Salt Lake City, UT -- The House Natural Resources Committee today will host a hearing on the Emery County Public Land Management Act of 2018. The bill has a unique opportunity to implement a precedent-setting process and notable protections for Utah’s public lands that continue to experience significant roll backs. However, as it stands, the bill would lessen protections and worsen the current status of lands protected. A committee vote is anticipated before the end of Congress.
In an inevitable development, a mining company has laid claim to public lands within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- House Republicans just passed their version of the 2018 farm bill-- a package that weakens the SNAP anti-hunger program and includes provisions undermining bedrock environmental safeguards for clean water, wildlife and forests.
In response, Athan Manuel, director of public lands protection for Sierra Club issued the following statement:
DENVER CO -- Huerfano County Commissioners today asked for oil and gas leases near Great Sand Dunes National Park and the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness be deferred. The Commission voted in favor of asking the Bureau of Land Management to hold off on leasing the sensitive lands until further study can be completed on the impacts of dirty fuel development would have on the area’s waters and environment. The vote follows concerns raised by Citizens for Huerfano County and other community members.
Salt Lake City, UT - Today, the Bureau of Land Management sold off over 15,000 acres of public land in Utah and Idaho to dirty fuels interests. Included in the sale were two parcels totaling over 3,000 acres within ten miles of Capitol Reef National Park, which sold for the minimum bid of $2 an acre.
Las Vegas, NV-- Southern Nevadans will call on Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the local Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to proceed in public process and begin consulting with locals in the establishing of a management plan for Gold Butte National Monument. The process was essentially cancelled when Zinke carried out a review of 27 national monuments-- leaving Gold Butte’s boundaries and future uncertain while preventing local BLM officials from working on a plan with the public.
FLAGSTAFF, AZ-- Under the direction of Sec. Zinke, the Interior Department has included uranium and vanadium on a recently released list of 35 ‘critical minerals’ for national security. The list was meant to identify non-fuel minerals and is part of the Trump administration’s ongoing economic struggle with China over rare earth metals and resources.
SALT LAKE CITY -- Under the direction of Sec. Zinke, the Interior Department has included uranium and vanadium on a recently released list of 35 ‘critical minerals’ for national security. The list was meant to identify non-fuel minerals and is part of the Trump administration’s ongoing economic struggle with China.
Department of the Interior pushes anti-immigrant agenda.
Ryan Zinke continues to hide behind EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s ever growing list of scandals and legal violations as he extorts the American taxpayers to pay for his luxurious travel, pretends he’s a geologist (perhaps he’s been watching too much Seinfeld), and uses his position to set himself up for a future presidential run. While Zinke has been focusing on himself, he’s been failing in his attempts to further a dangerous agenda at Interior.
Las Vegas, NV-- Tomorrow, the Forest Service will host a hearing on their “Focused Management Plan for Lovell Canyon” focusing on important conservation questions like the landscape’s recreation opportunities, maintenance requirements and preservation for future generations.
Salt Lake City, UT - Today concludes the scoping period for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The planning efforts will focus only on areas designated in President Trump’s proclamation and will exclude almost a million acres of lands rich with sensitive resources. Sierra Club Utah helped generate over 8,700 public comments that stridently opposed the BLM moving forward with the planning process.
Ashley Soltysiak, Utah Chapter Director made the following statement