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Drew Bush, 202/429-7441, drew_bush@tws.org
Our public lands represent a heritage
that belongs to all Americans, one that is critical to safeguarding clean water
and air and reducing carbon emissions. The Bush administration has treated
these lands as if they belong to industry. And they're not done
yet.
With almost three months left in office,
the administration will be pushing hard to accomplish as much of its agenda as
possible. Political appointees are likely to be finalizing land management
plans, regulations, and policy changes that could severely damage our
nation's public lands for decades to come. Yet few Americans are aware of
these threats. On some of these issues there may still be time to hold off the
irreparable harm if citizens learn about them and take action.
1. Administration Rolling Back Protections for Pristine Roadless Lands
The Bush administration has circumvented
the Roadless Area Conservation Rule by adopting an Idaho-specific version that
opens up millions of acres of roadless national forest land to more road building
and logging than was possible under the earlier rule. Idaho
has more roadless national forest lands than any other state in the lower 48
and, thanks to the Bush administration, Idaho
now has weaker protection for its roadless lands than any other state. Of
immediate concern is the Smoky Canyon Phosphate Mine near Yellowstone
National Park, which is already a
designated Superfund clean-up site due to selenium pollution that threatens
streams and Yellowstone cutthroat trout
populations. The mine expansion would entail road construction within the
pristine Sage Creek and Meade
Peak roadless areas. In
rushing to complete this project, the Bush administration is also pressuring
agency officials to convert biological assessments from "likely to
adversely affect" certain animals to an opinion that the mine expansion
is "not likely to adversely affect" listed species.
[Craig Gehrke,
208/343-8153,
craig_gehrke@tws.org]
2. Commercial Oil Shale Leasing Plans Finalized
Without Opportunity for Protest, Appeals
We expect the Bush administration to
finalize commercial oil shale leasing and development regulations while
also amending 12 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) resource management
plans. They will become final over objections from the Environmental
Protection Agency, governors and local elected officials, who are concerned
about inadequate environmental analysis. BLM seems deaf to admissions from the
oil shale industry that a safe and efficient technology for squeezing oil from
shale won't exist for years or even decades. Without knowing which oil
shale technologies will prove viable and what the associated costs and impacts
will be, it is impossible to develop regulations that contain appropriate
protections for the environment, appropriate royalty rates to ensure a fair
return to taxpayers, and a financial safety net for affected communities. In
coming weeks, the record of decision on the plans will be signed by
Assistant Secretary Stephen Allred, a highly unusual act that effectively cuts
off opportunity for the public to file formal appeals with the Interior Board of
Land Appeals.
[Chase Huntley,
202/429-7431, chase_huntley@tws.org]
3.
Unilateral Proposal Strips Congressional Committees of Power to Protect Lands
Neither Congress nor future secretaries
of the interior would be able to protect public lands from mineral activities
in cases of emergency, if Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne succeeds in
unilaterally repealing a federal statute enacted under the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act. Responding to the threat that thousands of uranium mining
claims pose to Grand Canyon
National Park, the House
Natural Resources Committee passed a resolution last summer asking Kempthorne
to exclude areas of public land surrounding the park from mining. Instead, the
administration unilaterally issued a proposal to withdraw such power from the
House Natural Resources Committee, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Committee, and future interior secretaries. The proposal provided only a 15-day
public comment period (which closed on October 27), and it is expected to be
finalized before the Bush administration leaves office.
[Dave Alberswerth, 202/429-2695, dave_alberswerth@tws.org]
4. Concealed
Weapons to Be Allowed in Our National Parks and Wildlife Refuges
A new rule, to be finalized by the end of
the year despite immense opposition, would dramatically change the character of
our national parks and national wildlife refuges by overturning a
long-standing, functional firearm policy. Recognizing that parks and refuges
represent unique American landscapes, conserve critical habitat for wildlife,
and welcome millions of visitors each year, the Department of the Interior
prohibited loaded, assembled firearms on these public lands in the 1980s in
order to prevent wildlife poaching and protect cultural resources and
visitors. The recent proposal to allow loaded, concealed weapons would
not only be contrary to established rules, but would change the culture of our
national icons. A survey of present and retired park and refuge personnel
indicates that over 75 percent believe that the proposed rule would reduce the agencies'
ability to accomplish their conservation missions.
[Kristen
Brengel, 202/429-2694, kristen_brengel@tws.org]
5. Major
Fishery of Bristol Bay, Alaska Threatened by Oil and Gas Drilling
Bristol Bay has the world's largest
wild run of sockeye salmon, provides 40 percent of the U.S. fish catch, and generates nearly
$500 million in yearly fishing revenue. Yet the Interior Department's
Minerals
Management Service included this area in its proposed 2007-2012 plan for Outer
Continental Shelf oil and gas drilling without properly examining the
environmental impacts of such activity. President Bush set the stage for
drilling in Bristol Bay in 2007 when he lifted
an executive withdrawal put in place by his father to protect this significant
resource. The draft plan calls for two lease sales in the North
Aleutian Basin,
which includes the federal offshore waters of Bristol Bay and the eastern Bering Sea, in 2010 and 2012. Because of the potential for catastrophic damage, the
government should conduct extensive scientific studies to fully understand the
ecosystem and anticipate the potential consequences of development. Oil and gas
development in a region already compromised by climate change would jeopardize
habitat vital to wild salmon, polar bears, walrus, and other wildlife.
[Eleanor
Huffines, 907/272-9453x103, eleanor_huffines@tws.org]
6.
New Forest Service Directive Allows Timber
Harvesting on Potential Wilderness
The Forest Service has proposed changes
to its directive guiding vegetation management in forest plans. As a result,
there could be much more timber harvesting than has been permitted under
existing plans, particularly on lands once deemed unsuitable for timber
harvest. Under the Bush administration, the Forest Service has attempted to
make these rules changes for several years-with a federal court throwing
them out in 2007 after a lawsuit. The interim directive (ID_1909.12-2008-1 in
the Forest Service Handbook) could affect citizen-proposed wilderness and
roadless areas, depending on the outcome of legal challenges. It also allows
forest managers to allow logging without any intent to reforest the land,
jeopardizing these forest ecosystems. In an attempt to push its goals, the
administration has broken larger proposals like this into smaller pieces in an
attempt to escape notice in the final days of the administration.
[Mary Krueger,
978/342-2159, mary_krueger@tws.org]
7. Reagan-Era
Rule Protecting Steams From Coal Mine Waste to be Rescinded
We expect the Bush administration to
rescind a 1983 regulation adopted during the Reagan administration that
protects streams from the dumping of wastes from coal strip mining. The
current Office of Surface Mining rule prohibits wastes from coal mines from
being deposited in streams. The Bush administration proposal would
rescind this protection for streams, allowing for the further expansion of a
coal mining technique known as "mountain-top removal," where mining
companies literally blow up the tops of mountains to reach coal seams and
dispose of the waste rock in stream valleys.
[Dave Alberswerth, 202/429-2695, dave_alberswerth@tws.org]
8. Finalized
Transmission Corridor Plans Lock in Dirty Fuel Future
Corridors designated for power lines and
separate avenues for oil, gas and hydrogen pipelines prioritize dirty fuel sources
such as coal at the expense of renewable energies. They also threaten places
such as Arches National
Park in Utah
and the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge on the Arizona/California border. The Department
of Energy wants to finalize parts of the corridors designation under sections
368 and 1221 of Energy Policy Act of 2005 despite agencies' inability to
coordinate transmission and pipeline corridor designations. Corridor
designations should be limited to reasonable sizes, and should balance
protection of wildlands and ecological values with the need for additional
energy transmission capacity. Most also need to be revisited to ensure that they
include renewable sources of energy. The rush to judgment will preclude
adequate consideration of these issues.
