputy commissioner of the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food.[7]
Sources[edit]Brenner, Noah. "Gas fields win praise". Jackson Hole Daily. Retrieved 2009-05-21.Larsen, Kent (September 1, 2001). "Mormon Woman to be First to Head BLM". Mormon News. Retrieved 2009-05-21.References[edit]Jump up ^ President Bush to Nominate Clarke to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management at the Department of the Interior. News & Policies (The White House). August 27, 2001. Archived from the original on 2008-03-06.Jump up ^ "Obituary: Hubert C. Burton, M.D.". Deseret News. April 16, 2000. Retrieved 2009-05-21.Jump up ^ Deseret NewsJump up ^ Spangler, Donna Kemp (December 22, 2001). "Utahn OK'd to lead BLM". Deseret News. Retrieved 2009-05-21.Jump up ^ Sierra Club article on oil drillingJump up ^ Struglinski, Suzanne (December 29, 2006). "Utahn resigns from BLM". Deseret News. Retrieved 2009-05-21.Jump up ^ Perkins, Nancy (February 3, 2008). "Land policies, climate are hot topics at farm meeting". Deseret Morning News. Retrieved 2009-05-21industry jrnl rigzoneresident Bush's selection to head the Bureau of Land Management is already facing a procedural hold due to a fight on natural gas drilling in Colorado. This week, he gets to explain his thoughts on energy production at a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on several pending nominations.The committee will also hear from two Energy Department nominees: Clarence Albright to be undersecretary of Energy and Lisa Epifani to be an assistant secretary of Energy for congressional and intergovernmental affairs.Bush nominated Jim Caswell, currently the director of Idaho's Office of Species Conservation, to head the BLM at the end of May. Caswell and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne have close ties, as Kempthorne created the species conservation office as Idaho governor in 2000.If confirmed, Caswell would succeed Kathleen Clarke, who left BLM in February. Jim Hughes is serving as acting director.Last month, Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) said he would place a "hold" on Caswell to protest the Interior Department's plan to allow natural gas drilling atop Colorado's Roan Plateau.Salazar and Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter (D) had asked Interior for a 120-day extension to review the draft management plan for the Roan Plateau, which would allow up to 1,570 new natural gas wells as early as next year. The Colorado Oil and Gas Association claims the plateau could hold 9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas -- enough to power 4 million homes for the next 20 years.In Idaho, Caswell has worked on a series of high-profile land management and endangered species issues, including the potential state-specific rule governing 9.3 million acres of roadless national forest land and management plans for the gray wolf and Yellowstone grizzly bear under the Endangered Species Act.Caswell has focused on bringing different interests together to promote conservation and recovery for species such as the northern Idaho ground squirrel, especially on private lands. Caswell has also been a key figure in Idaho's push to develop what would be the first state-specific rule for roadless areas on national forests, potentially allowing some logging and mineral development (Greenwire, May 31).Committee to vet DOE nomineesThe committee will also consider White House nominations for two high-level Energy Department positions.President Bush nominated Clarence Albright, who goes by Bud, to be the undersecretary of Energy. Albright is heading to DOE from his role as GOP staff director for the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Prior positions include vice president of federal affairs at Reliant Energy and deputy associate attorney general at the Department of Justice, according to the White House.The committee will also consider a familiar face to be assistant secretary of energy for congressional and intergovernmental affairs. The White House nominated Lisa Epifani, who is currently the special assistant to the president for Economic Policy at the National Economic Council. Until early 2006, she served as GOP counsel to the Senate Energy Committee and has also served as senior legislative counsel in DOE's Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs.- See more at: http://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/47411/Under_Fire_BLM_Director_Nominee_to_Appear_in_Senate#sthash.9oNXwszJ.dpufhttp://www.opb.org/news/article/environmentalists-critical-new-blm-director/2007Environmental groups are unhappy at the choice of a new head for the federal Bureau of Land Management. New BLM director Jim Caswell is familiar to groups in the Northwest as a longtime forester and land manager in Idaho.Jon Marvel is with the Idaho-based conservation group, Western Watersheds Project. He says Caswell has been more of a friend to mining companies than to endangered species.  Jon Marvel: “I think Jim Caswell was put in as the caretaker-manager of the BLM for the remainder of the Bush Administration in order to facilitate resource extraction, primarily by oil and gas interests throughout the west.”  Colorado Democrat Ken Salazar had blocked Caswell's nomination. But Senator Salazar lifted the block after Interior officials agreed to slow down potential oil and gas development in Colorado.The southeast quarter of Oregon is almost entirely federal land managed by the BLM.Both Oregon senators joined the unanimous consent resolution approving Caswell.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_ManagementThe Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_the_Interior" title="United States Department of the Interior" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">United States Department of the Interior</a> that administers more than 247.3 million acres (1,001,000 km2) of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_land" title="Public land" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">public lands</a> in the United States which constitutes one-eighth of the landmass of the country.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-stats-2" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[2]</a> President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_S.Truman" title="Harry S. Truman" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Harry S. Truman</a> created the BLM in 1946 by combining two existing agencies: the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Land_Office" title="General Land Office" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">General Land Office</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grazing_Service" title="Grazing Service" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Grazing Service</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-montana3-3" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[3]</a> The agency manages the federal government's nearly 700 million acres (2,800,000 km2) of subsurface <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_rights" title="Mineral rights" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">mineral estate</a> located beneath federal, state and private lands severed from their surface rights by the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homestead_Act_of_1862" title="Homestead Act of 1862" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Homestead Act of 1862</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-montana3-3" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[3]</a> Most BLM public lands are located in these 12 western states: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska" title="Alaska" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Alaska</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona" title="Arizona" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Arizona</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California" title="California" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">California</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado" title="Colorado" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Colorado</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idaho" title="Idaho" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Idaho</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montana" title="Montana" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Montana</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada" title="Nevada" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Nevada</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico" title="New Mexico" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">New Mexico</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon" title="Oregon" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Oregon</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah" title="Utah" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Utah</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington(state)" title="Washington (state)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Washington</a> and<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming" title="Wyoming" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Wyoming</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-cali-4" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[4]</a><div class="thumb tright" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; line-height: 22.4px;"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 3px; text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 222px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_federal_land.agencies.svg" class="image" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/US_federal_land.agencies.svg/220px-US_federal_land.agencies.svg.png" class="thumbimage" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/US_federal_land.agencies.svg/330px-US_federal_land.agencies.