December, in brief
What you may have missed and need to know
Did You Know? White Sands National Monument is now White Sands National Park, making it the 62nd designated national park in the National Park System. | @NatlParkService
Key news from December:
- The Government Accountability Office announced it will open a probe into the Bureau of Land Management headquarters relocation to Grand Junction. Top career staff at the BLM had until December 12th to tell the agency if they are willing to relocate. The office opened today on January 2nd.
- A $1.4 trillion year-end spending package included increased spending for environmental agencies. However, the package only partially funded the popular Land and Water Conservation Fund. The package also included a provision to ensure the protection of cultural resources around Chaco Culture National Historical Park.
- White Sands, formerly a national monument, is the country’s newest national park. Legislation introduced by New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich passed the Senate as part of a defense spending bill.
- A scathing audit of Utah’s oil and gas program found significant and wide-ranging problems with inspections and enforcement — the agency has not issued a single fine for the past 24 years. Now, regulators are asking for a legal change so that they can more easily issue fines for violations.
- The administration’s “energy dominance” agenda appears to be backfiring in Utah, where, for the fourth time this year, the BLM decided to reanalyze thousands of acres of leases that had previously been sold for development in recent years.
- According to a Department of the Interior Inspector General report, Doug Domenech, the Interior Department’s Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs, violated federal ethics regulations when he met with representatives from his former employer.
- In-depth reporting from the New York Times detailed methane venting in the Permian oil basin in Texas and New Mexico. Reporters and scientists flew a plane with specialized instruments and identified six “super emitter” sites. These individual sites account for nearly half the emissions in the area.
- House Democrats released the American Public Lands and Waters Climate Solution Act, an expansive piece of legislation to fight climate change through mitigation efforts on public lands. And legislation announced by Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema would permanently ban new uranium mining claims near Grand Canyon National Park.
What to watch for in January:
- State legislative sessions in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, and Utah will begin in January.
- The Outdoor Retailer Snow Show will be held in Denver from January 29th through the 31st.
Best Reads of the Month
Vast amounts of methane are vented at oil and gas sites as Trump administration weakens restrictions
At least 11 Interior Department officials cashed out for jobs with fossil fuel interests, lobbying firms
This goofy bird vs. the fossil fuel industry
Trump administration allows mine to write own environmental report
Opinion: Why a proposal to move some “bureaucrats” out of Washington is actually a grave threat to the BLM
Editorial: After decades of oil and gas negligence, Utah needs to get a grip
From the Center for Western Priorities:
Lobbyists get bang for the bucks at InteriorThe Center for Western Priorities released a new analysis that finds in the 31 months since David Bernhardt was nominated to become the Deputy Interior Secretary, his former lobbying firm has been paid nearly $12 million to influence the Interior Department, boosted by at least 19 new lobbying clients. The revenue marks a 310 percent increase from the same period before Bernhardt’s nomination. In return, at least two-thirds of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck’s lobbying clients with business before Interior have seen their projects or policies advanced in some way by the department.
Go West, Young Podcast:
Trump vs. the California Desert
Kim Delfino, California Program Director at Defenders of Wildlife, tells us about the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan, which is in the Trump administration’s crosshairs even though it debuted to widespread praise just three years ago.
We take a deep dive into the Center for Western Priorities’ Winning the West poll to find out what Western voters want to hear from candidates in the 2020 election. Download the full poll results or highlights presentation.
Quote of the month:
For the first time since 1930, New Mexico will be home to our newest national park. This prestigious recognition of one of our state’s most remarkable natural wonders is an enormous victory for nearby communities and for all New Mexicans.”
— Senator Martin Heinrich, New Mexico
Picture this:
