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The Hub 2/27/2026: Clean Air Council’s Weekly Round-up of Transportation News
“The Hub” is a weekly round-up of transportation related news in the Philadelphia area and beyond. Check back weekly to keep up-to-date on the issues Clean Air Council’s transportation staff finds important.
Save the SEPTA Zero Fare Program! Check out Transit Forward Philadelphia’s Week of Action to join the fight for this program.
Image Source: The InquirerThe Inquirer: Chinatown Stitch, which would cap the Vine Street Expressway, is in limbo after Trump yanked funds. Can it be saved? – $159 million in federal grant money has been rescinded in an unprecedented situation. Federal legislation has taken back $3.2 billion that had been awarded but not yet fully spent, leaving 55 projects across the nation confused about how to proceed. In Philadelphia, Chinatown Stitch would reconnect the north and south sides of the neighborhood by physically capping Vine Street Expressway belowground. Now, despite the public popularity of the project, efforts have paused due to concerns about spending money from other revenue sources, without a guarantee of repayment for these community funds.
Image Source: The Inquirer6ABC: Public weighs in on future location of Philadelphia bus terminal – The Philadelphia City Planning Commission held an open house for public discussion this week, to hear feedback on where the new Greyhound bus terminal should be located. Three options were presented: 29th and Arch Streets near 30th Street Station, the 1500 block of Vine Street, and the 700 block of Arch Street. The Greyhound station on Filbert Street is scheduled to temporarily reopen in May. This would be for a permanent installation. The public can give further feedback in a survey found here.
Image Source: PennDOTFox29: Route 202 detour started Thursday, Feb. 26 in King of Prussia for sinkhole repairs – Route 202 southbound traffic was diverted, starting Thursday of this week. PennDOT addressed sinkholes and to prevent future road problems for the highway in King of Prussia. The section of southbound Route 202 being worked on is also known as Dekalb Pike, between Prince Frederick Boulevard and Henderson Road. PennDOT hasn’t provided a specific end date for the detour, but expects the repairs to fully resolve sinkhole issues in the area.
Other StoriesPhillyVoice: Philly still needs to clear many roads of snow, but SEPTA and NJ Transit have restored most service
State Smart Transportation Initiative: States DOTs can lead in cutting emissions
WHYY: Work resumes on the Hudson River rail tunnel project, but NJ Transit delays continue
MassLive: Boston extends fare-free bus program after ridership jumps on key routes
SafeStreets: 2026 Safe Streets and Roads for All: Project Brainstorming Workshop
The Inquirer: Philly has lots of trails. For the first time, it is hiring a full-time crew to maintain them.
SEPTA: Additional Regional Rail Service for the 2026 Philadelphia Flower Show
Planners accused of “misleading” report on Burniston fracking gas plan
Council officials have been accused of giving misleading advice on controversial plans for gas drilling and lower-volume fracking at Burniston, near Scarborough.
Photo: DrillOrDropIn January 2026, North Yorkshire planners recommended approval of the scheme in a report to councillors, who were due to make the decision a week later.
But a local campaign group, Frack Free Coastal Communities (FFCC), has said the planners’ report contained errors that could mislead councillors.
It also said failures in the handling of the application would make it difficult for the councillors to make a “properly-informed” decision.
FFCC accused officials of failing to:
- Respond to relevant communications
- Engage with technical and scientific analysis in expert representations
- Seek clarification from Europa when errors in the application were pointed out during the consultation
- Upload relevant documents and correspondence to the planning register
FFCC said officials ignored significant requirements of the council’s own minerals policy and gave “inappropriate advice” to Europa not to respond to representations from the public. The group also criticised “problems with the functionality of the online planning register”.
Yesterday, in a letter to North Yorkshire’s chief executive, FFCC said:
“These shortcomings in the handling of the planning application and consultation have resulted in a report to the Strategic Planning Committee, which is misleading and contains internal contradictions which, in our view, would make it difficult for elected members to make a properly informed determination.”
The letter’s author, Chris Garforth, chair of FFCC’s steering group, said:
“We engaged with the consultation process in good faith. We were assured by the planners that all representations would be considered by the planning committee and that they, the planners, would seek responses from the applicant in respect of material matters drawn to their attention. We now see that has not been the case.”
He called on North Yorkshire Council to seek an external peer review of its handling of the Burniston application, saying this would:
“go a long way towards restoring public trust in the ability of NYC’s planning department to do a high quality professional job and properly to balance the various stakeholder interests involved in such applications.”
Earlier this month, Burniston Parish Council made a similar request to North Yorkshire Council. We asked North Yorkshire to comment to both requests. We will update this article with any response.
The meeting of the strategic planning committee, due on 30 January 2026, was postponed at the last minute after multiple requests for the government to decide the application.
Today, the local government secretary opposed calling in the decision and said the application by Europa Oil & Gas should be determined by North Yorkshire Council.
Details FFCC letter to North Yorkshire Council chief executive DownloadThe letter from Frack Free Coastal Communities highlighted what it regarded as eight problems with the application process and the planners’ report:
Planning register: At the start of the consultation, the group said many people reported problems uploading their comments to the council’s online planning register. Professor Garforth said:
“There is no record of how many representations were lost because people gave up after their initial attempts. Problems with submitting documents persisted for several months.”
Application problems: Professor Garforth said planners failed to seek clarification with Europa about what he said were “serious errors and inconsistencies” in the application. These included descriptions of phases of work and the site and a failure of Europa to identify a great crested newt population near the site.
Minerals policies ignored: FFCC said the planners’ report ignored policy requirements for applications involving hydraulic fracturing for a health impact assessment and “compelling evidence” on acceptable management and mitigation of seismicity.
Professor Garforth also said:
“We note (from documents released following a FOI request by Burniston Parish Council) that planning conditions proposed by statutory consultees to minimise impact on nearby residents have been watered down or removed at the request of the applicant [Europa Oil & Gas].”
Advice not to respond to the public: Professor Garforth said an email from North Yorkshire Council planners on 10 June 2025 to Europa’s agent advised against replying to individual objections as this might set a precedent. Another email said planners’ “default position” was not to send representations to Europa for comment.
Technical and scientific representations: Planners did not send detailed comments from people with relevant scientific and professional expertise to Europa, Professor Garforth said. Nor were these comments addressed in the planners’ report. Professor Garforth added:
“This seems to render the public consultation process little more than a box ticking exercise”.
Errors in report: Professor Garforth said mistakes in the planners’ report had “the potential materially to mislead committee members”. These included describing the application as “exploration”, even though Europa had made it clear it was for “appraisal”, he said.
Failure to communicate: FFCC received no response from the Principal Planning Officer to its correspondence in November 2025 about what advice had been sought from an industry regulator on seismic risk.
Missing documents and correspondence: The council initially failed to publish key documents, including Europa’s response to questions from the North York Moors National Park Authority and a final revision of the Preliminary Ecological Appraisal. They came to light only following the council’s response to a freedom of information request and were later published, in one case more than six months later.
Council responseDrillOrDrop asked North Yorkshire Council to respond to the FFCC letter.
North Yorkshire Council’s corporate director for community development, Nic Harne, said:
“We received a letter from Frack Free Coastal Communities in which concerns were raised about how we handled the planning application that seeks permission to construct a temporary wellsite to assess the potential for natural gas at Burniston, near Scarborough.
“They have also requested an independent peer review of our work.
“We believe our approach has been correct and robust. However, we take all concerns raised with us seriously and will respond directly to them once we have worked through each of the points.”
‘Political bedrock’: 16th annual Conservation in the West poll confirms bipartisan support for conservation among Western voters
Western voters delivered a stern rebuke to the Trump administration when it comes to public lands this month, according to the annual Conservation in the West Poll from Colorado College.
The poll, which was released on February 18 by the Colorado College State of the Rockies Project, is in its 16th year of taking the temperature of Western voters on environmental and public lands issues. This year’s poll surveyed voters across the political spectrum in eight Western states (Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming) on public lands, water, and energy issues.
One year into the second Trump administration, voters overwhelmingly expressed widespread concern about rollbacks of protections for national public lands, with 84 percent of Western voters describing these rollbacks as a serious problem.
