Ruins at Chaco Canyon. pedrik / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is pushing ahead with the sale of oil and gas leases on land outside of Chaco Culture National Historical Park and other sites revered by Native American tribes, The Associated Press reported.
The latest listing—which quietly appeared on the BLM website not long after the government reopened after the shutdown—comes about a year after then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke postponed a lease sale in the Greater Chaco Region in response to intense public pressure over cultural and environmental concerns.
<p><span></span>BLM will open a protest period for comments from Feb. 11 through Feb. 20 for a sale scheduled for March 28, according to the agency's notice. More than 50 parcels in New Mexico and Oklahoma will be on the auction block.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xOTEzNjQ5Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNjEzODE0OX0.66WMBcj96Y-xO_NbnlmYG7Atz_hweX2vPLtua3XaVBA/img.png?width=980" id="248a8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="185ceb463e862fa1db4048ae2cf5864b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Chaco Culture National Historical Park, located in northwestern New Mexico, is shaded in light purple. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">BLM New Mexico Oil and Gas Lease Sale Parcels</small></p><p>During the record-long government impasse, Democrats, environmentalists and others <a href="https://wildearthguardians.org/press-releases/during-shutdown-trump-urged-to-halt-fracking-permits-2-million-acre-lease-sale/" target="_blank">fiercely criticized</a> the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump" target="_self">Trump</a> administration for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/government-shutdown-arctic-national-wildlife-refuge-drilling-2625539238.html">moving ahead</a> with drilling permits on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" target="_self">public lands</a> while most other agencies were shut. <br></p><p>"It's a mistake that while critical public services were shuttered for 35 days during the government shutdown, BLM still moved forward with this opaque process," Sen. Tom Udall, Democrat of New Mexico, told the AP about the latest lease. <br></p><p>The AP noted that it is possible for BLM to withdraw the latest land sales depending on the outcome of the protest period.</p><p><span></span><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/will-fracking-be-the-demise-of-chaco-canyon-national-historical-park-1882094991.html" target="_self">For years</a>, environmental groups, tribes and other opponents have raised flags about <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/fracking" target="_self">fracking</a> encroaching on and threatening Chaco Canyon, a major center of ancient Pueblo culture and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. </p><p>As it happens, the park sits in the central San Juan Basin in northwestern New Mexico that's booming with shale gas extraction. <a href="https://www.tomudall.senate.gov/news/press-releases/udall-addresses-new-mexico-legislature" target="_blank">Roughly 90 percent</a> of the Great Chaco Region is already leased for oil and gas development, but more fossil fuels lie beneath those lands. The New Mexico BLM <a href="http://www.santafenewmexican.com/opinion/editorials/chaco-canyon-needs-protection/article_b8103c9f-2506-5f2a-89f1-0871fcaa5c9b.html" target="_blank">wants to sell parcels</a> that are close or just along the park's 10-mile, no drilling buffer zone.</p><p>Ironically—as Rebecca Sobel, senior climate and energy campaigner for <a href="https://wildearthguardians.org/" target="_blank">WildEarth Guardians</a>, pointed out to EcoWatch—newly elected Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Democrat, signed an executive order just this week that committed the state to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to combat <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">climate change</a>. </p><p>How did the New Mexico BLM respond to that order? "By announcing its intent to auction off more public land in the state to industrialized fracking," Sobel lamented. </p><p>"Oil and gas has already devastated our state's air quality, water quality and flow, and public health," she added. "It's clear the Trump administration will stop at nothing to sacrifice public interest for private profits."</p><p><span></span>Sobel noted that a "record-breaking 10,000 protest comments" were submitted in response to a December 2018 oil and gas lease sale in the state, and yet the BLM "ignored the public and wasted no time in proposing even more public land for fracking."<br></p><p>"We're looking to New Mexico's newly elected state and federal representatives to finally address fracking impacts, and with this week's Executive Order on Climate and a slew of proposed statewide bills aimed at enforcement and accountability around oil and gas, we hope New Mexico can tun the tide and reign in this dangerous industry, protecting our people and sacred landscapes," she concluded.</p>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="b34f0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="GCFMY81576662567"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1073033291916369920" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Trump Auctions Off 150,000 Acres of Public Lands for Fracking Near Utah National Parks https://t.co/ehBXpZZkly</div> — R u t h H o p k i n s (@R u t h H o p k i n s)<a href="https://twitter.com/RuthH_Hopkins/statuses/1073033291916369920">1544666047.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
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Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site. NPS
Hats off to Delta Air Lines. The company's charitable arm awarded the National Park Service an $83,500 grant to help reopen the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historical Park in Atlanta from Jan. 19 through Feb. 3 in honor of Dr. King's legacy.
The Atlanta-based airline was inspired to act after learning that some of the park's sites, including Dr. King's birth home, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Fire Station No. 6 and the visitor center, were closed due to the partial government shutdown, now on its 28th day, according to LinkedIn post from Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian.
<p>
"These historic landmarks represent the strength of our community and should always be made available for the public to enjoy," Bastian wrote in the post.
