G2. Local Greens

A record number of appeals have been lodged against the WA Environmental Protection Authority’s (EPA) decision to recommend approval of Black Mountain Energy’s* fracking project in the Kimberley, signalling widespread community opposition.

Summer clerkship dates: Flexible – mid-May to mid-August
Location: Salt Lake City, UT
Application Deadline: February 27, 2026. Applications reviewed on a rolling basis until then.

Download Summer Law Clerk Job Description as PDF

ABOUT SUWA:

The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is dedicated to the preservation of the outstanding wilderness at the heart of the Colorado Plateau in Utah, and the management of these lands in their natural state for the benefit of all Americans. SUWA advocates for local and national recognition of the region’s unique character, and supports both administrative and legislative initiatives to permanently protect the wild places in Utah within the National Wilderness Preservation System.

SUWA’s legal staff litigate and advocate for durable public land conservation policies, focusing on a large array of issues including preventing fossil fuel development, promoting balanced travel and recreation management, and the protection of cultural resources.

DUTIES:

Summer law clerks have the opportunity to work with SUWA’s legal team on ongoing litigation and policy advocacy. Clerks may draft memos and litigation documents, complete legal research, and attend court proceedings and depositions.

QUALIFICATIONS:

SUWA accepts applications from rising 2L and 3L students with preference for 3Ls. Course history or prior experience relevant to environmental, public lands, and administrative law is also preferred.

COMPENSATION:

• The internship pays $7,000 for the summer with an expected 40 hours per week for 10 weeks from mid-May – mid-August in SUWA’s Salt Lake City office.
• SUWA does not provide housing in the Salt Lake area but can provide resources and advice for those relocating.

TO APPLY: Email a cover letter, resume, writing sample, and unofficial law school transcript to Hanna Larsen at hanna@suwa.org by February 27, 2026. Applications will be reviewed and interviews offered on a rolling basis. No phone calls please. Find us at www.suwa.org, on Instagram (@protectwildutah), and on Facebook (/SouthernUtahWildernessAlliance)

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at SUWA

The mission of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance is to defend and protect the wilderness at the heart of the Colorado Plateau and in Utah’s West Desert.

We are committed to the idea that our commonalities greatly outweigh our differences, and that the redrock is for everyone. Our mission is to protect the redrock for the wonder and enjoyment of all future generations, both human and non-human alike.

The lands we work to protect are the ancestral homelands of many Tribes, including those that were forcibly removed at the hands of the U.S. government in an effort to exterminate their cultures, languages, and ways of life. These injustices are still felt today, but the quest to erase the Tribes failed: indigenous communities continue their traditions and remain an integral part of the landscape and our community. We are committed to working toward understanding this history; to expanding present-day common ground, collaboration, and reconciliation with our Tribal neighbors; and to advocating that Tribes receive a seat at the table when others would exclude them.

The environmental movement has a regrettable history of excluding and oppressing marginalized people. We know that the redrock, humanity, and the future of the planet itself depend on working together to solve our greatest common threat: the climate crisis. As we face the challenges of the 21st century head-on, we recognize we can only do so by including, involving, and elevating Tribes, communities of color, people of diverse economic backgrounds, faith communities, the LGBTQ+ community, and the tapestry of experience that weaves together our common humanity. We are committed to doing this both within our staff and through our daily work to protect the redrock.

The post Now Hiring: Summer Law Clerk appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

A well test at the controversial Balcombe oil site – scene of daily anti-fracking protests in summer 2013 – is looking unlikely.

The Balcombe site in West Sussex during drilling, 21 August 2013.
Photo: David Burr

The site, in West Sussex, has failed to give notice of the start of work.

Planning conditions require the well test to begin by 13 February 2026 and the site operator, Angus Energy, to give notice at least seven days earlier.

But West Sussex County Council confirmed today that it had received no notice from the company.

A council spokesperson said:

“The appeal decision (APP/P3800/W/21/3282246) requires commencement of the development within three years of the decision, which is 13 February 2026.  The County Council has not received any notification from Angus Energy with regards to commencement.”

Extract from planning conditions for Balcombe well site, issued 13 February 2023

A failure to start work by the deadline would see the planning permission lapse.

At the time of writing, Angus Energy had not made a statement to shareholders about the well test or the Balcombe site. DrillOrDrop has invited the company to comment on why it has not given notice of the work.

The village campaign organisation, Frack Free Balcombe Residents’ Association (FFBRA), said today:

“We won’t quite believe it until the deadline has passed but we are counting the days now with growing excitement. We’ve been watching the site closely in the last few weeks and to our great relief it has remained quiet.”

FFBRA member Helen Savage said:

“The fact that the oil company has not returned is testimony to many many years of hard work by so many concerned residents.

“Back in 2012 Keith Taylor (Green MEP) told residents that recent history showed the  ability to keep away an oil or gas company depended on the determination of the residents to come together and oppose it.

“We have refused to give up fighting every step of the way, because we have always known this development is wrong for the community, wrong for our local environment and above all wrong for our climate.

“We hope now that Angus Energy/Cuadrilla realise we have so many studies and so much new information that would stop a further application, that they realise it is pointless to continue.”

FFBRA chair, John Clarkson, said:

“Enforcing restoration is the next fight.  This is great news.” 

Malcolm Kenward, another FFBRA member, said:

“Balcombe residents and visitors can breathe easy again with fresh air, unpolluted by Angus Energy.

“The pupils and teachers at our village Primary School, will no longer be subjected to massive HGVs belching out diesel fumes as they pass by a metre away. The threat to Ardingly reservoir and the aquifer below the site (the local hosepipe ban was finally lifted just last week) has gone, although the results of the a survey identifying the poor integrity of the well bore suggest the aquifer may already have been polluted. (Perhaps why they decided not to return.)

“We are all so glad and relieved to have our village back again. There will be a party.”

Sue Taylor, a former FFBRA chair, said:

“We are absolutely delighted and we look forward to WSCC enforcing the restoration of the site.” 

West Sussex’s planning committee unanimously refused permission for the well test in March 2021. This was despite a recommendation to approve by planners.

Angus Energy successfully appealed against the refusal when a planning inspector overturned the council’s decision in February 2023.

Limited work has been carried out since the Balcombe oil well was drilled more than a decade ago, in woodland on the edge of the village.

The site has been consistently unpopular with many residents.

A local poll in 2013 found 85% were against drilling the well, 9% undecided and just 6% in favour.

FFBRA took three legal challenges against planning permission at the site to the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

DENVER—The Trump administration has hijacked the official, bipartisan organization set up to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary and created a financial black box that has received at least $10 million in taxpayer funds while also soliciting millions more from donors whose identities may never be released.

Reporting from The New York Times reveals that Freedom 250, President Donald Trump’s hand-picked replacement for the official America250 celebration, is selling direct access to President Trump, including photo opportunities with the president, for $1 million and up. Freedom 250 is also partnering with right-wing political and Christian nationalist groups, including PragerU and Hillsdale College, to create content for six “Freedom Trucks” that are traveling the country at taxpayer expense.

E&E News previously reported that Interior Secretary Doug Burgum instructed the Interior department to switch all semiquincentennial branding to Freedom 250, sidelining the bipartisan America250 organization that Congress created in 2016.

The Center for Western Priorities released the following statement from Deputy Director Aaron Weiss:

“It’s completely inappropriate for Secretary Burgum to force Interior department employees to take part in the blatant influence-peddling at Freedom 250. Offering governments and businesses direct access to the president for millions of dollars is un-American, and Doug Burgum needs to explain his involvement in this scheme.

“It’s even more concerning that the Interior department is requiring employees to endorse the explicitly political and religious mission of Freedom 250. The National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Bureau of Land Management should be telling America’s full story, not taking part in a Christian nationalist effort to censor history by erasing Indigenous Americans, the horrors of slavery, and the contributions of immigrants. The Freedom 250 logo, and all of the corruption that it represents, should not be in government email signatures or plastered across the visitor centers that are supposed to serve all Americans, regardless of their faith or politics.”

In today’s New York Times story, a spokesperson for Freedom 250 claimed that “Freedom 250 is not accepting foreign donations.” This is contradicted by Freedom 250 CEO Keith Krach, who spent the World Economic Forum at the Freedom 250-branded “USA House” in Davos, Switzerland, publicly soliciting foreign partners for Freedom 250.

At Davos, Krach said that Freedom 250 was “engaging our allies, partners, and institutions around the world…. not just as spectators but as participants.” Krach continued:

“So for the international leaders here at Davos and in this room: the question is not how you observe our nation’s 250th. The question is how will you shape a moment that will influence American leadership for the next generation?”

U.S. Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers asked Krach, “People here at Davos who want to get involved, who want to celebrate our birthday with us, what can they do? What kinds of things should they be thinking about and who should they reach out to?”

Krach replied, “Your imagination is your only limitation. And we would love to work with you. We’ve got toolkits for countries, states, companies, all of that. It’s all about partnership, and what could be funner than marketing America, or really, marketing freedom. So… let us know.”

The House Natural Resources Committee is holding a hearing on Tuesday to discuss public-private partnerships in the semiquincentennial celebration. Witnesses at the hearing are expected to include representatives from the four congressionally-chartered foundations that partner with the Interior department. The National Park Foundation, which has been commandeered by Trump loyalists, is acting as the pass-through for money going to and from Freedom 250.

Featured image: The names of the 9 enslaved people who George Washington held in bondage at the President’s House in Philadelphia, National Park Service

The post STATEMENT: Interior department becomes conduit for influence peddling and history erasure appeared first on Center for Western Priorities.

Lincoln County commissioners filed a petition last year to undo safeguards protecting Lake Koocanusa from the mining contaminant selenium. Plaintiffs accused local officials of “doing the bidding for a foreign mining company.” By Tristian Scott, Flathead Beacon An environmental organization is suing the board of commissioners in Lincoln County for refusing to disclose public information …

The post Lawsuit Accuses Lincoln County Officials of Rebuffing Public Records Requests Seeking Information on Petition to Loosen Cap on Canadian Mining Waste appeared first on Montana Environmental Information Center - MEIC.



We have the chance to ban eminent domain for CO2 pipelines in our state, so that landowners who don’t want such projects on their property impacting their businesses have the right to tell a corporation, “No thanks.”

It is critical that Nebraskans contact Senators on the Natural Resources Committee *NOW*

Urge them to support LB 916, to ban eminent domain for CO2 pipelines
==> Click here to send a letter to all 8 Senators, and make calls now.

• Sen. Tom Brandt (402) 471-2711
• Sen. Barry DeKay (402) 471-2801
• Sen. Stan Clouse (402) 471-2726
• Sen. Danielle Conrad (402) 471-2720
• Sen. Jana Hughes (402) 471-2756
• Sen. Margo Juarez (402) 471-2710
• Sen. Mike Moser (402) 471-2715
• Sen. Jane Raybould (402) 471-2633

If you submitted written testimony or showed up last week at the public hearing to testify — thank you! You can still send a letter to all the Senators on the Natural Resources Committee, and your calls to their offices can help make sure our bill gets heard and voted on by the full Legislature.

SUWA and our partners invite you to join us on Monday, February 9th at 6:00 pm MT for an urgent webinar and call to action in defense of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.

Emergency Webinar in Defense of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
Monday, February 9th on Zoom at 6:00 pm Mountain Time
Click here to RSVP

As you’ve hopefully seen from our recent emails, Utah’s congressional delegation is expected to introduce a “Joint Resolution” in Congress that, if passed, would undo the current Monument Management Plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante. This would be a devastating blow to the monument and could turn it into a wildly different place: one where out-of-control off-road vehicle use, landscape-level clearcutting of native pinyon-juniper forests, and other extractive activities are all possible. We cannot let this happen.

Making this all possible is a little-known law called the Congressional Review Act (CRA). Join us on Monday to learn about the background of this obscure law and how its unorthodox application could not only impact Grand Staircase-Escalante, but is also being used to upend public land protections across the country. We’ll spend the second half of the call highlighting ways we can all fight back and defend the monument, including by contacting members of Congress and requesting in-district meetings.

Please share this invite with your professional contacts, friends, and family. We encourage attendance regardless of where you live, but especially if you live in Montana, Idaho, the Western Slope of Colorado, Nebraska, the greater Philadelphia area (including both Pennsylvania and New Jersey), or Maine, this is an urgent event to join!

Don’t forget to RSVP here. See you on Monday night!

SUWA’s Organizing Team

The post Emergency Webinar in Defense of Grand Staircase-Escalante appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

February 6, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUWA Files Litigation to Stop Illegal Actions by Garfield County in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument – 2.6.26  Garfield County strikes at heart of the Monument, ignores federal law 

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

Salt Lake City, UT – Yesterday, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) filed a lawsuit and moved for an emergency injunction in federal district court, alleging that Garfield County, Utah violated federal law when it began making unauthorized “improvements” to the Hole-in-the-Rock Road. The Road runs from the junction of Highway 12, east of the town of Escalante, to the top of the cliffs above the Colorado River within the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Surrounded by wilderness-quality lands, 57 of the road’s 62 miles are within Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and 16 miles of the road are in Garfield County. It is an unpaved, primarily dirt road and core to the remote experience that defines the 1.9-million-acre National Monument.  

Garfield County is no stranger to ignoring federal laws. On Monday, Feb. 3, the Department of Justice provided SUWA and others a copy of a letter sent by Garfield County on Tuesday, January 27 to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument manager regarding the County’s planned activities on the Hole-in-the-Rock Road. As detailed in the letter and verified on-the-ground, Garfield County is currently conducting and plans to continue conducting unauthorized road improvements on the Hole-in-the-Rock Road including realigning and widening the road and chip sealing (effectively paving) a 10-mile stretch of the road (changing the surface from dirt to chip seal). 

While Garfield County has title to a right-of-way for the Hole-in-the-Rock Road, it does not own the road or the land beneath it (this remains federal public land) and the County is required to consult with the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) before making any improvements. The BLM is required by law to make sure that activities like these do not cause unnecessary damage to public lands and resources; BLM has entirely failed in those duties, idly standing by while the County does this unauthorized work and damages the surrounding area. As detailed in SUWA’s lawsuit and motion for an emergency injunction,  each of these described activities constitutes unauthorized improvements to the road and the County must cease its work immediately and “consult” with BLM before taking any further action. The point of consultation is to allow BLM to fulfill its statutory obligations to protect monument objects and values and to determine if the County’s proposed activities are both reasonable and necessary.  

Below is a statement from SUWA Staff Attorney Hanna Larsen and additional information. 

“The scenic, rugged, and remote Hole-in-the-Rock Road is how many visitors first experience the majesty of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The County’s illegal actions seek to destroy that experience, turning the Road into one you might find in any city in the nation instead of a one-of-a-kind National Monument,” said Hanna Larsen, Staff Attorney for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “Paving will lead to more, faster, and louder traffic forever changing the remote, serene backcountry experience the Monument was created to protect and that draws visitors from around the world.”  

From the 2021 Proclamation re-establishing the National Monument:  

“To the southeast of the Upper Escalante Canyons, adjacent to Capitol Reef National Park and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, is a region with a rich pioneer history that functions as a gateway to the many slot canyons and arches near the Escalante River. Traversing the area is the historically significant Hole-in-the-Rock Road, which generally follows the route that Latter-day Saint pioneers constructed between 1879 and 1880 when crossing southern Utah to establish a wagon route between Escalante and southeast Utah settlements.  

Today, the road provides access to many of the landscape’s resources, including Devil’s Garden, an area with hoodoos, colorful rock formations, and unique sandstone arches like the impressively delicate Metate Arch; the small but attractive Little Jumbo Arch; the widely photographed Sunrise and Sunset arches; and Chimney Rock, a remote, lonely sandstone pillar that seems to defy its otherwise flat surroundings. This area is also the location of Dance Hall Rock, an important landmark where Latter-day Saint pioneers camped and held meetings and dances when constructing the Hole-in-the-Rock Trail.  

These uncompromising desert lands are home to high concentrations of rare species of bees with fascinating adaptations to their local environment, such as Diadasia bees, which build nests in the hard desert soil that feature a clay chimney on top, an architectural design that has, thus far, stumped scientists trying to understand its utility. Consisting of rock primarily from the Jurassic Period, there are many paleontological sites in this region. Among those, the sprawling Twentymile Wash Dinosaur Megatrackway consists of more than several hundred individual dinosaur tracks and what some scientists believe is a rare, mid-line tail-drag impression left in the Escalante Member of the Entrada Formation by a sauropod, or long-necked dinosaur.” 

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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters 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 Files Litigation to Stop Illegal Actions by Garfield County in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument – 2.6.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

As sea level rise increasingly affects daily life in Alameda, residents are clear about what they want to see along their shoreline: adaptation strategies that protect and work with the natural environment. Last fall, the Oakland Alameda Adaptation Committee (OAAC), along with Greenbelt Alliance, Hood Planning Group, and Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda (CASA) put out a survey asking residents how they want to tackle sea level rise along the Alameda Shoreline. Over four months, more than 170 people responded, online and in person at local businesses and spots along the shore. Questions were organized by project reach, including Bay Farm Island, the South Shore, the East End, the Northern Waterfront, and the West End and Alameda Point.

The takeaway was consistent across neighborhoods: Alamedans strongly support solutions that protect natural systems while addressing real, everyday flooding concerns.

People Really Want Nature-Based Solutions

"Wetlands are the only thing that will save Alameda in the long term.”

Residents overwhelmingly emphasized the importance of preserving and restoring wetlands, regreening shorelines, and safeguarding natural habitats as ways to adapt to sea level rise. For example, one respondent wrote: “Wetlands are the only thing that will save Alameda in the long term.” Another wrote: “Please do what is possible to incorporate natural methods for protecting the shoreline.”

Overall, when it came down to it, most people chose wetlands and natural solutions over sea walls.

A few other things stood out in people’s responses.

Fiscal Responsibility and Access Matter, Too

There was a lot of talk about fiscal responsibility and transparent budgeting; people want to make sure taxpayer money is spent wisely, and that the investments actually match the community’s needs. 

Access was another big concern. People are worried about maintaining reliable ways to get on and off the island, especially making sure the Webster and Posey Tubes don’t flood, and that traffic congestion doesn’t worsen. 

Respondents also highlighted that flooding isn’t just a future problem; it’s already happening. One person noted, “Over the past five years the paths [at the Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary] have been more and more frequently inundated with water.”

“Over the past five years the paths [at the Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary] have been more and more frequently inundated with water.”

Neighborhood Perspectives Add Nuance

“Please do what is possible to incorporate natural methods for protecting the shoreline.”

While support for both nature-based solutions and infrastructure protection was strong citywide, responses varied slightly by location. Residents in the Northside and East End tended to prioritize protecting infrastructure, including transportation routes, while respondents from the South Shore expressed comparatively stronger support for nature-based strategies. These nuances will help inform tailored adaptation approaches across Alameda.

What Happens Next

Based on what we’ve heard, the project team will continue to develop to the extent possible near- and long-term adaptation strategies that promote environmental protection, including preserving and restoring wetlands, regreening shorelines, and protecting natural habitat. Additionally, balancing concerns about congestion and transparent budgeting and decision-making will continue to be a top priority.

Looking ahead, the next iteration for sea level rise adaptation planning in Alameda will include community outreach for adaptation specific to Bay Farm Island as well as the Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP) required by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). 

Want to stay in the loop? Sign up for OAAC updates here, and keep your eyes peeled for more opportunities to give your input on what you’d like to see at the shoreline! 

The post Alamedans Show Strong Support for Adaptation Strategies that Protect the Environment appeared first on Greenbelt Alliance.

Calling all youth artists in California! Enter Here!

In celebration of the California Environmental Justice Alliance’s 25th Anniversary, we are excited to launch a youth art contest! Young creatives are invited to showcase their visions of an environmentally just future. All designs must be original and inspired by environmental justice values and our anniversary theme – Grounded in Community, Growing Through Action: 25 Years and Beyond. 

The winning artist will receive $250, and their artwork will be featured on CEJA merchandise, sold in our new online store to support our fundraising efforts. The contest is open to all California youth (25 years old and under). Youth from environmental justice communities are especially encouraged to submit their artwork. 

Submissions are due by end of day on March 6th, 2026. See below for contest guidelines and additional details on how to enter.

CEJA Youth Art Contest Guidelines

• The CEJA Youth Art Contest is open to all youth residing in California. Youth is defined as persons under the age of 26 years old on March 6th, 2026.
• Submissions must be original artworks not published elsewhere and submitted in a high-quality (300 DPI or 2000+ px) PNG format with a transparent background.
• Contest winner must provide W-9 information for tax purposes.
• Contest winner must consent to their design being used on CEJA’s merchandise to raise funds for the organization.
• By submitting a design, you consent to your artwork being featured (with credit) on CEJA’s social media and other communications platforms.
• One design submission is allowed per person.
• Deadline for submission is 11:59pm PST on March 6th, 2026.

Enter Here!

Or copy and paste this link into your browser: bit.ly/cejaartcontest

Alaska Wilderness League opposes the proposed 20-year right-of-way permit for a winter access road across the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, due to impacts to lands and waters along the route.  The right of way would include impacts to denning polar bears and the Porcupine Caribou Herd, harming biodiversity in the region, and impacting the Gwich’in Nation that depends on that herd for traditions and sustenance. 

The Arctic Refuge is one of the last truly intact wild landscapes in America. Even a seasonal road cuts into that integrity, but even greater is our concern is that this route will be the start of much more industrialization. As noted in road proposal, “it is reasonable to assume that this trail may be used as a primary route for oil & gas related overland travel that would allow further access to individual leases. (Draft EA, page 34). Given this — and in line with AWL’s decades of work to keep the Coastal Plain free of industrialization — we view the approval of this road as a step in the wrong direction for the Arctic Refuge coastal plain. 

What is in the proposal? 

This proposal would identify nearly 100 miles of routes across sensitive tundra and wildlife habitat, including areas vital to the Porcupine caribou herd, polar bears, and migratory birds. It would allow for heavy equipment to build ice and snow roads annually for twenty years, that could then be relied on to haul freight, fuel, personal vehicles, and industrial equipment that could further oil and gas development in the Arctic Refuge.  The short-term direct impacts of the road include habitat degradation, permafrost damage, and wildlife disruptions. Longer term impacts include potential industrialization of lands within the Arctic Refuge, including permanent road construction or oil and gas activities. 

Why We Are Concerned: 

• A high risk of long-lasting damage.  The Arctic Refuge coastal plain gets very little snow, increasing the likelihood of long-term tundra impacts as the heavy machinery constructs and drives across the coastal plain each season. 

• Subsistence and wildlife impacts.  Construction noise and traffic would take place when Polar Bears are in the region and emerging from their dens.  Road traffic could potentially still be taking place when the Porcupine Caribou Herd returns to the area in the spring, as well.   

• Precedent that could impact other areas.  The reliance of the ‘inholding’ provision of ANILCA to drive this right of way process – for a community with a year-round airport and seasonal barges – is not what the law intended.  

• Clears the path for future industrial development.  The project applicant, KIC, has indicated the round would be used to identify sites and gravel for a permanent transportation corridor, including oil and gas industrialization. 

In Summary:

The Refuge was set aside to remain wild and undeveloped for the benefit of wildlife, Indigenous communities, and future generations. Solutions to community access and affordability should not come at the expense of this globally significant ecosystem or the people who depend on keeping these places intact.

History shows that once routes and infrastructure are established, they open the door to expanded industrial use, increased traffic, and permanent development. Our concern is that what starts as a “temporary” today will become the first step toward lasting disturbance.

We recognize and respect the real needs and economic challenges facing the community of Kaktovik. At the same time, we stand in solidarity with the Gwichʼin people, whose culture, food security, and way of life are inseparable from the health of the Porcupine caribou herd and the Refuge’s coastal plain. Any new infrastructure that threatens the caribou threatens the Gwichʼin as well.

The Arctic Refuge is not the place for roads. We urge the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to deny this permit and pursue alternatives that meet community needs without compromising the Refuge’s wild character. 

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Photo courtesy of Florian Schulz / protectthearctic.org

Have Your Say: World's Largest Nuclear Station

The post Have Your Say: World’s Largest Nuclear Station appeared first on Ontario Clean Air Alliance.

 

On the crucial issue of data centers, and their potential impact on our water and utility bills, Senator Machaela Cavanaugh introduced LB 1111, a bill to regulate data centers built in Nebraska, and Senators Terrell McKinney and Ashlei Spivey signed on as co-sponsors.

The bill from the trio of Senators would put in place (there are NONE now!) regulations on data centers that require them to pay the full cost of providing new electricity services, including any necessary new infrastructure, and that cost should not be shared or passed on to individual customers like you and me.

The bill would also require that power suppliers make available to the public the name of the project, developers and owners, location of any proposed data center, its proposed size and electricity demand, as well as details on the customer types and term lengths of contracts with proposed data center customers. The bill also requests that the projects have a decommissioning plan and a Community Benefits Agreement.

Read the “Statement of Intent” on LB 1111 from Sen. Cavanaugh .

LB 1111 has been referred to the Natural Resources Committee, and a public hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 12 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 1023. 

ACTION: Submit a public comment in support of LB 1111.

1. Click on “Submit Comments Online For LB1111”, then the “I Understand” box. Be sure to mark yourself as a “Proponent” and then enter your comment in the comment box. Then click the “I’m not a robot” box, and finally the “Submit Comment” button.
2. Tell the Senators you support LB 1111 and commonsense regulations and requirements for Community Benefits Agreements with proposed data centers, projects with massive power needs which could have an impact on our utility bills.

JOIN US & TESTIFY ON FEB. 12: Bold founder Jane Kleeb plans to appear and testify in support of LB 1111 at the Capitol on Feb. 12 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 1023. . You can join up with us before the hearing at the information desk in the Capitol Rotunda 15 minutes before the hearing begins.

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This report looks at the huge potential for expanding solar generation on the site of the former Nanticoke coal-fired generating station.  It finds that expanding existing solar on the site could create a further 113 MW of generation capacity, generating 137 GWh of annual electricity, equivalent to the average energy needs of nearly 15,300 homes.

The post An Even Brighter Future at Nanticoke appeared first on Ontario Clean Air Alliance.