[Nada Culver,
303/650-5818x117, nada_culver@tws.org]
9. Yellowstone National
Park's Winter Plan Falls Short, Endangers Park
Resources
The number of
snowmobiles allowed into Yellowstone
National Park under a new
proposal by the Bush administration continues to ignore the Park
Service's scientific findings. The Bush administration this week put
forward a new temporary plan to guide winter access, following a court decision
that its 2007 authorization of continued snowmobile use failed to protect Yellowstone's air quality, quiet, and wildlife. The
new plan ensures that Yellowstone's
winter season will begin on time and points the park in a better direction than
the administration's previous plan. These are encouraging developments-for
the short-term. For the long-term, however, the daily ceiling of 318
snowmobiles still exceeds the daily average of the past five winters and will lead
to damage of Yellowstone's resources. Every
scientific study has demonstrated that the Park Service can do a better job
protecting Yellowstone by increasing public
use of snowcoaches. Such an approach has been recommended by every Park Service
director who has served over the past 44 years.
[Kristen
Brengel, 202/429-2694, kristen_brengel@tws.org]
10.
Wilderness-quality Eastern Forests to be Leased to Oil and Gas Companies
Even though oil and gas companies already
hold undeveloped leases on millions of acres, the Bush administration has
continued to sell hundreds of thousands of acres of leases on sensitive Western
lands that are inappropriate for development. (For example, on December 19, the
Utah office of the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) will sell leases ringing Arches and Canyonlands
National Parks while we expect similar
leasing in Colorado.)
A new twist, however, is the expanded leasing of eastern lands including
those proposed for wilderness designation. The BLM recently attempted to lease
a tract of land in West Virginia that is included in the Wild Monongahela Act
(now part of the omnibus lands bill pending in Congress), and The Wilderness
Society anticipates an increasing number of similar lease sales in the near
future.
[Mary Krueger 978/342-2159, mary_krueger@tws.org and Suzanne
Jones, 303/650-5818x102, suzanne_jones@tws.org]
11. Endangered
Species Act to Ignore Possible Extinctions Caused by Global Warming
The Bush administration
proposed new rules that would undermine the Endangered Species Act by changing
it to ensure that the potential effects of global warming will rarely, if ever,
be considered. These rule changes also would allow federal agencies to
make land management decisions or take other actions without consulting the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service about
the impacts their actions might have on a particular species. These changes
have been proposed despite findings by the International Panel on Climate
Change that 30 percent of species alive today could become extinct if global
warming continues unabated.
[David Moulton, 202/429-2681, david_moulton@tws.org]
12. "Threatened" Polar Bears
Endangered by Accelerated Offshore Arctic Leasing
America's polar bear, listed just this year as "threatened"
under the Endangered Species Act, faces further endangerment from already
completed oil and gas lease sales in its primary hunting habitats of the frozen
Chukchi and Beaufort Seas of Alaska.
Major oil companies have begun seismic testing on lands they purchased last February
when the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS)
held the first of several planned lease sales on nearly 30 million acres of the
Chukchi-an area the size of Pennsylvania. The
administration's five-year plan proposes moving forward aggressively on
further leasing in the Chukchi and Beaufort, while a new expedited nationwide
offshore leasing and drilling plan could mean the opening of more areas in
these seas as well as in Bristol Bay. These Arctic waters are
also rich in marine life such as whales, seals and walrus, and are important
for indigenous peoples, who hunt seals and bowhead whales. Impacts from seismic
testing, marine traffic, and pollution threaten to irreparably harm these areas,
which are already vulnerable and changing due to global warming. MMS
documents insufficiently presented the cumulative impacts of oil leasing,
exploration, and development, and the effects of climate change on wildlife and
other values because most were based on outdated research for a region that
isn't well understood.