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/US_federal_land.agencies.svg/440px-US_federal_land.agencies.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="990" data-file-height="765" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); vertical-align: middle; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" width="220" height="170" /></a><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: none; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_federal_land.agencies.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: none; display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" standalone="standalone" no="no" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" viewbox="viewBox" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="id" magnify-clip="magnify-clip" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" bigbox="bigbox" m1.509="M1.509" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" smallbox="smallbox" m-1.499="M-1.499" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data" /></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_federal_land.agencies.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: none; display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" standalone="standalone" no="no" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" viewbox="viewBox" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="id" magnify-clip="magnify-clip" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" bigbox="bigbox" m1.509="M1.509" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" smallbox="smallbox" m-1.499="M-1.499" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">This map shows land owned by different federal government agencies. The yellow represents the Bureau of Land Management's holdings.</a></div></div></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_federal_land.agencies.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: none; display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" standalone="standalone" no="no" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" viewbox="viewBox" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="id" magnify-clip="magnify-clip" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" bigbox="bigbox" m1.509="M1.509" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" smallbox="smallbox" m-1.499="M-1.499" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">The mission of the BLM is "to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations."</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-5" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[5]</a> Originally BLM holdings were described as "land nobody wanted" because homesteaders had passed them by.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-cali-4" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[4]</a> All the same, ranchers hold nearly 18,000 permits and leases for livestock grazing on 155 million acres (630,000 km2) of BLM public lands.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-6" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[6]</a> The agency manages 221 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilderness_area" title="Wilderness area" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">wilderness areas</a>, 23 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Monument(United_States)" title="National Monument (United States)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">national monuments</a> and some 636 other protected areas as part of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Landscape_Conservation_System" title="National Landscape Conservation System" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">National Landscape Conservation System</a> totaling about 30 million acres (120,000 km2).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-BLMconservation-7" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[7]</a> There are more than 63,000 oil and gas wells on BLM public lands. Total energy leases generated approximately $5.4 billion in 2013, an amount divided among the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_the_Treasury" title="United States Department of the Treasury" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Treasury</a>, the states, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American" title="Native American" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Native American</a>groups.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-stats-2" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[2]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-8" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[8]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-9" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[9]</a><div id="toc" class="toc" style="background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249); border: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); padding: 7px; display: table; zoom: 1;"><div id="toctitle" style="direction: ltr; text-align: center;"><h2 style="margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border: none; display: inline; line-height: 1.3; background: none;">Contents</h2>  [<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#" id="togglelink" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">hide</a>] </div><ul style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0.3em 0px; padding: 0px; list-style-image: none;"><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#History" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">1 History</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#BLM_programs" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">2 BLM programs</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#National_Landscape_Conservation_System" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">3 National Landscape Conservation System</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#Law_enforcement_and_security" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">4 Law enforcement and security</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#Wild_horse_and_burro_program" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">5 Wild horse and burro program</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#Renewable_energy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">6 Renewable energy</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#Directors" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">7 Directors</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#References" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">8 References</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#Further_reading" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">9 Further reading</a></li><li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10" style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#External_links" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">10 External links</a></li></ul></div><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">History[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bureau_of_Land_Management&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>The BLM's roots go back to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Ordinance_of_1785" title="Land Ordinance of 1785" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Land Ordinance of 1785</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwest_Ordinance" title="Northwest Ordinance" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Northwest Ordinance</a> of 1787.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-gpo-10" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[10]</a> These laws provided for the survey and settlement of the lands that the original 13 colonies ceded to the federal government after the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_War_of_Independence" title="American War of Independence" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">American Revolution</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-gpo-10" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[10]</a> As additional lands were acquired by the United States from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" title="Spain" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Spain</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">France</a> and other countries, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress" title="United States Congress" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">United States Congress</a> directed that they be explored, surveyed, and made available for settlement.