On Monday, the Interior department announced in a press release that it was proposing revisions to the Bureau of Land Management’s oil and gas leasing rule, which governs oil and gas drilling on national public lands. Now that the text of the proposed rule has been posted on the Federal Register website, Center for Western Priorities Policy Director Rachael Hamby took a closer look at the changes to see what Interior glossed over in its press release. Unsurprisingly, the implications for public lands are far more serious than the press release made it sound.
Bonding levels would be reduced even further than what was announced in the press release, to $25,000 for a statewide bond and just $10,000 for an individual lease. Scoping and comment periods would be eliminated, leaving only a reduced ten-day protest period. Lease application fees would be drastically reduced, yet another handout to the oil and gas industry on top of the slashed bonding amounts. And for split-estate parcels, the surface owner notification requirement would be eliminated. Learn more about these and other details in the latest Westwise blog post.
Federal wildland firefighters report increased burnout, low morale
A recent survey conducted by Grassroots Wildland Firefighters found that three out of four respondents have considered quitting in the past year, citing work-life balance, burnout, and low pay. “We were really surprised at how many people responded to the survey. I think that tells you they want their voices to be heard. They want to talk about the issues they’re facing. That’s indicative of a workforce that is struggling,” Riva Duncan, president of Grassland Wildland Firefighters and a retired firefighter, told Federal News Network.
Quick hits
Inside Trump’s secret war on America’s hunters and anglers
Memo reveals Forest Service could open recommended wilderness to off-road vehicles
Texas lawmakers, former Big Bend leaders urge halt to border barrier plans
Despite land transfer, Apache Stronghold continues effort to protect sacred Arizona site
How a small oil company became a weapon in Trump’s assault on California
The Colorado River is vanishing—and the fixes are getting weird
Dead ducks add to Reflecting Pool drama; Trump blames vandals, but internal records tell another story
E&E News [ducks] | New York Times [‘vandals’]
I cold-called President Trump. Here’s what he told me about an oil tycoon and major donor
Quote of the day
The proposed radical budget cuts, relocating the agency headquarters, the staff cuts—it’s all part of a package of dismantling the agency and it results in less access to national forest, less capability to address wildfire risk and manage recreation and it adds more threats to clean water, air and wildlife.”
—Barb Cestero, The Wilderness Society, Flathead Beacon
Picture This
Monarch butterflies are famous for their impressive migration each spring and fall. It’s so far that each leg of the journey to the northeast in the spring is completed by a new generation. Monarchs feed on wildflowers along the way, but will only lay their eggs on milkweed, which makes up 100% of the monarch caterpillar’s diet!
At the end of the summer, the last generation of monarchs complete the final leg back to Mexico all by themselves, covering 3,000 miles, before starting the process over again in the spring.
USFWS Photo: Leah Riley
Featured image: Oil and gas development in Wyoming, Bureau of Land Management