G2. Local Greens

August 5, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUWA Statement on BLM’s Cancellation of 10 New Backcountry Airstrips in Redrock Country – 8.5.26 None of the airstrips were previously designated and many were reclaimed 

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org

Salt Lake City, UT – Monday, following a formal appeal from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Canyon Country District withdrew its June 2026 decision approving 10 backcountry airstrips in the heart of Utah’s redrock country. These airstrips, many of which show no signs of recent use and none of which were designated for use, are scattered across some of the most remote and ecologically sensitive landscapes in southern Utah—including the Gemini Bridges/Labyrinth Canyon area and the remote backcountry immediately adjacent to Bears Ears National Monument. Below is a statement from SUWA Wildlands Director Neal Clark and additional information.  

“This is a case of ‘better late than never.’ We’re glad to see the agency pull back its decision, which would have authorized more motorized use in remote, wilderness-quality landscapes,” said Neal Clark, Wildlands Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “BLM’s decision would have benefitted a handful of private pilots to the detriment of wildlife, native vegetation, and public lands users seeking quiet, backcountry experiences. We appreciate BLM’s reconsideration and will work to ensure that these airstrips are not authorized for use in the future” 

Additional information: 

Based on recent on-the-ground fieldwork, SUWA called on the BLM to reject six of the ten proposed airstrips: Spring Canyon, Big Flat, Castle Creek, Nokai Dome, Piute, and Red Canyon; a map of those six airstrips can be found here. None of these airstrips have ever been officially designated, and despite unauthorized past use, many of these locations will require extensive clearing and ground disturbance as they have begun reclaiming and are not functional for takeoff or landing. Reopening them would require removal of mature native plants like blackbrush and junipers, fragmenting habitat and degrading wilderness characteristics. Several locations are within BLM-identified wilderness-quality lands or directly adjacent to Bears Ears National Monument, where aircraft noise and visual intrusions would diminish the solitude, natural soundscapes, and cultural landscapes these areas were meant to protect. 

The Spring Canyon and Big Flat airstrips lie within crucial bighorn habitat along the Green River corridor and near Canyonlands National Park—the same landscape where the BLM already restricts other recreation activities to protect these important species during lambing season. Similarly, raptors nesting near Big Flat, Nokai Dome, and other sites are highly sensitive to aviation noise, which discourages use of otherwise suitable nesting habitat. 

 SUWA’s members submitted over 2,500 comments in opposition to the decision. This decision comes on the heels of BLM approving the Keg Knoll airstrip in the Labyrinth Canyon Wilderness on June 12, 2026. SUWA’s previous release on the Keg Knoll approval can be found here.  

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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 a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org. 

 

 

The post SUWA Statement on BLM’s Cancellation of 10 New Backcountry Airstrips in Redrock Country – 8.5.26 appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

DENVER—As voters head to the polls across the Mountain West, one of the most prominent and bipartisan throughlines in 2026 is protecting America’s public lands and natural resources. Broadly, we have already seen public lands serve as a salient and decisive issue across elections, central to the identity of voters across the states highlighted. This report highlights recent data from multiple polling firms that surveyed Mountain West voters:

View the 2026 Winning the West polling guide here

Topline takeaways:

• For an overwhelming percentage of Mountain West voters, public lands rate incredibly positively, and are understood as valuable to the economy. Even in the context of other important issues like affordability, health care, and education, 86% of voters see issues involving public lands, waters, and wildlife as a motivating factor in supporting an elected public official across Mountain West states.
• Funding cuts, rollbacks of protections, and loss of natural areas rank as top concerns for voters across states.
• Selling off public lands is a third rail for Mountain West voters; majorities as high as 85% in one state (Montana) prefer to keep public lands in public hands.
• When given a direct choice, more than three voters to one favor protecting America’s natural resources and public lands rather than maximizing the land available for oil, gas drilling, and mining. This preference for protecting public lands is consistent across party lines, and concern over the impact of oil and gas drilling continues to steadily rise year over year.
• Across a variety of individual actions that give preferential treatment to oil, gas, and mining companies over national lands, over 70% of voters across Mountain West states opposed those actions.
• Regardless of party, Western voters demonstrate a clear preference and priority for renewable energy sources over fossil fuels, a pattern that has only increased over the past 14 years.

The post Public lands win elections: The Mountain West polling guide for the 2026 miderns appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

U.S. Attorney and top D.C. prosecutor Jeanine Pirro brought a box full of evidence to a meeting with President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum at the White House on Monday to prove that the damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was caused by shoddy construction and not by vandals. Both Trump and Burgum had publicly rebuked Pirro for filing a motion last Friday to dismiss the felony case against Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who was accused of vandalizing the pool.

The motion blamed the Interior department for holding back critical evidence from prosecutors that they claimed they did not see until after they had secured the indictment for Hearn from the grand jury in D.C.’s Superior Court. The U.S. attorney’s office has also moved to dismiss criminal charges against three others accused of vandalizing the reflecting pool.

According to sources familiar with the Oval Office meeting on Monday, Pirro accused Doug Burgum of misleading Trump, making the case that Burgum had promoted a self-serving cover story to conceal his own missteps. Pirro said that her staff relied almost exclusively on claims by Interior department officials that extensive damage to the lining was caused by Hearn and other vandals who were observed tugging at or removing pieces of material from the wall. After reviewing thousands of pages of evidence, Pirro concluded the Interior department’s rushed timeline and “botched” renovation was responsible for the damage, and that bad information from Park Police officials had led her to cite “tremendous evidence” against Hearn that did not exist.

Center for Western Priorities Communications Director Kate Groetzinger writes in a new Westwise blog post about Burgum’s reflecting poll lies: “For six weeks, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told the country that vandals gutted the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. He said it on CNN. He said it on Fox. He said it was caught on camera and backed by eyewitnesses.” Groetzinger raises the question, if Burgum lied about the reflecting pool damage even after learning the truth, what other lies will he tell?

Quick hits Doug Burgum’s reflecting pool lies lead to an Oval Office showdown

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E&E News

Quote of the day

All of the blame for this waste of taxpayer funds and lying to the public about it falls at the feet of Secretary Burgum and President Trump. The career staff at the National Park Service are some of the most dedicated and committed public servants who work every day to preserve and protect our national parks. They don’t deserve the blame for this mess.”

—Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, E&E News

Picture This

@usinterior

Six years ago today, the Great American Outdoors Act became law, making one of the largest investments in America’s public lands in a generation.

Today, those investments are restoring historic landmarks, rehabilitating iconic roads like Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road, improving trails, and expanding access for millions of visitors.

Get outside and celebrate the great outdoors.

Photos of Going-to-the-Sun Road by @glaciernps

Featured image: Doug Burgum appears on CNN on July 5; Credit: Aaron Rupar/X.

The post Doug Burgum’s reflecting pool lies lead to an Oval Office showdown appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

The assessment of the climate impact of expansion at the Horse Hill oil site in Surrey contains “multiple errors and misleading and irrelevant information”, campaigners said today.

The Weald Action Group, which won a landmark Supreme Court ruling on greenhouse gas emissions, said the assessment, submitted by the developer, made “spurious claims” and failed to comply with the latest guidance.

The flaws led to the “false conclusion” that the climate impact was “not significant”, the group said. It added:

“This is incorrect and must be disregarded”.

Horse Hill oil site near Redhill, Surrey. Photo: Weald Action Group

Weald Action Group (WAG) has called for evidence that the assessment was written by an appropriately qualified practitioner”.

The assessment estimated that four new production wells and extraction of more than 600,000 tonnes of oil over 20 years, would result in more than two million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. But it stated that the emissions would not be “significant for the climate”.