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-gpo-10" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[10]</a> During the Revolutionary War, military bounty land was promised to soldiers who fought for the colonies.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-11" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[11]</a> After the war, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Paris(1783)" title="Treaty of Paris (1783)" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Treaty of Paris</a> of 1783, signed by the United States, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England" title="England" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">England</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France" title="France" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">France</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" title="Spain" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Spain</a>, ceded territory to the United States.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-12" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[12]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-13" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[13]</a> In the 1780s, other states relinquished their own claims to land in modern-day <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ohio" title="Ohio" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Ohio</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-ohio-14" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[14]</a> By this time, the United States needed revenue to function.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-landord-15" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[15]</a> Land was sold so that the government would have money to survive.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-landord-15" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[15]</a> In order to sell the land, surveys needed to be conducted. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Ordinance_of_1785" title="Land Ordinance of 1785" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Land Ordinance of 1785</a> instructed a geographer to oversee this work as undertaken by a group of surveyors.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-landord-15" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[15]</a> The first years of surveying were completed by trial and error; once the territory of Ohio had been surveyed, a modern public land survey system had been developed.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-White_1991-16" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[16]</a> In 1812, Congress established the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Land_Office" title="General Land Office" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">General Land Office</a>as part of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_the_Treasury" title="United States Department of the Treasury" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Department of the Treasury</a> to oversee the disposition of these federal lands.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-ohio-14" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[14]</a> By the early 1800s, promised bounty land claims were finally fulfilled.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-war2-17" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[17]</a>Over the years, other bounty land and homestead laws were enacted to dispose of federal land.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-gpo-10" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[10]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-war2-17" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[17]</a> Several different types of patents existed.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-NARA-18" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[18]</a> These include cash entry, credit, homestead, Indian, military warrants, mineral certificates, private land claims, railroads, state selections, swamps, town sites, and town lots.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-NARA-18" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[18]</a> A system of local land offices spread throughout the territories, patenting land that was surveyed via the corresponding <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surveyor_General_of_the_Northwest_Territory" title="Surveyor General of the Northwest Territory" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Office of the Surveyor General</a> of a particular territory.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-NARA-18" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[18]</a> This pattern gradually spread across the entire United States.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-White_1991-16" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[16]</a> The laws that spurred this system with the exception of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Mining_Law_of_1872" title="General Mining Law of 1872" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">General Mining Law of 1872</a> and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_Land_Act" title="Desert Land Act" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Desert Land Act</a> of 1877 have since been repealed or superseded.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-varied-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a>In the early 20th century, Congress took additional steps toward recognizing the value of the assets on public lands and directed the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Branch" title="Executive Branch" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Executive Branch</a> to manage activities on the remaining public lands.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-varied-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a> The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_Leasing_Act_of_1920" title="Mineral Leasing Act of 1920" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Mineral Leasing Act of 1920</a> allowed leasing, exploration, and production of selected commodities, such as <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal" title="Coal" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">coal</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum" title="Petroleum" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">oil</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas" title="Gas" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">gas</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium" title="Sodium" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">sodium</a> to take place on public lands.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-20" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[20]</a> The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Grazing_Act" title="Taylor Grazing Act" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Taylor Grazing Act</a> of 1934 established the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Grazing_Service" title="United States Grazing Service" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">United States Grazing Service</a> to manage the public rangelands by establishment of advisory boards that set grazing fees.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-21" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[21]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-montana-22" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[22]</a> The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_and_California_Railroad_Revested_Lands" title="Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Oregon and California Revested Lands Sustained Yield Management Act</a> of 1937, commonly referred as the O&C Act, required sustained <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yield_management" title="Yield management" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">yield management</a> of the timberlands in western Oregon.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-ochistory-23" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[23]</a>In 1946, the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grazing_Service" title="Grazing Service" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Grazing Service</a> was merged with the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Land_Office" title="General Land Office" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">General Land Office</a> to form the Bureau of Land Management within the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Department_of_the_Interior" title="Department of the Interior" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Department of the Interior</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-varied-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a> It took several years for this new agency to integrate and reorganize.