August, in brief

What you may have missed and need to know

Andre F. Miller
Aug 31, 2018 · 5 min read
The Center for Western Priorities released an interactive map showing Land and Water Conservation Fund projects examined in our latest report. At least 491,000 acres were protected from 2014 to 2017. | MAP

Key news from August, 2018:

  • The Bureau of Land Managment released draft management plans for lands carved out of Grand Staircase-Escalante and the lands remaining in Bears Ears, opening up nearly 700,000 acres for mining and drilling. The proposal also recommended selling or transferring 1,610 acres cut from Grand Staircase-Escalante into private hands. Less than 72 hours later, Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt issued a memo ordering the Bureau of Land Management to scrap its sell-off proposal.

What to watch for in September:

The Land and Water Conservation Fund expires September 30 — will Congress reauthorize the critical land conservation program? The Bureau of Land Managment will hold oil and gas lease sales in a number of western states, with plans to auction off hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands. The Interior Department is holding a comment period for the management plans for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. Interior’s Royalty Policy Committee will meet in Colorado on September 13.


Best Reads of the Month:

Secretary Zinke hired his high school football friend to block climate research at Interior

The Guardian

Zinke said he would never sell public land. But the Interior is considering it.

Washington Post

Column: “A Green Wave is coming this November, the pent-up force of the most overlooked constituency”

New York Times


From the Center for Western Priorities

Westwise Blog:

Go West, Young Podcast:

How To Win the West in 2018

In this episode of CWP’s Go West, Young Podcast, pollster Brian Gottlieb and CWP Executive Director Jen Rokala discuss the new Winning the West poll on the importance of public lands issues to Western voters.


New Report: Funding America’s Future

A new report by the Center for Western Priorities, Funding America’s Conservation Future, offers a data-driven analysis of the Land and Water Conservation Fund’s (LWCF) accomplishments and examines what is at stake if Congress fails to renew the critical land conservation program. The report, which identified and examined upwards of 800 LWCF projects proposed from 2014 through 2017, provides a unique look at the scope and scale of LWCF successes for communities and states across the nation.

The analysis found 293 U.S. public land and Forest Legacy LWCF projects successfully completed between 2014 and 2017 in 42 states, conserving at least 431,000 acres. An additional 92 LWCF projects proposed during this period, encompassing 221,000 acres, are in the process of being completed.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund is the primary source of funding to enhance access to public lands across the country, but the popular program will expire if Congress does not reauthorize it by the end of September 2018. If Congress fails to reauthorize and fully fund LWCF, a minimum of 223 LWCF projects that would protect 318,000 acres are on the line if the program expires at the end of September.Quote of the month


Quote of the Month:

“Lovers of the outdoors, users of the outdoors, and friends of nature and conservation far outnumber the opponents. Just to give one example: There are an estimated 45 to 60 million active birdwatchers in the U.S. — or ‘birders,’ as they prefer to be called — contributing more than $40 billion annually to the U.S. economy.”

— Timothy Egan, author and New York Times columnist


Photo of the Month:

The Center for Western Priorities placed a billboard outside Pueblo, CO to bring attention to the drilling threat just outside Great Sand Dunes National Park. http://DontDrillOurParks.org #COpolitics | @WstnrPriorities

For more information, sign up for Look West to get daily public lands and energy news sent to your inbox, or subscribe to Go West, Young Podcast.

Westwise

Stories about public lands and the outdoors from the Center for Western Priorities

Andre F. Miller

Written by

Center for Western Priorities | Denver, CO @WstrnPriorities

Westwise

Westwise

Stories about public lands and the outdoors from the Center for Western Priorities

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade