Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** What's next, President Biden?
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Thursday, October 13, 2022
President Biden at the proclamation signing event for Colorado's Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument. Photo: Aaron Weiss, @western.priorities ([link removed])

Yesterday, President Joe Biden signed a proclamation to create Colorado's Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument ([link removed]) , his first new national monument. Now that he has demonstrated a willingness to listen to Westerners ([link removed]) and use his authority under the Antiquities Act to support locally-led conservation efforts, the question is, where will he go next?

“Today’s proclamation is a downpayment on President Biden’s America the Beautiful initiative,” said Center for Western Priorities Executive Director, Jennifer Rokala ([link removed]) . “Protecting 30 percent of America’s lands and waters by the end of the decade will require using every tool available, and the Antiquities Act is one of the most important.”

While conservation advocates cheered the Camp Hale designation, many seized the opportunity to encourage President Biden to support other local and Indigenous-led efforts across the country ([link removed]) . In particular, advocates point to proposals for protecting Castner Range ([link removed]) , a former military training ground encompassing more than 7,000 acres of open space in northern El Paso, Texas, and Avi Kwa Ame ([link removed]) , the Mojave name for “Spirit Mountain” and the surrounding landscape in southern Nevada held sacred by 10 tribes.

Speaking during the Camp Hale signing ceremony, President Biden said ([link removed]) , “These treasured lands tell the story of America.” Over the next two years, President Biden has an opportunity to define his conservation legacy ([link removed]) . By investing in America's public lands and establishing more national monuments, the Biden administration can tackle the climate and nature crises head-on, and create a 21st Century vision for America’s public lands.
Quick hits


** The green metal mining boom is on
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High Country News ([link removed])


** National parks end seasonal reservation entry requirements
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USA Today ([link removed]) | Thrillist ([link removed])


** President Biden establishes Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument, honoring WWII veterans
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New York Times ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed]) | The Hill ([link removed]) | Axios ([link removed]) | CNBC ([link removed])


** Interior offers cash to keep water in the Colorado River
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CNN ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Budget squeezes, bureaucracy hinder efforts to save threatened species
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Missoula Current ([link removed])


** Forest Service sued for polluting waterways with fire retardant
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Associated Press ([link removed]) | Reuters ([link removed]) | Bloomberg Law ([link removed]) | E&E News ([link removed])


** Conservation groups team up to study border wall's impacts on wildlife migration corridor
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KTAR ([link removed])


** Opinion: Help tribes have a say in managing public lands
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Albuquerque Journal ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” For over 100 years, places like the Grand Canyon have been protected using the Antiquities Act. I encourage the president to consider other special places that could benefit from these same protections, including those named in widely supported bills that have passed the House numerous times.”
—House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl Grijlava, E&E News ([link removed])
Picture this


** @Interior ([link removed])
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National Wildlife Refuge Week celebrates the incredible network of lands and waters that conserve and protect America’s precious wildlife heritage. The week-long celebration is the perfect time to enjoy fishing, hiking and wildlife watching. Photo by Doreen Lawrence

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