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-24" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[24]</a> In the end, the Bureau of Land Management became less focused on land disposal and more focused on the long term management and preservation of the land.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-varied-19" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[19]</a> The agency achieved its current form by combining offices in the western states and creating a corresponding office for lands both east of and alongside the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_River" title="Mississippi River" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Mississippi River</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-25" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[25]</a> As a matter of course, the BLM's emphasis fell on activities in the western states as most of the mining, land sales, and federally owned areas are located west of the Mississippi.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-26" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[26]</a>BLM personnel on the ground have typically been oriented toward local interests, while bureau management in Washington are led by presidential guidance.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-montana2-27" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[27]</a> By means of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Land_Policy_and_Management_Act" title="Federal Land Policy and Management Act" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Federal Land Policy and Management Act</a> of 1976, Congress created a more unified bureau mission and recognized the value of the remaining public lands by declaring that these lands would remain in public ownership.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-gpo-10" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[10]</a> The law directed that these lands be managed with a view toward "multiple use" defined as "management of the public lands and their various resource values so that they are utilized in the combination that will best meet the present and future needs of the American people."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-28" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[28]</a>Since the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan" title="Ronald Reagan" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Reagan</a> years of the 1980s, Republicans have often given priority to local control and to grazing, mining and petroleum production, while Democrats have more often emphasized environmental concerns even when granting mining and drilling leases.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-29" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[29]</a> In September 1996, then President <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton" title="Bill Clinton" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Bill Clinton</a> used his authority under the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiquities_Act" title="Antiquities Act" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Antiquities Act</a> to establish the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Staircase-Escalante_National_Monument" title="Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument</a> in southern Utah, the first of now 20 national monuments established on BLM lands and managed by the agency.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-BLMconservation-7" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[7]</a> The establishment of Grand Staircase-Escalante foreshadowed later creation of the BLM's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Landscape_Conservation_System" title="National Landscape Conservation System" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">National Landscape Conservation System</a> in 2000. Use of the Antiquities Act authority, to the extent it effectively scuttled a coal mine to have been operated by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UtahAmerican_Energy" title="UtahAmerican Energy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Andalex Resources</a>, delighted recreation and conservation enthusiasts but set up larger confrontations with state and local authorities.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-headwaters-30" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[30]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-31" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[31]</a> The changing demographics in the western states have led some to suggest that the BLM, long derided as the "Bureau of Livestock and Mines," is in the midst of becoming the "Bureau of Landscapes and Monuments."<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-montana3-3" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[3]</a><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">BLM programs[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bureau_of_Land_Management&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: BLM programs" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2><div class="thumb tright" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); clear: right; float: right; margin: 0.5em 0px 1.3em 1.4em; width: auto; line-height: 22.4px;"><div class="thumbinner" style="min-width: 100px; border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding: 3px; text-align: center; overflow: hidden; width: 312px; background-color: rgb(249, 249, 249);"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Public-Lands-Western-US.png" class="image" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Public-Lands-Western-US.png/310px-Public-Lands-Western-US.png" class="thumbimage" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Public-Lands-Western-US.png/465px-Public-Lands-Western-US.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Public-Lands-Western-US.png/620px-Public-Lands-Western-US.png 2x" data-file-width="818" data-file-height="567" style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); vertical-align: middle; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);" width="310" height="215" /></a><div class="thumbcaption" style="border: none; line-height: 1.4em; padding: 3px; text-align: left;"><div class="magnify" style="float: right; margin-left: 3px; margin-right: 0px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Public-Lands-Western-US.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: none; display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" standalone="standalone" no="no" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" viewbox="viewBox" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="id" magnify-clip="magnify-clip" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" bigbox="bigbox" m1.509="M1.509" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" smallbox="smallbox" m-1.499="M-1.499" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data" /></div><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Public-Lands-Western-US.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge" style="text-decoration: none; display: block; text-indent: 15px; white-space: nowrap; overflow: hidden; width: 15px; height: 11px; user-select: none; background: linear-gradient(transparent, transparent), url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" standalone="standalone" no="no" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" viewbox="viewBox" width="width" height="height" cg="Cg" id="id" magnify-clip="magnify-clip" fill="fill" fff="fff" stroke="stroke" cpath="Cpath" bigbox="bigbox" m1.509="M1.509" h10.99v7.919h-10.99z="h10.99v7.919h-10.99z" smallbox="smallbox" m-1.499="M-1.499" h5.943v4.904h-5.943z="h5.943v4.904h-5.943z" fg="Fg" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data">Most of the public lands held by the Bureau of Land Management are located in the western states.</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-32" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[32]</a></div></div></div><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" line-height="line-height" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Grazing. The BLM manages livestock grazing on nearly 155 million acres (630,000 km2) million acres under the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taylor_Grazing_Act_of_1934" title="Taylor Grazing Act of 1934" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Taylor Grazing Act of 1934</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-blmgrazing-33" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[33]</a> The agency has granted more than 18,000 permits and leases to ranchers who graze their livestock, mostly cattle and sheep, at least part of the year on BLM public lands.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-blmgrazing-33" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[33]</a> Permits and leases generally cover a 10-year period and are renewable if the BLM determines that the terms and conditions of the expiring permit or lease are being met.