Kirsty Clough, of WAG, said:

“The oil company’s assessment of greenhouse gas emissions and climate impacts is fundamentally flawed. Had they done the job properly, they could not have avoided concluding that the effects on the climate would be highly significant. The Council cannot grant permission on the basis of such a deficient assessment.”

In its response to Surrey County Council, submitted today, WAG said:

“The technical competency of the consultant who prepared the assessment of climate significance is in question.”

The document was apparently prepared by an air quality consultant.

WAG said the job requires “a broad knowledge of UK climate mitigation policy, in the context of international obligations, to be able form a judgement of significance”.

It said:

“We question whether an air quality consultant would have the relevant technical skills and expertise … to undertake a robust GHG [greenhouse gas] and climate impact assessment.”

It added:

“A lack of competency is observative in the numerous shortcomings and inaccuracies.

“In particular, the author has failed to draw on relevant available guidance, policy and scientific evidence”.

WAG said:

“We urge Surrey County Council to raise the issue of technical competency with the applicant. Specifically they should be required to provide evidence that the assessment was written by an ‘appropriately qualified practitioner’.

“Multiple flaws”

The climate assessment focussed on the emissions resulting from burning Horse Hill oil, known as downstream or scope 3 emissions. The Supreme Court ruling now requires these emissions to be taken into account when deciding fossil fuel proposals.

WAG said its analysis found the Horse Hill assessment was “flawed in multiple ways”.

The group said the assessment failed to comply with:

• new government guidance on assessing the effects of downstream scope 3 emissions
• Town and Country Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017
• Institute of Sustainability & Environmental Professionals’ Guide to assessing greenhouse gas emissions

WAG said the assessment failed to regard the government guidance as a material planning consideration, even though a developer and climate expert agreed in a separate project that it should be.

The Horse Hill assessment also failed to describe the state of the climate, WAG said.

Scientists have forecast that the maximum amount of carbon we can emit and stay within the legal limit of 1.5C temperature rise is 130-170 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2). This volume of CO2 will be breached in a few years, the group said.

It added:

[This] “conceals the true state of the climate and how little time, if any, we have left to prevent global average temperature rise exceeding the 1.5C limit.”

WAG said the assessment further failed to assess the actual impact of 2 million tonnes of greenhouse gases on, for example, human health, biodiversity, land, soil water, air and climate. This is required by the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations, it said.

There were also “multiple errors and misleading and irrelevant information” about projected UK oil production and demand and global energy and climate scenarios, WAG said.

It said the assessment implied that new domestic oil production was needed to meet a shortfall in demand up to 2050 and to bolster energy security.

WAG said this “presents a false picture of future oil demand and its relationship to domestic production and shows a lack of understanding of energy markets”.

There was also a “spurious” claim, WAG said, that oil from Horse Hill would substitute for imported oil, which may have a higher carbon intensity.

WAG said no evidence had been provided and the claim should be disregarded:

It said the assessment made unfounded claims that oil from Horse Hill would remain in the UK, even though more than 80% of domestically produced oil and gas is exported. The group said:

“There is no guarantee that oil from Horse Hill will remain and be used within the UK.”

The assessment failed to place Horse Hill greenhouse gas emissions in a global cumulative context of all current and approved fossil fuel projects, WAG said. An estimate in 2022 forecast the emissions from these projects amounted to 936 gigatonnes of CO2.

The group said:

“The significance of the scope 3 emissions arising from the Horse Hill development should … have been assessed relative to the available space in the remaining 1.5C aligned global carbon budget, once the emissions from existing and committed fossil fuel projects (the cumulative effect) have been accounted for. The developer has failed to do this.”

WAG added:

“There is no space in the rapidly dwindling 1.5C global carbon budget for any new fossil fuel developments, and a massive excess of emissions from existing oil, gas and coal infrastructure which will now need to close before the end of its economic life.

“Any emissions from the Horse Hill oilfield development will be additional, cumulative and hence contribute to the further exceedance of the 1.5C global carbon budget.

“On this basis, the scope 3 emissions arising from the Horse Hill development must be deemed significant in terms of their climate impact.”

• Weald Action Group said it would be submitting further objections, including on seismicity and earthquake risk.

By Macy Brigham-Hill, DC Campaign Intern, Chesapeake Climate Action Network

Growing up in the Nation’s Capitol, I spent my summers climbing trees, exploring Rock Creek Park, playing sports, going to the Zoo, camps and playgrounds, and spending almost all of my time outside. Today, those summers are being reshaped by extreme heat. Heat advisories, cancellations, and warnings to stay indoors are frequent experiences for children and families in D.C. Now, as a rising college senior, I feel frustration for kids like my younger sister, whose summers are being threatened and changed by climate change. As extreme heat worsens, we will continue to witness its negative impacts on people’s physical and mental health and overall well-being.

This Fourth of July marked the hottest in D.C. history, surpassing the record in 1919, with temperatures over 100°F. The city issued an extreme heat warning as the heat index was expected to reach 105-115°F in many areas. While high humidity increases the risk of heat-related illness, consistently high temperatures throughout the day produced life-threatening conditions for residents partaking in outdoor plans and events.

On the National Mall, celebrations were cut short due to the dangerous temperatures. D.C. Fire and EMS reported 96 patient contacts and 40 patient transports. People were seen lying on the ground and on stretchers with ice, as they were loaded into ambulances. A total of 603 people received first aid in one day.

High temperatures and humidity are the deadliest extreme weather events worldwide, with thousands of people dying from heat each year in the U.S. alone. A Virginia study on extreme heat, when projected nationally, estimates that heat-related hospital visits and illness cost approximately $1 billion in health care costs each summer. Extreme heat is also particularly dangerous in cities like D.C., due to the urban heat-island effect, which happens when pavement, buildings, and other hard surfaces absorb and trap heat instead of cooling down. This means majority Black and Brown communities, which often have less tree cover, more asphalt, fewer parks, and more development shaped by decades of unequal urban planning, can be about 17 degrees hotter than others on the same day. Neighborhoods such as Ivy City, Trinidad, and the Navy Yard have faced some of the city’s highest heat risks, making extreme heat a public health emergency and an issue of environmental justice.

Extreme heat also places intense strain on public infrastructure and essential resources that residents depend on. Heatwaves overwhelm the U.S. grid, leading to cancellations and delays. During the July heatwave, PJM, our regional grid manager, issued a federal alert to cut electricity consumption across its territory, which impacted all D.C. residents and resulted in higher AC bills and even blackouts. Amtrak also stated that trains would run at reduced speeds and people could experience delays throughout the day. D.C. summers have always been hot, but climate change is making extreme heatwaves more frequent, intense, and dangerous.

National Research Council. 2026. Attribution of Extreme Weather and Climate Events and Their Impacts.  DC and Beyond: Scientists Link Extreme Heatwaves to Climate Change

World Weather Attribution (WWA), an international network of scientists, conducts rapid studies of extreme events to determine the influence of climate change. A recent article by WWA analyzed this heatwave and determined that the combination of heat and humidity experienced in early July would have been virtually impossible without climate change.

These kinds of attribution studies are becoming more crucial in lawsuits focused on holding fossil fuel companies financially responsible for climate-related damages. Researchers can even trace aspects of these damages to specific emission sources and fossil fuel companies that are responsible for the largest share of emissions.