</p><p>
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is always observed on the third Monday of January each year. This year's occasion is particularly special as the civil rights icon would have turned 90 on Jan. 15.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="2a3da" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="CQC1XE1576662581"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1086058161654677504" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The Delta Air Lines Foundation is honored to give the @natlparkservice a grant to reopen the Martin Luther King, Jr… https://t.co/bKV0MeMYNX</div> — Delta (@Delta)<a href="https://twitter.com/Delta/statuses/1086058161654677504">1547771418.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Bastian also said he wants the landmarks to be open for travelers who will be in town for the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.
</p><p>
"For everyone visiting Atlanta for the big game, I highly recommend touring these inspiring sites," he wrote.
</p><p>
The grant from the Delta Air Lines Foundation will go towards clean up, administration, maintenance and operating costs of employees not covered under recreation fee funds, according to a National Park Service
<a href="https://www.nps.gov/malu/learn/news/deltagrant.htm" target="_blank">press release</a>.
</p><p>
"It is not possible to overstate our appreciation to The Delta Air Lines Foundation for ensuring the Martin Luther King, Jr. sites are accessible to the American people as we honor Dr. King on the 90th anniversary of his birth," said
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/david-bernhardt" target="_self">David L. Bernhardt</a>, acting secretary of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/department-of-interior" target="_self">Department of Interior</a>, in the press release. "This is yet another example of private organizations stepping up to ensure that our visitors from across the nation and around the world are able to have a meaningful experience at national parks."
</p><p>
<span></span>The National Park Service has contributed funds from fees paid by park visitors for entrance, camping, parking and other services. The Interior "has determined that these funds can and should be used to provide immediate maintenance assistance and services to parks during the lapse of appropriations," the press release said.
</p><p>
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/clean-energy-naacp-2524858478.html" target="_blank">The environment is a civil rights issue</a>. We can't talk about fighting for clean air, water and land without mentioning how people of color, low-income populations and other marginalized communities are disproportionately exposed to pollution and the harmful impacts of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_blank">climate change</a>.
</p><p>
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAAP)
<a href="https://www.naacp.org/latest/naacp-launch-solar-equity-initiative-mlk-national-day-service-kick-off-event/" target="_blank">wrote</a> last year before the launch of its <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/clean-energy-naacp-2524858478.html" target="_blank">Solar Equity Initiative</a>:
</p><blockquote>
Multiple NAACP studies and reports chronicle the disparities in exposure to pollution from fossil fuel based energy production in low income and communities of color. Communities of color and low income communities, as well as population groups such as women, consume the least energy, but are most disproportionately impacted, suffering poor health outcomes, compromised education, loss of livelihoods and loss of life as a result of exposure to toxins and the ravages of climate change.
</blockquote><p>
The ongoing government shutdown has caused disruption in air travel and could expose passengers to potential security vulnerabilities from air traffic controllers and TSA workers going without pay and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/01/04/politics/shutdown-tsa-screening/index.html" target="_blank">calling in sick</a>.
</p><p>
Bastian, Delta's CEO, said this week that the shutdown will cost the company $25 million in revenue in January alone because fewer government contractors and employees are traveling.
</p><p>
"We are seeing some pressure on our business," he said, according to
<a href="https://www.ajc.com/business/delta-says-federal-shutdown-takes-million-toll-airline/fwyefoIjVpzxoEOgDN2HcJ/" target="_blank">The Atlanta Journal-Constitution</a>. "We strongly encourage our elected officials to do their very best to resolve their differences and get the government fully open as soon as possible."
</p><p>
<span></span>Here is the Delta boss' full statement about re-opening MLK national park on
<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6491816343027937280/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a>:<br>
</p><blockquote>
"The time is always right to do what is right."
<br>
<br>
These powerful words spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. resonate stronger than ever as we celebrate his life and legacy this weekend. While his work in bringing people together can be felt worldwide, his influence is a constant presence in Delta's hometown of Atlanta. Upon learning that the #governmentshutdown meant Dr. King's birth home, Ebenezer Baptist Church, Fire Station No. 6 and the visitor center would be closed during the national holiday, we knew we had to take action. These historic landmarks represent the strength of our community and should always be made available for the public to enjoy. I'm honored and humbled that Delta Air Lines will continue supporting Dr. King's legacy by funding the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park, allowing these sites to be open January 19 through February 3. For everyone visiting Atlanta for the big game, I highly recommend touring these inspiring sites.<br></blockquote>
<p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="51460" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="UEFEL71576662581"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="951996229323542528" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">'Clean energy is a fundamental civil right': Major campaign to expand access to solar https://t.co/YWeCnee6es via… https://t.co/biCsLqCpSL</div> — Climate Nexus (@Climate Nexus)<a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus/statuses/951996229323542528">1515808562.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Like many other plant-based foods and products, CBD oil is one dietary supplement where "organic" labels are very important to consumers. However, there are little to no regulations within the hemp industry when it comes to deeming a product as organic, which makes it increasingly difficult for shoppers to find the best CBD oil products available on the market.