Upper Big Jacks Creek, BLM Idaho
When it comes to funding and staffing cuts at the agencies that steward our national public lands, 86 percent described funding cuts as a serious problem—including 75 percent of self-identified MAGA voters. Westerners are aware of, and concerned about, the specific impacts of these cuts. Significant majorities of voters are concerned about having fewer park rangers and other staff at national parks and other public lands (83 percent) and having fewer scientists caring for fish and wildlife on national public lands (82 percent). And 91 percent of voters are especially concerned about having fewer wildland firefighters and support staff working to both fight wildfires and reduce the risk of future wildfires.
Western voters also expressed negative views about other specific policies the Trump administration has enacted or is pursuing, such as removing Clean Water Act protections from smaller streams and wetlands (77 percent negative) or rolling back Endangered Species Act protections for at-risk animals and plants (70 percent negative).
Even with affordability remaining a major concern among Westerners (85 percent describe it as a very or extremely serious problem), Western voters still don’t want to see national public lands sold for housing development, a recurring proposal from the Trump administration and from lawmakers like U.S. Senator Mike Lee of Utah. Voters continue to reject this concept: 76 percent of voters opposed this idea, with 57 percent strongly opposed.
Gold Butte National Monument, BLM Nevada
Another pet proposal of the Trump administration, reducing or eliminating national monument designations, has only become more unpopular over time. Back in 2017, during the first Trump administration, 80 percent of Western voters wanted to see national monuments kept in place. In 2026, this percentage increased to 91 percent of Westerners who want to see national monuments kept in place—including 92 percent of Independent voters and 87 percent of Republicans. Among MAGA supporters, support for national monuments is similarly strong and has increased over just the past year, from 81 percent in 2025 to 87 percent in 2026 who want to see national monuments kept in place.
When it comes to energy development on national public lands, a record-high percentage of Western voters—76 percent across the West, and 62 percent even in Wyoming, a top energy-producing state—would prefer to emphasize protecting clean water, air quality, and wildlife habitat, and recreation opportunities over the Trump administration’s “energy dominance” agenda.
Again, voters are aware of specific policies and reject them across the board. Proposed or implemented policies that are unpopular with majorities of voters in every state surveyed include: fast-tracking oil, gas and mining projects by reducing environmental reviews and community input (70 percent oppose); overriding resource management plans developed with community input in order to increase oil, gas, and mining (75 percent oppose); and building industrial roads in undeveloped areas for oil, gas, mining, and timber projects (65 percent oppose).
Similarly, voters are not fooled by the administration’s stubborn efforts to force a return to reliance on coal and other fuels of the past. When asked to indicate their preferred energy source to encourage in their state, a mere seven percent of Western voters ranked coal as their first or second choice. Solar was the clear preferred choice, followed by wind. Overall, 73 percent of Western voters would rather expand renewable energy development than drill and mine for more oil, gas, and coal—a significant increase from 65 percent just three years ago.
Water supplies and water quality are perennial concerns for voters, especially in the Southwest. While states that rely on the Colorado River continue to argue over hypothetical water rights on paper, 83 percent of voters in those states want to see an agreement that requires all states to reduce their water usage to support the health of the river. These voters recognize the many factors straining Western water supplies, including population growth, aging water infrastructure, oil and gas development, mining, and data centers, with 80 percent or more of voters describing each of these as threats to water quality and supply across the West.
As the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel editorial board summarized, “Residents of the American West consistently repeat a message that a few stubborn members of Congress can’t seem to accept: They love the nation’s public lands—especially the ones that have been purposely conserved to protect cherished landscapes—and they want the federal government to provide the resources that public lands require to be well-managed into the future.”
Speaking of members of Congress, 76 percent of Western voters would prefer to see their member of Congress emphasize conservation and recreation over maximizing energy production on public lands—a record high percentage over the sixteen years of the poll. And 85 percent of Western voters say public lands, water, and wildlife issues are important in deciding whether to support a candidate for public office, an increase of ten percentage points from when the same question was asked ten years ago.
A rock glacier in Glacier National Park
“At a time of growing pressure on land and water in the West, the call to action from voters is clear and bipartisan: Westerners want funding and stewardship for public lands and natural resources,” Ian Johnson, Director of Strategic Initiatives & Sustainability at Colorado College, said in a statement.
As Axios Denver pointed out in its coverage of the poll, “Conservation isn’t a niche issue—it’s political bedrock in eight Southwest and Rocky Mountain states.” Given this, the Trump administration’s unrelenting pursuit of a public lands agenda that is the opposite of what overwhelming majorities of Western voters want to see is incomprehensible. Members of Congress who are looking to keep their jobs this November would do well to align themselves with their constituents by supporting conservation and funding for our national public lands.
The post ‘Political bedrock’: 16th annual Conservation in the West poll confirms bipartisan support for conservation among Western voters appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.
Breaking: Minister declines to decide Burniston gas plan
The local government secretary will not decide controversial plans for gas drilling and lower volume fracking at Burniston near Scarborough.
Burniston proposed gas drilling and lower-volume fracking site (in red) near Scarborough. Photo: Europa Oil & Gas environmental permit applicationIn a letter today, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said:
“The Secretary of State has decided not to call in this application. He is content that it should be determined by the local planning authority.”
260226 Burniston call-in decisionDownloadLocal campaigners have said they are disappointed at the minister’s letter (see Reaction below).
The original decision by North Yorkshire Council on the Europa Oil & Gas scheme, was postponed at the last minute in January 2026 after multiple local requests for the government to call-in the application. These included: Burniston Parish Council, the local MP Alison Hume, the campaign group Frack Free Coastal Communities and the Scarborough councillor, Rich Maw.
The government instructed North Yorkshire Council not to decide the application a day before its strategic planning committee was due to meet to consider the application.
Today’s letter withdrew that direction.
The letter said:
“The Secretary of State has carefully considered the policy on calling in planning applications, as set out in the Written Ministerial Statement dated 26 October 2012.
“The policy makes it clear that the power to call in a case will only be used very selectively. This policy also gives examples of the types of issues which may lead him to conclude, in his opinion that the application should be called in.”
More than 1,600 formal objections have been made to the Burniston application.
North Yorkshire planners had recommended the scheme should be approved with 38 conditions.
But since then, there have been calls for external scrutiny of the way the authority has handled the application.
There had also been calls for the decision to be delayed because of proposed changes to rules on onshore oil and gas.
The government has promised to ban fracking and wants to remove a requirement in the National Planning Policy Framework for decision-makers to “give great weight” to the benefits of onshore oil and gas extraction.
ReactionNorth Yorkshire Council’s assistant chief executive, legal and democratic services, Barry Khan, said:
“We have been notified by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government that he has decided not to call in the planning application that seeks permission to construct a temporary wellsite to assess the potential for natural gas at Burniston, near Scarborough.
“He is content that we, as the local planning authority, should determine the application.
“We are working to arrange a date for our strategic planning committee to review and determine the application, which we will announce in due course.”
Chris Garforth, of Frack Free Coastal Communities, said:
“We are disappointed that the Secretary of State has decided not to exercise his power to call in Europa’s planning application. Even more disappointed that the decision letter makes no reference at all to the various reasons put forward by many individuals and organisations in support of the request for it to be called in, including the national policy context around the decline in reliance on fossil fuels and the forthcoming legislation that will see at least some fracking banned for good.
“On the other hand, the forced postponement of North Yorkshire’s Strategic Planning Committee meeting from 30th January has given us – and hopefully committee members – time to reflect on the flaws in the way that North Yorkshire’s planners have handled the application – flaws which are evident in the report that the planners have put forward to the committee in support of their recommendation to approve.
“We will redouble our efforts to present our case to the committee that the report cannot be relied on as a basis for approval. To that end, we await with interest a response to letters to the CEO of North Yorkshire Council, from FFCC as well as others, suggesting that the handling of this planning application should be subject to an external professional review.
“Let’s see if North Yorkshire will now decide on a new date for the committee meeting. If so, we will be ready to dust off the placards made for the 30th January and give the committee no room for doubt about the level of feeling about Europa’s plans to drill and frack under our feet for gas that has no place in the future energy economy of the UK.”
Tony Bosworth, climate campaigner at Friends of the Earth, said:
“The government still has a key role to play in the fate of this planning application.