[Eleanor Huffines, 907/272-9453x103, eleanor_huffines@tws.org]
13. Utah's Canyon
Country Sacrificed in Favor of One Last Gift for Oil and Gas
After dismissing or resolving 87 protests
in less than a month, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will implement five
of six resource management plans that would manage more than 10.5 million acres
of Utah's public lands in the Moab, Price, Vernal, Richfield, Monticello,
and Kanab areas. The Monticello
plan will be released pending approval by state officials. The BLM prioritized
energy development and off-road vehicle access on nearly 5 million of these
acres that hold wilderness characteristics, making these plans the ribbon that
decorates the massive gift package that the Bush administration has already
delivered to the oil and gas industry over the last eight years.
[Nada Culver,
303/650-5818x117, nada_culver@tws.org]
14. Forest
Service Land
Managers Prevented From Making Air Quality Comments
In order to stymie recognition of air
quality problems by Forest Service land managers, the administration
issued a directive that decisions finding adverse air quality impacts must be
reviewed the chief of the Forest Service and then be passed on to the deputy
undersecretary for forests for a final decision. Among other problems,
this process ensures that air quality determinations will be made by Washington political
appointees rather than Forest Service land managers actually working in the
field. Specifically, the directive outlines an additional 30 days for this
political level of decision-making. This drawn-out timeline can
effectively derail meaningful comment by the agency, due to failure to meet
National Environmental Policy Act (and other process) comment deadlines.
[Stephanie Kessler, 307/332-3462, stephanie_kessler@tws.org]
15. Fish
and Wildlife Service to Issue National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Policy
Without Public Review
Sound wilderness management practices not
only protect the resource, but also ensure that visitors to National Wildlife Refuge
System wilderness areas see the landscape and wildlife in a natural condition.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service last offered a draft wilderness stewardship
policy for public comment under the Clinton
administration in 2001. That draft, which contained important protections for
wilderness, was never finalized. We expect that the Bush administration will
release guidelines on wilderness management without time for public review.
Given that wildlife refuges have faced a number of challenges, such as global
warming, in the seven years that have elapsed since the last version of the
draft was released in 2001, the need for public review of and comment on the
policy is critical.
[Maribeth Oakes,
202/429-2674, maribeth_oakes@tws.org]
Other Rollbacks:
Since 1935, The Wilderness Society has led the conservation movement in wilderness protection, writing and passing the landmark Wilderness Act and winning lasting protection for 107 million acres of Wilderness, including 56 million acres of spectacular lands in Alaska, eight million acres of fragile desert lands in California and millions more throughout the nation.
The impacted students and graduates are accused of participating in the occupation of a university building that protesters renamed in honor of a child killed by Israeli forces in Gaza.
As the Trump administration's effort to deport Mahmoud Khalil sparks legal battles and demonstrations, Columbia University announced Thursday that it has revoked degrees from some other pro-Palestinian campus protesters.
A campuswide email reported by The Associated Press and shared on social media by Drop Site News says that "the Columbia University Judicial Board determined findings and issued sanctions to students ranging from multiyear suspensions, temporary degree revocations, and expulsions related to the occupation of Hamilton Hall last spring."
According to both news outlets, the university's email did not say how many students and graduates were impacted by each action.
As part of nationwide protests over the U.S. government and educational institutions' complicity in Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip, Columbia students took over the building last April and renamed it Hind's Hall, in honor of a young Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces. With support from the university's leadership, New York Police Department officers stormed the campus.
Columbia's new sanctions against protesters were widely condemned on social media. Iowa-based writer Gavin Aronsen quipped, "This is a great PR strategy, come to Columbia where you'll get a solid education as long as you never speak your mind."
News of the university's latest action on Thursday came after over 100 people were arrested outside Trump Tower in New York City during a Jewish-led protest over the government's attempt to deport Khalil, a green-card holder who finished his studies at Columbia in December.