<p>Here you can learn about the importance of organic hemp oil, why it's better for the environment, and which CBD companies actually make trustworthy products with sustainable farming processes. origins which weigh heavily on many consumers who want to buy a product that's produced in the best way possible for not only themselves to ingest, but for the environment as well through sustainable farming methods. </p><h2>What Is CBD Oil?</h2><p>First things first, CBD stands for cannabidiol, and it's a cannabinoid found within cannabis sativa plants. This plant compound is believed to have many potential benefits, and it is primarily derived from hemp plants via a CO2 extraction process. </p><p>Since CBD is extracted from industrial hemp, which contains only trace amounts of THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis plants), this means that CBD won't make you feel high like marijuana, which has much higher levels of THC that causes psychoactive effects. Instead, the effects of CBD are much more subtle and promote a general sense of calm and relaxation in most users.</p><h2>What Makes a CBD Oil Organic?</h2><p>In terms of organic labels, perhaps the most important (and prominent) certification comes from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). This government organization has been labeling foods as "organic" for many years, but what exactly does this certification entail? Essentially, a label indicating that a product is "USDA Organic" or "Certified Organic" means that at least 95% of the ingredients are obtained from organic sources.</p><p>For a crop to be considered organic by the USDA, it must be grown without the use of industrial solvents, irradiation, genetic engineering (GMOs), synthetic pesticides, or chemical fertilizer. Instead, farmers rely on natural substances and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2012/03/22/organic-101-what-usda-organic-label-means" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">mechanical, physical, or biologically based farming</a> techniques to cultivate healthy and organic crops.</p><p>Before the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, no hemp-derived products could be dubbed as "certified organic" since the hemp plant and its extracts were still categorized as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. However, it's still difficult for CBD companies to obtain a USDA certified organic label for their products due to the legal grey area that still surrounds CBD extracts. </p><p>Because of these challenges, and due to the fact that industrial hemp has only recently become an agricultural crop, very few CBD oils are USDA certified organic. Rather, many CBD products contain hemp extracts from plants that were grown in organic conditions but may not be federally certified.</p><h2>What are the Best Organic CBD Oil Brands?</h2><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p><em><br></em>
<h2>Why Organic Hemp Oil Matters</h2><p>Hemp is a unique plant, not only for its rich cannabinoid content, but also for its ability to absorb a wide variety of components in soil. But this trait poses great risks when it comes to the creation of CBD products derived from hemp.</p><p>Because hemp has a high capacity for compound uptake, this means that the plants can retain <a href="https://www.remedyreview.com/industry/lab-test-results/" target="_blank">harmful chemicals like pesticides</a>, heavy metals, and other residual solvents. This is especially true when it comes to synthetic chemicals that are more toxic to humans, and difficult to remove once they have been absorbed by the hemp plant.</p><p>Organic farming practices help reduce the risk of hemp crops absorbing harsh chemicals that may later end up in CBD oil after extraction. When you're taking CBD as a wellness supplement to help alleviate your symptoms or improve your overall well-being, the last thing you want is to ingest compounds that might negatively outweigh the benefits of CBD. This is an important reason to look for third party lab test results when shopping for CBD products since these certificates of analysis can show the full cannabinoid and terpene profile of a hemp extract, as well as test results that search for the presence of any residual solvents.</p><p>In addition to creating a better end product, organic farming practices are also better for the environment. Sustainable and organic farming methods may <a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy</a>. The use of natural pest deterrents as opposed to chemical pesticides is also better for nearby animal populations and ecosystems.</p><h3>Organic vs. Natural</h3><p>While there are only a select few companies offering certified organic ingredients in their products, almost every brand in the CBD market creates "natural" products. The term "all-natural" or "plant-based" does not mean that a product is organic, and since hemp oil is a natural derivative of hemp plants, these products are often referred to as all-natural. However, there are some synthetic CBD oils that should be avoided because they are chemically constructed and may produce unwanted side effects that are not caused by naturally derived CBD extracts.</p><h2>What are the Benefits of Organic CBD Oil?</h2><p>There's a long list of potential CBD oil health benefits, and some of the most common wellness advantages include:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503660/" target="_blank">Chronic pain relief</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604171/" target="_blank">Anti-anxiety effects</a></li><li>Better sleep</li><li><a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/inner-source/201901/cbd-oil-mental-health-should-you-take-it-too" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Improvements in mood</a></li><li>Internal balance and regulation</li></ul><p>When dealing with pain, inflammation, sleep issues, and mental health struggles, it can be hard to find sufficient treatment options. The use of certain prescriptions can cause unwanted side effects, yet they are often the only solution for patients with these medical conditions. In search of other therapies, people have started to flock towards CBD oil as an alternative remedy for a variety of conditions. However, it should be noted that CBD products are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and you should seek your doctor's advice before using CBD if you have a serious medical condition.</p><h2>Look at the Labels Before You Buy CBD Oil</h2><p>When you go online to buy CBD oil, you'll quickly realize there is an overwhelming number of brands that are saturating the market. It can be difficult to determine which products are truly as good as they make themselves out to be. Always look for up-to-date third-party lab tests so you know you are getting a great product, and don't hesitate to contact the brand if you have any additional questions. And if you're intent on purchasing 100% organic CBD oil, it's best to look for certified products or brands that are held to strict regulatory standards.</p><p><strong>Melena Gurganus </strong>is the Reviews Editor at EcoWatch. She is passionate health and wellness and her writing aims to help others find products they can trust. Her work has been featured in publications such as Health, Shape, Huffington Post, Cannabis Business Times, and Bustle.<br></p>