What We’re Doing: Make Polluters Pay Campaign

D.C. residents are already paying the price of climate change in higher utility bills, increased hospital visits, and strains on public systems that families rely on, particularly in minority, overburdened, and underserved communities. CCAN Action Fund’s Make Polluters Pay campaign aims to take the burden off of taxpayers and put it on the shoulders of the largest, most polluting fossil fuel companies. Climate change could cost every D.C. resident born in 2024 an extra $500,000 to 1 million over their lifetime. Meanwhile, in the same year, the largest fossil-fuel emitters’ profits totaled more than $102,000,000,000.

In June, the D.C. Council passed the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study Amendment Act to kickstart a study to determine the total financial cost of climate change on D.C. and how exactly extreme weather impacts the city. The results would help guide investments towards heatwave relief, flood protection, and public infrastructure and transportation improvements and so much more. Sign the Make Polluters Pay petition to make sure the biggest fossil fuel companies cover the costs of climate change-related extreme weather damages.

Sign the Petition to Make Polluters Pay!

About the author: Macy Brigham-Hill (she/her) is the DC Campaign Intern for summer 2026. In her role, she supports the DC team by assisting with community outreach, organizing, and coalition-building to advance campaign goals. She is a rising senior at Tulane University, where she is working towards a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies and Sociology, with a minor in Climate Change: Science and Practice.

Macy’s passion for environmental advocacy began at a young age, shaped by her love of nature and animals. She hopes to pursue a career in environmental policy, advocacy, and research, working at the intersection of climate adaptation and mitigation within communities most vulnerable to climate impacts.

The post DC Summers Are Getting More Extreme and Expensive – Who’s Responsible? appeared first on Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

Another day, another threat to America’s public lands and Utah’s wild places. The Trump administration is now undertaking a sweeping review of existing policies on the management of designated wilderness, wilderness study areas, and wilderness-quality lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. These policies provide crucial protection and clear management direction for millions of acres of public land across the nation, including more than 7 million acres of BLM-managed land in Utah.

The Interior Department is accepting public comments through Friday, August 14. Tell the Department to uphold existing policies protecting wilderness and wilderness-quality lands.

You can probably guess why this is happening. True to the Trump administration’s pattern of anti-conservation initiatives and actions, the review is intended to reduce management requirements and weaken protections for designated wilderness and other wilderness-quality lands, clearing the way for increased extraction, development, and expanded off-road vehicle use on some of the nation’s remaining wild public lands. In Utah, this includes spectacular landscapes at the heart of redrock country—places like Fisher Towers, Grand Gulch, White Canyon, Robbers Roost, and the Vermillion Cliffs.

While the Trump administration is fixated on sacrificing our remaining wild places to corporate interests and destructive uses, they underestimate the importance and value of these places to the American public. The desire to see these wild public lands protected crosses political boundaries.

Wilderness and wilderness-quality lands are some of the most cherished places for families to camp, hike, sightsee, hunt, and fish. They provide clean air and water, critical habitat for wildlife, and endless opportunities for rejuvenation and human-powered recreation. For all of these reasons and more, it’s crucial that we manage our last wild landscapes in a way that preserves their wilderness character for future generations.

Click here to submit your comments by the August 14 deadline

The post Take Action to Protect Wilderness and Wilderness-Quality Lands appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

The Cobbs Creek Park Ambassadors are a grassroots and volunteer-run West Philadelphia organization dedicated to transforming our local green spaces. Founded in 2018 by neighbors Rich Guffanti and Andrew Wheeler, the initiative grew from weekly cleanups into a dedicated network of volunteers who adopt and maintain specific sections of Cobbs Creek Park.

We’re proud to say that in 2026 alone, we’ve hosted 50+ cleanups, removed over 6,000 pounds of trash, and engaged hundreds of volunteers. Beyond picking up litter, we work to cultivate community pride and environmental stewardship. Through events like our annual Summer Festival, we bring hundreds of neighbors together to celebrate the park.

We invite you to join us in keeping Cobbs Creek Park beautiful because our park thrives when our community steps up to care for it. Ambassadors host cleanups every Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday, and volunteers are welcome to attend whenever they can.

Upcoming cleanups:

*please use the registration form found on our website and monitor your inbox in case of a cancellation

• Wednesday, August 5, 8-9 a.m. at S 61st and Baltimore Ave.
• Sunday, August 9, 2-4 p.m. at Little Whitby Meadow
• Wednesday, August 12, 8-9 a.m. at S. 61st and Baltimore
• Sunday, August 16, 2-4 p.m. at Woodland Ave. and Cobbs Creek Parkway
• Wednesday, August 19, 8-9 a.m. at S. 61st & Baltimore
• Saturday, August 22, 9-11 a.m. at Mt. Moriah Cemetery and Cobbs Creek Parkway
• Sunday, August 23, 2-4 p.m. at Catharine St. and S. 63rd St.
• Wednesday, August 26, 8-9 a.m. at S. 61st and Baltimore

Please use the registration form found on our website and monitor your inbox in case of a cancellation

Additionally, our 4th annual Summer Festival is coming up on September 12 at Whitby Park from 11a.m. – 3 p.m. Join us for a bounce house, horseback riding, fishing lessons, a birding walk, free watermelon, and more! Thank you to Clean Air Council and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation for financial support of this work. 

Email cobbscreekparkambassadors@gmail.com with questions or to join our listserv. Find us at cobbscreekparkambassadors.org and @cobbscreekambassadors.

A public consultation opened today on the Environment Agency’s (EA) draft decision to grant consent for gas drilling and lower-volume fracking at Burniston in North Yorkshire.

The consultation runs for six weeks until Wednesday 23 September 2026. It gives people a chance to have their say before the final decision is made.

Equipment proposed during lower-volume fracking stage at Burniston. Source: planning application

This is the second EA consultation on the proposals by Europa Oil & Gas in the village on the edge of the North York Moors National Park.

The first consultation, on the initial environmental permit application, was held a year ago. The deadline for comments in that consultation was extended after complaints by the local campaign group, Frack Free Coastal Communities, that key information was missing.

Today’s new consultation seeks views on a draft environmental permit.

This is separate from the decision by North Yorkshire Council on 24 April 2026 to refuse planning permission, later confirmed in May.

The Burniston development can go ahead only with both planning permission and the environmental permit.

The EA said it was minded to issue a permit for the proposed wellsite, known by Europa as Cloughton-2, as well as drilling and testing a borehole and the lower-volume fracking process called proppant squeeze.

Proppant squeeze is one of several lower-volume fracking operations that remain legal in the UK, despite the moratorium on high-volume fracking. The process aims to improve the flow of gas and involves injecting fluid into the well under pressure to open fractures in the surrounding rocks.

The EA said it was legally required to issue a permit where an application met requirements under environmental legislation. It can refuse an application only where one or more of these requirements are not met, including where the proposed activity would pose an unacceptable risk to people or the environment.

Ian Foster, EA area manager for Yorkshire, said today:

“We recognise there is significant public interest in this application, particularly following the local planning authority’s decision to refuse planning permission.

“The Environment Agency has a different legal role. Our responsibility is to independently assess whether the application meets the requirements of environmental legislation and whether the proposed activities can be carried out without unacceptable risks to people or the environment.

“Our assessment is evidence-based and we have published the reasons for our draft decision. We encourage anyone with an interest in the application to read the consultation documents and provide their views before we make our final decision.”

The local MP, Alison Hume, who opposed the Burniston proposal, said today:

“I will be submitting my comments on the EA’s draft permit decision and highlighting my concerns about Europa’s plans to carry out small-scale fracking … on the edge of the North York Moors.

“Given the level of concern that many local residents have expressed about this proposal, I have also written to the relevant minister to make them aware of these developments and the strength of feeling among constituents. I will continue to monitor the situation closely and keep in contact with the relevant authorities as the process moves forward.”