“Labour has promised to ban fracking – and this highly controversial and deeply unpopular proposal involves a low-level form of fracking called proppant squeeze.
“Ministers must ensure that proppant squeeze is included in its forthcoming ban, update national policy accordingly, and ensure communities like those in Burniston are not forced to accept damaging developments in their local area.
“Fracking blights our countryside, won’t cut UK energy bills and is deeply unpopular with local communities. This application should be rejected.”
Cllr Steve Mason, a Lib Dem member of North Yorkshire Council, said:
“Government has clearly missed the point, or is ignoring the communities. The call-in was requested due to the confusion and lack of clarity on the definition of fracking.
“First, the minister said there would be no review to close the loophole, then they said they would review the situation. Will they? Won’t they? This is simply passing the buck to North Yorkshire councillors and officers, trying to make planning policy work under misguided, narrow semantic legislation.
“We all know it’s fracking, so treat it as such. It’s banned; therefore, it should not be approved.”
Independent county councillor, Rich Maw, said he was disappointed by the minister’s decision;
“At a time when government says it will ban fracking and move away from fossil fuels, allowing new drilling under our feet sends entirely the wrong message.
“Burniston deserves a clean, sustainable future – not gas wells.
“I will continue to oppose this application and stand with residents who say – enough is enough.”
DrillOrDrop also asked Europa Oil & Gas to comment on today’s news but it declined to comment.
Pearce waffles on public land sell-off stance
Steve Pearce, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management, offered contradictory stances on public land sell-off during his confirmation hearing on Wednesday morning.
During the hearing, Pearce alternately stood by his past words endorsing the sell-off of public lands while also acknowledging the law currently doesn’t allow it. Pearce specifically said that if confirmed, he would not seek to sell off “large swaths” of public lands. But when Senator Ron Wyden asked Pearce about his history of advocating for public land sell-off, Pearce said, “I’m not so sure that I’ve changed.”
Because of his deep history attempting to dispose of public lands by selling them to the highest bidder, veterans, hunters, and environmentalists have come out against his nomination. Across the West, 76 percent of voters oppose selling national public lands to private companies for housing, and 74 percent oppose selling them for oil and gas development.
Also during the hearing, Pearce dodged questions about the Trump administration’s energy policy, including whether Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has the power to unilaterally block or slow all renewable energy projects on public land.
“Most people would prepare for a job interview beforehand,” said Center for Western Priorities Deputy Director Aaron Weiss. “His ‘I know nothing’ routine should be a red flag to every senator. Based solely on his feigned ignorance of energy policy, Steve Pearce is unqualified to lead the Bureau of Land Management.”
Quick hits Trump’s BLM nominee waffles on public land sell-off stanceHigh Country News / Public Domain | CPR News | New York Times | Source NM | Las Cruces Sun-News | E&E News | Deseret News
Column: Why Steve Pearce is such a concerning nominee to run BLM Interior department revokes environmental regulations established to protect public lands Wyoming files resolution for control over mineral leasing on national public land. But lawmakers want more Study aims to optimize how animals cross deadly I-80 Opinion: It’s called the Bureau of Land Management, not the Bureau of Land Disposal Trump strips endangered species protections for lesser prairie chicken, the dancing, booming grouse of the Southwest Here’s what you need to know about national park reservations in 2026 Quote of the dayIn all my decades of serving the state, I’ve never received such passionate and unified messages as I have on this particular topic. Idahoans do not want their public lands sold, period, full stop.”
—U.S. Senator James Risch, KUNC
Picture This @nationalparkservice“Call Mr. Plow, that’s my name—that name again is Mr. Plow!” – Homer Simpson
Call now for a free T-shirt! (There is no T-shirt.)
But did you know the real plow kings of winter aren’t always trucks or Mr. Plow. “When the snow starts a-fallin’, There’s a bison you should be callin.” With their huge muscular humps, massive heads, and powerful necks, they swing side to side like living snowplows, clearing deep drifts to reach buried grass below. (Fun fact: Elk dig with hooves—bison bulldoze with their heads!)
So next time you’re driving in snow country and spot a bison (or an actual snowplow) ahead, remember: give it room and stay back a safe distance. They have the right of way… and several thousand pounds of momentum.
Stay warm out there!
Images: Various bison moving snow @yellowstonenps.
(Featured image: Steve Pearce at his confirmation hearing on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. U.S. Senate)
The post Pearce waffles on public land sell-off stance appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.
Senator Lee formally begins process to fast-track the destruction of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah – 2.26.26
Threatens to bring chaos to a crown jewel of the nation’s public lands system and upend public lands protection as we know it
Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Keri Gilliland, Communications Manager, The Wilderness Society; (303) 386-2243; kgilliland@tws.org
Perry Wheeler, Earthjustice, (202) 792-6211, pwheeler@earthjustice.org
Tim Peterson, Cultural Landscapes Director, Grand Canyon Trust; (801) 550-9861; tpeterson@grandcanyontrust.org
Andrew Scibetta, NRDC, (202) 289-2421; ascibetta@nrdc.org
Kris Deutschman, Conservation Lands Foundation, 505-498-0212; kris@conservationlands.org
Washington, DC –Anti-public-lands crusader Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) has formally begun the process to fast-track the destruction of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah by adding the Government Accountability Office (GAO) opinion regarding the Monument’s Management Plan to the Congressional Record (see page 51). Under the Congressional Review Act (CRA), once a “resolution of disapproval” is introduced (anticipated to occur any day), both chambers of Congress can expedite their votes and pass the measures by simple majority votes. If that happens and the resolution is signed into law by the President, the Monument Management Plan – which sets expectations for how the land will be managed for wildlife, outdoor access, dark night skies, grazing, and other uses – will be undone and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be barred from issuing another plan that is “substantially the same” in the future.
In July 2025, Rep. Maloy (R-UT-02) requested an opinion from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) about whether Congress can overturn the current Monument Management Plan; on January 15, the GAO released an opinion that Congress can interfere this way and undo the plan. This represents a clear escalation of the use of the CRA to attack the nation’s wildest public lands and as the first CRA attack on a national monument, this action threatens to upend public land protection. Though this Congress is the first to use the CRA to overturn BLM resource management plans, using it to eliminate a national monument management plan goes much further: resource management plans cover lands that allow many different uses, but national monuments were designated to elevate conservation over extraction.
Beloved by Utahns and Americans, the Monument was established in 1996 to protect the incredible geological, ecological, cultural, and paleontological resources within its 1.9 million-acre boundaries in southern Utah. A crown jewel of the nation’s public lands system, it was the first monument managed by the BLM and was the first unit in the agency’s now-robust and expansive “National Conservation Lands” program.
President Trump illegally shrank the Monument in 2017 and it has been reported that he is again considering eliminating protections for Grand Staircase-Escalante. Conservation groups and members of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument Inter-Tribal Coalition began sounding the alarm about this potential threat on January 22, 2026. Below are quotes and additional information.
“The Utah Delegation’s attack on the Grand Staircase-Escalante is a call to action for Americans from across the nation,” said Steve Bloch, Legal Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance. “This wild landscape is quintessential southern Utah redrock country with its stunning geology, irreplaceable cultural resources, unique fossils, and wide-open spaces. All of that is at risk if this attack succeeds and the monument management plan is undone. We intend to move heaven and earth to stop that from happening.”
“The fate of our public lands, including our precious national monuments, should not be left to a handful of politicians who want to turn them over to industry,” said Tom Delehanty, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “While this may be the first CRA attack on a national monument, it will not be the last if members of Congress on both sides of the aisle don’t stand up to oppose it. Senator Lee’s use of this arcane law would allow it to throw out years of planning by local officials, Tribes, and communities, setting a dangerous precedent on public land protection. Anyone who values our public lands and national monuments should take note.”
“The Utah delegation knows that our national monuments are well-loved by Americans and protecting them is overwhelmingly popular among Utahns regardless of party affiliation,” said Tim Peterson, Cultural Landscapes Director at the Grand Canyon Trust. “The public would not stand for legislation that gets rid of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument outright, so they’re trying to eliminate the commonsense management plan that affords day-to-day protections to the monument. We can’t let that happen.”