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-blmgrazing-33" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[33]</a> The federal grazing fee is adjusted annually and is calculated using a formula originally set by Congress in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_Rangelands_Improvement_Act_of_1978" title="Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-blmgrazing-33" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[33]</a> Under this formula, the grazing fee cannot fall below $1.35 per <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_unit" title="Animal unit" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">animal unit</a> month (AUM), nor can any fee increase or decrease exceed 25 percent of the previous year’s level.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-blmgrazing-33" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[33]</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-34" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[34]</a> The grazing fee for 2014 was set at $1.35 per AUM, the same level as for 2013.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-blmgrazing-33" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[33]</a> Over time there has been a gradual decrease in the amount of grazing that takes place on BLM-managed land.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-blmgrazing-33" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[33]</a> Grazing on public lands has declined from 18.2 million AUMs in 1954 to 7.9 million AUMs in 2013.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-blmgrazing-33" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[33]</a></li></ul><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" line-height="line-height" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Mining. Domestic production from over 63,000 Federal "onshore" <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_well" title="Oil well" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">oil</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_well" title="Gas well" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">gas wells</a> on BLM lands accounts for 11 percent of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas" title="Natural gas" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">natural gas</a> supply and five percent of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petroleum" title="Petroleum" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">oil</a> supply in the United States.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-35" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[35]</a> BLM has on record a total of 290,000 mining claims under the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Mining_Law_of_1872" title="General Mining Law of 1872" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">General Mining Law of 1872</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-blmmining-36" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[36]</a></li></ul><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" line-height="line-height" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Coal leases. The BLM holds the coal mineral estate to more than 570 million acres (2,300,000 km2) where the owner of the surface is the federal government, a state or local government, or a private entity.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-coal-37" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[37]</a> As of 2013, the BLM had competitively granted 309 leases for coal mining to 474,252 acres (191,923 ha), an increase of 13,487 acres (5,458 ha) or nearly 3% increase in land subject to coal production over ten years' time.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-coal-37" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[37]</a></li></ul><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" line-height="line-height" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Recreation. The BLM administers 205,498 miles (330,717 km) of fishable streams, 2.2 million acres (8,900 km2) of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake" title="Lake" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">lakes</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reservoir(water)" title="Reservoir (water)" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">reservoirs</a>, 6,600 miles (10,600 km) of floatable rivers, over 500 boating access points, 69 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Back_Country_Byway" title="National Back Country Byway" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">National Back Country Byways</a>, and 300 Watchable Wildlife sites.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-outfit-38" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[38]</a> The agency also manages 4,500 miles (7,200 km) of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Scenic_Trail" title="National Scenic Trail" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">National Scenic</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Historic_Trail" title="National Historic Trail" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">National Historic</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Recreation_Trail" title="National Recreation Trail" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">National Recreation Trails</a>, as well as thousands of miles of multiple use trails used by motorcyclists, hikers, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equestrians" title="Equestrians" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">equestrians</a>, and mountain bikers.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-outfit-38" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[38]</a> In 2013, BLM lands received an estimated 61.7 million recreational visitors.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-stats-2" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[2]</a></li></ul><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" line-height="line-height" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">California Desert Conservation Area. The California Desert Conservation Area covers 25 million acres (100,000 km2) of land in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_California" title="Southern California" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">southern California</a> designated by Congress in 1976 by means of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Land_Policy_and_Management_Act" title="Federal Land Policy and Management Act" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Federal Land Policy and Management Act</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-CDCA-39" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[39]</a> BLM is charged with administering about 10 million acres (40,000 km2) of this fragile area with its potential for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiple_use" title="Multiple use" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">multiple uses</a> in mind.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-CDCA-39" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[39]</a></li></ul><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" line-height="line-height" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Timberlands. The Bureau manages 55 million acres (220,000 km2) of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forest" title="Forest" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">forests</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodland" title="Woodland" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">woodlands</a>, including 11 million acres (45,000 km2) of commercial forest and 44 million acres (180,000 km2) of woodlands in 11 western states and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska" title="Alaska" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Alaska</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-gaotimber-40" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[40]</a> 53 million acres (210,000 km2) are productive forests and woodlands on public domain lands and 2.4 million acres (9,700 km2) are on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon_and_California_Railroad_Revested_Lands" title="Oregon and California Railroad Revested Lands" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">O&C lands</a> in western Oregon.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-gaotimber-40" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[40]</a></li><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">firefighting....</li></ul>
