The Trump administration’s proposal to rescind the Public Lands Rule could harm wildlife, habitat, and migration routes, Wyoming wildlife advocates warn. The Public Lands Rule, implemented during the Biden administration, ensured that conservation was a use of national public lands on an equal footing with other uses such as oil and gas drilling, as Congress intended when it passed the Federal Land Policy Management Act in 1976. The Trump administration proposed last week to rescind the rule entirely.
Wildlife advocates in Wyoming are concerned that repeal of the rule will put conservation and wildlife considerations in last place, behind extractive uses of national public lands. According to Amber Travsky, an outdoorswoman and consultant to energy companies, “Conservation takes a very back seat” under the proposed repeal of the rule.
Nat Paterson, policy coordinator for the Wyoming Wildlife Federation, points out that bringing together local stakeholders results in better decision-making than a top-down “wholesale rollback” of protections. Even within the Bureau of Land Management’s Rock Springs resource management plan, Paterson notes that protections for the Greater Little Mountain area were broadly supported because of the agreement among stakeholders about the importance of the area for mule deer. As Travsky says, “There needs to be an understanding that some areas are really important for wildlife.”
Honoring Robert Redford’s contributions to conservation
Longtime conservation champion Robert Redford passed away on Tuesday. For over 50 years, he used his fame, films, and philanthropy to protect wild lands and fight climate change across the world. “The environmental movement has lost a giant. Nobody has done more to shine a light on the most important environmental issues from the dawn of the environmental movement in the ‘70s through the biodiversity and climate crises of today,” Natural Resources Defense Council president and CEO Manish Bapna said in a statement. “We must continue to honor his vision in the difficult environmental landscape we face today.”
Quick hits
Decades of public-lands planning, overturned in a day
How low oil prices turned Trump’s call to ‘drill, baby, drill’ into a pipe dream
Tens of thousands of acres of BLM land in CO to be put up for oil and gas leasing, but operators will pay less
Rocky Mountain Community Radio
The fight to protect southern Arizona wildlife amid border wall construction
As Wyoming sage grouse near their cyclic high, northeastern population tumbles
Youth, scientists argue for court to halt Trump executive orders unleashing fossil fuel industry
Opinion: Wyoming delegation needs to listen to public, protect our lands
Beavers restored to Tribal lands in California benefit ecosystems
Quote of the day
When mountains are being blown up, and watercourses are being dammed off, and steel structures are being erected that stop all wildlife movement and also cultural and social exchange along the border, it really is a personal matter. It cuts real deep.”
—Myles Traphagen, Wildlands Network, News21
Picture This
Area snapshot: Johnson Lake ⛺🌲⛏🌄
Johnson Lake is one of the park’s most remote, scenic, and historic locations. A popular destination for backpackers, it’s nestled in the shadow of 11,926-foot Pyramid Peak. Although other alpine lakes in the park tend to shrink in late summer, Johnson stays consistently deep and makes for a good swimming hole.
Before 1920, tungsten was mined several hundred feet above the lake. The raw ore was transferred in buckets via a long metal cable (which can still be seen today!) down to the shore. Mules transported the ore to a mill further down the creek. Hikers will be reminded of this mining past by historic log structures and derelict equipment left behind in the area.
More recently, the park reintroduced the native Bonneville Cutthroat Trout to Johnson Lake. It required a team of pack horses and coolers to keep the fish in good health on the long journey!
The most direct route to Johnson Lake is via the aptly-named Johnson Lake Trail, which starts at Snake Creek Trailhead at the end of Snake Creek Road. It’s an 8-mile round trip. Others start on the Baker Creek side, stopping by Baker Lake and bagging Pyramid Peak along the way, making for a 15+ mile hike depending on the chosen return route.
Those camping at Johnson Lake are required to register for a backcountry permit at a visitor center, and are expected to follow all regulations as outlined on the park website. Fires are prohibited, and all waste must be disposed of properly. Remember to leave historic artifacts and structures undisturbed!
Image: T. Medford
Featured image: Mule deer in southwestern Wyoming, Tom Koerner/U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service via Flickr