“An attack on Grand Staircase-Escalante is an attack on our freedom to enjoy this special place today and generations from now,” said Ronni Flannery, senior staff attorney at The Wilderness Society. “This move disregards years of hard work and broad support, and, instead, attempts to hand our public lands over to the highest paying polluters. A vote to pass this bill is a vote against the people to erode a crown jewel of the American West.”
“Using the Congressional Review Act to unravel Grand Staircase-Escalante’s management plan is an assault on a national treasure,” said Bobby McEnaney, Director of Land Conservation, NRDC. “It would wipe out years of science and public input and lay the groundwork to make additional attacks on Grand Staircase easier. Americans overwhelmingly support this monument. Congress must reject this reckless effort and honor its commitment to Tribes, local communities, and future generations.”
“No one ought to mistake this effort as isolated–it’s part of a concerted effort to destroy the Bureau of Land Management’s ability to manage public lands, so that privatizing or industrializing them are the only viable options,” said Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation. “Going after BLM’s first national monument sends the signal that the rest of the 30 monuments and all of the National Conservation Lands that BLM oversees are in the crosshairs, and we know from experience that the public will fight like never before to keep these places protected.”
Additional quotes can be found here.
About Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument & the Monument Management Plan
Since its establishment, heightened protections for the Monument’s geology, paleontology, wildlife, plant communities, and ancestral sites have succeeded in preserving these unique values for generations to come, and local communities on the Monument’s doorstep have benefited as well. Nearly 30 years later, the numerous benefits of protecting Grand Staircase-Escalante are clear: the Monument preserves a remarkable ecosystem at the landscape level and sets the stage for future discovery about human, paleontological, and geological history on the Colorado Plateau.
On December 4, 2017, President Trump ignored millions of public comments and unlawfully eliminated large swaths of the Monument, slashing it by 47 percent – roughly 900,000 acres. Thankfully, on October 8, 2021, President Biden signed a proclamation restoring Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to its full, original boundaries. In 2023, BLM began developing a new management plan for the full Monument. As a part of that work, the BLM engaged in extensive outreach to Tribal Nations, the State of Utah, local governments, stakeholders (including outfitters and guides, ranchers, local utilities), and the public. During the planning process, BLM received overwhelming support from throughout Utah and the nation for a holistic, conservation-based management plan worthy of this remarkable place.
In August 2023, a Federal District Court Judge in Utah dismissed lawsuits brought by the state of Utah and others challenging President Biden’s use of the Antiquities Act to restore the boundaries of Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments. The state and other plaintiffs quickly appealed that decision to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, which held oral argument on September 26, 2024, and may issue a decision at any time. Conservation organizations intervened on behalf of the United States to defend President Biden’s restoration of the Monuments, as have four Tribal nations.
National monuments are overwhelmingly popular. Seventy-five percent of Utah voters support the President’s ability to protect public lands as national monuments. Three in four Utah voters, including a majority of Republicans, want to keep Grand Staircase-Escalante as a national monument.
About the Congressional Review Act (CRA)
The CRA is a federal statute enacted in March 1996 that requires federal agencies to submit “rules” to Congress for a mandatory review period “before they may take effect.” If Congress votes to overturn, or “disapprove,” the rule, it “may not be reissued in substantially the same form. . . .” The BLM has long maintained that its land management plans are not “rules” subject to the CRA. Other federal land management agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service, have similarly not submitted their land management plans to Congress under the CRA.
However, emboldened by a series of non-binding Government Accountability Office (GAO) opinions, Republican members of Congress have embraced the novel theory that federal land management plans are in fact “rules” subject to the CRA. This year, Congress has passed six CRA resolutions overturning previously finalized land management plans or other types of public lands management decisions. The GAO issued an opinion regarding the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument Management Plan on January 15, 2026.
- While overturning the Grand Staircase-Escalante Monument management plan would not change the boundaries of the monument or alter President Biden’s proclamation establishing the monument, it is a serious threat with potential implications for all national monuments.
- Monument management plans set expectations for how the land will be managed for wildlife, outdoor access, dark night skies, grazing, and other uses. The Utah delegation’s gambit threatens that certainty. Using the CRA to overturn the Grand Staircase-Escalante management plan disregards years of public input on how these lands are managed for the public, including hunters, hikers, scientists, ranchers, and others who hold permits to use public lands inside the monument.
- Congress is ignoring Tribal Nations. Multiple Native American Tribes are connected to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal Coalition advocates for the conservation of their ancestral lands and for the continued protection and preservation of the cultural and environmental resources found within the monument. Tribes provide deeply valuable perspectives related to the management of Monument lands and cultural resources that tell the story of their peoples, and are integral to the history of the United States, and should be consulted before any changes are made to the Monument’s management plan.
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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters from around the country dedicated to protecting America’s redrock wilderness. From offices in Moab, Salt Lake City, and Washington, DC, our team of professionals defends the redrock, organizes support for America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, and stewards this world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.
The Wilderness Society is a national conservation organization dedicated to protecting America’s wild places since 1935. Through science, advocacy and partnerships with communities and policymakers, we champion the protection of wilderness, national parks, forests, and other public lands that provide clean air and water, wildlife habitat and the freedom to connect with nature. For more information, visit www.wilderness.org.
Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. We wield the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change. We are here because the earth needs a good lawyer.
The Grand Canyon Trust is a nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to safeguarding the wonders of the Grand Canyon and the Colorado Plateau, while supporting the rights of its Native peoples. Learn more at grandcanyontrust.org
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Established in 1970, NRDC uses science, policy, law and people power to confront the climate crisis, protect public health and safeguard nature. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Beijing and Delhi (an office of NRDC India Pvt. Ltd).
Conservation Lands Foundation represents a national, nonpartisan network of community advocates who are solely focused on the public lands overseen by the Bureau of Land Management including National Conservation Lands.
The post Senator Lee formally begins process to fast-track the destruction of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Utah – 2.26.26 appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.
Tribes and Environmental Advocates Call on Delta Stewardship Council to Reject Delta Tunnel Certification of Consistency
For Immediate Release:
February 25, 2026
Contact:
Ashley Castaneda, ashley@restorethedelta.org
Sacramento, Calif. — Today, a coalition of Tribes and environmental advocates hosted a virtual press conference urging the Delta Stewardship Council to reject the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Certification of Consistency for the proposed Delta Conveyance Project, warning that approval would signal a retreat from the Council’s promise to ensure that environmental justice and Tribal consultation are not merely procedural formalities, but central to its decision making. The press conference comes ahead of the Council’s February 26-27 hearings to consider whether the controversial Delta Tunnel project complies with the state’s Delta Plan.
The coalition includes the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, San Francisco Baykeeper, Center for Biological Diversity, California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, Little Manila Rising, Friends of the River, California Indian Environmental Alliance, Sierra Club California and Restore the Delta.
The coalition filed a formal appeal challenging the DWR’s Certification of Consistency, asserting that the project violates state law and poses an imminent threat to Delta communities, its ecosystem and cultural heritage. In the appeal, the coalition highlights several key concerns, noting that the Tunnel project would:
- Irreparably harm Tribal Cultural Resources including cultural sites, burial grounds and traditional use areas, while lacking meaningful Tribal consultation;
- Intensify environmental harm by increasing diversions from the Delta, reducing protective water flows for threatened fish species and increasing harmful algal blooms;
- Worsen environmental injustices, placing disproportionate burdens on Delta residents including low-income, Tribal and Latino communities;
- Increase water reliance on the Delta, directly contradicting Delta Plan requirements, and weakening water flow protections
Advocates emphasized that DWR’s self-certification of consistency disregards critical environmental review findings and contradicts the project’s true impacts. The coalition contended that instead of spending tens of billions of dollars on a massive tunnel that would damage ecosystems, California should invest in restorative water solutions including prioritizing local water supplies, strengthening Delta levees, and modernizing existing State Water Project infrastructure.
STATEMENTS FROM COALITION MEMBERS:
Malissa Tayaba, Vice Chair, Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians:
“The Delta Plan recognizes the need to protect and support our treasured estuary, and the people whose lives, cultures, and traditions depend on it. My tribe’s ancestral territory includes the greater Delta and as the First Peoples of the region, we feel an inherent responsibility to protect the Delta’s eco-cultural well-being, not just for our people but for all people. Our guardianship responsibility, as well as the Delta Stewardship Council’s, extends beyond us and includes the plant, fish, and animal relatives that rely on these already imperiled waterways to survive. The DCP would take more water out of the Delta in times when the Delta and all the living things connected to it need water the most. The Delta Conveyance Project is fundamentally inconsistent with the Delta Plan and we hope the DSC will uphold its duty to protect it.”