...In 2009, BLM opened Renewable Energy Coordination Offices in order to approve and oversee wind, solar, biomass, and geothermal projects on BLM-managed lands.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-apps1.eere.energy.gov-46" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[46]</a> The offices were located in the four states where energy companies had shown the greatest interest in renewable energy development: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona" title="Arizona" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Arizona</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California" title="California" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">California</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada" title="Nevada" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Nevada</a>, and<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyoming" title="Wyoming" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Wyoming</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-apps1.eere.energy.gov-46" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[46]</a><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" line-height="line-height" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Solar energy. In 2010, BLM approved the first utility-scale <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy" title="Solar energy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">solar energy</a> projects on public land.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-sunland-65" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[65]</a> As of 2014, 70 solar energy projects covering 560,000 acres (2,300 km2) had been proposed on public lands managed by BLM primarily located in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona" title="Arizona" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Arizona</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California" title="California" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">California</a>, and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada" title="Nevada" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">Nevada</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-BLMFactSolar-66" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[66]</a> To date, it has approved 29 projects that have the potential to generate 8,786 megawatts of renewable energy or enough energy to power roughly 2.6 million homes.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-BLMFactSolar-66" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[66]</a> The projects range in size from a 45-megawatt photovoltaic system on 422 acres (171 ha) to a 1,000-megawatt parabolic trough system on 7,025 acres (2,843 ha).<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-BLMFactSolar-66" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[66]</a></li></ul><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" line-height="line-height" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Wind energy. BLM manages 20.6 million acres (83,000 km2) of public lands with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_energy" title="Wind energy" class="mw-redirect" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">wind potential</a>.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-newenergy-67" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[67]</a> It has authorized 39 wind energy development projects with a total approved capacity of 5,557 megawatts or enough to supply the power needs of over 1.5 million homes.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-BLMwind-68" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[68]</a> In addition, BLM has authorized over 100 wind energy testing sites.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-gaorenew-69" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[69]</a></li></ul><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" line-height="line-height" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Geothermal energy. BLM manages 59 geothermal leases in producing status, with a total capacity of 1,500 megawatts.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-geoBLM-70" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[70]</a> This amounts to over 40 percent of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geothermal_energy" title="Geothermal energy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">geothermal energy</a> capacity in the United States.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-geoBLM-70" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[70]</a></li></ul><ul style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); margin: 0.3em 0px 0px 1.6em; padding: 0px; list-style-image: url(" data:image="data:image" svg="svg" xml="xml" c="C" fxml="Fxml" version="version" d="D" encoding="encoding" utf-8="UTF-8" f="F" e="E" a="A" csvg="Csvg" http="http" fwww.w3.org="Fwww.w3.org" f2000="F2000" fsvg="Fsvg" width="width" height="height" ccircle="Ccircle" cx="cx" cy="cy" r="r" fill="fill" line-height="line-height" px="px" background-color="background-color" rgb="rgb" xmlns="xmlns" xmlns:data="data"><li style="margin-bottom: 0.1em;">Biomass and bioenergy. Its large portfolio of productive timberlands leaves BLM with woody <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biomass" title="Biomass" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">biomass</a> among its line of forest products.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-biomass-71" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[71]</a> The biomass is composed of "smaller diameter materials" and other debris that result from timber production and forest management.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-biomass-71" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[71]</a> Though the use of these materials as a renewable resource is nascent, the agency is engaged in pilot projects to increase the use of its biomass supplies in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioenergy" title="Bioenergy" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">bioenergy</a> programs.<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management#cite_note-biomass-71" style="text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap; background: none;">[71]</a></li></ul><h2 style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); font-weight: normal; margin: 1em 0px 0.25em; overflow: hidden; padding: 0px; border-bottom: 1px solid rgb(170, 170, 170); line-height: 1.3;">Directors[<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bureau_of_Land_Management&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Directors" style="text-decoration: none; background: none;">edit</a>]</h2>http://www.newsweek.com/tattered-legacy-203592A Tattered LegacyBY NEWSWEEK STAFF 9/29/91 AT 8:00 PM
Caught in the cross-fire of the war for the West, the Bureau of Land Management never seems to please anyone. The agency, tucked in a corner of the Interior Department, controls more than 270 million acres of public land-nearly one eighth of the country. BLM land includes cattle ranges in Nevada and gold mines in California. Because the bureau traditionally favored those interests, critics branded it the "Bureau of Livestock and Mining." But the BLM's purview also encompasses bike trails in Utah and white-water rivers in Colorado. Now the agency intends to address recreation and wildlife interests--causing ranchers and miners to seethe. "I told the cowboys, the oil guys and the miners, 'You're going to have to realize I'm moving the BLM in this direction'," says BLM Director Cy Jamison, a former House staffer appointed by George Bush in 1989. "Because if we don't, you're not going to be around and neither am I."BLM's industry-friendly ways go back to its roots. Founded in 1946 when the U.S. Grazing Service and the General Land Office combined, the BLM quietly dispensed mining patents and grazing allocations in the spirit of the finders-keepers West. Its allegiance to traditional users intensified during the Reagan years under Interior Secretary James Watt and BLM Director Robert Burford. The duo slashed budgets, compounding the BLM's status as the ugly stepchild of federal land management. Other federal agencies filed scathing reports that depicted BLM lands deteriorating from overgrazing and neglect.The agency's mandate--to treat the land both as a commodity and a recreational resource-puts Jamison between a rock and another, harder rock. Much of the land's "highest best use," as he puts it, remains livestock and mineral production. But miners and ranchers are edgy after Jamison agreed that public land-use reforms are inevitable. He alienated off-road-vehicle buffs by stopping the Barstow-to-Las Vegas motorcycle race that has been run sporadically since 1967. When the BLM recommended timber-harvest limits in Oregon, loggers balked at the restrictive limits while environmentalists said they were far too high.
Dozens of clashes between business and environmental interests will soon test the BLM's new resolve. Recently Jamison asked for a rare meeting of the so-called God Squad, an expert panel created under the Endangered Species Act to weigh the potential extinction of wildlife against economic interests. Jamison wants the panel to supersede the recommendation of the Fish and Wildlife Service and permit logging in spotted-owl habitats in Oregon. The move heightens the fears of environmentalists that Jamison is more adept at rhetoric than reform.
Jamison acknowledges it will take years to repair the damage done during the BLM's years of excess and abuse. He tells his staff, "My goal here is to get you all up to the early '70s. Then we're going to leap to the 2 1st century." With dug-in opponents battling every step, he'll need a running start. The gulf between the agency's legacy and its vision for the future is still plenty wid