Spruce
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjI3OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTM2NzgzOX0.axY0HjeqRctJsR_KmDLctzDpUBLBN-oNIdqaXDb4caQ/img.jpg?width=980" id="774be" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8379f35b1ca8a86d0e61b7d4bfc8b46e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="spruce organic cbd oil" data-width="710" data-height="959" /><p>As one of the best brands in the business, Spruce CBD is well-known for its potent CBD oils that feature many additional beneficial phytocannabinoids. This brand works with two family-owned, sustainably focused farms in the USA (one located in Kentucky and one in North Carolina) to create its organic, small product batches. The max potency Spruce CBD oil contains 2400mg of full-spectrum CBD extract, but the brand also offers a lower strength tincture with 750mg of CBD in total.</p>
$89
CBDistillery
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjkzNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMTU4OTM4Nn0.ypRdeDSBcE87slYrFfVrRwtJ2qGIK6FD5jBB4pndTMo/img.jpg?width=980" id="b473b" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9930b53c9d58cb49774640a61c3e3e75" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="cbdistillery cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>All of the products from CBDistillery are <a href="https://ushempauthority.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. Hemp Authority Certified</a>, and for good reason. The company only uses non-GMO and pesticide-free industrial hemp that's grown organically on Colorado farms. Its hemp oils are some of the most affordable CBD products on the market, yet they still maintain a high standard of quality. CBDistillery has a wide variety of CBD potencies across its product line (ranging from 500mg to 5000mg per bottle) and offers both full-spectrum and broad-spectrum CBD oils to give customers a completely thc-free option.</p>
$35
FAB CBD
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NDIwOTEyMn0.MlTjz096FJ0ev_-soK7_Z-FeQeJczWoeh9Qi9SSkHsY/img.jpg?width=980" id="04b26" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="76aa4862f44603242e318982acea6646" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="fab cbd oil" data-width="800" data-height="800" /><p>For an organic CBD oil that has it all, FAB CBD offers plenty of variety for any type of consumer. All of its products are made with zero pesticides and extracted from organically grown Colorado industrial hemp. FAB CBD oil comes in five all-natural flavors (mint, vanilla, berry, citrus, and natural) and is also available in four strengths (300, 600, 1200, and 2400mg per bottle).</p>
$39
NuLeaf Naturals
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDY4NjIxOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NzExNTgyMX0.D6qMGYllKTsVhEkQ-L_GzpDHVu60a-tJKcio7M1Ssmc/img.jpg?width=980" id="94e4a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3609a52479675730893a45a82a03c71d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="nuleaf naturals organic cbd oil" data-width="600" data-height="600" /><p>As an industry-leading brand, it comes as no surprise that NuLeaf Naturals sources its CBD extract from organic hemp plants grown on licensed farms in Colorado. The comany's CBD oils only contain two ingredients: USDA certified organic hemp seed oil and full spectrum hemp extract.</p><p>NuLeaf Naturals uses one proprietary CBD oil formula for all of its products, so you will get the same CBD potency in each tincture (60mg per mL), but can purchase different bottle sizes depending on how much you intend to use.</p>
$38.50
Charlotte's Web
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDcwMjk3NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ0NjM4N30.SaQ85SK10-MWjN3PwHo2RqpiUBdjhD0IRnHKTqKaU7Q/img.jpg?width=980" id="84700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a2174067dcc0c4094be25b3472ce08c8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" alt="charlottes web cbd oil" data-width="1244" data-height="1244" /><p>Perhaps one of the most well-known brands in the CBD landscape, Charlotte's Web has been growing sustainable hemp plants for several years. The company is currently in the process of achieving official USDA Organic Certification, but it already practices organic and sustainable cultivation techniques to enhance the overall health of the soil and the hemp plants themselves, which creates some of the highest quality CBD extracts. Charlotte's Web offers CBD oils in a range of different concentration options, and some even come in a few flavor options such as chocolate mint, orange blossom, and lemon twist.</p>
$60
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For This Polluting Industry, the Trump Shutdown Is Still 'Business as Usual'
09 January 2019
Politics
Sow and cub polar bears in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.
The government shutdown has left thousands of federal employees without a paycheck, but the Trump administration is making sure energy companies can continue with plans to extract fossil fuels from public lands.
Even though the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is closed during the shutdown, agency employees organized public meetings for an environmental review for oil drilling leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), according to Alaska's Energy Desk.
<p>
The report said:
</p><blockquote style="margin-left: 20px;">
Emails obtained by Alaska's Energy Desk show that on Jan. 3—13 days into the shutdown—Bureau of Land Management project coordinator Nicole Hayes wrote to community leaders in Alaska to schedule public meetings for the ongoing environmental review process needed to allow oil lease sales in the Arctic refuge.
<br>
<br>
When contacted Friday by Alaska's Energy Desk, Hayes' email account sent an automatic reply: "Due to the lapse in funding of the federal government budget, I am out of the office. I am not authorized to work during this time, but will respond to your email when I return to the office."
