Department of Interior
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Mojave Trails National Monument would protect 941,000 acres of public land. 314,000 acres of existing ORV areas would also be protected- The article says environmentalists, hunters, and off-roaders support the legislation. Part of these areas had been targeted for big solar power developments. The total list is: Mojave Trails NM, 941,000 acres; Sand to Snow…
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Salazar condemns oil industry lies about leasing on public lands- Well good for the Secretary of Interior! I don’t watch much television, but when I do, I’m amazed at the number of ads energy companies are producing. I’d bet 90% of the population believes that “BP” stands for beyond petroleum, not the company’s actual name…
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Fake bidder for oil and gas leases to stop last Administration’s leasing near Utah national parks loses his bid to rest his trial on global warming- It looks like Tim DeChristopher will pay heavily for his civil disobedience. Republican prosecutors were not amused, and the judge will not allow a defense based on necessity to…
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New rules governing use of vehicles on BLM land will now go into effect- I’m not familiar with the details of vehicle use in this area, but it sounds like all sides appealed, although probably more on the off-roaders side. Travel plans, once relatively non-controversial documents, have become major public land controversies almost everywhere in…
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Record Number of visits to Yellowstone Park in 2009- This has been in the news the last couple days. Rocky Barker blogged today about it, tying it to the recent popular PBS television film, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.” Here is Barker’s blog in the Idaho Statesman. Americans flock to nation’s “best idea.” My…
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Western Watersheds Project Wins Summary Judgment on the 100,000 acre Byner Complex Allotments. BLM- This no “family ranch” but a spin-off of Freeport-McMoRan mining. Here is the WWP’s news release on the victory for the American people ♦Western Watersheds Project’s Arizona Office has been granted Summary Judgment byAdministrative Law Judge Harvey C. Sweitzer in a…
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Domestic sheep will not return to allotment in bighorn sheep habitat. The Partridge Creek allotment in the Salmon River Canyon near Riggins is closed to domestic sheep grazing after Western Watersheds Project, The Wilderness Society, and Hells Canyon Preservation Council filed suit in Federal Court. This is a huge victory for bighorn sheep which have…
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The focus has been on the bighorn sheep versus domestic sheep case, but Greta Anderson of the WWP’s Arizona office won an case before an administratrive law judge today — Western Watersheds Project v. Bureau of Land Management and intervener Byner Cattle Corporation. Here is the order. Byner Complex Order October 2009