Bur Land Mgmt

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bureau_of_Land_Management</a>

===When the federal government introduced stronger standards for fracking on public lands earlier this month, the oil and gas industry was quick to file lawsuits. On Thursday, the state of Wyoming joined the fray.Claiming that the <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/20/3637106/republicans-freaking-on-fracking-rules/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">new Bureau of Land Management (BLM) set of rules</a> released last week “unlawfully interferes” with the state’s existing fracking regulations, Wyoming filed a suit Thursday against the U.S. Department of the Interior, Sec. Sally Jewell, and BLM, requesting judicial review of the rules.In the <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_4EQ9PebvQIaVFaZkFKN2dPZWM/view" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">lawsuit</a>, Wyoming claims that BLM cannot put these restrictions on fracking because the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has “exclusive authority” to regulate any underground injections under the Safe Water Drinking Act of 1974.<div id="in-content-ad" style="background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 22.44px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">However, under the so-called “<a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/10/24/3584055/fracking-with-benzene/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Halliburton Loophole</a>,” added to the SWDA in 2003, fracking activities are specifically excluded from the definition of underground injections, unless diesel fuel is being used — which is fairly uncommon.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">“It appears the state just has it wrong legally,” Mike Freeman, an attorney with Earth Justice told ThinkProgress. “Wyoming’s petition actually cites the definition of underground injection that excludes fracking.”<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The new BLM rules require oil and gas companies to disclose all the chemicals used while fracking on protected lands. During the fracking process, a liquid, usually water, is mixed with chemicals and injected into shale, releasing pockets of natural gas or oil. The water generally cannot be recycled and is toxic after use. Under the new rules, companies will be prohibited from storing fracking wastewater in open pits on national public land and required to periodically test the integrity of every well to help prevent pollution.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Two oil and gas industry groups, Independent Petroleum Association for America and the Western Energy Alliance, have <a href="http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/236429-drillers-file-lawsuit-to-challenge-fracking-rules" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">also filed</a> a lawsuit against BLM on similar overreach grounds, saying that the “final rule as issued is contrary to law.” North Dakota is also<a href="http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2015/03/25/north-dakota-might-challenge-new-federal-fracking-rule/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">reportedly</a> considering a lawsuit. Both Wyoming and North Dakota have experienced an oil and gas boom in recent years.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">BLM manages <a href="http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en.html" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">more than 17.5 million</a> acres of public lands in Wyoming, and also has the mineral rights to another 40.7 million acres in the state. In 2013, the most recent year data has been released, 620 new oil and gas wells were started in the state. According to that data, more than <a href="http://www.blm.gov/public_land_statistics/pls13/pls2013.pdf" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">7 million acres of public land</a> in Wyoming are currently under lease by oil and gas developers.<p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.4em 0px; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">The BLM’s new rules apply only to oil and gas extraction on federally managed land. As of 2013, the United States managed 247 million acres of public land and had another 700 million acres of mineral rights. Some in Congress want that to change, though. A nonbinding amendment introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) would support state efforts to sell public lands, including national forests, wildlife refuges, wilderness areas, historic sites, and national monuments. The amendment, which would require further legislation in order to become law, <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/26/3639683/senate-sell-off-public-lands/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">passed</a> the Senate on Thursday. The amendment echoes <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/03/16/3633814/gop-budget-public-lands/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">similar</a> <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/07/10/3458798/ted-cruz-auction-off-public-lands/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">proposals</a> made by House Natural Resources Committee Chair Rob Bishop (R-UT) and Republican presidential hopeful Ted Cruz (R-TX).<span id="trigger-slidedown" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 22.4400005340576px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><div class="tags" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px 1em; border: 0px; border-image-source: initial; border-image-slice: initial; border-image-width: initial; border-image-outset: initial; border-image-repeat: initial; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 22.4400005340576px; vertical-align: baseline; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><h4 style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0.5em 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: italic; font-variant: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.15em; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline;">Tags:</h4> <ul style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0.5em 0px 0px; padding: 1em 0px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; list-style: none; display: inline;"><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.33em; padding: 5px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block;"><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/tag/blm/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 0.5em; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; background: rgb(221, 221, 221);">BLM</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.33em; padding: 5px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block;"><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/tag/bureau-of-land-management/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 0.5em; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; background: rgb(221, 221, 221);">Bureau of Land Management</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.33em; padding: 5px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block;"><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/tag/dept-of-the-interior/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 0.5em; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; background: rgb(221, 221, 221);">Dept. of the Interior</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.33em; padding: 5px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block;"><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/tag/fracking/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 0.5em; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; background: rgb(221, 221, 221);">Fracking</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.33em; padding: 5px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block;"><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/tag/lawsuits/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 0.5em; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; background: rgb(221, 221, 221);">Lawsuits</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.33em; padding: 5px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block;"><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/tag/oil-and-gas/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 0.5em; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; background: rgb(221, 221, 221);">Oil and Gas</a></li><li style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.33em; padding: 5px 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 1.6em; vertical-align: baseline; display: inline-block;"><a href="http://thinkprogress.org/tag/wyoming/" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 1px 0.5em; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: inherit; vertical-align: baseline; text-decoration: none; border-radius: 6px; background: rgb(221, 221, 221);">Wyoming</a></li></ul></div>