</blockquote><p>
<span></span>The department also moved ahead with public meetings surrounding more oil development in the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/alaska-oil-gas-lease-sale-2623304775.html" target="_blank">National Petroleum Reserve Alaska</a>, the report said.
</p><p>
BLM is using remaining funds from the previous fiscal year to pay for the work, BLM Alaska director Ted Murphy told Energy Desk in a statement.</p><p>Drilling in the pristine, federally protected Arctic National Wildlife Refuge—home caribou herds, polar bears, grizzlies and other unique species—had been off limits for decades, but the Trump administration has <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/arctic-oil-drilling-trump-2615086605.html" target="_self">aggressively pushed</a> for Arctic drilling projects on land and water under the guise of "energy dominance." <br></p><p>What's more,
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-01-08/trump-is-giving-oil-industry-a-bye-in-shutdown-critics-allege" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a> reported that the Interior Department is also issuing permits for oil companies to drill wells in the Gulf of Mexico during the government freeze.<br></p><p>
"The oil industry is still getting business as usual and everybody else is getting shut out, so it's fundamentally not fair and it may be illegal too," Matt Lee-Ashley, a former deputy chief of staff at the Interior Department, told Bloomberg.
</p><p>Not all energy projects are moving forward during the shutdown. Environmental reviews of Dominion's
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/atlantic-coast-pipeline">Atlantic Coast pipeline</a> and TransCanada's <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/keystone-xl">Keystone XL pipeline</a> have also been stalled by the shutdown, as well as permits to conduct <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/seismic-blasting-lawsuit-trump-2624052395.html">seismic blasting in the Atlantic</a>, Bloomberg reported. </p><p>Meanwhile—as the Trump-caused shutdown continues in its third week—garbage, human waste and vandals are destroying our National Parks, another bureau of the Department of the Interior.<br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="c21d6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="D345CB1576662589"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1083009793730768896" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Joshua Tree Closes because of damage during government shutdown. Park Rangers stated that "there have been incident… https://t.co/KHnyIqZkmw</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1083009793730768896">1547044630.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>Following the reports, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, the new chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, sought answers from David Bernhardt, the acting head of the Interior Department.<br></p><p>
In a
<a href="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/ktoo/2019/01/Sharp5141%40mail.house_.gov_20190107_155615.pdf?_ga=2.129142923.647965182.1546968322-1183775739.1546968322" target="_blank">letter</a> sent Monday, Grijalva questioned why public meetings for the two Arctic energy projects moved ahead even though most agency staff have been furloughed and the Interior is reportedly not responding to public inquires on the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska planning process.
</p><p>
"Notice that the Reserve meetings were still occurring was only provided to stakeholders the day before the first one was held, and information about the Arctic Refuge meetings is currently only available through news reports," the Democrat of Arizona wrote.
</p><p>
"Asking people to comment on two major development processes in the Arctic with huge potential environmental and human consequences without anyone in the agency able to answer questions defeats the purpose of the public participation process," he added.
</p><p>
Grijalva demanded a response by this Friday, as even with reduced BLM staff, "there should be no difficulty having those employees provide responses to these questions" since the employees still appear to be working on oil development projects. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="3d6cb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="Q42HF81576662589"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1082487128582434816" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">As #GovernmentShutdown Drags on, #NationalParks Will Use Entrance Fees to Take Out Trash https://t.co/PJsXcfSmQ6 @DeSmogBlog @NRDems</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1082487128582434816">1546920017.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
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The planned Liberty Project is an artificial gravel island to allow oil drilling in the Arctic. Hilcorp / BOEM
Conservation groups are suing the Trump administration to halt construction of a controversial oil production facility in Alaska's Beaufort Sea, the first offshore oil drilling development in federal Arctic waters.
Hilcorp Alaska received the green light from the Interior Department in October to build the Liberty Project, a nine-acre artificial drilling island and 5.6-mile underwater pipeline, which environmentalists warn could risk oil spills in the ecologically sensitive area, threaten Arctic communities and put local wildlife including polar bears at risk.
<p>
In the lawsuit filed Monday, the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a>, <a href="https://foe.org/" target="_blank">Friends of the Earth</a>, <a href="http://greenpeace.org" target="_blank">Greenpeace</a>, <a href="https://defenders.org/" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife</a> and <a href="https://www.pacificenvironment.org/" target="_blank">Pacific Environment</a>—all represented by the environmental law nonprofit <a href="https://earthjustice.org/" target="_blank">Earthjustice</a>—claim the administration's approval violated federal laws and ignores the causes and effects of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change">climate change</a>.
</p><p>
"We can't let this reckless administration open the Arctic to offshore oil drilling. It threatens Arctic wildlife and communities and will only make climate chaos worse around the world," said Kristen Monsell, oceans legal director with the Center for Biological Diversity in a <a href="https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2018/lawsuit-challenges-approval-of-offshore-oil-drilling-project-in-the-arctic" target="_blank">press release</a>. "Liberty is the bad step down a very dangerous path. An oil spill in the Arctic would be impossible to clean up in a region already stressed by climate change."