"The Trump administration's outrageous detention of Mahmoud Khalil is designed to sow terror and stop people of conscience from calling for Palestinian freedom," said Ros Petchesky, an 82-year-old MacArthur fellow and Columbia alumna. "We are Jewish New Yorkers and we remain steadfast in our commitment to Palestinian freedom, to protecting free speech and the right to protest, and to defending immigrants and all under attack by the Trump regime."
Meanwhile, during a Thursday interview with NPR about Khalil's detention, Troy Edgar, deputy homeland security secretary, equated protesting and terrorism.
"It is a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that's a lie."
A U.S. judge on Thursday ruled that the Trump administration must reinstate thousands of government workers fired from half a dozen federal agencies based on the "lie" that their performance warranted termination.
U.S. District Judge for the Northern District of California William Alsup—an appointee of former President Bill Clinton—granted a preliminary injunction supporting a temporary restraining order against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and acting Director Charles Ezell on the grounds that the mass firing of probationary federal employees is "unlawful" because the agency lacked the authority for the move.
Alsup—who last month also found the OPM firings illegal—ordered the Trump administration to immediately reinstate all probationary employees terminated from the departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, Interior, Treasury, and Veterans Affairs.
"The reason that OPM wanted to put this based on performance was at least in part in my judgment a gimmick to avoid the Reductions in Force (RIF) Act, because the law always allows you to fire somebody for performance," Alsup said, referring the process used by federal agencies reduce the size of their workforce during reorganizations or budget cuts.
Last month, Trump signed an executive order directing Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to institute RIFs across federal agencies as part of a so-called "workforce optimization initiative."
"It is a sad day when our government would fire some good employee and say it was based on performance when they know good and well that's a lie," Alsup wrote. "That should not have been done in our country. It was a sham in order to try to avoid statutory requirements."
While the White House blasted Alsup's ruling as "absurd and unconstitutional" and lodged an appeal, advocates for government workers cheered the decision.
Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), said in a statement that the union "is pleased with Judge Alsup's order to immediately reinstate tens of thousands of probationary federal employees who were illegally fired from their jobs by an administration hellbent on crippling federal agencies and their work on behalf of the American public."
"We are grateful for these employees and the critical work they do, and AFGE will keep fighting until all federal employees who were unjustly and illegally fired are given their jobs back," Kelley added.
Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), said: "Public service workers are the backbone of our communities in every way. Today, we are proud to celebrate the court's decision which orders that fired federal employees must be reinstated and reinforces they cannot be fired without reason."
"This is a big win for all workers, especially AFSCME members of the United Nurses Associations of California and Council 20, who will be able to continue their essential work at the Department of Agriculture, Veterans Affairs Department, and other agencies," Saunders added.
Violet Wulf-Saena, founder and executive director of Climate Resilient Communities—a California-based nonprofit that "brings people together to create local solutions for a healthy planet"—also welcomed Thursday's ruling.
"The mass firing of public service employees is a direct assault on the environmental justice movement and will harm people living in heavily polluted communities," she said. "Today's decision represents a key win for our movement because our lifesaving work cannot proceed without the vital infrastructure and support of our federal employees."
"Rep. Grijalva fought a long and brave battle," his staff said. "He passed away this morning due to complications of his cancer treatments."
Condolences and remembrances swiftly mounted on Thursday after the staff of U.S. Congressman Raúl Grijalva announced that the Arizona Democrat died at the age of 77, following a fight with lung cancer.
"Rep. Grijalva fought a long and brave battle. He passed away this morning due to complications of his cancer treatments," according to the office of the late congressman, who announced his diagnosis last April.
Grijalva, who represented Arizona's 7th District, was first elected to Congress in 2002. While on Capitol Hill, he rose to leadership roles, including co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and chair of the House Natural Resources Committee.