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<a href="http://grist.org/news/peabody-coal-signs-sweetheart-deal-with-government-to-expand-existing-mine/">http://grist.org/news/peabody-coal-signs-sweetheart-deal-with-government-to-expand-existing-mine/</a>

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<h3 style="margin: 0px 0px 0.3em; overflow: hidden; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-bottom: 0.17em; border-bottom-style: none; line-height: 19.2000007629395px; background-image: none; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);">Protecting Factory Farming from Regulation</h3>

One of the lesser publicized ventures of Koch Industries was its large-scale confined animal feed operations (CAFOs). At one point, Koch Beef Company was one of the largest cattle feeders in the U.S. When it sought to increase one of its already huge operations by 20,000 head of cattle, workers living a few hundred feet away expressed concerns for their health, and neighbors complained about an exponential increase in smell from Koch’s CAFO. But Koch persuaded friendly state regulators that the neighbors' concerns lacked “technical merit”-- although it ultimately divested the feed lots, while maintaining its Matador Cattle Company and grazing operations near Yellowstone National Park, along with other agricultural operations.

Is ALEC interested in protecting CAFOs? You bet. One of its bills, the<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.alecexposed.org/w/images/a/af/3A8-Right_to_Farm_Act_Exposed.pdf" style="text-decoration: none; background-image: url(" data:image="data:image" png="png" base64="base64" ivborw0kggoaaaansuheugaaaaoaaaakcaqaaaanowc2aaaatkleqvr4xmxkqqqamawf0x="iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAAoAAAAKCAQAAAAnOwc2AAAATklEQVR4XmXKQQqAMAwF0X" xssz9cskiyiifrfcjmmihmigbb5fqdcaqj4j46pzyluwe="XsSz9CSKiyIIFRFcjMmihmiGbB5fqDCaQJ4j46pzYLUWe" cxz6ovbhts0sry2njp="cXZ6OVBhTS0srY2Njp" xxxxzolu6euwaopx1vnwtbe6qqaaaaaelftksuqmcc="XxXXZOLu6EUWAOPX1vnwTBe6qQAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC" padding-right="padding-right" px="px" background-position="background-position" xmlns:data="data">“Right to Farm Act,”</a> would bar any lawsuits by neighbors claiming nuisance from any activities that are typical in farming, including industrial agriculture. If this bill passed, it would likely benefit ALEC's agribusinesses members.

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1980 coors etc spearheaded Sagebrush Rebellion (corp and rw) turned ctt into pol

power 25 RR: I am a S rebel"  Heritage shadow cabinet, 2k pp Mandate for Change

became blueprint (Coors in kitchen cab).  Coors picked assoc Anne Gorsuch for epa;

hubby cattle baron to head BLM, tho had declared to shut it  25  rfk2

<h2 style="padding: 5px 0px 0px; margin: 5px 0px 0px; text-align: justify; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"><a href="http://www.netrootsmass.net/2008/11/391-the-bureau-of-land-management-and-shady-deals-in-utah-again/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent Link to 391. The Bureau of Land Management and shady deals in Utah again" style="text-decoration: none;">391. The Bureau of Land Management and shady deals in Utah again</a></h2>

The Bureau of Land Management is set to <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/08/us/08lease.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin">open</a> public lands to drilling near 3 National Parks in Utah. Bypassing usual input from the Parks Service which would delay the process into the next Administration, the BLM will auction leases in the area on December 19, 2008. Consider it a parting gift by the Bush Administration of your resources to the oil and gas companies. The Utah office of the BLM seems prone to these kind of funny deals (See item 211) and for all I know there may even be someone in that office who isn’t owned by the energy industry and developers although I think that is unlikely.

On <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/05/us/05leases.html">February 4, 2009</a>, the new Secretary of the Interior in the Obama Administration Ken Salazar cancelled these leases.

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BLM public land

Attachments