</p><p>
The Arctic is warming at twice the rate of anywhere else on Earth, and the region's air temperatures in the past five years between 2014-2018 have exceeded all previous records since 1900, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/arctic-report-card-2623081883.html" target="_blank">government scientists warned</a> in a report earlier this month.
</p><p>
<span></span>Ironically, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-arctic-offshore-drilling-2619918075.html" target="_self">the Liberty Project has already been delayed</a> because of the effects of climate change. The region's unusual warmth has resulted in unstable land-fast sea ice, meaning that the ice simply isn't thick enough to transport construction materials.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="de69c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="T1GBFG1576662599"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1056261349808988161" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Arctic Oil Drilling Project Approved by Trump Administration @savethearctic #SaveTheArctic #BigOil https://t.co/M1F1xWZQKk</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1056261349808988161">1540667304.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Furthermore, when the administration approved the Liberty Project, it did not "account for climate-change impacts already happening in the Arctic like permafrost melt, sea-ice melt and increasing storms that make this an exceedingly dangerous prospect and increase the potential for oil spills," said Rebecca Noblin, staff attorney with Earthjustice, in the release.
</p><p>
"This danger is even more worrisome given Hilcorp's appalling record of safety and environmental violations," Kevin Harun, Arctic program director at Pacific Environment, noted in the release.
</p><p>
Last year, Hilcorp struggled to fix a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/pipeline-leak-alaska-cook-inlet-2318088552.html" target="_self">natural gas leak from its underwater pipeline in Alaska's Cook Inlet</a>. For nearly four months, the ruptured pipeline released roughly 200,000 cubic feet of methane a day into the inlet.
</p><p>
Additionally, Hilcorp has been the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2017/offshore-drilling-02-15-2017.php" target="_blank">most heavily fined</a> oil company in Alaska in recent years, with state regulators writing "disregard for regulatory compliance is endemic to Hilcorp's approach to its Alaska operations."
</p><p>
The Trump administration is <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/alaska-oil-gas-lease-sale-2623304775.html" target="_self">aggressively pursuing</a> Arctic oil and gas development. In October, Interior Secretary <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke" target="_self">Ryan Zinke</a> touted Hilcorp's oil and gas project as part of his plan for "<a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/interior-approves-long-awaited-first-oil-production-facility-federal-waters-offshore" target="_blank">American energy dominance</a>."
</p><p>
"In a rush to drill for oil in Alaska's pristine Arctic coastlines, Donald Trump is flouting the law and endangering some of the most delicate coastlines in the world," said Marcie Keever, legal director with Friends of the Earth, in the press release. "This project is just one in a series of giveaways to oil companies looking to enrich their CEOs and investors on America's public lands and waters. Drilling for new oil off our shorelines and on our public lands, especially in the Arctic, puts the health of our children and their future on this planet into jeopardy."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="3599e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="XN02EW1576662599"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1073628234959466496" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Wednesday's oil and gas lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) yielded a "disappointing" retur… https://t.co/W0F7jvikZR</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/1073628234959466496">1544807892.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke at Grand Canyon Nation Park on Sept. 22. U.S. Department of the Interior
From taxpayer-funded trips with his wife to shrinking national monuments for fossil fuel interests, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is one of President Trump's most scandal-ridden cabinet members.
Now, the embattled official, who is facing several federal investigations of alleged misconduct, could be on his way out.
<p>
<a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/08/ryan-zinke-fox-news-956537" target="_blank">POLITICO</a>'s sources said that the cabinet official plans to resign as Interior Secretary by the end of the year. They claimed that Zinke reached out to the conservative channel Fox News about potential employment, and also sought positions on energy company boards of directors or private equity firms, according to POLITICO.</p><p>
The Interior's press secretary denied the report about Zinke seeking a job with Fox News, calling the rumor "laughably false and belongs in The Onion," in reference to the satirical news publication.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="07e3c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="FF4HMH1576683784"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1060688889642471424" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@AriNatter @mirandacgreen @SecretaryZinke It's laughably false and belongs in The Onion.</div> — DOI Press Secretary (@DOI Press Secretary)<a href="https://twitter.com/DOIPressSec/statuses/1060688889642471424">1541722912.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
A network spokeswoman also told
<a href="https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/415816-zinke-sought-fox-news-job-report" target="_blank">The Hill</a> that "no one at Fox News has spoken to Zinke about a contributor role."
</p><p>
On Friday, Trump said that he has no plans to fire his DOI secretary but was "going to look into any complaints," <a href="%22If%20there%20are%20any%20complaints,%20I'll%20look%20into%20them.%22" target="_blank">The Hill</a> reported.
</p><p>
<span></span>Even if Zinke's future as a Fox News pundit is uncertain, many would be happy to see him out of his government job. Zinke has faced numerous calls for resignation from environmental groups and fellow lawmakers for his anti-environmental policies.
</p><p>
The former Montana congressman spent much of his time at the Interior
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/utah-monuments-oil-gas-leases-2550358557.html" target="_self">opening public lands</a> to oil and gas drilling, and was <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/zinke-halliburton-project-2579693147.html" target="_self">recently linked</a> to a development project with David Lesar, the chairman of the oil giant Halliburton.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="948c7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="AITCZN1576683785"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1058370018130292737" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">[email protected] shouldn't have been confirmed in the first place. He's since used his position to benefit himself… https://t.co/DbM4geQdVy</div> — Elizabeth Warren (@Elizabeth Warren)<a href="https://twitter.com/SenWarren/statuses/1058370018130292737">1541170050.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
Since taking office, Zinke has racked up 17 federal investigations into his behavior, according to the
<a href="https://www.citizensforethics.org/a-guide-to-the-14-federal-investigations-into-ryan-zinke/" target="_blank">Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington</a> (CREW).
</p><p>
Several of the investigations have closed but he is currently the subject of six open investigations by federal agencies and Congress, CREW said.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="3221a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="QTDOSA1576683785"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1059686859620655105" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">This is getting ridiculous.
https://t.co/iwMeteE93V https://t.co/uiMRAV2SKf</div> — Citizens for Ethics (@Citizens for Ethics)<a href="https://twitter.com/CREWcrew/statuses/1059686859620655105">1541484010.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
"After spending nearly the last two years being forced to watch Ryan Zinke sell-out our public lands and break ethical norms and possibly laws, we needed a good laugh,"
<a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/home" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> Our Wild America director Lena Moffitt said in a <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2018/11/icymi-doors-interior-close-zinke-looks-open-one-fox-news" target="_blank">press release</a> in reaction to POLITCO's report. "But as a former representative himself, Zinke shouldn't forget that the House's power of subpoena extends all the way to cable television."
</p><p>
Democratic New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone—who will likely be the new chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee after the Democrats took control over the House after the midterm elections—
<a href="https://democrats-energycommerce.house.gov/newsroom/press-releases/pallone-on-democrats-winning-house-majority" target="_blank">promised</a> to "conduct vigorous oversight of the Trump Administration so Washington works again for the people not the special interests."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="1adde" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="AJ9V7A1576683785"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1058053911377047552" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">[email protected] has turned a blind eye to the Trump Administration’s #CultureofCorruption from the very beginning.
Rem… https://t.co/pHl36P0wbR</div> — Energy and Commerce Committee (@Energy and Commerce Committee)<a href="https://twitter.com/EnergyCommerce/statuses/1058053911377047552">1541094684.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Ryan Zinke visits Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota on May 25. Sherman Hogue / U.S. Dept. of the Interior
A new Trump administration protocol requires U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists to run interview requests with the Department of the Interior, its parent agency, before speaking to journalists, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The move is a departure from past media practices that allowed government scientists to quickly respond to journalists' inquiries, according to unnamed USGS employees interviewed by the Times.
<p>
The scientists fear the new rule would give taxpayers less exposure to USGS expertise, as journalists would seek scientific comments elsewhere.
</p><p>
"In the 44 years I was with the agency, I was never required to go through anyone for authorization to speak with a reporter," William Ellsworth, a former USGS scientist who is now at Stanford University told the Times. "The USGS is a nonpolitical science agency ... These new roadblocks will not help them fulfill their mission."
</p><p>
Scientists with USGS study the country's landscape, its natural resources and its natural hazards. The department also measures and analyzes natural and man-made factors that contribute to
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">climate change</a>—an issue that has become <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/gop-federal-grants-climate-change-2580081151.html" target="_blank">increasingly partisan</a> since Donald Trump became president.
</p><p>
<span></span>The LA Times cited a April 25 email from Interior press secretary Heather Swift stating that it is standard procedure for scientists to first obtain approval for interviews with media outlets when the topics are considered "very controversial or ... likely to become a national story."
</p><p>
The new policy also allows Interior's communications office to turn down interview requests on certain topics, the Times reported.
</p><p>
<span></span>Faith Vander Voort told the newspaper in an email that "the characterization that there is any new policy or that it for some reason targets scientists is completely false," and that Interior had only asked the USGS public affairs office to follow guidelines established in 2012 under President Obama.
</p><p>
However, the guidelines do not say that scientists must get approval before speaking with reporters.
</p><p>
In fact, a 2015
<a href="https://www2.usgs.gov/usgs-manual/500/500-5.html" target="_blank" title="https://www2.usgs.gov/usgs-manual/500/500-5.html">USGS manual</a> on news release and media relations policy states: "The USGS supports and encourages employees to speak on behalf of the USGS to news media representatives about their official work and freely and openly discuss scientific, scholarly, technical information, findings and conclusions based on their official, published work or area of expertise."
</p><p>
A number of senior employees have left the Interior department headed by former Montana congressman
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke" target="_blank">Ryan Zinke</a>. Earlier this year, nearly all members of the National Park Service advisory panel abruptly quit in protest of the Trump administration's policies, which they say have neglected science, climate change and environmental protections.
</p><p>
"We resigned because we were deeply disappointed with the department and we were concerned," the former head of the panel, Tony Knowles, told the
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/16/climate/trump-national-parks.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>. "[Zinke] appears to have no interest in continuing the agenda of science, the effect of climate change, pursuing the protection of the ecosystem."