Michelle Rivera, Program Coordinator, California Indian Environmental Alliance:
“The California Indian Environmental Alliance has worked towards implementing Tribal Beneficial Uses for subsistence fishing, cultural uses and water quality – this would translate to the health of plants, aquatic animals, and Tribal members. The Delta Tunnels block any ability to make progress in water quality to support tribal beneficial uses and this project will degrade the water, it will impair habitats and kill off the plant life that lies in the project area. We strongly oppose the construction of the Delta Tunnel and instead support investing in existing systems to upgrade them.”
Gloria Alonso, Environmental Justice Advocacy Coordinator, Little Manila Rising:
“In our urban Delta communities, generations of youth are growing up watching the degradation of our closest waterways—waters their elders once swam in on hot summer days. We ask ourselves, how is this possible? We are witnessing the public processes that, instead of protecting us, can enable this chronic environmental degradation, all while our communities are on the frontlines of climate change. The Delta Conveyance Project is inconsistent with the Delta Plan objectives and policies that seek to protect us. The Delta Stewardship Council has the power to reject this project and safeguard the future of the Delta ecosystem for generations to come.”
Morgen Snyder, Director of Policy and Programs, Restore the Delta:
“The proposed Delta Conveyance Project is far from consistent with the Delta Plan, which calls for protecting, restoring, and enhancing the Bay-Delta. Instead of reducing reliance on the Delta, the Tunnel would increase reliance on Delta exports, diverting much needed funds from investments in local water supply solutions. The Tunnel would also devastate the Delta as a place – removing prime farmland from operation, disrupting the fishing, recreation and tourism economies central to the Delta, and expediting the decline of an already imperiled ecosystem. Delta ecosystems, and the tribes and communities that depend upon them, deserve an opportunity to heal and thrive, but that future is incompatible with the Delta Conveyance Project.”
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Star Energy reports below expectation production and delays at Singleton gas-to-grid
The UK’s second biggest onshore oil operator saw production volumes drop nearly 6% below predictions in 2025.
Singleton oil site in the South Downs National Park. Photo: DrillOrDropIn a trading update, Star Energy said net production averaged 1,886 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), compared with the 2,000 boe/d expected for the year.
The company’s chief executive, Ross Glover, said:
“Production volumes in 2025 were below our expectations, driven by a number of discrete issues.
“At Gainsborough and Welton, unplanned National Grid power outages during summer infrastructure upgrades, together with a process pipeline failure, impacted output; the grid works are now complete, no shutdowns are scheduled for 2026 and the pipeline issue has been resolved.
“At Stockbridge, water disposal constraints reduced production and we are addressing this through conversion of a production well to a water injector, with production expected to be reinstated in Q3 2026.
“Across the portfolio we are working to minimise downtime and have a programme of work that will holistically assess, on a field by field basis, the opportunities to improve oil recovery.”
Singleton delaysThe company also confirmed that plans to generate electricity for the grid from gas at the Singleton well site in West Sussex had been delayed.
Mr Glover said:
“Our Singleton gas‑to‑wire project has been delayed due to protracted regulatory approvals required and delays to the final connection to the grid.
“All major plant items are installed onsite and we are working constructively with the operator to complete the grid connection. We continue to target commissioning in Q2 2026.”
Star Energy reported it spent £2.7m on the Singleton project in 2025 and expected to spend another £2.6m in 2026 to complete it.
The South Downs National Park Authority approved the Singleton scheme unanimously in July 2025, despite objections from the local parish council, environmental groups and some residents.
Key figures for 2025Net production for 2025: averaged 1,886boe/d. About 2,000boe/d predicted for 2026.
Cash at 31 December 2025: £7.6m
Money drawn under loan facility: £11.9m
Sale of non-core land: £6.3m in proceeds during first half of 2025
Investment in oil and gas assets in 2025: £5.3m (£2.7m on Singleton gas-to-wire project; remainder on production optimisation and plant upgrade
Forecast spending on abandonment activities: £1.4m
Forecast of 2026 capital expenditure: £6.3m (including £2.6m to complete Singleton gas-to-wire project
Realised hedging gain in 2025: £1.2m
Energy Profits Levy payments (windfall tax) for year ending 31 December 2024: £1.7m
General and administrative savings in 2025: £2.0m+
Geothermal expenditure in 2025: £1.2m less in 2025 compared with 2024.
Statement on Steve Pearce’s BLM confirmation hearing
DENVER—The U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today held a confirmation hearing for Steve Pearce, President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Bureau of Land Management.
During the hearing, Pearce alternately stood by his past words endorsing the wholesale sell-off of public lands while also acknowledging the law currently doesn’t allow it. He also dodged questions about the Trump administration’s energy policy, including whether Interior Secretary Doug Burgum has the power to unilaterally block or slow all renewable energy projects on public land.
The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Deputy Director Aaron Weiss:
“Most people would prepare for a job interview beforehand. Steve Pearce claimed he wasn’t up to speed on everything from wind power to methane waste. His ‘I know nothing’ routine should be a red flag to every senator. Pearce even waffled on whether he still believes the many, many things he’s written about land sell-off, and he still has to answer huge questions about his ethical conflicts and businesses.
“Based solely on his feigned ignorance of energy policy, Steve Pearce is unqualified to lead the Bureau of Land Management. His ethics forms are woefully inadequate and leave room for massive conflicts of interest if he is confirmed.”
The full exchange with Sen. Ron Wyden regarding Pearce’s previous statements on land selloff:
Sen. Ron Wyden:
Not long ago, you said with respect to public land located in Western states, and I’m a Westerner, you said, and I quote, ‘most of it we do not even need.’ Now my question to you then is: is there too much public land in the West now, in your view?
Steve Pearce:
The statement made there was when I was represented as a legislative person, a district that was, I think, at odds with federal agencies many times because the management of those lands is sometimes not as well done as it should be. And local people pay the price.
It cost them jobs, it cost them their careers, cost them their land. And so I spoke of those frustrations, but I don’t, as I expressed to Senator Heinrich, I don’t visualize selling large swaths of land.
Wyden:
Well, let’s be clear on this. You no longer agree with the statement you made years ago that I quoted you on? Because people can change their mind, I get that, but do you continue to hold that view, or have you changed your mind about something that — we’re Westerners and we care about these kinds of things. So what’s your—
Pearce:
Senator, I’m not so sure that I’ve changed. I’m not sure that I was not speaking out of sheer frustration with an agency on behalf of the people who are being overwhelmed.
So I do not believe that we’re gonna go out and wholesale land from the federal government. That again, has been stated by the secretary and federal law says that we can’t do that from the BLM itself.
LEARN MORE- Seven times ‘Sell-Off Steve’ tried to dispose of America’s public lands
- Trump’s new pick to run the BLM has a history of working to sell off public land
- What financial entanglements is Steve Pearce hiding?
- More than 80 groups oppose Pearce Nomination for BLM director
The post Statement on Steve Pearce’s BLM confirmation hearing appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.
Trump’s energy claims don’t add up
On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump touted his energy dominance agenda in his State of the Union address to Congress, but the rosy picture that Trump painted of rapidly falling energy costs doesn’t match the data.
In his speech, President Trump bragged about lowering energy costs for consumers, but according to factcheck.org, the index for household energy rose 6.6% over the last 12 months. The Guardian also released a fact check following Trump’s address, noting that the president’s attacks on renewable energy are expected to increase electricity rates by up to 18% by 2035.
One of the ways Trump is seeking to bring energy costs down is by bolstering coal, but a 2023 report found that 99 percent of all U.S. coal plants (209 out of 210) are now more expensive to run than replacement by new solar, wind, or energy storage. Consumer costs have yet to see a dip from coal—in fact, the Trump administration is spending $350 million to recommission old coal plants, which is only a portion of the $625 million the administration has allocated to reinvigorate the coal industry.
Moreover, according to the latest Conservation in the West Poll results from Colorado College, a mere seven percent of Western voters ranked coal as their first or second preferred energy source.
The administration also spoke misleadingly about who is really benefitting from Trump’s energy and public lands policies. In response to President Trump’s mention of America’s upcoming 250th anniversary, Interior Secretary Burgum tweeted that Trump has “restored our nation and secured a brighter future for ALL Americans!” Yet recent reporting from the Center for American Progress shows that Trump’s public lands directives are erasing Black History and disproportionately decreasing access to nature for communities of color and those with low incomes.
Unpacking the 2026 Conservation in the West PollIn a new episode of The Landscape podcast, Aaron welcomes pollsters Lori Weigel from New Bridge Strategy and Miranda Everitt from FM3 to discuss the 16th annual Colorado College Conservation in the West Poll. The bipartisan polling team breaks down voter attitudes across eight Western states on public lands, conservation priorities, and the Trump administration’s funding cuts and policy rollbacks. The poll reveals consensus across party lines—including among MAGA voters—on protecting public lands, opposing sell-offs, and prioritizing renewable energy over fossil fuel extraction.
Quick hits Hunters and veterans are fighting Trump’s pick to oversee public lands Interior scales back environmental regulations for public lands How Trump’s big climate finding repeal could actually hurt big oil Interior official granted ethics waiver just before family’s lithium mine deal Opinions: Steve Pearce is not fit to run the BLMOutdoor Life | Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Colorado fines Chevron subsidiary $1.7 million over 2025 well blowout in Weld County The story of Ganado Mucho, a Navajo folk hero whose exhibit may be removed by Trump administration Opinion: What’s behind the push to erase Black History Quote of the dayPearce’s chapter of the BLM will ensure that our stories we share with future generations are just that—stories of a once-wild place.”
—Jennie Mans, BLM wildlands director for the Wyoming Wilderness Association, Wyoming Tribune Eagle
Picture This @usfwsSummer tanagers aren’t just flashy in their feathers, they’re also insect connoisseurs with specialized diets: bees and wasps. These scarlet-hued hotshots catch bees and wasps on the wing, then rub them against a branch to remove the stinger, before enjoying their snack.
Photo: William Radke/USFWS
The post Trump’s energy claims don’t add up appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.
BIG WIN FOR SALMON
The news cycle is so relentless these days—but every now and then, good news comes through!
Such was the case this January, when CBC reported that the Discovery Islands appeal had been lost—by fish farming giant Mowi. This case has been dragging on since 2020, when Minister of Fisheries Bernadette Jordan announced a phase-out of open-net pens in the Discovery Islands. Those farms were never re-stocked…
Removing fish farms works!The Discovery Islands are a maze of islands between Campbell River and the mainland coast. They create a series of narrow corridors which millions of Fraser River salmon use when migrating north in the spring. Studies showed that wild salmon were clean heading up the Salish Sea, but were covered in salmon lice by the time they got past the Discovery Islands fish farms.
Once those fish farms were removed from the ocean, migratory salmon numbers began to climb! This removal, in combination with the phase-out of most of the Broughton Area farms, has triggered a huge comeback of salmon. Government claims they don’t know why, and some scientists say it’s too early to say the removal caused the rebound. But it’s getting harder every year to deny the truth—removing fish farms works!
Precautionary principle upheldThe Norwegian companies who own the BC industry sued the Canadian government, not once, but several times. Each time they lost, but won on appeal. By the final round, it was only Mowi suing Canada. Their loss was decisive. The only way forward now would be for Mowi to take their appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
The Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the Minister’s right to use the precautionary principle when making decisions. This principle says that if the consequences of conclusively proving harm (say, from fish farms) are too high (say, extinction), then we need to be cautious moving forward. There is a large body of evidence of harm from salmon farms, and the Court noted the dire consequences that declining wild salmon stocks could have for First Nations rights, the economy, and the social fabric of British Columbia.
Industry on noticeLet’s give the last word to our friend and ally, independent scientist Alexandra Morton, who writes: “The Discovery Islands win provides certainty to the salmon farming industry, that the coming 2029 ban on marine salmon farms is on solid legal ground. The industry is now on notice to avoid sinking costs into breeding farmed salmon cohorts that won’t mature by June 30, 2029.
Congratulations to Ecojustice, and our colleagues at Watershed Watch Salmon Society, Living Oceans Society, David Suzuki Foundation, Georgia Strait Alliance, and independent biologist Alexandra Morton for seeing this win through!
Dan Lewis is Executive Director of Clayoquot Action.
The post BIG WIN FOR SALMON appeared first on Clayoquot Action.
Unpacking the 2026 Conservation in the West Poll
In this episode of The Landscape, Aaron welcomes pollsters Lori Weigel from New Bridge Strategy and Miranda Everitt from FM3 to discuss the 16th annual Colorado College Conservation in the West Poll. The bipartisan polling team breaks down voter attitudes across eight Western states on public lands, conservation priorities, and the Trump administration’s funding cuts and policy rollbacks. The poll reveals consensus across party lines—including among MAGA voters—on protecting public lands, opposing sell-offs, and prioritizing renewable energy over fossil fuel extraction.
News- Groups sue over Trump effort to ‘erase’ history, science in national parks – Washington Post
- Concessionaire Nominated To Run National Park Service – National Parks Traveler
- Water worries are top of mind for Arizonans, poll shows – Axios Phoenix
- Opinion: Senators, reject the Steve Pearce nomination – Santa Fe New Mexican
- 2026 Conservation in the West Poll – Colorado College
- Watch this episode on YouTube
- Produced and hosted by Aaron Weiss with production support from Lauren Bogard, edited by Lilly Bock-Brownstein
- Feedback: podcast@westernpriorities.org
- Music: Purple Planet
- Featured image: David Korzillus, BLM
The post Unpacking the 2026 Conservation in the West Poll appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.
Documents uncover new details in Interior official’s growing ethics scandal
The U.S. Department of the Interior is withholding key ethics disclosure information about Karen Budd-Falen, a high-ranking Interior official who is under fire for her undisclosed financial ties with a massive Nevada lithium mine.
This is the latest in a growing ethics scandal involving Budd-Falen. In December 2025, Public Domain and High Country News reported that Budd-Falen was working at Interior in 2018 when her husband signed an agreement to sell water rights from their ranch, Home Ranch, to Lithium Nevada Corporation. The New York Times reported that the deal was for $3.5 million.
Now, in response to a FOIA request from the Center for Western Priorities, the Interior department has released 91 pages of ethics documents from her time working at Interior during both Trump administrations. The release redacted crucial information, including parts of her recusal memos—the documents that detail the matters she should not engage in to avoid a conflict of interest. It did, however, show that on November 5, 2018, Budd-Falen received a partial waiver to retain her financial interests in Home Ranch and other ranching operations.
The same day, Budd-Falen signed a written statement acknowledging that the waiver does not authorize her to participate in matters that have a direct and predictable effect on the financial interests involving Home Ranch. In a separate ethics recusal, she noted that her husband, Frank Falen, “does not actively manage Home Ranch, LLC.”
Less than a month later, Home Ranch, LLC struck a deal to sell water to Lithium Nevada Corp. The deal was signed by Frank Falen, who was listed in the agreement as the ranch manager.
“She had an obligation to disclose it,” said Aaron Weiss, deputy director at the Center for Western Priorities. “It appears she did not disclose it. And therefore everything else here is tainted.”
Quick hits Report: Communities of color and those with low incomes are bearing the brunt of America’s nature loss The owners want to close this Colorado coal plant. The Trump administration says no Veterans urge senators to vote ‘no’ on BLM nominee Wednesday Trump administration to remove decades-old protections from Interior Alaska land ‘I won’t sit back’: Fired Yosemite National Park ranger sues Interior department Can Colorado mute Trump’s orders to revive coal burning? A new bill will try Slavery exhibit court fight tests how America tells its founding story Opinion: Public lands teach connection to place, wildlife and each other Quote of the dayPublic lands are the American commons—a shared legacy we treasure and one we will fight to keep.”
—Walt Gasson, writer and fourth generation Wyoming native, WyoFile
Picture This @zionnpsYou can still be our vole-ntine!
Montane voles (Microtus montanus) are small rodents that inhabit regions from the western United States to southeastern Canada and Alaska. These small fuzzy critters eat grasses, tubers, bark, and sometimes insects, which helps keep habitats from becoming overgrown and promotes biodiversity. Their burrowing and trackway habits help to aerate and break up otherwise hard soils. Voles are also key species to the desert food chain: birds of prey as well as snakes, bobcats, and foxes think a vole is a tasty treat. There’s nothing like a vole from your sweet-hawk!
This vole (ZION 485) serves a higher calling than midday snack: scientific research specimen! Biological research specimens such as this one are highly important to systematics, public health and epidemiology, agriculture, defense, and more. Specimens are snapshots in time, as they allow a complete visualization of what that critter looked like at the time it was collected; this can help researchers determine how the size, coloration, and presence or absence of features like long tails or small ears have changed due to environmental stimuli. This specimen serves as a reminder of what montane voles looked like in 1934, when she was collected (check the tag!), and is evidence of the species’ presence in the park at that time.
NPS/j.Hemphill
(Featured image: Karen Budd-Falen speaks at a 2024 Western Ag and Environmental Law Conference. uacescomm, Flickr)
The post Documents uncover new details in Interior official’s growing ethics scandal appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.
The Big Lie: State Claims Climate Pollution is Down — NC WARN News Release
Duke Energy remains a top polluter despite long-running pretense that super-potent methane doesn’t count
NC regulators yesterday claimed the state’s climate pollution is the “lowest in decades.” Nothing could be further from the truth. The long-running deception, crafted by Duke Energy and decried by scientists, is to focus on carbon dioxide emissions while leaving out upstream and power plant releases (pg. 24-25) of super-potent methane.
That’s like claiming apple pie is a health food by pretending the sugar doesn’t matter – and doubling the order for school cafeterias for decades to come.
Methane has caused two-thirds as much global warming as has CO2. But Duke Energy plans to build more gas-fired generation than any other US power provider – some 12,300 MW (pg. 13) of power plants by 2040, continuing to drive up power bills for people across North Carolina.
A 2025 report ranks Duke Energy as the third largest climate polluter in the US.
Drew Shindell, a globally prominent climatologist at Duke University, said today, “DEQ says that Duke’s expansion of gas and extension of coal is expected to reverse the trend in NC and drive increases in emissions over 2022-2030, which will fuel more Helenes and Florences, more sea-level rise pulling houses from the Outer Banks, more summer heatwaves, more deaths from air pollution, and higher costs than residents would face with more renewables instead of fossil fuels.”
It is encouraging that other emissions are down across the state, but expanding the use of methane overmatches the positive impacts of reduced coal-fired power. And Duke now plans to keep burning coal – and possibly expand it – until at least 2040.
Although we disagree with the rosy picture painted by the DEQ, we agree that North Carolina must transition to a clean energy economy as quickly as possible. Gov. Stein must support development of solar-plus-storage across the state beginning with public facilities critical during emergencies and require it on any new data centers.
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Now in its 38th year, NC WARN is building people power in the climate and energy justice movement to persuade or require Charlotte-based Duke Energy – one of the world’s largest climate polluters – to make a quick transition to renewable, affordable power generation and energy efficiency in order to avert climate tipping points and ongoing rate hikes.
The post The Big Lie: State Claims Climate Pollution is Down — NC WARN News Release appeared first on NC WARN.
Fresh Air Newsletter Feb2026
Solar Project to Reclaim 2,000 Acres of Toxic Mineland
“Approval of the Black Moshannon Solar project is a victory for the people of Rush Township, a victory for clean energy, and a victory for a sustainable economy,” stated Tom Pike, Clean Air Council Director of Campaigns. “This is the kind of forward-thinking work that communities across the Commonwealth should be looking to replicate.”
Learn more FROM THE BLOG Clean Air Council Appeals Air Pollution Permit for Nation’s Largest Proposed Fracked Gas Power PlantThe Homer City Redevelopment project would be the nation’s largest fracked gas power plant to open in Pennsylvania. This plant is being built to power a 3,200-acre AI data center campus, even though a plant this size could produce enough electricity to power over three million PA homes. The Notice of Appeal was filed with the Pennsylvania Environmental Hearing Board challenging errors in the plan approval.
Read the Full Story Feet First Philly Awards 16 Public Space Enhancement Projects to Improve Communities Across PhiladelphiaAfter receiving over 70 applications for the Public Space Enhancement Program, a selection committee selected the 16 projects to be awarded funding to improve walkability in neighborhoods across Philadelphia. All of the funded organizations and their projects are located in communities that have experienced a lack of historical investment, or even active disinvestment in their public spaces.
Read the Full Story SUPPORT CLEAN AIRGifts from supporters like you are the most important dollars we receive because they allow us to respond quickly to urgent issues as they emerge rather than waiting for traditional grant funding.
Help Us Fight MEMBER Q&A Clean Air Council is so effective because our staff is a team of experts in their field and our members are so passionate about the environment. We wanted to share the expertise of our team by inviting members to ask about environmental issues they care about most. Below are just a few of the questions we received from dedicated members, like you.Q: Does Clean Air Council do local air monitoring and do you have any takeaways from the Purple Air data? – Alex S, member since 2026 and Eunice A, member since 1988
A: Yes, the Council operates a network of around 60 PurpleAir brand particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) monitors in the Philadelphia region. You can view the entire network at here. We saw higher air pollution readings than local governmental monitors at times, due to capturing hyperlocal air pollution events. The data is clearly demonstrating that more local air monitoring is needed to keep communities safe from pollution.
– Russell Zerbo, Clean Air Council Advocate since 2012
Q: With the IRA gutted, what other resources are available to help residents wanting to switch to renewable options or Electric Vehicles? – Molly W, member since 2023
A: At the state level, all large electric utility companies offer energy efficient rebate and incentive programs under Pennsylvania’s flagship energy efficiency law, Act 129. These programs differ, but PECO, for example, offers a rebate for installing rooftop solar. Electric utility companies may pay customers with solar panels for the excess electricity generated (known as “net metering”) but check with your utility company to see what’s available to you.
– Alice Lu, Clean Air Council Policy Analyst since 2023
Q: Are there ways that we can, by negotiations, force the data centers to use renewable energy / help communities develop renewable energy? – Ann J, member since 2026
A: Data centers are being proposed at lightning speed, but we’re working with state lawmakers to prioritize bills that offer protections for residents and the environment. Local governments can also adopt zoning ordinances, which determine how land is used. Data center ordinances can spell out water usage standards, noise limits, setback requirements, and requirements for energy usage.
– Alice Lu, Clean Air Council Policy Analyst since 2023
Q: What is the current status of the role of the PM2.5 particles released into the air by burning organic substances? – Merv K, member and volunteer since 2008
A: In a regulatory sense, almost all counties in PA meet the 2012 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for PM2.5. In 2024, the EPA finalized a stricter standard based on rigorously vetted health data, however, the current administration asked the court to revert back to the old standard. It also failed to identify which areas do not meet the new standard, a necessary step to trigger air quality improvement measures. Clean Air Council and other groups are fighting to ensure that EPA retains and enforces the new standard. Specific regulations regarding burning organic waste are usually local.
– Nathan Johnson, Clean Air Council Engineer since 2017
Q: How can we streamline the permitting process for solar energy in PA to make it the cheapest, fastest, cleanest way to generate electricity? – Madeline D, member since 2023
A: There are several permitting barriers for large-scale solar in PA. For one, the interconnection authority PJM needs to expedite and solve its ‘queue’ approach that delays every solar project 5-7 years. The legislature also needs to create a centralized siting standard for solar farms because local zoning ordinances often take the form of de facto bans on solar. Finally, solar developers could do a better job of working with residents to offer comprehensive community benefits and reduce local opposition.
– Tom Pike, Clean Air Council Director of Campaigns since 2025
IN THE NEWS |
THE GUARDIAN
“The coal plant was an environmental monstrosity, but it was a pillar of the local economy and some people are nostalgic for that,” said Clean Air Council Director of Campaigns Tom Pike, and continued with “But no one wants to live next to a datacenter.