ADVOCATES FOR THE WEST
CENTER FOR BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY
CONSERVE SOUTHWEST UTAH
CONSERVATION LANDS FOUNDATION
SOUTHERN UTAH WILDERNESS ALLIANCE
THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY
WILDEARTH GUARDIANS 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

February 4, 2026

Lawsuit Challenges Illegal Highway Through Utah’s Red Cliffs National Conservation Area – 2.4.26 Local, State, and National Conservation Organizations Seek to Protect Threatened Mojave Desert Tortoise, Redrock Landscapes, and Recreation

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

Washington, DC – Today a coalition of six local, Utah-based, and national conservation organizations sued the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for illegally reapproving the four-lane Northern Corridor Highway through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area near St. George, Utah. Conservation groups filed the lawsuit after receiving information that the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) would be starting ground-disturbing activities for the highway’s construction based on interim authorizations from BLM and despite BLM having yet to approve a required highway development plan for public lands managed by the agency. 

The proposed Northern Corridor Highway would carve a high-speed highway through designated critical habitat for the threatened Mojave desert tortoise within Red Cliffs National Conservation Area. It would damage iconic redrock landscapes, disrupt treasured outdoor recreation opportunities, and set a dangerous precedent for congressionally protected public lands across the U.S.

“Preservation of Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is inextricably linked to the quality of life and economic prosperity in Washington County,” said Stacey Wittek, Conserve Southwest Utah’s Executive Director. “Our community has repeatedly made clear that better traffic solutions exist and that they oppose a highway through what should be protected lands. Given that UDOT is wasting no time moving forward with ground-distributing activities, we had to act to stop this illegal project.” 

Today’s lawsuit, filed by Advocates for the West in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenges federal agencies’ January 2026 reapproval of UDOT’s highway proposal for violating multiple federal laws, including the Omnibus Public Land Management Act, Land and Water Conservation Fund Act, Endangered Species Act, and National Environmental Policy Act.

Abandoning their previous scientific findings, the federal agencies’ recent decision reversed a December 2024 rejection of the same proposal by the BLM and Fish and Wildlife Service and marks the eighth time the controversial highway has been considered. The project has been stopped on seven previous attempts over concerns related to wildlife, public safety, legal compliance, and community opposition.

“To continue to push for a widely rejected and illegal highway and expect a different result is a waste of everyone’s resources,” said Hannah Goldblatt, staff attorney at Advocates for the West and counsel for the conservation groups. “And once again, federal agencies are complicit in the effort by approving the paving of this congressionally protected, sensitive, scenic landscape. The Northern Corridor Highway not only violates bedrock environmental laws but undermines the integrity of protected public lands nationwide. We won’t let that happen.”

Below are statements on behalf of local residents and Utah-based and national conservation organizations:

“This lawsuit, like the last one, is necessary because our local governments have declined to engage their constituents in an open community dialogue—one that could more clearly define the problem, address its related impacts, and explore alternative solutions that have been consistently ignored. They have left their constituents with no choice, but it’s never too late to talk,” said St. George resident Tom Butine. 

“When Congress designated Red Cliffs as a National Conservation Area, that was a promise to the American people that this landscape would be protected forever. Allowing a four-lane highway to bulldoze through a congressionally protected National Conservation Area betrays that promise, obliterates the very concept of permanent protection and puts every single acre of America’s protected public lands directly in harm’s way. Today it’s Red Cliffs. Tomorrow it could be any of the millions of acres of protected public lands Americans and rural communities depend on. We won’t let that happen, and we will fight this decision with everything we have,” said Chris Hill, Chief Executive Officer of the Conservation Lands Foundation. 

“The Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is a shared public treasure that should continue to be managed for the purposes for which it was established by Congress in 2009: ‘to conserve, protect and enhance for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations the ecological, scenic, wildlife, recreational, cultural, historical, natural, educational and scientific resources of the National Conservation Area’ and ‘to protect each species that is located in the National Conservation Area.’ Bulldozing a four-lane highway through this landscape would permanently destroy these irreplaceable resources and deny us the freedom to continue enjoying them,” said Gregg DeBie, senior staff attorney at The Wilderness Society. 

“Red Cliffs is exactly the kind of landscape Congress intended to protect when it created the National Conservation Area system—spectacular redrock country that provides critical habitat for the Mojave desert tortoise and space for people to experience the quiet and beauty of wild Utah. The Bureau of Land Management’s decision to greenlight a four-lane highway through the heart of this protected area defies both the law and common sense. Utahns have fought for decades to ensure that public lands like Red Cliffs remain intact for future generations, and we won’t stand by while that promise is broken,” said Kya Marienfeld, Wildlands Attorney with the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

“This is narrow-minded, short-term thinking, and the BLM has clearly caved to local and state political pressure with this decision. It is impossible to square the agency’s legal obligation to ‘conserve, protect, and enhance’ the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area with its decision to approve a new highway through the heart of the NCA. If this project isn’t halted it will decimate one of the last strongholds of the Mojave desert tortoises in the mistaken belief that it will shorten commute times,” said Chris Krupp, Public Lands Attorney for WildEarth Guardians.

“The Trump administration’s about-face is cynical and cruel, and this lawsuit shows it’s also unlawful. The Bureau of Land Management’s decision will allow Utah to bulldoze through a protected conservation area and build another highway feeding urban sprawl. This beloved natural refuge has some of the last best desert tortoise habitat in Utah and was set aside because it’s essential for the tortoises to survive and thrive into the future. These public lands should be kept wild and open for fragile wildlife and everyone who loves Red Cliffs,” said Lisa Belenky, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. 

A History of Rejection: 

In a decades-long fight, local residents, conservation organizations, and outdoor recreationists have strongly opposed the Northern Corridor Highway. Despite the immense local opposition, the BLM and Fish and Wildlife Service approved a right-of-way for the Northern Corridor Highway in the final days of the first Trump administration. Conservation groups sued, arguing that the approval violated multiple federal laws.

The case resulted in a settlement agreement in 2023, which the BLM’s recent reapproval violates, and a U.S. District Court decision sending back the project’s 2021 right-of-way approval for reconsideration. Agencies acknowledged that the approval did not comply with the National Historic Preservation Act and required additional environmental analysis in light of recent wildfires that further degraded Mojave desert tortoise habitat and native vegetation. After updating its environmental analysis, the BLM again rejected the project in late 2024. 

The agency’s 2024 Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement found the project would increase wildfire probability and frequency, permanently eliminate designated critical tortoise habitat, spread noxious weeds and invasive plants, and harm more cultural and historical resources than any alternative considered.

In October 2025, the BLM said it would reconsider the application after UDOT argued that the federally endorsed alternative was economically infeasible, despite documented environmental and community costs associated with the Northern Corridor.

In 2021, 6,800 acres west of St. George called “Zone 6,” or the Greater Moe’s Valley, were added to the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve as mitigation for the Northern Corridor Highway. Still, Zone 6 includes a popular climbing area and trails on state-owned lands that lack permanent protection. Conservation groups argue that local leaders should more earnestly engage stakeholders and explore permanent protections for Zone 6 without unlawfully sacrificing lands in Red Cliffs National Conservation Area for construction of the Northern Corridor Highway.

About Red Cliffs National Conservation Area: 

The 44,724-acre Red Cliffs National Conservation Area is part of the larger Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, which is jointly managed by the BLM, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the state of Utah, Washington County, and local municipalities. The reserve was established under a 1995 Habitat Conservation Plan as a compromise to protect roughly 61,000 acres of public lands for the threatened Mojave desert tortoise while allowing development on about 300,000 acres of state and private land. Congress designated the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area in 2009 to “conserve, protect, and enhance…ecological, scenic, wildlife, recreational, cultural, historical, natural, educational, and scientific resources” of the public lands within the unit. 

The region supports key populations of the threatened Mojave desert tortoise and other at-risk plants and animals, including the Gila monster, burrowing owl, and kit fox. Researchers say the Mojave desert tortoise is on a path to extinction, and its habitat in southwest Utah––which houses some of the densest tortoise populations––is especially vulnerable amid rapid growth in the region. 

Located about 45 miles from Zion National Park, the conservation area includes 130 miles of trails, two wilderness areas, heritage public use sites, Native American cultural artifacts, several threatened or endangered species and one of Utah’s most popular state parks, Snow Canyon State Park. Visitors come from around the world to hike, mountain bike, rock climb, horseback ride, photograph, and marvel at the expansive redrock landscapes. 

Additional Information and Resources: 

• Informational website: protectredcliffs.com
• Federal Agency Re-Approves Highway Through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area, Abandons Own Scientific Findings – January 21, 2026
• BLM Again Considering Four-Lane Highway Through the Red Cliffs National Conservation Area – October 7, 2025
• Decades-Long Highway Fight Ends with Victory for Red Cliffs NCA – December 20th, 2024
• Petition to Permanently Protect the Greater Moe’s Valley Area
• Local and National Organizations Applaud Plan Signaling Denial of Highway Right-of-Way – November 7, 2024
• Conservation Organizations Respond to Washington County’s Continued Attacks on Red Cliffs National Conservation Area – August 7, 2024
• Federal Agencies Release Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on a Highway Right-of-Way Through Red Cliffs National Conservation Area – May 9, 2024
• BLM and FWS Press Release – November 15, 2023
• Report – Washington County at a Crossroads: An analysis of the proposed Northern Corridor Highway project in Southwest Utah
• Summary of Desert Tortoise Study in Red Cliffs NCA: Population Trends, Threats to Persistence, and Conservation Significanc

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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters 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. 

 

 

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February 4, 2026 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SUWA Statement on Historic Roadways Protection Act – 2.4.26  Legislation would stop management of motorized vehicle use across more than 6 million acres of BLM-managed redrock country in Utah 

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

Washington, DC – Today, during a Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Business Meeting, S.90 (the Historic Roadways Protection Act), passed on a party-line vote: 11-9. For all intents and purposes, this legislation would permanently prohibit the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from effectively managing motorized vehicle use across more than 6 million acres of BLM-managed lands in Utah, leaving these public lands vulnerable to destruction and degradation. Below is a statement from SUWA Staff Attorney Laura Peterson and additional information.  

“If Senator Lee had his way, millions of acres of southern Utah would be a motorized playground free-for-all,” said Laura Peterson, Staff Attorney at the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA). “The public lands impacted by this legislation include some of the wildest, most remote areas of redrock country, including narrow, winding canyons; soaring redrock cliffs; forested plateaus; and desert waterways. It puts big game habitat, areas rich in irreplaceable cultural sites, and iconic recreation destinations—places like Labyrinth Canyon, the San Rafael Swell, and the Dirty Devil—at risk of being damaged or destroyed.” 

Additional Information: 

Between 2011-12, the State of Utah and many of its counties filed more than two dozen Quiet Title Act lawsuits in federal district court for the District of Utah. The lawsuits claim title to more than 12,000 alleged rights-of-way totaling more than 35,000 miles across public lands managed by agencies overseen by the Interior Department: so-called “R.S. 2477 rights-of-way.”  

Utah and its counties are claiming title to R.S. 2477 rights-of-way within National Parks, National Wildlife Refuges, National Monuments, National Recreation Areas, Congressionally-designated Wilderness, wilderness study areas, critical habitat, and fragile archeological sites. In addition to title, Utah is seeking the right to improve and widen each of these routes, in some cases up to 66 feet wide. An example of a RS2477 claim, from Kane County, is seen at the top of this page.

Roughly 80% of Utah’s claimed rights-of-way are made up of unimproved dirt roads and trails, including cow paths, stream bottoms and faded two-tracks; some of these routes do not even exist on the ground and are instead simply lines on a map. These are the vast majority of the “historic roadways” at issue in Senator Lee’s Historic Roadways Protection Act.  

The Act would prohibit the BLM from both implementing already completed motorized travel management plans and finalizing new plans until all of the state’s Quiet Title Act lawsuits are “adjudicated,” a process Senator Lee knows will take decades.  Since Utah filed its lawsuits in 2011-12, not a single case has been adjudicated by the district court.  

In the meantime, off-road vehicle use in Utah has skyrocketed. While these vehicles provide outdoor recreation opportunities, they also have an outsized impact on public land resources and other recreationists. It is critical that motorized vehicle use on public lands is managed and balanced. Travel management planning is essential to ensuring management that provides access to, and opportunities for, recreation while also preserving irreplaceable resources. Sen. Lee’s bill would prohibit the BLM from doing its job by preventing the agency from developing or implementing these crucial travel plans.  

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The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA) is a nonprofit organization with members and supporters 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 Historic Roadways Protection Act – 2.4.26  appeared first on Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance.

If you need proof that Arctic drilling has become an act of desperation, look no further than what just happened. 

The federal government has opened a 30-day “call for nominations” period—the early step in the leasing process when oil and gas companies are invited to signal interest in bidding on public lands inside the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 

Normally, this stage happens quietly. Industry lobbyists weigh in behind closed doors, and the public rarely hears about it. But there’s nothing normal about this moment. 

After years of legal fights, public opposition, and repeated market failures, the administration is once again trying to force drilling into one of the most iconic and ecologically important landscapes in America. It’s the same tired playbook we’ve seen before: rush a lease sale, hope companies show up, and pretend there’s an economic case that simply doesn’t exist. 

Past Refuge lease sales have drawn almost no serious interest from industry. Major oil companies have stayed away. Investors have backed off. Bids have been sparse and underwhelming.  

This 30-day window is the only official opportunity for the public to weigh in before the leasing process moves forward. It’s our chance to make it crystal clear that any company reckless enough to bid will face immediate public scrutiny and sustained opposition. 

This is where we build the record and the pressure to stop this scheme before it starts. 

TAKE ACTION Arctic Drilling is Bad Business 

For years, behind-the-times lawmakers have tried to frame the Refuge as the next great energy frontier. But in reality, Arctic oil development is one of the most expensive, complicated, and financially risky bets in the entire industry.

Operating in America’s Arctic means building roads, pipelines, and infrastructure across remote tundra in extreme weather. It means short drilling seasons, high labor and transportation costs, and constant logistical challenges. It means years—sometimes decades—of permitting battles and legal uncertainty. Even under ideal conditions, projects here carry some of the highest production costs in North America (maybe even in the world).

Photo Credit: Steven Kazlowski

At the same time, the global energy landscape is changing fast. Clean energy is getting cheaper. Investors are scrutinizing high-risk fossil fuel projects more closely. And analysts increasingly warn that long-term, high-cost oil developments—especially in fragile places like the Arctic—risk becoming stranded assets before they ever turn a profit. The math simply doesn’t work out.

Any company that chooses to bid now would be making a deliberate decision to sink money into one of the riskiest oil fields on the planet, gambling shareholder dollars on a project with enormous costs, uncertain returns, and fierce public opposition. 

Where You Come In 

This call for nominations is designed for oil companies, but nothing says the public can’t speak louder. And when it comes to corporate decision-making, public pressure matters. 

Executives and investors pay attention to risk. They pay attention to reputational damage. And they pay attention when a project becomes synonymous with controversy and opposition. If bidding on the Arctic Refuge means headlines, protests, investor questions, and sustained public backlash from day one, many companies will decide it simply isn’t worth it. 

Photo Credit: Alaska Wilderness League Staff / Monica Scherer

We have the chance to send a clear, unmistakable message: Drilling the Arctic Refuge is outdated, unnecessary, and a terrible business decision. 

Plus, the Refuge is too special to gamble with. It supports caribou herds, polar bears, migratory birds, and the cultural lifeways of the Gwich’in people who have protected this place for generations. It deserves protection and not another desperate attempt to auction it off to the highest bidder. 

Tell oil companies to stay out. Tell them the risk is too high. Tell them the future isn’t in the Arctic. 

Add your name and send a message now: Don’t bid on the Arctic Refuge. Not now. Not ever. SIGN YOUR NAME   Header photo credit: Lisa Hupp/USFWS

The Queensland Government has today approved expansion of a coal mine that was found by the Queensland Land Court to have failed to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, with the decision condemned by community group Lock the Gate.