DeChristopher probably going to prison

Fake bidder for oil and gas leases to stop last Administration’s leasing near Utah national parks loses his bid to rest his trial on global warming-

It looks like Tim DeChristopher will pay heavily for his civil disobedience. Republican prosecutors were not amused, and the judge will not allow a defense based on necessity to protect the climate.

Here is an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune on the DeChristopher ruling: An evil day for justice. By Rebecca Hall

Interior Board rejects all appeals to BLM travel plan in SW Montana

New rules governing use of vehicles on BLM land will now go into effect-

I’m not familiar with the details of vehicle use in this area, but it sounds like all sides appealed, although probably more on the off-roaders side.

Travel plans, once relatively non-controversial documents, have become major public land controversies almost everywhere in the last 15 or so years.

Interior Board of Land Appeals upholds travel plan in Butte area. By Nick Gevock. Montana Standard.

Americans flock to the nation’s “best idea”

Record Number of visits to Yellowstone Park in 2009-

This has been in the news the last couple days. Rocky Barker blogged today about it, tying it to the recent popular PBS television film, “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea.”  Here is Barker’s blog in the Idaho Statesman. Americans flock to nation’s “best idea.”

My comment is that it’s true Americans love their national parks, except for a relative handful of anti-government types. I also know from experience in the field and teaching that most Americans are generally clueless about the rest of the public lands they own: national forests, national wildlife refuges, and, especially the BLM lands.  Granted people will say, “Oh yes, the national forests, but it doesn’t come to mind quickly. This gives a great opportunity for special* interest groups to dominate how these other public lands are used. Lack of public knowledge makes hard to organize folks to defend what we might call “the public interest” in these matters.

Politicians and interest groups that have big plans for the public lands often try to smooth folks by saying “our plans in no way involve our wonderful national parks.”  What they don’t say is their plans will affect maybe millions of acres of BLM lands.

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* As a political scientist I prefer the more neutral term “interest group, which simply means an organized group that seeks to have the government do (or not do) something over which it has jurisdiction.

Another Western Watersheds Project victory in Arizona

Western Watersheds Project Wins Summary Judgment on the 100,000 acre Byner Complex Allotments. BLM-

This no “family ranch” but a spin-off of Freeport-McMoRan mining.

Here is the WWP’s news release on the victory for the American people

♦Western Watersheds Project’s Arizona Office has been granted Summary Judgment byAdministrative Law Judge Harvey C. Sweitzer in a successful appeal of a grazing permit decision issued by the Kingman Field Office, Bureau of Land Management. ♦Judge Sweitzer agreed with WWP that the BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act on the Big Sandy, Los Molinos, and Diamond Joe Allotments (collectively called the “Byner Complex”). ♦The successful Appeal and Motion for Summary Judgment were written by WWP’s Arizona Director Greta Anderson. The rancher on the allotments is not a ranching family at all but a subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Copper Company, the Byner Cattle Company. Freeport-McMoRan is one of the world’s largest copper and gold mining companies http://www.fcx.com/ ♦The 98,736 acres of public lands in the Byner Complex encompass a range of vegetation communities, including Joshua trees and saguaros, and provide habitat for Southwestern willow flycatcher, bald eagle, yellow-billed cuckoo, Sonoran desert tortoise, and other native and imperiled wildlife. ♦The Big Sandy River passes through the Big Sandy allotment, and numerous seeps and springs and ephemeral washes occur on all of the allotments. ♦The Byner Complex of allotments has some serious rangeland health issues, and the proposed action sought to limit livestock impacts in some key areas by moving livestock to new unexploited areas through the development of new water sources. To do this, the BLM had proposed building five new wells, eleven new troughs, twelve new miles of pipeline and fifteen new miles of fence, which all could have extensive effects on the landscape and the riparian areas. ♦The BLM failed to analyze or even disclose the descriptions of the new water facilities. Administrative Law Judge Sweitzer found the BLM’s behavior to be in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act.This legal decision remands the final grazing decision to the Kingman, Arizona field office of the BLM to redo its analysis before issuing a new grazing decision. ♦The new analysis will need to address the failures of the BLM to analyze many issues including the effects on native ecosystems of invasive species introduced by livestock, the inadequacies of setting rangeland health goals based on existing conditions, the failure to exclude grazing in sensitive riparian areas, the failure to consider effects to imperiled species, and the existing degraded condition of soils, cultural resources, and wildlife habitats. ♦WWP anticipates a more complete and detailed analysis of the Byner Complex allotments by the BLM the next time around !   – Read the Full Order - – - – - – - – - -

Joshua Tree photo: USFWSYou Can Help   Southwestern willow flycatcher photo: USFWS

Western Watersheds Project Is A West Regional Conservation Organization Working To Protect And Restore Western Watersheds And Wildlife. Consider joining Western Watersheds Project yourself or enrolling a friend with a gift membership. Joining is easy at WWP’s secure online membership pageBe sure to visit the WWP web site at http://www.westernwatersheds.org.

BLM won’t fight grazing ban on Idaho allotment

Domestic sheep will not return to allotment in bighorn sheep habitat.

The Partridge Creek allotment in the Salmon River Canyon near Riggins is closed to domestic sheep grazing after Western Watersheds Project, The Wilderness Society, and Hells Canyon Preservation Council filed suit in Federal Court.

This is a huge victory for bighorn sheep which have declined in number to 3500 statewide, half of 1990’s population.

BLM won’t fight grazing ban on Idaho allotment
Associated Press

Earlier: Federal judge shutters Idaho grazing allotment

Western Watersheds wins a second legal case today

The focus has been on the bighorn sheep versus domestic sheep case, but Greta Anderson of the WWP’s Arizona office won an case before an administratrive law judge today — Western Watersheds Project v. Bureau of Land Management and intervener Byner Cattle Corporation.

Here is the order. Byner Complex Order October 2009

Salazar gives a mixed decision on reanalysis of tracts wrecked in gas auction by Tim DeChristopher

Eight tracts will not be auctioned; 52 studied more, 17 given up to oil and gas interests-

Tim DeChristopher’s brave disruption of the December 2008 oil and gas lease auction in Utah has resulted in a new decision by the new Secretary of Interior. Politicians and groups are characterizing it in differing fashions according to their political party and interest.

I’d call the decision mixed.

Interior boss says no to drilling on 8 Utah parcels. Auction fallout » Salazar vows to develop oil, gas ‘the right way.’ By Patty Henetz And Thomas Burr. The Salt Lake Tribune

Update. LA Times story on Salazar’s decision. Few Bush-era energy leases are valid, report finds. By Nicholas Riccardi

Idaho Scenic Beauty. Boulevard Springs Cattle Exclosure

Comparison photos are fun!

The exclosure protects the springs from grazing. This is on BLM land in the Mountain Springs grazing allotment. Copyright Ralph Maughan

Judge rejects U.S. management plan for California desert (West Mojave)

Complicated ruling was a victory of sorts for conservation-

Judge rejects U.S. management plan for California desert. By Louis Sahagun. LA Times.

This was a huge case over a big area and a BLM plan that took 15 years to develop. My view of it as a partial victory is based on private email from kt. Perhaps kt will want to comment on it here.

Here is the judge’s decision pdf

Environmental groups sue BLM to get names of the holders of public grazing leases

Can you even imagine that these things are kept secret?

Western Watersheds Project and Wild Earth Guardians are suing to make public that which should open and free to all.

Story on Fox12Idaho News. Environmental groups sue BLM for grazing info. Associated Press