Read the Article Sign up to receive our newsletter!Celebrating El Movimiento at Highlands University
By KAY MATTHEWS
The Donnelly Library at Highlands University was packed on Sunday, February 22, with two district demographics: students currently enrolled at the school curious to hear stories and the students from the early 1970s who were there to tell them. The stories were of the Chicana/Chicano El Movimiento that arose at Highlands when students protested racial discrimination at the University, specifically the failure to appoint a Nuevomexicano president. They were not alone: Chicanismo erupted all over the county to awaken political consciousness and advocate for social justice.
Sunday’s gathering was sponsored by El Palacio Magazine editor Emily Withnall, a Las Vegas native, and featured a presentation and photos by Adelita M. Medina, one of the 1970s students, and Myrriah Gomez, an associate professor in the Honors College at the University of New Mexico and author of “Art and Activism at Highlands University” in the magazine. Medina’s photos of the University uprising were featured in Voces del Pueblo: Artists of the Levantamiento in New Mexico at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, along with five other activists and artists.
Adelita M. Medina and Myrriah GomezAt the gathering at Donnelly Gomez queried Medina about her involvement in the Movimiento as both an artist and activist. Drawn into the conflict by her brother and other students, she avoided being stereotyped in a typical female role by claiming she didn’t know how to type. Instead, she took out a camera and documented many of the protests, including the occupation of the president’s office. During the summer of 1971 she began working with the indomitable Elizabeth “Betita” Martinez on the Chicano newspaper El Grito del Norte where she learned newspaper skills and improved her photography that led to a lifelong career. Below are some of the photographs she took of El Movimiento that were displayed at the Cultural Center.
Medina told Gomez that as a sheltered, Catholic-raised child she never experienced racism until she got to Highlands and witnessed discrimination against a black boyfriend (the father of her son). El Movimiento began to expose the latent racism at Highlands: very few Latino professors; the failure to hire a Nuevomexicano president; and several overtly racist professors. The protests also influenced an uprising at the middle and high school levels when East Las Vegas students walked out of school to protest discrimination, the choice of a superintendent, and in support of the Highlands students.
Bernadette Fernandez, El Movimiento student Cristino Griego, involved with the Las Vegas schoolsFred Trujillo, led the march to Montezuma Nacho Jaramillo, well-known artist
In 1973, the protests eventually led to the formation of the Chicanos Unidos para Justicia (CUPJ) that took over one of the buildings at the Montezuma Castle, then run as a seminary by Mexican Jesuits, demanding to rent the castle for a Chicano school. A hundred people marched from the historic Las Vegas plaza to the Castle where they occupied a building until the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, which owned the castle but wanted to sell it, agreed to rent the entire castle for a school, named Escuela Antonio José Martinez (after the famous Taos priest Padre Martinez). Adelita Medina and David Montoya became the school coordinators. Medina got a laugh from the crowd when she admitted she couldn’t remember if she and David were appointed, elected, or just volunteered. They developed a curriculum that included cultural wisdom and land-based knowledge as well a broad range of classes that Highlands professors and licensed teachers provided. Community members and mothers ran an industrial kitchen and started a baking cooperative. As Gomez writes in her article, “The Escuela was, perhaps, one of the best examples of mutulamismo in Las Vegas during the era.”
David Montoya“Silvia and Pita in the Kitchen at the Castle”
The school lasted only a few years, but the influence of El Movimiento lives today. Several current professors were in attendance, including Dr. Eric Romero, Director of Native American Hispano Studies at Highlands, who pointed out that the 1970s days of identity formation from Spanish-American to Nuevomexicano shows up today, particularly in art. Hilario Romero, former Highlands’s student during El Movimiento, state historian, archivist, and professor of history, emphasized the importance of women in the movement who “softened the men up” and kept the protests non-violent. Medina’s son Miguel also gave an emotional testimony to the school’s importance as a former Escuelita student.
Miguel Medina Dr. Eric RomeroFinally, Mary Lou Griego, of El Movimiento, told the story of the fight to create a chapter of MEChA (Movimiento Estudianti Chicanx de Aztlán) in the Las Vegas schools when she was a teacher at Robertson. Seeing that the students didn’t know their Chicano history, she set up a chapter that lasted 10 years despite resistance from principals and school boards over the years.
Mary Lou GriegoAs a parting salute, the campus Brown Berets gave a rousing hand clap and a cry of “Qué Viva Las Vegas!”
The Escuelita cook!For a more detailed account of all the people involved in Voces del Pueblo: Artists of the Levantamiento in New Mexico and El Movimiento, read Myrriah Gomez’s article in El Palacio.
LOCAL COMMUNITIES LEAD ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION ON THE DUWAMISH RIVER
“OUR STRATEGY HAS ALWAYS BEEN CENTERING THE VOICES OF COMMUNITY, BUT ALSO UNDERSTANDING THAT IT'S A VERY COMPLEX SUBJECT TO JUST LOOK AT THE RIVER ITSELF WITHOUT BRINGING ALL THESE OTHER INTERSECTIONS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH CLIMATE JUSTICE AND AIR POLLUTION AND INEQUITY,” PAULINA LOPEZ
Watch hereCourt Rules in Favor of Tulare County Community Group and California Department of Justice in Industrial Zoning Case
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 23, 2026
MEDIA CONTACT
Thairy Martinez, 213-421-7304, tmartinez@leadershipcounsel.org
Visalia, CA — After a year of litigation, a Tulare County judge ordered the City of Tulare to void its approval of a Zoning Ordinance Update that allowed the City to approve certain light and heavy industrial uses without complying with state environmental law.
The update, approved in December 2024, allowed the City to approve certain harmful industrial uses — including cold-storage and warehouse facilities — with “by-right” review in light and heavy industrial zones. These projects are often sited close to communities and schools, including in Matheny Tract. This update completely eliminated environmental analysis for these projects. Notably, the City’s own general plan acknowledged that these projects can harm public health and required mitigation as a result. The Zoning Update walked these positive changes back and failed to implement this required mitigation.
Matheny Tract, a residential and unincorporated community, is surrounded on three sides by City jurisdiction and is encroached by industrially zoned land. For many years, residents living in the small town have endured impacts from heavy truck traffic, warehouse activity, and heavy machinery passing through their neighborhood, raising concerns about their air quality and health. Residents intervened in the case because they saw the zoning changes as another willful action on behalf of the City to allow industrial development without informing and engaging the community in a process which has the potential to impact their health and quality of life.
“We want it to be known that the City is harming us, our community,” said Hugo Trujillo, a member of the Matheny Tract Committee. “We aren’t against development. We’re against projects that affect our health, with their traffic, their noise and above all for not taking into account the environmental impact. Going over our community and making decisions that affect us, without us.”
The consolidated lawsuits heard on Thursday, brought by Petitioners that include the California Department of Justice and Matheny Tract Committee, argued that the City improperly relied on a “common sense exemption” to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and adopted zoning changes that conflict with its own General Plan, previously adopted in 2014 to address air quality and health impacts associated with industrial development.
“This decision means that the City will need to engage the public and conduct environmental review of its zoning ordinance update,” said Seth Alston, staff attorney with Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability. “This is a critical win for public health and the residents of Matheny Tract.”
As a result of the ruling, the City is required to rescind its approval of the Zoning Ordinance Update and fully comply with the environmental review required by CEQA before any future approval actions. Any future project approvals must also comply with the proper health protection measure requiring warehouses near homes to conduct health risk assessments and reduce air pollution impacts before approval.
Although the decision does not reject any specific project, it restores the expectation that major industrial developments — especially those with known environmental consequences and health implications — cannot move forward without following and respecting safeguards already in place by state law.
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Matheny Tract Committee is a resident-led group made up of individuals who live in and around the unincorporated community of Matheny Tract. The Committee was formed to advocate for fair land-use practices, environmental protections, and meaningful community participation in decisions that affect their neighborhoods.
Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability works alongside the most impacted communities in the San Joaquin Valley and Eastern Coachella Valley to advocate for sound policy and eradicate injustice to secure equal access to opportunity regardless of wealth, race, income, and place. Leadership Counsel focuses on issues like housing, land use, transportation, safe and affordable drinking water and climate change impacts on communities.
The post Court Rules in Favor of Tulare County Community Group and California Department of Justice in Industrial Zoning Case appeared first on Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability.
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