A recent federal court ruling temporarily prohibited motorized vehicle use on roughly 2,200 miles of trails in the Western Mojave Desert in California to protect the endangered desert tortoise and rare plant life. While disinformation groups like the BlueRibbon Coalition portrayed this as a permanent lockdown for off-road use, Jonathon Klein for RideApart points out that this is a major exaggeration, and over 271,000 acres of the region remain fully open to the public.
Klein writes that the BRC’s narrative is merely a distraction, leveraging the temporary closure to fuel the agenda to sell off public lands. He notes that BlueRibbon Coalition is led by Ben Burr, a former staffer and relative of Senator Mike Lee, who has a long history of attempting to dismantle public land protections. “They are stooges to these public lands sell-off ghouls and haven’t spoken out about anything but these distractions since the Trump administration’s war against public lands has begun in earnest,” writes Klein.
The article warns that the real threat to Americans’ access to outdoor recreation isn’t the temporary closure to protect wildlife, but the broader movement to dispose of public lands. Klein urges riders not to support groups like Blue Ribbon Coalition, which he says “are fighting against your interests, plain and simple.”
Five hidden ways the government rigs the market in favor of fossil fuels
A new report from the Center for American Progress details how federal policies are providing an advantage to the fossil fuel industry through five hidden subsidies. The analysis shows how the government allows companies to extract resources from public lands at below-market rates while taxpayers foot the bill for the clean-up costs and climate damage.
Quick hits
Bipartisan majorities in Western states oppose Trump’s rollback of public lands protections
Missoula Current | Axios Denver | Axios Phoenix | News from the States | Aspen Public Radio | Wyoming Public Media | Grand Junction Daily Sentinel [editorial]
Congressional leaders warn Interior department wildfire plan lacks details
Mountain Journal | Government Executive
Republicans keep invoking Teddy Roosevelt. The Roosevelt family keeps pushing back
National parks suddenly cancel seasonal media jobs
New map reveals potential border wall through Big Bend National Park
Philadelphia slavery exhibit restored after judge set Friday deadline
E&E News | WHYY | The Hill | National Parks Traveler | Good Morning America
BLM proposes dramatic logging expansion in western Oregon
Oregon Capital Chronicle | Jefferson Public Radio | E&E News
A dinosaur roadtrip through the American West
Quote of the day
I’ve been going through a mourning period for my career. You want to be the person that toughs all this out and tries to stick around to make sure the Park Service maintains its integrity. But at the end of the day, you kind of have to live your life and I can’t wait around for this.”
—John Hockaday, former National Park Service media specialist, SFGATE
Picture This
@zionnps
It’s a very winter-y day throughout Zion! From Kolob Canyons to Zion Canyon, we’re experiencing a lot of precipitation today. Stay warm and stay safe 🌨🌨🌨
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