More than 180 local elected leaders from across the West are urging the Trump administration to abandon its push to roll back the Bureau of Land Management’s Public Lands Rule.
The letter signed by county commissioners and supervisors, mayors, and council members and trustees states that any rollback of the Public Lands Rule will negatively impact Western communities’ wildlife habitat, treasured recreation areas, critical water resources, and Indigenous cultural sites.
Finalized in 2024, the rule finally put conservation, ecosystem restoration, and community access on equal footing with extractive uses like mining, drilling, and grazing. A Center for Western Priorities analysis showed that 92 percent of public comments submitted in the spring of 2023 during the comment period supported the Public Lands Rule.
The BLM’s 60-day comment period on the proposed rule rescission closes on Monday, November 10. To submit a comment, please visit regulations.gov.
Report: The health costs of fossil fuel pollution
A new collaborative report developed by health and medical experts examines the direct health impacts of fossil fuel pollution across every system of the body and every stage of fossil fuel use. The report, “Fueling Sickness: The Hidden Health Costs of Fossil Fuel Pollution,” highlights how fossil fuel pollution is affecting the health of all Americans. The air pollution created when coal and oil and gas are extracted and used to generate electricity, power vehicles, heat buildings, and fuel industrial activities releases pollutants such as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, and others that contribute to asthma attacks, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and premature death. To learn more, download a copy of the full report on the Physicians for Social Responsibility website.
Quick hits
Trump nominates Steve Pearce for BLM director
Grand Junction Daily Sentinel | NOTUS | The Guardian | Colorado Politics | Albuquerque Journal | KOAT7 | Deseret News
Native activists protest against more oil and gas drilling in the Greater Chaco landscape
Only a few days left to comment on plan to scrap the BLM Public Lands Rule
The shutdown is pushing Forest Service staff to the brink
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service reverses recovery plan for gray wolves
New study estimates economic value of bear sightings in Yellowstone
The impacts of the record-breaking government shutdown on energy and environmental agencies
Opinion: Attacks on Arizona’s national monuments undermine public opinion, local voices
Quote of the day
The BLM wants to wish you a happy Native American Heritage Month by selling your resources, by selling your water to oil and gas.”
—Cheyenne Antonio, speaking at a protest against more drilling in the Greater Chaco landscape, SourceNM
Picture This
Carson Kit Fox’s first fall season! 🎃🦊
He had the best time celebrating with everyone, starting with the Fall Festival at @sandharborstatepark where he met so many amazing friends (including princesses, dragons, and superheroes!), and then dancing in his very first Nevada Day Parade!
Here’s to even more adventures across our beautiful Nevada State Parks! 🍂
#carsonkitfox #nvstateparks #
Featured image: Veterans fire crew helps plant whitebark pine. Source: BLM Flickr.