The papers include a sweeping report from the United Nations that found more than 70 percent of the Earth’s land has already been altered by human activity, a warning that climate change is on track to push more than half of the world’s species of cactus into extinction by 2050, and a first-of-its-kind study which found more than one in five species of reptiles are now at risk of extinction.
Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, calls these kinds of studies “Apocalypse Papers.” “Killing the planet is killing ourselves, and that’s the message that everybody needs to absorb and start acting on,”she told Inside Climate News.
This biodiversity crisis prompted the goal to protect 30 percent of America’s land and waters by 2030, which is the centerpiece of President Joe Biden’s America the Beautiful plan. Protecting the habitats plants and animals depend on will help them adapt to climate change and can help fight global warming by keeping carbon from being released through logging and other types of development.
Archaeology Southwest released a video yesterday about the importance of protecting the Greater Chaco region from oil and gas drilling, featuring leaders and representatives from the Acoma Pueblo, Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Santa Clara Pueblo, Tesuque Pueblo, and Zuni Pueblo as well as archaeologist Paul Reed.
The Biden administration is currently considering a 20 year mineral withdrawal that would extend out 10 miles from the current boundaries of Chaco Culture National Historical Park, encompassing roughly 351,000 acres of federal land. The comment period for the withdrawal ends on May 6.
Quick hits
With protections restored, tribal council charts new path for Bears Ears
Spring is a great time to visit your BLM public lands and go on a “wildflower photo safari.” See what’s blooming and take some amazing photos! 🌹🌻🌵🏜️
This prickly pear cactus was spotted in bloom at Arizona’s Agua Fria National Monument. Besides their beauty, many wildflowers have a mutualistic relationship with pollinators – they need pollinators like native bees to help with fertilization and in return provide delicious nectar and pollen. When you’re out, see if you can spot any bees covered with bright yellow pollen grains zooming around.
While out on public lands, always #RecreateResponsibly and #LeaveNoTrace.
📸 BLM-Mexico
Alt Text: Prickly, green cactus blooms with yellow buds
(featured image: Desert landscape with several different types of cacti, including a large saguaro cactus, in Tucson, AZ. WClarke, Wikimedia)
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On July 1, President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will visit Medora, North Dakota for the grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, a privately funded $450 million museum built on 93 acres near the entrance to Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Trump is the most anti-conservation president in history, and his administration is attempting to hide that fact by […]
Kate hosts a live episode in Salt Lake City on CWP’s Keep Parks Public tour! Guests: Erika Pollard, National Parks Conservation Association; Davina Smith, Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and Grand Staircase Escalante Partners; Scott Braden, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance; Doug Tolman, Save Our Canyons. Resources Keep Parks Public: Tell us why you love public lands […]
The President promised Tribal leaders he would protect this sacred Nevada landscape. What is he waiting for? It’s been 100 days since President Joe Biden promised he would protect a large swath of Mojave Desert in southern Nevada called Avi Kwa Ame that is sacred to multiple tribes, including the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe and the Hopi Tribe. […]
DENVER—The White House today announced it is re-nominating Laura Daniel-Davis to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management at the Interior Department. This marks the third time Daniel-Davis has been submitted to the Senate. In 2022, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer declined to place Daniel-Davis’s nomination on the Senate floor calendar, despite her having […]
I would say there is a very good chance as the water level drops that we are going to find additional human remains.”