The consultation comprises 31 documents, including the EA’s draft decision.

All the documents can be viewed online. Comments can also be made online or by phoning the EA on 03708 506 506.

The EA can take into account:

• Relevant environmental regulations and technical standards
• Information on the local population and sensitive sites
• Whether the right process or technology is proposed by the developer
• The impact of the proposal on the use of land around the site, whether the impact is acceptable and what pollution control may be required
• The impact of noise and smell from traffic on site
• Correcting incorrect information in the application
• Information the EA has not been made aware of in the application

The EA cannot take into account

• Issues outside the remit of the environmental permitting regulations
• Whether a site should have a formal ecological designation
• Whether the activity should or should not be allowed
• Land use issues
• Impact of noise and smell from traffic travelling to and from the site
• The process followed by the EA to determine a permit

The deadline for comments has been extended because the consultation is during the summer holiday.

DrillOrDrop will report on comments submitted to the consultation.

Editor’s Note: This article was published by Colorado Newsline, reprinted with permission through Creative Commons.

Feds to impose new cuts on lower Colorado River states amid climate-fueled megadrought ByChase Woodruff–July 31, 2026 2:26 pm Glen Canyon Dam holds back the waters of Lake Powell near Page, Arizona, on Feb. 2, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

The federal government on Friday formalized a set of guidelines for managing water use in the Colorado River Basin over the next decade, if Colorado and six other Western states can’t come to an agreement on how to deal with declining flows caused in large part by climate change.

“The Department has a responsibility to ensure the Colorado River system remains reliable and resilient for the millions of Americans, communities and industries that depend on it,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a press release. “This framework provides the flexibility to respond to changing hydrologic conditions while preserving the opportunity for the Basin States to continue working toward durable, consensus-based solutions.”

Under the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s “preferred alternative” for the management of the river’s reservoir system, outlined in a extensive environmental impact statement, the burden of the most severe cuts would continue to fall on the Lower Basin states of Arizona, California and Nevada, which could face mandatory cuts of up to 3 million acre-feet of water. The Upper Basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming would face only voluntary conservation targets totaling 200,000 acre-feet.

All seven states were parties to the Colorado River Compact, a 1922 agreement governing the use of water from the vital Western watershed. Today, the Colorado River provides water to an area inhabited by 40 million people across the Southwest, though agricultural uses account for the vast majority of consumption.

Since 2000, a megadrought caused largely by global warming — the region’s worst dry spell in at least 1,200 years — has stressed water supplies across the basin and pushed the Colorado River Compact to a breaking point. The last set of federal guidelines to address shortages, issued nearly 20 years ago, will expire Jan. 1, and the seven Colorado River Compact states failed to reach a new agreement before a federally imposed deadline in February.

A map of the Colorado River Basin system. (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The combined amount of water stored in Lake Powell and Lake Mead, the Colorado River system’s two key reservoirs, fell this month to its lowest level since May 1957 — before Lake Powell, created by the Glen Canyon Dam, had even begun to fill.

Without a major turnaround in hydrologic conditions in the near future, water levels in Lake Powell are expected to fall by next spring to below “minimum power pool,” at which point the Glen Canyon Dam’s hydroelectric turbines would be unable to operate.

Negotiations over a comprehensive new agreement have led to an increasingly bitter dispute between the Upper Basin states — led by Colorado, the river’s headwaters state and by far the Upper Basin’s largest water user — and the Lower Basin states, especially Arizona, which has borne the brunt of the cuts imposed in recent years. Arizona is widely expected to launch a high-stakes legal challenge as soon as this summer, alleging Colorado and other Upper Basin states are failing to meet an obligation under the original Colorado River Compact to allow enough water to flow downstream.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued a joint statement Friday with the governors of the other three Upper Basin states, saying that “both the Upper and Lower divisions of the basin are feeling the pain of severe drought,” and that they were “committed to continued good-faith discussions with our counterparts.”

“Many hours of meetings and negotiations took place between the Colorado River Basin states and these discussions will continue,” the statement said. “Today’s framework does not represent a final solution, but enables the River to be managed in the short-term while the seven states and (the Interior Department) continue to negotiate a consensus solution.”

In the absence of a new agreement among the states, the Bureau of Reclamation says it will continue to update its new guidelines every two years until 2036.

Andrea Travnicek, the Interior Department’s assistant secretary for water and science, said the plan “strikes a balance between flexibility and predictability … given unprecedented hydrologic conditions and the potential for considerable impacts on water users.”

In a statement, Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado said he was “disappointed” by the failure to reach a new long-term agreement among the seven Colorado River Compact states.

“While a two-year operating plan is the bare minimum needed to operate the river, a long-term, consensus agreement that recognizes real hydrologic conditions is the only durable solution to bring certainty to the Colorado River,” Bennet said.

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 3:47 p.m., July 31, 2026, to include a joint statement from Upper Basin governors.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (August 3, 2026) Feet First Philly (FFP), a pedestrian advocacy project of the Clean Air Council, launched the seventh round of its Public Space Enhancement Mini-Grant program in partnership with Philadelphia Department of Public Health’s Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention.

The initiative funds projects aimed at improving Philadelphia’s pedestrian environment and public spaces, with Mini-Grant recipients receiving funding ranging from $500 to $2,500 to create public space enhancements and safety improvements. FFP is hosting an informational webinar on August 25.

“For the past six years, our Public Space Enhancement Mini-Grant program has successfully funded 80 projects that are led by community groups, businesses, and individuals across the Greater Philadelphia region”, said Titania Markland, Clean Air Council Sustainable Transportation Program Manager. “With the launch of the seventh round, we are excited for the new ideas that community leaders will propose to improve their public spaces. We are also able to offer an increase in funding for the first time since launching this program.”

“Environments shape health,” said Dr. Kinnari Chandriani, Director of the Health Department’s Division of Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention. “It is a joy to support communities throughout the city to enhance public spaces with mini-grant funding. We are excited for another round of inspiring projects to make our city safer, cleaner, and greener.” 

In 2020, FFP launched its first Public Space Enhancement Mini-Grant program with seven projects that were led by and benefited local communities. Since then, the program has awarded 80 Mini-Grants to local organizations all over Philadelphia and provided funding to:

• Extend efforts to clean up the Cobbs Creek Trail 
• Create a pocket park in Southwest Philadelphia 
• Replace a severely damaged sidewalk outside of a community garden in Kensington 
• Create a mural on a newsstand in Germantown
• Paint an artistic crosswalk in North Philadelphia 
• Add amenities to a local meadow to make it a walking destination 
• Install bike racks to prevent illegal sidewalk parking outside of a school 
• Help develop community gardens all over the city 

For the full list of projects awarded during the sixth round (2025-2026), read more here.

“Pedestrian advocacy projects bring communities together to create safer and healthier spaces,” said Sally Hecht, a Clean Air Council Transportation Program Coordinator. “They bring people from all walks of life together and make neighborhoods around Philadelphia safer and healthier. Through the Mini-Grants, we can give Philadelphians the ability to build their communities in ways that benefit and directly support their neighbors.” 

Safety is a top priority for this program, and applicants are encouraged to identify ways their project can improve safety in their communities. 

If you are interested in applying or want more information, attend the webinar on August 25 at 12 p.m. (noon) ET. Applicants can email shecht@cleanair.org to schedule a one-on-one meeting with Clean Air Council staff to discuss their project ideas. Applications for the Mini-Grant are open until Saturday, October 3 at 11:59 p.m. ET. 

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Feet First Philly is Philadelphia’s only advocacy group dedicated to pedestrian rights, sponsored by the Clean Air Council.

After three years of intense and divisive negotiations, the seven Colorado River Basin states failed to reach a long-term agreement, forcing the federal government to step in.

Federal water managers on Friday announced a new 10-year plan to manage the Colorado River that opens the door to unprecedented water supply cuts. Arizona, California, and Nevada, the three lower basin states, could face up to 3 million acre-feet in water cuts. The upper basin states of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming will also have to conserve up to 200,000 acre-feet, or 65 billion gallons in the coming decade.

The plan released Friday by the Interior department marks the first time federal authorities have stepped in to determine the management for the waterway that supports 40 million people, 30 Tribes, and 5.5 million acres of farmland across the Southwest. The new management framework comes amid an ongoing crisis on the Colorado River due to drought and overuse of the river’s dwindling supplies. As of last Thursday, Lake Powell was 22 percent full and Lake Mead was 27 percent full. Scientists have warned that warmer temperatures and drier soils caused by climate change are shrinking the river’s flow, as are winters with significantly less mountain snowpack, the source of the vast majority of the river’s water.

Burgum doubles down on debunked Reflecting Pool ‘vandals’ claims

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro asked a judge to drop the Trump administration’s case against David Hearn, a former U.S. Olympian, whom it had accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. The Department of Justice said Friday that flawed installation, not vandalism, caused the ‌liner of the newly renovated reflecting pool to peel. Despite the DOJ’s reversal, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum doubled down on blaming vandals, posting on X over the weekend, “The evidence is clear, vandals have repeatedly caused damage to the Reflecting Pool.”

Pirro said that DOJ prosecutors had been misled by the Interior department, which had awarded a no-bid contract to a first-time government contractor to repair the iconic landmark. Pirro blamed both the government’s vendor and the administration’s timetable, saying the pool’s poor state “was the result of a flawed installation by the contractor, Atlantic Industrial Coatings, and the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration” on July 4.

Quick hits Federal government proposes steep cuts for Colorado River Basin states

Denver Post | PBS News | Colorado Sun | New York Times | The Hill | Reuters | Arizona Republic | The Guardian | Washington Post | KJZZ | CNN | Arizona Mirror | 8 News Now | Los Angeles Times

DOJ dismisses ‘vandalism’ charges while Doug Burgum doubles down on debunked claims

New York Times | The Hill | Associated Press | Advocate | Reuters | NOTUS | Wall Street Journal

National park ranger quits, tours visitor centers to fight censorship

SFGATE

More livestock grazing on public lands could spell trouble for ecosystem health

Sierra Magazine | St George News

Forest Service moves toward unrestricted motorized access in area used by iconic western elk herd

Outdoor Life

Utahns brave 100-degree heat to protest shrinking of national monuments

Fox13

Helicopter tried to pick up firefighters before deadly burn over in western Colorado

Denver Post

The conflict over permanent climbing anchors in wilderness areas

High Country News

Quote of the day

The last 20 years everybody has played this game which is, ‘Let’s wait on the hydrology and hope the hydrology bails us out,’ but that’s become a very dangerous game to play. If you have another crappy year like this year, you could be looking at 4 or 5 million acre-feet cuts, because the reservoirs would be completely empty.”

—Brad Udall, climate scientist at Colorado State University’s Colorado Water Center, Washington Post

Picture This

@usinterior

Come celebrate the First Peoples of Yellowstone with us. From August 2–8, join Voices of Yellowstone near the North Entrance in Gardiner, Montana, for a week honoring the Indigenous cultures woven into this land: past, present, and future.

There’s a lot to take part in. An opening ceremony with the lighting of the teepees, guided cultural tours across the park (registration required), a native art market, live music, speakers, and a community potluck.

Voices of Yellowstone is hosted by @ynpforever in partnership with Yellowstone National Park, alongside the Pretty Shield Foundation, @rockymountaintlc, and @visitgardinermt. We hope to see you there.

Photos by Jacob W. Frank / NPS

Featured image: Colorado River Basin map. Source: usgs.gov

The post Federal government proposes steep cuts for Colorado River water use appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Panel puts spotlight on Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, BLM Director Steve Pearce, and anti-park members of Congress

SANTA FE— Leaders from New Mexico advocacy groups and the Center for Western Priorities called on President Donald Trump, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and former New Mexico congressman and current Bureau of Land Management director Steve Pearce to stop attacking New Mexico’s parks and public lands.

At a live taping of The Landscape podcast, the Center for Western Priorities’ Keep Parks Public campaign highlighted the ongoing threats to American public lands, including the Trump administration’s aggressive attempts to lease public land for oil and gas drilling, funding cuts to national parks and public land management agencies, and efforts to cut the public and Tribes out of public land management.

“New Mexico’s public lands are being used as political pawns,” said Charlotte Overby, vice president of conservation field programs at the Conservation Lands Foundation. “The Trump administration is trying to strip protections from places like Chaco Canyon and national monuments through executive action, while Congress is mandating more lease sales and eliminating hard-fought, collaborative planning processes local people and the public worked hard to achieve. It’s not one attack, it’s a coordinated and systematic attempt to literally remove the public from public lands. Public lands belong to everyone, not to companies or a handful of wealthy individuals who seek to develop and profit off them.”

“Chaco is not a resource to be extracted, it is the origin of our Pueblo world, and this administration keeps treating it like an obstacle instead of a living homeland,” said Keegan King, executive director of the Native Land Institute. “First they came for the buffer zone. Now we’re watching the same pattern repeat across every corner of New Mexico’s public lands, monuments shrunk without our consent, tribal consultation reduced to a formality, decisions made in Washington before our governors ever get a seat at the table. The federal government has a trust responsibility to Tribal Nations, not a courtesy it extends when convenient. Every time these protections are stripped away, the cost isn’t just what’s drilled or logged, it’s the trust between our nations and this government, and that erosion doesn’t show up on anyone’s balance sheet.”

“Public lands are first and foremost ancestral lands of America’s Tribes. The larger threats we are seeing to public lands are threats to Tribal sovereignty, culture, identity, spirituality and subsistence,” said Andrew Black, director of Tribal lands and waters at the National Wildlife Federation. “Right now, energy dominance asks what can we extract from the land for the land is regarded as a commodity belonging to us. However, we must reverse this paradigm to see that we belong to the land as part of a larger interconnected community for what we do to the land, water, air, and wildlife we fundamentally do to ourselves. The challenge before us is not simply to preserve landscapes. It is to preserve right relationships —between people and the land, between generations, and ultimately between humanity and the larger web of life.”

“America’s public lands are under assault, and science itself is under siege. The very core of our national natural treasures and cultural sites and stories are being undermined through policy shifts, lack of public input, and staffing shortages,” said Elaine Leslie, executive council member with the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks. “Redefining what constitutes harm to species at-risk can only result in the demise of animals and their habitats already on the brink from impacts such as climate change, invasive species, resource extraction, and fragmentation. Our nation’s natural and cultural resources and history depend upon our collective voices to protect our public lands now and for generations to come.”

Audio, video, photos, and transcripts from today’s event and previous events will be available in the Keep Parks Public media archive.

The Keep Parks Public campaign is a project of the Center for Western Priorities, which is partnering with local conservation groups to elevate the voices of leading experts on threats to outdoor access, from budget cuts and funding freezes to attempts to sell off public lands entirely.

The Keep Parks Public tour kicked off in July 2025, making stops in Denver, Las Cruces, Tucson, Flagstaff, Moab, Salt Lake City, Grand Junction, and Jackson. This summer, we’re stopping in Santa Fe (7/30), Tucson (8/28), and more locations around the West.

The public is invited to share their thoughts and join the campaign to Keep Parks Public and stop the attacks on America’s public lands.

Top threats to New Mexico’s Public Lands

1. The Chaco Canyon buffer rollback
   The Bureau of Land Management is moving to gut the 10-mile protective buffer around Chaco Culture National Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site sacred to more than 20 Pueblo tribes, implemented under the Biden administration. The Trump administration wants to eliminate the buffer as part of its “Unleashing American Energy” agenda, even though 90% of the surrounding terrain is already leased. BLM’s current proposal offers three options: eliminate the buffer entirely, cut it in half, or leave it intact. The public comment deadline just passed on July 29.Sen. Martin Heinrich and the rest of New Mexico’s congressional delegation have introduced a permanent fix to protect the region and its cultural sites: the Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act, which would permanently bar new oil and gas leasing on federal lands within 10 miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park, closing the door the administration is now trying to force back open. It’s currently stalled in Congress, but it’s the only proposal on the table that would take the buffer zone question out of the hands of whoever occupies the White House.
2. Monuments in the crosshairs
   Mark Allison with New Mexico Wild warns that Trump’s decision to reduce Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah could put Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, Rio Grande del Norte, and Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks national monuments at risk. Leaked Interior Department documents have listed those three New Mexico monuments as potential targets for reductions, with Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks specifically named as one of six sites under consideration.
3. Wildland firefighting reorganization
   The administration recently stood up a new U.S. Wildland Fire Service, consolidating firefighting away from individual Interior bureaus, including the Bureau of Land Management and National Park Service, and into one central office, over bipartisan congressional objections. Meanwhile, the Forest Service has already lost about 5,900 people, roughly 16% of its staff, through early retirements, resignations, and buyouts, with proposed 2026 staffing cuts of 30% or more on top of that.
4. Park staffing: a mixed but still bad picture
   DOGE’s “Fork in the Road” email pushed roughly 2,400 NPS employees into early retirement or resignation in January 2025, about 12 percent of the workforce, and then Interior fired around 1,000 more NPS employees that February in what staff called the “Valentine’s Day Massacre.” Total NPS staff losses since then are estimated at 25 percent. Rep. Gabe Vasquez has said staffing at Carlsbad Caverns specifically has declined 20 percent, leaving the park unable to run regular visitation hours or after-school programs. That October, both Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands closed entirely during the 35-day-adjacent federal shutdown, with Rep. Vasquez warning “we’re going to see minimal staffing across our public land system.”

   This June, Vasquez sent Interior Secretary Burgum a letter demanding an explanation for why roughly $90 million in NPS entrance fee revenue, money meant for repairs at parks like White Sands and Carlsbad Caverns, was instead redirected to beautification projects in Washington, D.C., during peak summer visitor season.

5. Congress eyeing public land sales
   Sen. Mike Lee proposed striking a provision requiring Interior to maintain ownership of all existing National Park Service units, which would open the door to selling park land, in a state home to Carlsbad Caverns, White Sands, Bandelier, Chaco Canyon, and Valles Caldera. An earlier version of the reconciliation bill would have greenlit selling off roughly 1.23 million acres of public land, and even after that language was stripped, the bill still clawed back $267 million in committed park staffing funds.
6. Rolling back drilling accountability
   BLM is proposing to slash lease bond minimums to 1950s and ’60s levels, cutting statewide bonds from $500,000 to $25,000 regardless of how many wells they cover, while eliminating methane waste minimization plans and leak detection and repair requirements. This directly undercuts rules credited with keeping New Mexico’s methane intensity in the Permian Basin at less than half of Texas’s, and threatens to stick taxpayers with a massive orphan well clean up bill.
7. Expanded oil and gas leasing across the Permian and San Juan basins
   Since the “One Big Beautiful Bill” took effect on July 4, 2025, BLM has leased roughly 61,400 acres of federal land in New Mexico across three completed quarterly sales: 7,501.76 acres in July 2025 for $58.26 million, 20,399 acres in January 2026 for $326.8 million (nearly all in New Mexico, with a single Oklahoma parcel), and 33,530 acres in May 2026 that brought in just over $4 billion, the largest lease sale total in BLM history.

   More is coming. BLM has scheduled an August 19, 2026 sale offering 26 parcels totaling 20,334 acres across New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas, and has opened comment on a proposed November 2026 sale covering 30 more parcels totaling 8,071 acres in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas. If the August sale goes through as planned, it would push the total leased in New Mexico since OBBBA past 80,000 acres in just over a year.

8. Weakening the Endangered Species Act
   The administration has proposed rolling back Endangered Species Act regulations that would severely limit how much critical habitat can be designated for species headed toward extinction, alarming conservationists about the Mexican gray wolf’s future. A related change opens New Mexico’s forests to logging and mining by loosening wildlife habitat protections.
9. Push to delist the Mexican gray wolf
   The House Natural Resources Committee has advanced the Enhancing Safety for Animals Act with bipartisan support, which would strip federal ESA protections from the Mexican wolf entirely. Separately, federal and state agencies are preparing to downlist the wolf from endangered to threatened, even as at least 23 wolves have been documented in trapping incidents across New Mexico since 2022.
10. Budget: parks got a reprieve for FY2026, but FY2027 is a fresh fight
    The FY2026 appropriations law, enacted January 23, 2026, gave NPS $3.267 billion, 54 percent more than what the administration had requested. That blocked what would have been a $900 million, 31 percent operations cut and the elimination of funding for roughly 350 park sites.

    The administration’s FY2027 budget proposal, released in April, seeks to slash $736 million from park operations and would shrink the NPS workforce from about 16,000 to roughly 13,000. Sen. Heinrich called it proof “this administration is not committed to keeping the Park Service intact” and warned it would gut the regional scientists, archaeologists, and historians parks rely on even if front-line ranger jobs are nominally spared. That budget fight will play out in Congress this fall.

Since 2012, the Center for Western Priorities (CWP) has been a leading source of accurate information about energy and public lands across the West. CWP advocates for responsible uses of American lands, including recreation, conservation, and renewable energy.

The Conservation Lands Foundation (CLF) is a national non-profit headquartered in Durango, Colorado, dedicated to protecting, restoring, and expanding National Conservation Lands.

 

The post New Mexico conservation leaders denounce attacks on national public lands, join campaign to Keep Parks Public appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

“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.

As exciting events continue in Philadelphia, learn how you can get around to major summer 2026 events without a car, or being stuck in traffic with GoPhillyGo: Car-Free Routes Map!

Image Source: BillyPenn

BillyPenn: Philadelphians are riding SEPTA 24 hours straight hoping to improve it – Transit Forward Philadelphia organized a 24 ride on SEPTA this week, to bring awareness and support to the Zero Fare Program, the Transit Access Fund, and other inclusive transportation programs. SEPTA access and student key cards are a lifeline for communities, as stated by Kensington organizer and advocate Gloria Cartagena Hart. SEPTA is a critical need for all Philadelphians, and people with disabilities are sometimes relying on the same service, at a higher price. The Transit Access Fund hopes to address those inequities, and keep SEPTA moving for all.

Image Source: Philadelphia Visitor Center

PhillyVoice: Philly PHLASH says it likely just had its busiest stretch in its 32-year history – Philadelphia’s PHLASH, the bus service that brings riders to popular tourist destinations around the city, drove over 60,000 riders during the 39-day stretch of the World Cup. PHLASH will continue operating daily from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. to its 19 stops through Labor Day. It will run Fridays through Sundays every week after Labor Day through the end of November.

Image Source: 6ABC

Mass Transit Mag: SEPTA, CTA report drops in system crime as agencies fortify security efforts – SEPTA has recorded a double digit decrease in crime, including a 21% reduction in serious crimes in the second quarter of 2026. Summer events such as the World Cup saw over 155,000 fans riding the BSL and SEPTA responded with increased transit police officers. Serious crimes remain at their lowest levels since 2015, and fare evasion has also been reduced by 10% with measures taken so far.

Other Stories

NBC Philadelphia: Philadelphia leads major US cities in deadly crashes, latest data shows

PhillyVoice: Nearly completed Washington Avenue Connector is part of a broader vision for Delaware River waterfront

CBS Pittsburgh: PennDOT reaches major milestone for I-79 interchange reconstruction project

The Inquirer: Abingtonians can now request anti-speeding devices on certain streets. Will yours be one of them?

CBS Philadelphia: Speed cameras now in place along busy road in Newark, Delaware

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

July 30, 2026

Trump administration works to erase Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments  Removal of signage for both National Monuments conducted in recent days  

Contacts:
Grant Stevens, Communications Director, Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA); (319) 427-0260; grant@suwa.org
Amy Dominguez, Deputy Press Secretary, Sierra Club, (385) 355-4631; amy.dominguez@sierraclub.org
Caitlyn Burford, Senior Communications Manager, National Parks Conservation Association, cburford@npca.org, (541) 371-6452
Perry Wheeler, Earthjustice, pwheeler@earthjustice.org, (202) 792-6211

SOUTHERN UTAH – Just over two weeks since President Trump decimated Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments, the administration is racing ahead with its work to try and erase the National Monuments from both the landscape and public awareness. Last week, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) removed signage from Bears Ears National Monument, starting with the Tribal seals representing the 5 Tribes of the Bears Ears Commission and quickly escalating to the complete removal of the monument signs themselves. By Tuesday, July 28, signs signifying the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument had also been removed from at least 5 gateway locations.

These signs play a practical role. They mark the entrances to the national monuments for visitors, indicating that these areas are some of the nation’s most important protected public landscapes that together protect over a hundred thousand ancestral cultural sites. By clearly communicating to visitors that this is an irreplaceable area created to protect significant cultural and archeological resources, proper signage can help prevent damage. Removing monument gateway signs, coupled with the administration’s illegal reduction of more than 3 million acres from the monuments, will lead to confusion, uncertainty, and chaos on the ground and in surrounding communities. 

The removal of signage carries particular significance at Bears Ears. The signs made visible the role of Tribal Nations in co-managing and stewarding their ancestral lands. Removing Tribal recognition from these public lands erases an indelible part of the landscape. The five Tribal seals were removed from the Bears Ears monument signs following the proclamation that terminated the Bears Ears Commission. The seals represented the formal role of the five Commission Tribes in the collaborative management of their ancestral homelands. Their removal is a visible sign of the dismantling of that framework, but it does not change the Tribes’ connection to the living cultural landscape or their responsibility to care for it. 

The Trump Administration’s efforts to erase history are not new. Over the last year, efforts by the administration to erase or alter historical interpretation on public lands, including removing signs and displays across national parks, have been met with strong public opposition. People have made it clear that parks and monuments should reflect the full history of these places, including the histories, cultures, and living traditions of Tribal Nations. The Salt Lake Tribune, Outside, and other news outlets covered the removal of the Bear Ears signage. Additional information and quotes can be found below. 

“Make no mistake, overseeing the removal of gateway signs welcoming visitors to Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments is a part of the plan by the Trump administration and Senators Lee and Curtis and Governor Cox to try and eliminate the monuments from the nation’s collective memory,” said Steve Bloch, Legal Director at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “They’re going to find that it won’t be that easy; attacking public lands has consequences. Americans love their national parks and monuments and ‘won’t let them ‘go gently into that good night.’” 

“Removing the signage at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is another example of taking action without prior consent or adequate preparation. It is exactly what we expect from this administration,” said Dr. Jackie Grant, Executive Director at Grand Staircase Escalante Partners. “The signs at Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument do not just mark the boundary, they keep visitors safe by providing them with navigational markers and on the ground information. The signs should have stayed in place until a replacement solution was ready to go.” 

“Removing the signs that announce protected public lands is deeply alarming, and symbolizes the attempted erasure this Administration is undertaking of landscapes that are profoundly meaningful,” said Chapter Director of the Sierra Club in Utah, Franque Bains. “But wiping their existence won’t go without resistance. Utahns have shown up time and time again to defend Grand Staircase-Escalante, and Bears Ears, and this time won’t be any different. We won’t let it.”

“Removing the Tribal seals from Bears Ears first, then tearing down the gateway signs at Grand Staircase-Escalante, tells you everything you need to know about this administration’s priorities,” said Axie Navas, director of designation campaigns at The Wilderness Society. “These monuments exist because Tribal Nations and communities across Utah fought to protect places that belong to all of us. Erasing that history from a roadside sign doesn’t erase our responsibility to pass these lands down intact, so future generations have the same freedom to experience them as we do today.”

“While the Trump administration is removing signage in its attempt to dismantle Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante, this destructive gesture does not decide the monuments’ fate,” said Thomas Delehanty, senior attorney with Earthjustice’s Rocky Mountain Office. “Just as we did with Trump’s 2017 revocations, we will challenge these illegal rollbacks in court. The intent of the Antiquities Act was clear: to protect our nation’s archaeological, cultural, and scientific wonders; not to destroy them.”

“You can tear down signs, but you cannot erase the history, cultural significance, or overwhelming public support behind Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments,” said Chris Hill, CEO of the Conservation Lands Foundation. “Removing monument signs and the Tribal seals diminishes the lived history and our shared understanding of the cultural continuity that these treasured landscapes hold for the Tribes and all of us. These lands remain sacred, beloved, and worth fighting for. Communities across the country will not allow this administration to erase them from the map or our collective memory.”

“President Trump’s proclamations to gut Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments were already an unlawful betrayal of Tribal Nations and the American people. Now, the rush to remove the names and Tribal seals from the landscape feels deliberately dismissive of the Tribes whose histories, cultures, and enduring relationships are inseparable from these ancestral homelands,” said Cory MacNulty, Southwest Campaign Director at the National Parks Conservation Association. “The proclamations did more than reduce monument boundaries. They dismantled historic Tribal co-stewardship structures that recognized Tribal Nations as leaders in the care and management of their ancestral lands. Visitors deserve opportunities to understand their profound significance to Indigenous peoples, not federal efforts that conceal, diminish, or erase those connections.”

Background information about the national monument reductions:

• Statements from Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante Inter-Tribal coalitions
• SUWA Statement on Trump’s Illegal Reductions of Grand Staircase-Escalante & Bears Ears National Monuments
• Full statement and quotes tracking
• Maps of the reductions
• Reporter Background Memo on National Monuments
• Royalty-free assets for media use, please credit creators 
  • Photos of places cut from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument available here (Google album) and here (Google drive).
  • Photos of places cut from Bears Ears National Monument available here (Google album) and here (Google drive).
  • Video b-roll of Bears Ears for media use is available here

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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 a world-renowned landscape. Learn more at www.suwa.org.

 

 

The post Trump administration works to erase Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments – 7.30.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

This past weekend, Restore the Delta and the Mormon Slough Restoration Association (MSRA) hosted a public visioning meeting to help finalize a broad vision for restoration of the Mormon Slough and conceptual designs for two pilot sites: the Solari Ranch area and a site behind the Emergency Foodbank near downtown Stockton. 

The successful event brought together community members, City of Stockton leaders, and other key stakeholders to share ideas and help shape a collective vision for transforming the long-neglected corridor into a healthier, more resilient community resource. 

As Michelle Mendoza, Flood and Land Restoration Program Manager at Restore the Delta, told ABC 10, “We ultimately want to see water running through the slough, but in the short, near term, we can definitely see having local vegetation, native vegetation being put in, removing invasive species, and bringing in park amenities for folks.”

Stockton resident Latoya Fox also expressed her enthusiasm saying, “Seeing that we have projects that we have started to start moving forward to a better future for the community to use for entertainment purposes or just to have fun is great.”

The feedback gathered during this meeting, along with input from the previous public visioning session and additional community outreach including engagement with more than 3,000 households over the past nine months, will now help guide the landscape architecture team as they begin finalizing restoration plans. 

Restore the Delta would like to send heartfelt appreciation to everyone who took the time to participate and share their ideas. We’d also like to thank the San Francisco Estuary Institute for helping facilitate productive discussions, as well as the Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians, San Joaquin County Supervisor Mario Gardea, City of Stockton Vice Mayor Jason Lee, and City of Stockton Councilmember Mario Enriquez, for joining us and supporting this important effort.

Groups demand Independent Review Panel for massive pollution-plagued coal project  Governments too vested in approving expansion to be trusted to protect public interest  Wed. July 29, 2026.  OTTAWA – Ottawa: An Independent Review Panel must conduct the Impact Assessment for Glencore’s controversial Fording River coal mine expansion (FRX) project in BC’s Elk Valley – because …

The post Press Release: Groups demand Independent Review Panel for massive pollution-plagued coal project  appeared first on Montana Environmental Information Center - MEIC.

Gas drilling in a small village in the Yorkshire Wolds would cause “unacceptable harm”, a leading campaign organisation has said.

Entrance to the proposed gas site. Photo: DrillOrDrop

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) has strongly objected to the plan at Foxholes, about nine miles from Scarborough, in North Yorkshire.

CPRE said a planning application by Egdon Resources should be refused.

A detailed response by the organisation’s North and East Yorkshire branch said:

“The proposal is inappropriate in this rural location, would cause unacceptable harm to countryside character and amenity, raises unresolved environmental and water protection concerns, would generate significant traffic and operational disturbance, and is inconsistent with the direction of travel required by climate change policy and responsible rural planning.”

It added:

“The proposal would introduce an intrusive industrial hydrocarbon exploration operation into a rural landscape, with associated drilling, testing, heavy goods vehicle movements, lighting, noise, emissions, water protection risks and long-term landscape and climate implications.

It said the operation, if approved, would “erode the local character and tranquillity of the area and would be at odds with the public interest in protecting the countryside for its landscape, amenity, ecological and cultural value”.

The organisation also said the application was “contrary to both national and local planning policies, inconsistent with the protection of rural character and amenity, and fails to demonstrate that the development can be made acceptable in this sensitive location.”

The earmarked site is on the edge of the proposed Yorkshire Wolds National Landscape, a designation that would bring the same level of protection given to national parks.

Egdon proposes to drill an exploration well through the chalk drinking water aquifer and next to the Gypsey Race, a rare chalk stream. Both the aquifer and the stream are considered internationally significant.

6CPRE formal response to Foxholes gas drilling planningk application Download Key issues

CPRE said the proposal would generate some short-term construction work, possibly increase exploratory knowledge and may contribute to future gas production.

But the organisation said there were many disadvantages, including:

• climate conflict and lack of need for new gas
• harm to the Yorkshire Wolds and proposed National Landscape sensitivity zone
• unacceptable noise risk in a quiet rural area
• unresolved highway safety, congestion and emergency-routing issues
• risk to the Gypsey Race and chalk aquifer
• disturbance to residents, vulnerable road users, agriculture and tourism
• uncertainty over restoration and future production pressure

“Undermine protection of the Yorkshire Wolds”

CPRE said the site is in the setting of the proposed Yorkshire Wolds National Landscape, a distinctive region of open, rolling farmland, dry valleys, historic villages and relative tranquillity. The site is also within the 3.5km sensitivity zone of what would be a protected area.

The organisation said:

“approving hydrocarbon exploration in this landscape would set an undesirable precedent for further industrialisation of the Wolds and their rural setting”.

It said North Yorkshire Council, which will decide the planning application, should “attach ‘substantial weight’ to landscape protection, rural amenity and the conservation of countryside character”.

CPRE added:

“The council should not ignore the national significance of the landscape evidence or permit development within its immediate sensitivity zone that would prejudice, undermine or conflict with the purposes of designation”.

“Traffic risks on rural roads”

CPRE said the scheme should be refused because of the impact on local roads from a “significant number of heavy goods vehicle [HGV] and operational vehicle movements”.

It said:

“Rural roads in and around Foxholes are not designed to accommodate sustained industrial traffic without harm to local amenity, road safety, verges, agricultural access and quiet enjoyment of the countryside.

Increased HGV traffic would add noise, vibration, emissions, perceived danger for residents, walkers, cyclists, horse riders and other road users, the organisation said.

It added:

“the rural road network should [not] be used to support fossil fuel exploration where the claimed public benefit is speculative and limited.”

CPRE also raised concerns that the proposed lorry route to the Foxhole site crossed Staxton Hill, 515ft high with a 1:4 gradient.

It said Egdon Resources had not provided sufficient detail of any alternative or emergency route if Staxton Hill were closed or unavailable.

“Without a fully assessed and consulted-upon emergency routing plan, the council cannot lawfully or rationally conclude that safe and suitable access has been demonstrated for all phases of the development”.

The organisation said the impacts of the scheme on local roads “should therefore be treated as severe, or at the very least inadequately assessed, and permission should be refused until the applicant has demonstrated safe and suitable access for all users and the absence of unacceptable or severe cumulative transport effects”.

“Unresolved risks to water resources”

CPRE said the application had not “demonstrated that standard mitigation, monitoring and regulatory controls are sufficient to overcome the planning objection in this sensitive rural and hydrogeological context”.

It said the Yorkshire Wolds chalk aquifer was particularly vulnerable because groundwater can move through fractures and fissures and contaminants may travel unpredictably and rapidly.

It urged the council to apply a precautionary approach and “require clear, independent evidence that serious or irreversible harm can be ruled out”.

CPRE said North Yorkshire Council should not defer “fundamental questions of water protection to later permitting regimes where those matters are also relevant to land use planning.

The organisation added it would be “perverse” for the planning system to support a project to restore the Gypsey Race, “while simultaneously permitting a new fossil fuel drilling operation” nearby “without a compelling need and without eliminating the risk of harm to the chalk aquifer and chalk stream system”.

“Disturbance to residents”

CPRE said of the drilling proposal:

“it would introduce noise, lighting, dust, odour and industrial activity harmful to residential and rural amenity”.

It said planning conditions would not “adequately protect residents and the rural environment”.

CPRE said the current night-time noise levels were very low. It specifically opposed Egdon’s suggested night-time noise limits.

It said:

“the Council should require Egdon to show why materially lower night-time limits cannot be achieved and why the operation cannot be designed to avoid night-time drilling noise impacts altogether.”

“Climate change and fossil fuel dependence”

CPRE said it objected in principle to new hydrocarbon exploration because this would prolong dependence on fossil fuels when national policy, scientific evidence and public interest required accelerated transition to renewable and low carbon energy.

It said the planning case for the Foxholes proposal was “weak”. The development was not needed to meet a compelling local or national requirement for new gas extraction, the organisation said.

“The claimed economic benefits here are limited and temporary, while the proposal would enable a form of energy development that is inconsistent with the direction of national climate policy and the urgent need to decarbonise. On that basis, the development is not sustainable development and should be refused.”

Link to planning application