"From permanently protecting the Grand Canyon for future generations to strengthening the Affordable Care Act, his proudest moments in Congress have always been guided by community voices," Grijalva's staff said. "He led the charge for historic investments in climate action, port of entry modernization, permanent funding for land and water conservation programs, access to healthcare for tribal communities and the uninsured, fairness for immigrant families and Dreamers, student loan forgiveness, stronger protections for farmers and workers exposed to extreme heat, early childhood education expansion, higher standards for tribal consultation, and so much more."
"From Tucson to Nogales and beyond, he worked tirelessly for transformational improvements. Rep. Grijalva pushed for new public parks, childcare centers, healthcare clinics, local businesses, and affordable housing [that] breathed new life into neighborhoods across Southern Arizona. Improvements to our roads, bridges, and streetcar system have improved our daily lives and attracted new businesses and industries to the area," the office added. "Rep. Grijalva's passion was not only for his community, but for preservation of the planet."
Grijalva's colleagues also highlighted key parts of his legacy. Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a former House member, said that "I am heartbroken by the news of Congressman Raúl Grijalva's passing. For climate justice, economic justice, health justice—Raúl fought fearlessly for change. We served a decade together on the Natural Resources Committee, and I will forever be grateful for his leadership and partnership."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who also previously served in the lower chamber, said that "I mourn the death of Rep. Raúl Grijalva, a former colleague of mine and one of the most progressive members of the U.S. House. Raúl was a fighter for working families throughout his entire life. He will be sorely missed."
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called his death "a genuinely devastating loss," adding: "Raúl Grijalva stood as one of the biggest champions for working people in all of Congress. His leadership was singular. He mentored generously and was an incredible friend. I will always be grateful for his lifelong courage and commitment."
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) said that "today we lost a dedicated progressive leader in Raúl Grijalva. The son of a bracero, Rep. Grijalva's 12-term commitment to our environment, to immigrant communities, and to his constituents in Tucson enriched this country. His passing is a monumental loss for our caucus and communities."
Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-Fla.) wrote: "Wow. This is such a loss for Arizona and our country. Chair Raúl Grijalva has been a champion for progressive change his entire life. From the school board to Congress, his leadership and voice inspired so many. Myself included. Rest in power, Chairman Grijalva."
Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), elected to Congress in November, said that "I'm devastated to hear of the passing of my colleague Raúl Grijalva. He was a fighter for Arizonans and a champion for Indigenous communities and our planet. We will all miss him dearly. My thoughts are with his family, friends, loved ones, and constituents."
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), who switched chambers after the last election, said that "Congressman Grijalva was not just my colleague, but my friend. As another Latino working in public service, I can say from experience that he served as a role model to many young people across the Grand Canyon State. He spent his life as a voice for equality."
"In Congress, I was proud to see firsthand his leadership as chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee as he stood up for Arizona's water rights, natural beauty, and tribes," Gallego added. "I am praying for his family during this time of grief, and I hope that they find comfort knowing his legacy is one that will stand tall for generations."
Advocacy group leaders also weighed in, with Kierán Suckling, executive director and founder of the Center for Biological Diversity, calling his death "a heartbreaking, devastating loss for the people of Southern Arizona and everyone around this nation who loves the natural world."
"Raúl was a great friend and partner in our fight for clean air and water, our beautiful public lands, and wildlife great and small," Suckling said. "We can all look to him as the model of what every member of Congress and every person of dignity and hope should aspire to be."
"From Mexican wolves to spotted owls to the New Mexico meadow jumping mouse, every creature in this country had a friend in Raúl," Suckling added. "He was as fierce as a jaguar, and that's why we called him our Macho G. I'll miss him dearly."
According toKVOA, the NBC affiliate in Tucson, Grijalva's office "will continue providing constituent services during the special election" to fill his seat.
Grijalva's death follows that of Congressman Sylvester Turner (D-Texas), who died on March 5. His seat will also need to be filled by a special election.