Pictographs, Bears Ears National Monument                                                                                                   (Mike Painter)

 
June 30, 2022

Dear CalUWild friends—

There hasn’t been too much to report on until the last week or so, and with all else that’s been going on in the news, I thought it would be a good time to take a short break from the Update.

This month has seen the most important set of Congressional hearings in many years and several major Supreme Court rulings this week and last, too. (In fact, as I’m getting ready to send this out, the news has come in that the Court has limited EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.) It is clear that we must be ever more vigilant in our defense of democracy here at home. It’s important, as we get ready to celebrate Independence Day, to remember that there is much at stake, including our ability to advocate for wilderness and public lands—just one among many important issues facing us.

But at the same time, summer is here, so don’t forget to enjoy those things we are working to protect.

Thanks for your involvement and support!

 
Best wishes,
Mike

 
IN UTAH
1.   Tribes and BLM Agree on Co-Management
          For Bears Ears National Monument
2.   America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act
          Gets a New California Cosponsor
          (ACTION ITEM)

IN CALIFORNIA
3.   Berryessa Snow Mountain Expansion Bill Gets a Senate Hearing
          (ACTION ITEM)
4.   Job Opportunity: California Wilderness Coalition
          Seeks Engagement Manager
          (JOB ANNOUNCEMENT)

IN ALASKA
5.   Protect the Izembek Wilderness
          (ACTION ITEM)

IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
6.   Links to Articles and Other Items of Interest

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

IN UTAH
1.   Tribes and BLM Agree on Co-Management
          For Bears Ears National Monument

On June 18, the five Tribes making up the original Bears Ears Coalition—the Hopi, Navajo, Ute Mountain Ute, Ute Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, and the Pueblo of Zuni—signed an “Inter-Governmental Cooperative Agreement” with the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, the two federal agencies currently managing the Bears Ears National Monument.

The agreement requires the Federal Government to protect Tribal interests and recognize “the importance of Tribal knowledge about the lands and objects within the boundaries” of the Monument and “ensure that management decisions affecting the monument reflect the expertise and traditional and historical knowledge of interested Tribal Nations and people.” The Tribes and the Federal Government are required to coordinate on land use planning and implementation and develop long-term management goals.

The Tribes spent the last few years developing their own land management plan that they will give to the BLM and Forest Service to incorporate into the plan that those agencies are required to prepare.

This is the first time that Native American Tribes have been given any formal role in decision-making regarding a national monument. We hope the use of these agreements will expand across the country as people become more aware of Indigenous history and Tribes’ long-standing and deep connection to the land, even when they have been dispossessed of it for many years. And further, the agreement hopefully signals a new era of cooperation in general between the Federal Government and Tribes.

The Washington Post had an article analyzing the agreement: Agreement with Native American tribes could set precedent (gift link for non-subscribers).

In other news about the Monument, the Utah legislature approved a land exchange for State Trust Lands located inside the Monument’s boundaries for developable BLM elsewhere in Utah. The Salt Lake Tribune published and article (unfortunately available to subscribers only): Utah lawmakers approve Bears Ears land swap.

 
2.   America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act
          Gets a New California Cosponsor
          (ACTION ITEM)

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-28) recently signed on as a cosponsor for H.R.3780, America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, sponsored by Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-47) of Long Beach. That brings the number of California cosponsors to 18. We still have a way to go before reaching 27, the number of previous cosponsors currently serving in the House, though we hope to add a few names in the weeks ahead. Our online California Congressional Information Sheet lists them all, along with their DC office phone numbers.

If you live in Rep. Schiff’s district, please call his office to say Thank You:

If your representative is not listed as a cosponsor, please call their office and ask that they sign onto the bill.

A full list of cosponsors nationwide may be found here.

We have maps and fact sheets and a brochure on our website available for download and sharing.

 
Other notable Utah news items are included in ITEM 6, IN THE PRESS.

 
IN CALIFORNIA
3.   Berryessa Snow Mountain Expansion Bill Gets a Senate Hearing
          (ACTION ITEM)

On June 7, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a hearing on a large number of bills, including S.4080, Sen. Alex Padilla’s (CA-D) bill to enlarge the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument in Lake County to include what is currently known as walker Ridge and renaming it to Molok Yuluk (Condor Ridge). By all accounts, the hearing was a success, with BLM Deputy Director of Policy and Programs Nada Culver and Mr. Christopher French, Deputy Chief, National Forest System both testified in favor of the bill, though they requested extending the time frame for the development of a management plan.

If you haven’t already, please call Sen. Padilla’s office to thank him for introducing the legislation in the Senate. His DC office phone number is:

Sen. Padilla’s bill is the companion to the House bill introduced by Reps. John Garamendi (D-3) and Mike Thompson (D-5), H.R.6366. We’re still hoping to get more cosponsors for the bill, especially representatives who cosponsored the original legislation for the Monument some years ago:

But any cosponsors from California are welcome. So please go to our online California Congressional Information Sheet, see where your representative stands, and call their office as appropriate. Thanks!

 
4.   Job Opportunity: California Wilderness Coalition
          Seeks Engagement Manager
          (JOB ANNOUNCEMENT)

Our friends at the California Wilderness Coalition are excited to announce that they are recruiting an Engagement Manager. This new position will help tell their story in the age of climate change. The Engagement Manager will work with their Development Director to oversee and implement all of their communications channels including social media, website, email, advertising, and other marketing work.

Here are links to the job description on their website and to a PDF of the description.

 
IN ALASKA
5.   Protect the Izembek Wilderness
          (ACTION ITEM)

The following comes from our friends at Wilderness Watch.

 
On April 20, U.S. Secretary of Interior Deb Haaland visited the native village of King Cove, Alaska, near the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge and Wilderness. Sec. Haaland was accompanied by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK), and other proponents who want to build a road through the heart of the Izembek Wilderness to connect King Cove with the community of Cold Bay, which has a large airport runway.

This issue has gone on for years. It began in the 1980s when commercial fishing interests in King Cove proposed a road through the Wilderness in order to transport fresh fish to the all-season air strip at Cold Bay. More recently, the media has focused on the residents of King Cove who want the road, claiming it is necessary for medevac emergencies, rather than risk transporting them by water in rough weather.

Former Interior Secretary Sally Jewell made the right decision in 2013 to protect Izembek and deny the road proposal. Jewell also requested that the Corps of Engineers analyze non-road alternatives. A subsequent 2015 report by the Corps of Engineers determined the most reliable method of transport during inclement weather to be a marine ferry for transport from King Cove and break-water/dock improvements at Cold Bay. During storms, a road would be impassible due to blowing snow and avalanche risk. This non-road alternative could be implemented using infrastructure funds recently passed by Congress.

During the Trump administration, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke approved a land exchange to permit the road (the courts rejected that), and then the next Trump administration Interior Secretary, David Bernhardt, approved another land exchange to allow the road (still in court).

While Secretary Haaland made no public comments nor answered any reporters’ questions during her recent visit, she was only surrounded by road proponents. Wilderness advocates were not invited. Your help is needed now to let Secretary Haaland know that many people want to see the Izembek Wilderness protected from the road-building scheme.

Please email Secretary Haaland soon and let her know you support protecting the Izembek Wilderness from the road-building scheme. Urge her to support a non-road alternative such as marine ferry with break-water and dock improvements at Cold Bay.

 
In an unusual development, former President Jimmy Carter wrote a letter to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals requesting that the entire court rehear the appeal of a 2-1 decision upholding the approval by the previous administration, mentioned above. The New York Times published an article about it with pictures and diagrams: Jimmy Carter, at 97, Steps Into a Big Fight Over a Small Road in Alaska (gift link for non-subscribers). Mr. Carter told the Times that the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, which he strongly supported, “may be the most significant domestic achievement of my political life.”

Wilderness Watch hosted a webinar last year looking at the issue in depth.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology has a short video on the Refuge as well.

 
IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
6.   Links to Articles and Other Items of Interest

If a link is broken or otherwise inaccessible, please send me an email, and I’ll fix it or send you a PDF copy. Gift links are temporary links from some websites, allowing non-subscribers to view articles for free. As always, inclusion of an item in this section does not imply agreement with the viewpoint expressed.

In Utah

In California

In Alaska

In Nevada

In the West

In General

 
 
 
 
 

Support CalUWild!

Membership is free, but your support is both needed and appreciated. Dues are not tax-deductible, as they may be used for lobbying activities. There are several ways to contribute: