2025 August

September 2nd, 2025

Near Muddy Creek, Utah                                                                                                                      (Mike Painter)

 
September 2, 2025

Dear CalUWild Friends & Supporters—

Although written in August, I decided to wait until after the Labor Day weekend to send it out—so it wouldn’t get lost in the weekend shuffle, but also to allow people to enjoy the holiday before things resume in Washington.

There are three ACTION ITEMS this month, with ITEM 2A being the only one that will take a little more time. But it’s a critical one. The other two require just a quick phone call to Congress, and they can be combined. And as always, there is a long list of interesting articles; read what you wish, when you have time.

Congress is due to return this week after having been on recess for the month of August, after being sent home abruptly by House Speaker Johnson. But before they left, the land sell-off amendments proposed by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) were withdrawn from the Big Bad Reconciliation Bill. Sen. Lee has vowed to pursue the idea, despite enormous public opposition from across the political spectrum. An article in E&E News took a look at the issue: How Mike Lee ended up alone in megabill land fight. We’ll keep you posted.

The administration, however, has been busy dismantling everything it can get its hands on, faster than anyone can keep track of. We need to remain vigilant and active to protect the things we hold dear, including Democracy itself. Please let your elected representatives know your thoughts on current events. Write to the editor of your local newspaper. Talk with your friends. There is a lot at stake.

But also try to find time to enjoy the outdoors. National Public Lands Day is September 27, when entrance fees at most national sites and many others are waived. Many stewardship and other activities are planned, too. Click here for more information.

Finally, the Sierra Club National Utah Wilderness Team is hosting a Zoom presentation on Wilderness and Pollinators, September 25, 5 p.m., Pacific time. Click here for more details and a registration link.

And as always, thank you for your support—for wilderness and public lands, as well as for CalUWild.

 
Best wishes,
Mike Painter, Coordinator

 
IN UTAH
1.   Red Rocks Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

IN UTAH
1.   Red Rock Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

Since our last Update, we’ve added two more House cosponsors from California to America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act. If you live in one of their districts, please call their office to say “thank you.”

They bring the total number of California cosponsors to twelve, and nationally there are 53. As we wrote last month, we’d still like more from California, in particular:

The bill number is H.R.2467.

We’d like to see our two Senators sign on to S.1193, the companion bill in the Senate, where Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is the lead sponsor.

A full list of California cosponsors may be found on the cosponsor sheet on our website. If your representative is not listed as a cosponsor, please call and ask that they sign on. A list of cosponsors nationwide may be found here.

 
IN WASHINGTON, DC
U.S. Forest Service Roadless Rule

          A.   Rescission Announced
                    Scoping Period Open
                    COMMENTS NEEDED
                    DEADLINE: September 19
                    (ACTION ITEM)

Back in 2001, Pres. Bill Clinton’s administration undertook a lengthy process to protect roadless areas in our national forests. Close to 60 million acres of land have been free from road construction, timber cutting, mining, and other types of development. In California, about 4 million acres were covered by the Roadless Rule. Our friends at Tuleyome have a webpage that provides some good background on the Rule.

Some time ago, the Agriculture Department, which oversees the Forest Service, announced that it would rescind the Roadless Rule, and last Friday (right before the holiday weekend, not likely a coincidence), it made good on the threat to initiate the process, with an unusually short 21-day comment period.

You may read the USDA Press Release here. As might be expected, it contains inaccuracies, such as stating that the Rule “has frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to action – prohibiting road construction, which has limited wildfire suppression and active forest management.” The Rule did not prohibit temporary roads that might be needed for forest management, and the large majority of wildfires happen in areas that are not roadless or wilderness. The real “problem” with the Rule is that it stands in the way of resource exploitation and the administration’s Executive Order 14192, Unleashing Prosperity Through Deregulation. However, most Roadless Areas not only have the least productive land, but they’re also usually the steepest and unstable.

Scoping, the first step in the process, closes September 19. Please write a personalized comment! It is important that as many people as possible submit comments opposing the proposed rescission from the outset. Use any or all of the following talking points, but please use your own words, and please be sure your comments are substantive, backed up by facts. (You can see from the number of talking points, just how important the Roadless Rule is.)

—   Begin by stating clearly that there is no need to rescind the Rule and that you are opposed to this proposal. The Rule has served well since its adoption in 2001.

—   Request that USDA provide further opportunities for commenting as well as scheduling public meetings as the process moves forward.

—   Explain how rescission would impact the national forests you are familiar with.

—   Roadless Areas provide opportunities for outdoor recreation, including camping, hiking and backpacking, hunting and angling, wildlife viewing and photography, rock climbing, and others. Large sections of the Continental Divide, Pacific Crest, and Appalachian National Trails cross protected Roadless Areas. All of these activities, in turn, help support local (often rural) economies.

—   Roads fragment wildlife habitat. Existing Roadless Areas provide habitat for many threatened and endangered species. Roadless Areas provide important migration corridors. Pollutants such as rubber tire dust from roads have been shown to impact salmon and other native fish.

—   Most non-naturally caused wildfires (90%, by some estimates) begin close to roads.

—   Roadless Areas are the source of half of California’s—and much of the nation’s—drinking water. Keeping roads aways from water sources reduces sediment, cutting down on the need for later filtration.

—   Roadless Areas are important for Indigenous communities, protecting traditional sites and allowing them to continue cultural practices such as hunting and gathering plants for food, medicine, and traditional arts.

—   The Forest Service already has a huge road system, stretching 380,000 miles, which is longer than the country’s highways. The system suffers from a huge maintenance backlog, and taxpayers get the bill for it all.

—   The Roadless Rule already has exceptions built in for dealing with emergency situations like wildfire, flooding, or other unusual events. The Forest Service routinely conducts management activities within Roadless Areas.

—   There is broad public and political support for the existing Rule. At least 53 House members have sponsored H.R.3930, the Roadless Area Conservation Act, and 17 Senators have signed on to S.2024, its companion bill. This bill codifies the Roadless Rule into law. (See ITEM 2B, immediately following.)

To comment, click on the blue Comment button on the page with the formal announcement from the Federal Register.

You can also go directly to the form by clicking here.

Comments are also being accepted via U.S. Mail at:

This article appeared in National Parks Traveler: National Parks Could Suffer From Rescinding Of Roadless Rule, looking at the issue from a related angle. The Traveler is an invaluable, independent source of news and information on our national parks, worthy of your support.

 
          B.   Roadless Area Protection Act
                    Legislation Introduced
                    Cosponsors Needed
                    (ACTION ITEM)

As mentioned above, the Roadless Area Conservation Act of 2025 has been introduced in both the House (H.R.3930) and Senate (S.2024). It would codify the Roadless Rule, making it impervious to change by this or any other administration. There are already 53 House cosponsors, with 15 from California. Both Sens. Padilla and Schiff are cosponsors as well, joining 17 others in the Senate. The California House cosponsors are:

We’ve added the bill to our online information sheet, and you can find phone numbers for all DC offices there, as well. Please call with thanks or requests to cosponsor, as appropriate.

 
IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
3.   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 for a limited time. As always, inclusion of an item in this section does not imply agreement with the viewpoint expressed.

Utah

California

Nevada

Oregon

National Parks

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:

A tax-deductible contribution may be made by check only, payable to Resource Renewal Institute, CalUWild’s fiscal sponsor.

Suggested levels

__ $20 Limited
__ $30 Regular
__ $60 Supporting
__ $120 Outstanding
__ Other ________

If paying by check, please include your address if it is not on the check, or print out and enclose a membership form. All checks should be mailed to:

CalUWild
P.O. Box 210474
San Francisco, CA 94121-0474

As always, if you ever have questions, suggestions, critiques, or wish to change your e-mail address or unsubscribe, all you have to do is send an email. For membership information, click here.

Please “Like” and “Follow” CalUWild on Facebook.

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2025 June – July

July 15th, 2025

The View from Muley Point, Cedar Mesa, Utah                                                                                 (Mike Painter)

 
July 6, 2025

Dear CalUWild Friends & Supporters—

I hope you had a chance to enjoy the Fourth of July weekend, while also taking time to reflect on what the holiday commemorates. Reading the Declaration of Independence and its list of grievances against King George III one can certainly draw parallels to our situation here in 2025. Millions of people across the country turned out last month to show their extreme dissatisfaction with the current state of the union. Not only are destructive policies being put in place, environmental and otherwise, but the system itself is becoming increasingly dysfunctional. Unfortunately, examples are not at all hard to find, in every branch of government and at every level.

Fulfilling the promises stated and implicit in the Declaration will require constant vigilance and effort, and we cannot afford to let up now.

 
Thank you for your interest and support for CalUWild, our wild areas, and other public lands.

 
Best wishes,
Mike Painter, Coordinator

IN UTAH
1.   Red Rocks Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

IN UTAH
1.   Red Rock Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

There have been no more California cosponsors added to the list of cosponsors for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (H.R.2467) in the last few weeks, but we’d like to make a special effort this month to get a few past cosponsors signed on. In particular, we’d like to see

back on. If you live in one of their districts, please call the DC office at the numbers above with the request that they renew their cosponsorship. A full list of California cosponsors may be found on our online California Congressional Information Sheet. As always, if your representative is listed as a cosponsor, please call to thank them, and if not, call and ask them to become a cosponsor. Rep. Melanie Stansbury from New Mexico is the lead sponsor of the bill.

There can be a lag time between when a member signs on and when it is officially recorded by the Library of Congress, which tracks such legislative matters. But we update our list as soon as a new cosponsorship becomes official, so please check back there from time to time between Updates.

As always, we’d like to see Sen. Adam Schiff sign on to S.1193, the companion bill in the Senate, where Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) is the lead sponsor. Please call his office to make that request. The phone number is 202-224-3841.

There are currently 51 cosponsors in the House and 17 in the Senate. For a full list of cosponsors nationwide, click here.

 
IN WASHINGTON, DC
2.   Important Updates

Congress
          (ACTION ITEM)

We reported in the last Update that an amendment to the Budget Reconciliation Bill that would have forced the sale of some 60,000 acres in Utah and Nevada was removed after being approved by the House Natural Resources Committee. But as we also reported, Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, promised that he would include land sell-off provisions in the Senate version of the bill—and that’s exactly what he did.

Sen. Lee introduced a section that mandated the sale of .5% – .75% of each, Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands in eleven Western states. (Montana was excluded, most likely in the hopes that its legislators wouldn’t object, as they had to the House bill, led by Rep. Ryan Zinke, the former Secretary of the Interior). Estimates were that the total was to be between 2 and 3 million acres. (This came after Sen. Lee had said that his proposal would wouldn’t be near the size of the removed House version, which came in at about 600,000 acres.) The land was to be sold for housing, though there was no actual requirement that housing on the lands be affordable.

A huge public outcry ensued from many constituencies: hunter, hikers, off-roaders, Tribes, wildlife organizations and other conservationists, and local business people. The Senate Parliamentarian said that the provision wasn’t eligible for inclusion in the Reconciliation Bill because it was not directly budget-related. Sen. Lee made some changes, removing various already-protected designations, U.S. Forest Service lands, and requiring that any sales be within five miles of “population centers” of 1,000 people or more.

That did nothing to quell the massive public outcry from both ends of the political spectrum. Even some House Republican representatives, including Californians Kevin Kiley (R-3), David Valadao (R-22), Jay Obernolte (R-23), and Ken Calvert (R-41) indicated they would vote against the bill coming back to the House if it contained any sell-off provisions. The Parliamentarian did not weigh in directly on these changes, but they did not differ substantially from what she had noted before. The outcry continued, and Sen. Lee then posted on X (formerly Twitter) that he was removing the sell-off language altogether.

The entire bill then passed the Senate, with the tie vote broken by the vice president. It was sent back to House, which, as you undoubtedly know by now, passed it by a vote of 218–214. The president signed it on Friday the Fourth.

Sen. Lee wants to set a precedent of using budget bills to sell off lands and has vowed to keep up his efforts to wrest control of our public lands to states to be ultimately sold off (because state budgets are not big enough to manage them properly, either). We need to constantly remind him and other politicians, reporters, and our fellow citizens, too, that these lands are not owned by the federal government, but rather managed in trust for all Americans—We the People are in fact the owners. So he’s really trying to take them from us, not the government.

Please call our two senators and Democratic House members (none of whom were in any danger of voting for the bill anyway), thanking them for their votes. And even though they voted for the reconciliation bill in the end, it is important to let those GOP House members who made a stand in support of public lands that you at least appreciate that. It will encourage them to be supportive on other issues in the future.

There was a lot of opposition to the sell-off proposal from the conservative end of the spectrum, proving again the broad support that our public lands have. The New York Times published this article: A Conservative’s Plan to Sell Public Lands Faces MAGA Pushback (gift link for non-subscribers).

As I was finishing writing this Update today, this op-ed by CalUWild Advisory Board member, Terry Tempest Williams, appeared in the New York Times: Americans Fought Off This Awful Idea in Trump’s Bill (gift link for non-subscribers).

Since I mentioned the state of politics in the introduction, people need to be aware of the statements that the same Mike Lee made on X (formerly Twitter) following the shooting of two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses: This is what happens when Marxists don’t get their way. That and another disparaging post have since been removed, but they should never have been there in the first place. The two posts were, in fact, completely false, but worse, they contribute to the breakdown of democratic political life in the U.S. that makes these kinds of attacks more common.

It was also disturbing to see Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) trying to explain her vote in favor of the bill, despite the fact that she objected to process, the forced, artificial deadline, many of the provision, knowing they would hurt average Americans, and hoping (naively, as it turned out) that the House would remove some of the more egregious provisions. It’s sad to see that lack of principle in a politician, but unfortunately, it something we’ve come to expect.

The Administration
          (ACTION ITEM)

Disruption and chaos continue to be the order of the day throughout the administration. The various departments and agencies are running roughshod over every imaginable regulation and policy they can find, everything straight out of Project 2025.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) released an opinion memo saying that the president has the legal authority to rescind or shrink national monuments, reversing an opinion in force since at least 1938. Most legal scholars disagree, and the memo itself is written as if they wanted to reach that conclusion from the beginning. It is troubling that DOJ used Sáttítla Highlands and Chuckwalla national monuments here in California as examples for its reasoning. However, so far there has been no announcement regarding either.

The Western Governors’ Association met two weeks ago in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A coalition of groups, including CalUWild, sent a letter to the Association opposing the sell-off language in the Reconciliation Bill. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum addressed the conference, and a crowd of more than 1,000 protestors showed up to oppose the sell-off and other administration policies. You can read about the protest rally in this article from SourceNM: Public lands protesters picket Western governors’ conference. Mr. Burgum has been quoted as saying land sell-offs are not a priority

The Department of the Interior announced it was rescinding its regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in part and updating other parts. There is a comment period closing August 4, with an interim rule effective July 3.

The Bureau of Land Management stated its intention to rescind the Public Lands Rule, which was finalized last year. It formalized that under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, conservation was on equal footing with its multiple use mandate.

The Forest Service announced its intention to rescind the Roadless Rule, which has been in place since the Clinton Administration. (For links to maps of roadless areas in each state, click here. )

These latter two recissions will require public comment periods, and so far, nothing has appeared in the Federal Register. CalUWild will be working with its coalition partners to oppose these changes, and if there are meaningful opportunities for public participation, we’ll let you know.

In the meantime, please contact your congressional representatives and write letters to the editor of your local papers calling attention to and objecting to these proposals and voicing your support for our national public lands. Again, please point out that the American public owns the land, not the federal government.

 
IN CALIFORNIA
3.   Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
          10th Anniversary Celebration in Upper Lake
          July 10, 5:00 pm – After dark
          RSVP

July 10 is the 10th Anniversary of the designation of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument by Pres. Obama in northern California. A celebration is planned at the Tallman Hotel in Upper Lake at 5 pm to celebrate the community that helped establish and continues to protect and enjoy this special Monument. Then, the party moves to Middle Creek Campground for S’mores, astronomy, night herpetology and other activities.

RSVP here.

 
4.   The Enduring Wild
          Book and Author Events

Writer Josh Jackson has written The Enduring Wild: A Journey Into California’s Public Lands. Published by Heyday Books, the book is an exploration of the lands in our state managed by the BLM, which he calls “the forgotten lands” because of their relative obscurity to most people. The book is an outgrowth of his Forgotten Lands Project, and is beautifully illustrated with photos and other artwork. You can sign up for the Forgotten Lands newsletter on the homepage there or via Substack.

The Los Angeles Times, for whom the author has written occasional columns, ran an article last week about the book and BLM lands in California: Want to escape L.A.? California’s BLM land remains wild — and often free (may be behind paywall). He also appeared on the California Sun’s podcast a couple of weeks ago. (If you’re not familiar with California Sun, it’s a newsletter giving an excellent overview of press articles and other items from around the state, published weekdays. A subscription runs $25/year.)

You can order The Enduring Wild from the Forgotten Lands Project website, from Heyday Books, your local bookseller, or from Amazon.

Mr. Jackson will be doing events at bookstores around the state in July and August. Please see the flyer on CalUWild’s website for dates and locations. (Particularly noteworthy is the event on July 22nd, at noon, where he will be in conversation with California’s Secretary of Natural Resources, Wade Crowfoot, as part of the Secretary Speaker Series, free monthly webinar events on various topics of interest, and worth registering for in their own right. Check back there later for the webinar information or sign up for notifications.)

 
IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
5.   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 for a limited time. As always, inclusion of an item in this section does not imply agreement with the viewpoint expressed.

In Utah

In California

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:

A tax-deductible contribution may be made by check payable to Resource Renewal Institute, CalUWild’s fiscal sponsor.

Suggested levels

__ $20 Limited
__ $30 Regular
__ $60 Supporting
__ $120 Outstanding
__ Other ________

If paying by check, please include your address if it is not on the check, or print out and enclose a membership form. All checks should be mailed to:

CalUWild
P.O. Box 210474
San Francisco, CA 94121-0474

As always, if you ever have questions, suggestions, critiques, or wish to change your e-mail address or unsubscribe, all you have to do is send an email. For membership information, click here.

Please “Like” and “Follow” CalUWild on Facebook.

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2025 May – June

June 17th, 2025

Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah                                                                                                              (Mike Painter)
 
 
June 9, 2025

Dear CalUWild Friends & Supporters—

Summer is just about here, meaning that many people will get away to visit and explore the wide variety of public lands we are blessed with here in the U.S. Unfortunately, those lands are under attack, on a scale we’ve never seen before. This is not mere alarmist language, either; the current administration and many in Congress seem opposed to the very concept of national public lands, seeing them only as a line item on the national balance sheet. We need all Americans, the vast majority of whom support public lands, to speak out forcefully in their defense.

A few summers ago, when there wasn’t as much needing our attention, we published a Summer Reading Issue, with no Action Items and just a collection of things to read. This summer, however, there are several issues requiring attention along with plenty of other items to read as well. It may look a bit overwhelming, but fortunately there’s no need to read them all at once.

So have a good summer, and we’ll keep you posted on developments as they occur. And as always, thanks for your interest and support.

 
Best wishes,
Mike Painter, Coordinator

 
IN UTAH
1.   Red Rocks Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

IN UTAH
1.   Red Rock Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-51) is the latest California House member to sign on as a cosponsor of America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, H.R.2467. If you live in her district, please call her Washington, DC office to say thank you.

She joins nine other California House members as cosponsors, and a full listing of their names and DC office phone numbers may be found on CalUWild’s website here.

We also hope that Sen Adam Schiff will sign on to S.1193, the companion bill in the Senate. Please call his office to make that request.

There are currently 48 cosponsors in the House and 16 in the Senate. For a full list of cosponsors nationwide, click here.

 
IN CALIFORNIA
2.   Conglomerate Mesa Gold Exploration
          Draft Environmental Impact Statement
          Open for Public Comment
          EADLINE: June 16, 2025
          (ACTION ITEM)

We’ve written quite a few times over many years about proposals to explore for gold on Conglomerate Mesa, located above the eastern shore of (Dry) Owens Lake. It’s an area of great cultural significance to many local Tribes as well as being an important ecosystem in its own right. The Mesa is an important elevated area where many Joshua trees grow, and it may become an even more important habitat for them as the climate warms and makes it more difficult for them to thrive at lower elevations. It’s also the home of the Inyo rock daisy, listed by California Fish & Game Commission as a threatened species. And the landscape itself is dramatic, adjacent to Death Valley National Park and the Cerro Gordo Peak Wilderness Area

Mojave Precious Metals, a subsidiary of K2 Gold, a Canadian company, submitted an application to do exploratory drilling for gold, and the BLM required the preparation of a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). A Draft (DEIS) has been released, and the BLM is soliciting comments on the DEIS through June 16. (Apologies for the short deadline.)

Please submit a comment that asks the BLM to choose the No Action Alternative, Alternative D. If you’ve ever visited the area or hope to, mention that, too. And as always, if using the talking points below, please use your own words.

Here are some general talking points from our coalition partners at Friends of the Inyo. The project:

I’m also including the following detailed talking points that were prepared by our friends at CalWild (formerly the California Wilderness Coalition). They refer to more technical issues with the DEIS and give you some idea of what kind of thinking needs to go into the preparation of an EIS. Feel free to pick and choose from among them in addition to any more general personal comments you might wish to make.

Things that are wrong with the proposed project proposal

The project fails to:

Alternatives that the BLM should have considered but did not

BLM should consider and analyze an alternative:

Comments may be submitted online at:

or by email to:

Or by U.S. Mail to:

For more information on Conglomerate Mesa, please visit the coalition website.

Related

 
IN WASHINGTON, DC
3.   Important Updates

The Administration

Disruption continues to be the order of the day. Federal employees continue to be laid off and rehired. Funding for agencies and grants to research institutions are being drastically cut, if not eliminated outright. Despite the fact that courts are consistently ruling against these cuts and ordering them restored in many cases, the long-term damage to our agencies and structure of government will be significant.

The White House continues its string of questionable nominations, as described in this article in the New York Times. (The headline is a bit misleading, as it refers to an Undersecretary in the Department of Agriculture, not the Chief of the Forest Service.) He Built an Airstrip on Protected Land. Now He’s in Line to Lead the Forest Service. (gift link for non-subscribers).

Related

At the end of March, the White House issued Executive Order 14253: Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, directing the Secretary of the Interior

(This executive order also launched an attack on the Smithsonian Institution, which is actually independent of the Executive Branch.)
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued a secretarial order (SO 3431) with the same name. It states:

Further on it states:

Public Domain published a lengthy analysis of the order and other secretarial issues: Trump’s Interior Chief Rewrites History Of National Monuments As He Prepares Cuts

Related

The Department of Interior has just released its Draft Strategic Plan for 2026-2030. While it contains many of the general policy statements that were included in a draft leaked to Public Domain (mentioned above) in April, language regarding “right-sizing” monuments, releasing public lands for housing or “returning” lands and sites to states has disappeared. There was a huge public backlash to the leaked version, so maybe it was successful in forcing these modifications.

At this point, even a minor improvement counts as a victory.

Congress
          (ACTION ITEM)

As you likely know, the House recently passed its version of the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” It contains many terrible provisions, affecting many areas of concern. But one thing it does not currently contain is any public lands sell-off provisions. That was not guaranteed, however. The House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the bill, and toward midnight, after the meeting had gone on for most of the day and without any advance warning to anyone, Rep. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) and Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) introduced an amendment providing for the sale of 11,000 acres of BLM-managed land in Utah and 500,000 acres in Nevada.

The ostensible purpose of the land sales was to ease the “affordable housing crisis” in the country, yet there was no language in the bill requiring that purpose. Worse, the proceeds from the sales were to go the general U.S. Treasury, not to fund other acquisition by the Interior Department, as has happened with previous land sales. Despite that, the GOP-controlled committee voted to approve the amendment and the bill as a whole.

To the rescue, surprisingly, came former Interior Secretary and current Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), who stated publicly that he would oppose an overall budget bill that contained any public land sell-offs. He said that any land disposal must be done via a transparent public process, and he lined up his Montana House and Senate colleagues in support of that position.

Rep. Amodei, who represents the Reno area, claimed the amendment was introduced with the approval of the county commissioners of Clark County, Nevada, where Las Vegas is located. The commissioners, however, stated that they were never consulted, and they objected to the amendment, as did the local congresswoman. More than 70 conservation groups (CalUWild among them) sent a letter to House and Natural Resources Committee leadership opposing the amendment. The amendment was removed from the bill after some negotiation among the various representatives.

Unfortunately, that’s the end of the story only in the House. Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), chairman of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, has stated he will introduce an amendment in the Senate version of the bill with land sell-off provisions. He said he is working on something with Montana Sen. Steve Daines (R), who was earlier opposed to any sale at all. Sen. Lee has said any proposal won’t be anywhere near the size in the House version, but so far no one has seen any language concerning the issue. Regardless, there will be strong opposition to any sell-offs in the Senate version.

The underhanded way this amendment was introduced and the misstatements as to its purpose and language are unfortunately representative of what we see happening in Washington these days. We all need to be hyper-vigilant and prepared to speak up as needed.

Related

The budget bill also rolls back provision of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), a law that this president himself signed just five years ago, by gutting the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). In 2020, Congress finally made full annual funding ($900 million) of the LWCF permanent. The program is funded by royalties from offshore oil and gas extraction (not taxpayers) that are used to buy lands and support preservation and recreation programs across the country. The bill would divert funding to non-LWCF uses such as deferred maintenance (which was specifically rejected when the GAOA was passed). It also eliminates funding for outdoor recreation/sportsmen’s access to National Forests, National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, and BLM lands. Finally it contains large cuts to state and local assistance programs that support outdoor recreation in every state and must be allocated annually out of LWCF’s dedicated funding.

The bill also contains restrictions on the process for public comment participation under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and imposes limits on judicial review of agency decisions.

Please call Sens. Padilla and Schiff to oppose the Budget Bill for these reasons (and many others).

On Wednesday, June 11, the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources will hold a hearing on the White House budget request for Fiscal Year 2026. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will be testifying. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. EDT and will be broadcast live on the Committee’s website.

 
IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
4.   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 for a limited time. As always, inclusion of an item in this section does not imply agreement with the viewpoint expressed.

In Utah

In California

In Arizona

In New Mexico

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:

A tax-deductible contribution may be made by check payable to Resource Renewal Institute, CalUWild’s fiscal sponsor.

Suggested levels

__ $20 Limited
__ $30 Regular
__ $60 Supporting
__ $120 Outstanding
__ Other ________

If paying by check, please include your address if it is not on the check, or print out and enclose a membership form. All checks should be mailed to:

CalUWild
P.O. Box 210474
San Francisco, CA 94121-0474

As always, if you ever have questions, suggestions, critiques, or wish to change your e-mail address or unsubscribe, all you have to do is send an email. For membership information, click here.

Please “Like” and “Follow” CalUWild on Facebook.

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2025 March – April

April 18th, 2025

Mono Lake from the Bodie Hills                                                                                                                        (Mike Painter)

 
April 17, 2025

Dear CalUWild Friends & Supporters —

The last twelve weeks have been chaotic in Washington and across the country. There is no aspect of public policy that has been left untouched, and the public lands sector is no exception. This has been a difficult Update to compile, given that it is impossible to report fully on every action the administration has taken, and worse, every day there is something new. But we will give brief summaries or links to press articles on some of the more important or interesting developments, which you can then read at your leisure (though maybe not all at once).

Please keep in mind that the vast majority of Americans strongly believe in the value of national public lands and support their protection. And we expect that many of the decisions being made in such haste will be overturned in court. However, it will take time to repair the damage being done, due to the loss of institutional knowledge in the various agencies. So it’s up to all of us to make our opinions known to anyone in any position of influence.

 
On a happier note, CalUWild is very proud to welcome Bob Wick to our Advisory Board. Bob retired in 2021 from the Bureau of Land management, where he worked as a Wilderness Specialist in the DC office, though he lived in California. Bob is most known, however, for his spectacular photography of the diverse landscapes around the country, which have even shown up on U.S. Postal Service stamps, which we used on our April 2019 Update. Bob now works as a freelance photographer. In our last Update we linked to an article in Backpacker: Bob Wick Is the Greatest Outdoor Photographer You’ve Never Heard Of. The Atlantic featured a gallery of Bob’s photos when he retired from the BLM in 2021. Bob’s website is here.

 
Many thanks to everyone who has continued to send in contributions in response to our Annual Membership Appeal, helping to fund our work. But most importantly, thank you for supporting our national public lands.

 
Best wishes,
Mike Painter, Coordinator

 
IN UTAH
1.   America’s Red Rock Wilderness Bill Introduced
          Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

IN UTAH
1.   America’s Red Rock Wilderness Bill Introduced
          Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act was reintroduced at the end of March in both the House (H.R.2467) and Senate (S.1193). As in the last Congress, Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) are the lead sponsors. 41 House Members and 15 Senators signed on as original cosponsors. The following California representatives signed on:

If your representative is on the list, please call his or her office to say thank you. If they’re not on the list, ask that they become a cosponsor. It’s never too late.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D) will not be cosponsoring for now, and while we had hoped he would, his support on many other priorities is just as valuable. Sen. Adam Schiff (D) was a longtime cosponsor when he was in the House, and we’re hoping he will cosponsor once again now that he’s in the Senate. Please call his office asking him to do so.

You can find a full listing of Washington, DC office phone numbers for California Senate and House members and their cosponsorships on our online California Congressional Information Sheet.

A full list of cosponsors nationwide may be found here.

 
IN CALIFORNIA & ELSEWHERE
2.   National Monuments under Threat
          (ACTION ITEM)

Here is another example of the chaos in Washington: On the afternoon of Friday, March 14, the White House published a fact sheet stating that an executive order had been signed rescinding 19 executive actions by Pres. Biden. Included in the list was:

Terminating proclamations declaring nearly a million acres constitute [sic] new national monuments that lock up vast amounts of land from economic development and energy production.

Though not named directly, it is widely assumed that this referred to Chuckwalla and Sáttítla national monuments here in California, since they were the most recent designations (though neither monument has large potential for “economic development and energy production”).

But by the next day, Saturday, that language had disappeared without explanation. It’s not clear whether the item in the original release was a mistake or whether its removal was the result of behind-the-scenes political pressure. Regardless, no signed order rescinding the monuments has yet appeared, so as far as we know, they still exist.

This does not mean that the threat to them has gone away. We know that in the first term, the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments were significantly shrunk, and there are suggestions that the Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument in Arizona is also in the crosshairs.

There are a few things you can do to support our national monuments:

Many thanks!

 
IN THE ADMINISTRATION & CONGRESS
3.   Executive Orders and More
          (ACTION ITEM)

We’ll lead off here with a bit of good news: Kathleen Sgamma, president of the Western Energy Alliance and the nominee for Director of the Bureau of Land Management, withdrew her name from consideration just before her scheduled confirmation hearing in the Senate. Apparently, this was in response to reporting earlier in the week that had uncovered a lengthy post written on January 7, 2021 expressing disgust at the misinformation spread the previous day by the president in his speech before the riot at the Capitol. Of course, it remains to be seen who might be nominated in her place.

We reported in our last Update that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has issued a Secretarial Order requiring action plans to be drawn up to review designations and policies from the Biden Administration. So far, nothing has been released. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-2) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) wrote a letter to him demanding that those plans be made public. Still, nothing.

Thousands of probationary employees were fired in the Interior Department and U.S. Forest Service. (Other agencies across the government are also being severely cut as well.) Courts ordered that some be rehired, but reports are that more than 10% of Park Service employees have taken early retirement or other buyouts. National Parks have been ordered to maintain their levels of visitor services, even in the face of those cutbacks.

It’s being reported that the Department of Agriculture, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service, is planning a massive reorganization of the USFS. These actions include combining the current nine regions into three; cutting its research team and research stations drastically; combining individual national forests; moving the Wildlands Fire division to another agency; and “hollow[ing] out” the DC headquarters.

At the same time, Brooke Rollins, the Secretary of Agriculture, has issued an “Emergency Declaration” following up on the White House’s executive order to increase timber production.

Our long-term concern is that funding and personnel cuts to the land management agencies will cripple them to the point that they can’t function effectively, leading to efforts to turn public lands over to the states. Ironically, most state budgets are also under stress, such that they wouldn’t be able to manage them properly either, which in turn would lead to the sale of them to private interests, depriving all of us of access and enjoyment.

On Tuesday of this week, Secty. Burgum announced plans to study for possible recission the Public Lands Rule adopted last year by the BLM, that formally put conservation on equal footing with development at the agency. It is also reviewing the Biden Administration’s rule restricting oil & gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. Finally, the Fish & Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service announced a proposed rule that would change the definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act to mean actual physical harm rather than habitat destruction that endangers a species.

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and John Hickenlooper (D-CO) introduced an amendment to the Senate budget bill that would have prevented the sale of public lands through the budget process. All Democratic senators, but only two Republicans, voted in favor of it, and so it was defeated. The administration has announced it is considering selling off lands as far as ten miles from towns with 5,000 residents or more in an effort to provide affordable housing. Serious analysts do not believe this will help increase housing supplies. Click here for a map showing lands potentially affected.

Again please take any (or all) of the actions mentioned in Item 2.

 
IN GENERAL
4.   Webinar on Public Lands
          Wednesday, April 23, 5 p.m. PDT

The Sierra Club’s National Utah Wilderness Team, of which I am a member, will be hosting a webinar looking at the status of public land in the United States. Our speakers will be Nada Culver, most recently Deputy Director for Policy & Management at the Bureau of Land Management and long-time public lands attorney at The Wilderness Society and Audubon and John Leshy, professor emeritus at UC Law San Francisco and author of Our Common Ground: A History of America’s Public Lands.
Pre-registration is required at this link.

We hope to see you there.

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

A note regarding the Washington Post: Given the changes in editorial policy that have taken place at the paper beginning last fall, CalUWild’s subscription to the paper will lapse this month. So we won’t be sharing any more articles. And while the Post often had interesting feature articles, there was little in solid news that couldn’t be found elsewhere.

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 for a limited time. As always, inclusion of an item in this section does not imply agreement with the viewpoint expressed.

Utah

California

Nevada

Texas

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:

A tax-deductible contribution may be made by check payable to Resource Renewal Institute, CalUWild’s fiscal sponsor.

Suggested levels

__ $20 Limited
__ $30 Regular
__ $60 Supporting
__ $120 Outstanding
__ Other ________

If paying by check, please include your address if it is not on the check, or print out and enclose a membership form. All checks should be mailed to:

CalUWild
P.O. Box 210474
San Francisco, CA 94121-0474

As always, if you ever have questions, suggestions, critiques, or wish to change your e-mail address or unsubscribe, all you have to do is send an email. For membership information, click here.

Please “Like” and “Follow” CalUWild on Facebook.

Posted in Newsletters | No Comments »

2025 January – February

February 19th, 2025

View from Cedar Mesa, Bears Ears NM, Utah                                                                                                    (Mike Painter)

 
February 13, 2025

Dear CalUWild Friends & Supporters —

FYI: This is a long, dense Update that covers a lot of important ground.

We’ve been busy since the last Update went out, and a lot has happened in that time. The California election dragged out, and in fact, the District 13 House race was the last in the nation to be decided, with Adam Gray (D) winning by a margin of 182 votes. The end of November and beginning of December were spent organizing for a public meeting with the Forest Service in Weed, California, supporting the proposed Sáttítla National Monument, northeast of Mt. Shasta. The meeting was a huge success, with support for the proposal coming almost unanimously from the 100-plus people who spoke.

However, this meant that our Annual Membership Appeal got off to a late start. A big Thank You to everyone who has responded so generously. And if you haven’t yet made a contribution, it would be greatly appreciated if you still considered one. Information is at the bottom of this Update.

Beginning in January, activity began in Washington, DC, as the 119th Congress came in, and there were numerous Zoom meetings with our various partners looking at the landscape we are facing with the new administration. One thing that has emerged is that everyone is energized and committed to working together to protect our public lands.

On January 9, President Biden announced his intention to designate Sáttítla Highlands and Chuckwalla national monuments in California. He planned to sign the proclamations at an event in the Coachella Valley, but high winds cancelled the event, the morning of the day that the disastrous fires broke out in Los Angeles. He signed the proclamations at the White House the following week, links to which you can find in ITEM 6, below.

The next week saw the new administration sworn in, and officials have wasted no time or effort to try reverse many of the gains made over many years, both by executive order and by nominations to various positions in the administration. It’s hard to keep track of all of the threats, nor will it be possible to respond to every single one that arises. And unfortunately, it’s not just public lands that are under threat, so we encourage you to keep informed about other issues as well, to the best of your capacity.

The good news is that Americans overwhelmingly support the protection of public lands, even in states like Utah, where the politicians are downright hostile. Working together we can still have an impact.

There is more going on than can comfortable fit in one Update, so there may be interesting topics missing, but I’ve done my best to include the most important things, without it being completely overwhelming.

 
Thank you for your support,
Mike Painter, Coordinator

 
IN GENERAL
1.   The State of Things
          A.   The White House
          B.   The Department of the Interior
          C.   Congress
          (ACTION ITEM)
2.   Fee-Free Days on Public Lands in 2025

IN GENERAL
1.   The State of Things
          (ACTION ITEM)

If you’ve been following the news at all, you know that a state of complete chaos exists in Washington right now. That has made it difficult to provide reliable information that is current. But here is some of what we know.

          A.   The White House

The White House is pushing to get its Cabinet nominees through the Senate confirmation process as quickly as possible, and there has been little effective opposition to any of them. It seemed as though opposition might be growing, but it was short-lived.

The president has fired the inspectors general in multiple agencies, including the Dept. of the Interior and the Dept. of Agriculture (which oversees the U.S. Forest Service), ignoring the 30-day notice to Congress required under law. The so-called Department of Government Efficiency, headed up by Elon Musk, is gaining unprecedented access to government information and proposing drastic cuts across the board to the number of federal employees, either by termination or reclassification—likely followed by firing and replacement by political appointees. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility has filed suit against the reclassification scheme, and other lawsuits have been filed as well.

Mr. Musk has proposed a buyout of questionable legality to federal employees. So far, several restraining orders have been issued in some of those cases. The vice president has stated publicly that courts shouldn’t be ruling on Executive Branch actions. The White House claims that 75,000 employees (approximately 3% of the workforce) have accepted the offer.

Finally, today the president signed orders requiring agency heads to terminate all probationary employees, numbering as many as 200,000.

It is certain that these combined actions will affect our public lands agencies.

          B.   The Department of the Interior

The Senate confirmed North Dakota’s former governor Doug Burgum as Secretary of the Interior by a vote of 79–18. Both of California’s senators, Alex Padilla (D) and Adam Schiff (D), voted against his nomination. Secty. Burgum is a proponent of oil & gas development and mining on public lands, and has said that natural resources are part of America’s “balance sheet,” requiring “a return for the American people.” North Dakota Indian Tribes were quoted as considering him an ally. Ironically, North Dakota filed multiple lawsuits against the Interior Department while he was governor.

Among his first actions was to issue a secretarial order ordering that various agencies in the department prepare, within 15 days, action plans to review many policies and designations from the Biden Administration and further back, including BLM’s Public Lands Rule that was finalized last year. (The list is extremely comprehensive but too long to recite here, so please read the order if you’d like more details.)

Not all the language was transparent, however, and one clause instructs that action plans include “the steps to be taken that would accomplish, at a minimum … actions to review and, as appropriate, revise all withdrawn public lands, consistent with existing law, including 54 U.S.C. 320301 and 43 U.S.C. 1714.” The two Code sections refer to the Antiquities Act, allowing presidents to designate national monuments, and to mineral withdrawals, respectively. This raises legitimate concerns that they are planning boundary adjustments or even rescinding some designations (which would not be surprising, given the first-term shrinkage of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments).

Some people had initially thought Secty. Burgum would be somewhat moderate, but he is implementing the White House anti-environment program “full-steam ahead.” Here are two articles concerning the Secretary:

In other news announced yesterday, Kathleen Sgamma has been nominated to be Director of the Bureau of Land Management. From the perspective of the extractive industries, there could hardly be a better pick. Ms. Sgamma has been the president of the Western Energy Alliance since 2006, a trade organization promoting increased oil and gas production in the United States.

California Rep. Jared Huffman (D-2), the Ranking Member (the title given the top Minority party member) of the House Natural Resources Committee had this to say:

          C.   Congress

2025 kicks off the 119th Congress. Republicans have the majority in both the House of Representatives (currently 218-215, with 2 seats vacant) and Senate (53-45-2, where two Independents caucus with the Democrats). The House margin is the slimmest in history.

Both of California’s Senators, Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, are Democrats. Sen. Padilla retained his seat on the Energy & Natural Resources Committee and serves on the Environment & Public Works and Judiciary committees as well. Sen. Schiff is a member of the Environment & Public Works Committee; the Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry Committee; and the Judiciary Committee.

California’s House delegation continues to be the largest, with Democrats having an overwhelming majority, 43-9. Some GOP members may occasionally be allies in protecting against public land rollbacks.

California Rep. Jared Huffman (D-2) was chosen as the Ranking Member (the top Minority party member) of the House Natural Resources Committee. He had challenged Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), the former chairman of the committee and with seniority, for the position, saying that Mr. Grijalva had missed too many hearings due to health problems. Mr. Grijalva eventually withdrew his candidacy but retained his seat on the committee, as “Ranking Member Emeritus”.

Congress has already had a couple of public lands bills introduced. H.R.521 would repeal the Antiquities Act by reserving the right to designate national monuments to Congress alone. Introduced by Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy (R) (a niece-by-marriage of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy), it has 13 cosponsors, all Republican, including two from California, Doug LaMalfa (CA-1) and Vince Fong (CA-20), who replaced Kevin McCarthy, who resigned last year. In the Senate, Utah’s Mike Lee (R) has introduced S.220 which also reserves the right to establish national monuments to Congress alone. It has one cosponsor, Sen. John Curtis (R), also from Utah.

 
ACTION:   It is critical that all concerned citizens contact their House Members and Senators and tell them to be strong supporters of public lands and the environment and to oppose the administration’s potential rollbacks. In addition, it is critical to let them know your thoughts on the administration’s reorganization of the Executive Branch agencies and its dismissal of employees and nominations to positions.

CalUWild’s website contains a full listing of California Senate and House office phone numbers in Washington, DC.

If you want to go an extra step, schedule a meeting at their district offices and talk with a staffer in-person. The House will not be in session Feb. 14–21, and members should be in their home districts, so be on the lookout for events, such as town halls, where the member might appear.

Finally, consider getting involved with a group such as Indivisible, which is one of the leaders in keeping citizens informed about threats to our democratic system.

 
2.   Fee-Free Days on Public Lands in 2025

The National Park Service and other management agencies waive entrance fees on special days, such as include national holidays or area-specific ones. Special fees still apply. For the Park Service, the days are:

The other agencies have calendars as well, with some slight variations. A full list can be found here.

 
IN UTAH
3.   Red Rocks Bill to Be Re-Introduced
          Cosponsors Needed
          (ACTION ITEM)

America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act has been CalUWild’s main legislative priority since Day 1. It will be reintroduced again in the 119th Congress, most likely sometime in March. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) will again be the lead sponsor in the House, while Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) will lead in the Senate. I will be joining members of the Utah Wilderness Coalition in Washington, DC, the first week of March to discuss the bill with various California congressional offices.

Please support our efforts by contacting your representative and senators, asking them to become original cosponsors of the bills (listed as such when the bill is introduced, which shows a stronger level of support). They should contact the offices of Rep. Stansbury and Sen. Durbin to sign on.

CalUWild’s website contains a full listing of California Senators and Representatives, their previous cosponsorship, if applicable, and their Washington, DC office phone numbers.

 
4.   Lawsuit Seeking Control of Utah Public Lands
          Dismissed by U.S. Supreme Court

We reported in our September 2024 Update that the State of Utah had tried to sue directly in the U.S. Supreme Court, seeking a ruling that the federal government continued to manage too much land in the state after all these years of statehood. (This was done despite the fact that Utah’s own constitution disclaimed any future interest in those lands.)

Most legal experts expected the suit to be unfounded, and the Supreme Court agreed, dismissing the state’s motion, without comment. The dismissal leaves the state the option to file a suit in Federal District Court, which might then work its way up to the Supreme Court again. However, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance has filed suit in Utah State Court, asking that the governor and attorney general be barred from pursuing any further litigation.

If you are interested in reading about the issue in more detail, here are links to several articles and an op-ed:

 
IN CALIFORNIA
5.   Pt. Reyes National Seashore
          Ranch Buyout Announced

Ending years of controversy, much of which we’ve covered here, the National Park Service (NPS) announced an agreement last month to buy out the leases of most of the remaining dairy and beef ranches in Pt. Reyes National Seashore.

The agreement was the final result of two lawsuits filed against NPS by the Resource Renewal Institute (CalUWild’s fiscal sponsor, though we played no part in the suit or negotiations), the Western Watersheds Project, and the Center for Biological Diversity. The groups initially sued over plans to issue 20-year leases to the ranches in the Seashore. NPS then redid its management plan, with the final decision allowing ranchers to actually expand their operations, despite an overwhelming majority of public comments in favor of removing the ranches.

The organizations sued again, and this time, settlement negotiations began, which The Nature Conservancy (TNC) took part in, with the voluntary agreement being the result. Twelve ranches will vacate the Seashore by Spring 2026. TNC will provide the funding, to be raised from private donors, to buy out their leases, as well as help with resettlement of displaced tenants and their employees. Two ranches opted out of the discussions and will remain; NPS will work to negotiate long-term leases with them.

NPS, TNC, and the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (Coast Miwok and Southern Pomo people, descendants of the original inhabitants) will cooperate in the management and restoration of the landscape.

Unrelated to the agreement itself, NPS announced in December a decision to remove the sturdy fence at the northern end of the Seashore, separating one of the Tule elk herds from the ranches and the rest of the Seashore. The fence was controversial because it cut the elk off from water sources, leading to substantial die-off during drought years.

Bay Nature published a comprehensive article following the announcement: A Legal Settlement Will Usher In a Wilder Point Reyes

 
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 for a limited time. As always, inclusion of an item in this section does not imply agreement with the viewpoint expressed.

California

Arizona

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:

A tax-deductible contribution may be made by check payable to Resource Renewal Institute, CalUWild’s fiscal sponsor.

Suggested levels

__ $20 Limited
__ $30 Regular
__ $60 Supporting
__ $120 Outstanding
__ Other ________

If paying by check, please include your address if it is not on the check, or print out and enclose a membership form. All checks should be mailed to:

CalUWild
P.O. Box 210474
San Francisco, CA 94121-0474

As always, if you ever have questions, suggestions, critiques, or wish to change your e-mail address or unsubscribe, all you have to do is send an email. For membership information, click here.

Please “Like” and “Follow” CalUWild on Facebook.

Posted in Newsletters | No Comments »

2024 November – Thanksgiving

December 17th, 2024

Sandstone, Bears Ears National Monument, Utah                                                                                        (Mike Painter)

 
November 27, 2024

Dear CalUWild Friends & Supporters—

I decided to wait with this month’s Update until the dust from the election had settled a bit, so as not to add to an overwhelming number of post-election emails and announcements. I don’t have much to add to most of what’s been said. The good news is that there is tremendous popular support for land conservation in this country. The key will be to mobilize it. So we will take things one day at a time and continue to provide you with the information and tools needed to protect our wild areas, public lands, and other important values in the years ahead. We’ll discuss the outlook for the next administration in more detail next month.

It is getting time for CalUWild’s Annual Membership Appeal, so please consider supporting the organization as the year ends. Notices will be going out by U.S. Mail and email, so please be on the lookout (but not for “Giving Tuesday”). If you’ve received a printed notice in the past and would prefer receiving one by email, please send me an email. And if you’d like to get a head start on a contribution, complete information is at the bottom of this Update. Thanks for your consideration!

This Thanksgiving, despite the challenges ahead, let’s not forget that we still have a lot to be thankful for. Thank you for supporting CalUWild and our public lands on this, our 27th Anniversary.

 
Best wishes,
Mike Painter, Coordinator

 
IN CALIFORNIA & NEVADA
1.   National Monument Campaigns Continue
          Contact the White House
          (ACTION ITEM)

IN CALIFORNIA & NEVADA
1.   National Monument Campaigns Continue
          Contact the White House
          (ACTION ITEM)

President Biden issued a proclamation designating November as Native American Heritage Month, highlighting the importance his administration has placed on Tribal issues. He has hosted a Tribal Summit at the White House annually, with the next one taking place on December 9 and has designated several national monuments protecting significant Tribal lands—in addition to restoring Bears Ears National Monument.
There is still time in this administration to designate more monuments (and in fact, presidents often create several at the end of their terms). We’re still hoping for three here in California (and possibly one in Nevada).

Please contact the White House via the online webform (preferred)

or by phone: 202-456-1111

and voice support for the designation of Sáttítla, Chuckwalla, and Kw’tsán in California, and Bahsahwahbee in Nevada.

There has been some recent press on some of the proposals:

Thank you!

 
IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
2.   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 for a limited time. As always, inclusion of an item in this section does not imply agreement with the viewpoint expressed.

In Utah

In California

In Alaska

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:

A tax-deductible contribution may be made by check payable to Resource Renewal Institute, CalUWild’s fiscal sponsor.

Suggested levels

__ $20 Limited
__ $30 Regular
__ $60 Supporting
__ $120 Outstanding
__ Other ________

If paying by check, please include your address if it is not on the check, or print out and enclose a membership form. All checks should be mailed to:

CalUWild
P.O. Box 210474
San Francisco, CA 94121-0474

As always, if you ever have questions, suggestions, critiques, or wish to change your e-mail address or unsubscribe, all you have to do is send an email. For membership information, click here.

Please “Like” and “Follow” CalUWild on Facebook.

Posted in Newsletters | No Comments »

2024 April – May

May 8th, 2024

Snow Mountain from Molok Luyuk,                                                                                                                      (Mike Painter)
  Berryessa Snow Mountain NM, California

 
May 8, 2024

Dear CalUWild Friends & Supporters—

Good news! We’re making progress on our national monument campaigns in California: Pres Biden signed proclamations expanding both Berryessa Snow Mountain and San Gabriel Mountains National Monuments last week (ITEM 3). We also have talking points for the Bear Ears National Monument comment period to share this month (ITEM 2), and there’s another California cosponsor of America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act (ITEM 1).

As you’ll see in ITEM 4, the Biden Administration has been busy on the public lands front, making up for Congress’s lack of action. We’ve listed many short items there, which you can read about further at your leisure.

Thank you for all your interest and support!

 
Best wishes,
Mike Painter, Coordinator

 
IN UTAH
1   Red Rocks Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)
2   Bears Ears National Monument
Draft Management Plan
          Comment Period Open
          COMMENTS NEEDED
          DEADLINE: June 11
          (ACTION ITEM)

IN UTAH
1.   Red Rock Bill Cosponsor Update
          (ACTION ITEM)

The list of California cosponsors of America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act grew last month. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-2), whose district stretches from the Golden Gate Bridge to the Oregon border, signed on, bringing the number of California cosponsors to 22.

Please thank Rep. Huffman. I’m sure an extra show of appreciation, such as a postcard mailed to his DC office, would be extra show of appreciation, such as a postcard mailed to his DC office, would be appreciated:

You can also call his office at 202-225-5161 or send a message by following the link on his contact page.

CalUWild’s website contains a full listing of California Senate and House cosponsorships and Washington, DC office phone numbers. If your representative is not a cosponsor, please call his or her office and ask them to join the growing number of cosponsors, both from California and nationally.

There are currently 94 cosponsors in the House and 22 in the Senate. For a full list of cosponsors nationwide, click here.

 
2.   Bears Ears National Monument
          Draft Management Plan
          Comment Period Open
          COMMENTS NEEDED
          DEADLINE: June 11
          (ACTION ITEM)

As we mentioned in our March Update, the BLM and Forest Service have released the Draft Management Plan for Bears Ears National Monument in southeast Utah. Here again are links to the planning documents, if you are interested in reading them in detail:

The two agencies have selected Alternative E as the preferred alternative, with the full support and cooperation of the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition. The alternative is the one that most thoroughly incorporates Traditional Indigenous Knowledge in management decision-making. The Inter-Tribal Coalition believes it is a good compromise between environmental protection and human use, since the Bears Ears Monument is a traditional cultural landscape.

Your comments are needed to support the adoption of Alt. E in the Final Plan. The Inter-Tribal Coalition suggests the following talking points:

As always, use your own words, beginning your comments by explaining why Bears Ears is important to you. Include if you’ve visited and what your experiences were—or if you haven’t and still hope to. Be as specific as possible.

You may submit your comments through the “Participate Now” function on the BLM National NEPA Register or mail them to:

High Country News published an article looking at some of the plan’s background: As national monuments multiply, Bears Ears forges forward

 
IN CALIFORNIA
3   Pres. Biden Expands Berryessa Snow Mountain
          And San Gabriel Mountains National Monuments
          (ACTION ITEM)

Last Thursday, Pres. Biden signed two proclamations expanding Berryessa Snow Mountain and San Gabriel Mountains National Monuments. The ceremony at the White House capped lengthy campaigns by conservation organizations, Indigenous Tribes, and politicians to expand both monuments. Berryessa Snow Mountain was originally designated by Barack Obama in 2015 and San Gabriel Mountains in the previous year.

CalUWild supported both campaigns and was very active in the Berryessa Snow Mountain coalition. That expansion adds almost 14,000 acres to the eastern edge of the monument and renames Walker Ridge as Molok Luyuk, “Condor Ridge” in the local Patwin language.

The area is rich with Indigenous significance, both sacred and as a crossroad of trading routes for many California tribes. Its complex tectonic geology and accompanying serpentine soils make it home to many rare and specialized plants, with spectacular wildflower displays in the spring. It is also home to many wildlife species. Finally, the landscape itself is spectacular, with vistas stretching from Mt. Shasta in the north to Mt. Diablo and Mt. Tamalpais in the south, the Sierra Nevada to the east, and the Inner Coast Range to the west.

The San Gabriel Mountains National Monument expansion adds 109,000 acres to its western edge. The area of the expansion is one of the most heavily-visited areas of the Angeles National Forest and is also the headwaters for the Los Angeles River, an important source of drinking water for LA.

Here is the White House statement on the expansion of both monuments.

And here are the individual proclamations:

Please thank Pres. Biden for expanding Berryessa Snow Mountain and San Gabriel Mountains national monuments and at the same time urge him to continue designating monuments during his administration, particularly the proposed Chuckwalla, Sáttítla, and Kw’tsán National Monuments here in California.

You can comment via the White House webform here. The phone number for the White House comment line is 202-456-1111.

Press articles regarding national monuments designations and proposals:

 
IN GENERAL
4   Biden Administration Decisions Protecting
          Federal Public Lands

Late March and April saw the Biden Administration announce multiple rules and other initiatives to protect public lands across the country. Some of the rules are already under threat from Congress, which can negate a rule or regulation via the Congressional Review Act, within 60 days of it becoming final, though any such resolution is also subject to a presidential veto. There are too many to discuss any in detail, but links are provided, if you’re interested in more information about any of them.

Public Lands Rule
In mid-April, the BLM released its final Public Lands Rule (formally: the Conservation and Landscape Health Rule). The Rule clarifies that conservation is a use on an equal level with resource extraction under the Federal Lands Policy & Management Act. It also sets out procedures for designating new Areas of Critical Environmental Concern, among other things. BLM’s press release is here.

The House recently passed a bill by Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) to overturn the rule. It’s not clear that the Senate will go along, and we would expect Pres. Biden to veto it.

Oil and Gas Rule
BLM, which is responsible for oil & gas and mineral leasing on public lands, released its final Oil & Gas Rule (formally: the Fluid Mineral Leases and Leasing Process Rule). The Rule increases the bond companies must pay from $10,000 to $150,000, gives preference to leasing in areas close to existing infrastructure and away from wildlife areas and cultural sites. BLM’s press release is here.

Renewable Energy Rule
BLM released its final Renewable Energy Rule, which reduces some fees and facilitates development in priority areas and streamlines application reviews. BLM’s press release is here.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has threatened to invoke the Congressional Review Act to overturn the rule.

Mineral Withdrawal in Colorado’s Thompson Divide
Following up on Pres. Biden’s designation of the Camp Hale – Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado in 2022, the Department of the Interior announced the withdrawal of more than 200,000 acres of National Forest and BLM lands from mineral exploration for the next 20 years. (Only Congress can authorize a permanent mineral withdrawal.) The Department’s press release is here.

National Petroleum Reserve and Ambler Road in Alaska
BLM released a rule codifying protection of the existing Special Areas of the National Petroleum Reserve in northern Alaska, limiting future energy development there while allowing for subsistence uses by Alaska Native communities. At the same time, it released a Final Environmental Impact Statement on a proposed 200-mile road which would have cut through Gates of the Arctic National Preserve, to the Ambler Mining Distract. There are currently no active mines or proposals for mines there. BLM’s press release covering both decisions is here.

Army Corps Denies Pebble Mine Permit in Alaska
Another ongoing saga in Alaska has been the proposed Pebble Mine at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, one of the largest salmon fisheries in the state. This article from Alaska Public Media: Army Corps of Engineers affirms denial of permit for Pebble Mine contains a link to the actual decision.

 
IN THE PRESS & ELSEWHERE
5   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 for a limited time. As always, inclusion of an item in this section does not imply agreement with the viewpoint expressed.

In California

In General

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