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="3bb14" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="HVSW7G1576683810"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="922574629406994432" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">EPA Pulls Scientists From Talk on Climate Change, Highlighting Fears Agency Is 'Muzzling' Staff https://t.co/dStkudkw7N @Connect4Climate</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/922574629406994432">1508793906.0</a></blockquote></div>
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The Salado Creek Greenway in San Antonio, Texas. dq5studios / CC BY 3.0
This Saturday, the American Hiking Society is celebrating a very special National Trails Day—2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the National Trails System Act, which created and protected some of the U.S.'s most loved scenic and historic walks.
Now, just in time for Saturday's festivities, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has announced in a Department of the Interior (DOI) press release Wednesday that he is adding 19 new recreation trails to the national network in 17 different states.
<p>"By designating these new national trails, we acknowledge the efforts of local communities to provide outdoor recreational opportunities that can be enjoyed by everyone," Zinke said. "Our network of national trails provides easily accessible places to exercise and connect with nature in both urban and rural areas while boosting tourism and supporting economic opportunities across the country."</p><p>The new trails will add 370 miles to a 2,802 mile system that includes more than 1,000 trails in 50 states. As the weather improves and spring moves towards summer, National Trails Day is a good excuse to go out and explore the trails, new and old, near you.</p><p>"As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the National Trails System, I hope everyone will take advantage of a nearby national trail to hike or bike," National Park Service Deputy Director Dan Smith said in the DOi release. </p><p>You can also take the day to give back. The American Hiking Society is asking volunteers to pledge to help clean a trail Saturday as a 50th birthday present. </p><p>"Join this historic event and leave the trail better than you found it! In honor of the 50th anniversary of the National Trail System, pledge to pack out trash, join a trail work project or clean up a park," the website urges.</p><p>If you want to check out one of the new trails, here are some of the highlights:<strong></strong></p><p><strong>1. Mt. Umunhum Trail, California</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzg3NTk4NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MTMyMzE5MX0.RneMAwMmt2594egH5wh1jPTV4mMlgHlds2AenWoqGmg/img.jpg?width=980" id="dc2ac" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fc6d41c9d5829ca27b2729af6ae39dd8" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Mount Umunhum</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Dicklyon&action=edit&redlink=1" target="_blank">Dicklyon</a> / <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 4.0</a></small></p><p>Mount Umunhum is one of the highest summits in the Santa Cruz mountains and provides hikers with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean to one side and the Sierra Nevada mountains on the other, according to the <a href="https://www.openspace.org/mount-umunhum-sierra-azul" target="_blank">Midpeninsula Regional Open Space website</a>. The trail offers 3.7 miles of moderate hiking to reach one of the few accessible peaks in the Bay Area, with chances to see lizards, birds, butterflies, oaks and pines, the DOI reported.<br></p><p style=""><strong>2. Corona Arch, Utah</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzg3NjA5OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0Nzc0Nzk0MX0.XloV3n14dRe8BXTzQipsUohxVnGyWrzbyL9clv1heJA/img.jpg?width=980" id="6bc02" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="eb5450dc7078c51ad15922717e7983eb" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Corona Arch </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Phreakdigital&action=edit&redlink=1" target="_blank">Michael Grindstaff</a> / <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a></small></p><p style="">This three mile loop provides striking views of the 140-by-105-foot Corona Arch and the nearby Bow Tie Arch, as well as a canyon and the Colorado River. <a href="https://utah.com/hiking/arches-national-park/bowtie-corona-arches" target="_blank">Utah.com</a> recommends it as one of the best short hikes in the Moab area and says it is especially good for young children, since there is plenty to see.<br></p><p style=""><strong>3. Iron Ore Heritage Trail, Michigan</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzg3NjE0Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzM4NDk4OH0.thLYPu3r1xu3boN6URrLTnQZugMxtuJGYu_La6BbF2M/img.jpg?width=980" id="e4d49" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9348992a8430224e280fd5a3e7f6fd2b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Michigan officials learn about the history of the Iron Ore Heritage Trail.</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Michigan Municipal League / Flickr / <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-ND 2.0</a></small></p><p style="">In addition to providing 47 miles of trail for hiking, biking and snowshoeing connecting towns in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, the <a href="http://ironoreheritage.com/about-us/" target="_blank">Iron Ore Heritage Trail</a> teaches users about the industrial history of Michigan and the U.S. Specifically, it explains how iron mines in the Marquette Iron Range made a difference in the Civil War, industrial revolution and World Wars I and II.<br></p><p style=""><strong>4. Fort River Birding and Nature Trail, Massachusetts</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzg3NjE3Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMzMyOTA4NX0.z0tOmgrofJJ-FTY7aGFIYbDhOYIaKUs5c3ZmKUwoVrU/img.jpg?width=980" id="dcf12" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="dbafa008cd31753f24a994f1d5b7a789" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">The boardwalk of the Fort River Birding and Nature Trail</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Region / Flickr / <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-ND 2.0</a></small></p><p style="">The Fort River Birding and Nature Trail is 1.2 miles of boardwalk and flat surfaces built through the Silvio O. Conte National Fish & Wildlife Refuge, making it fully accessible to the blind, wheelchair users and families with strollers, the <a href="https://www.kestreltrust.org/places/fort-river-trail/" target="_blank">Kestrel Land Trust explains</a>. It passes through forests, rivers and grasslands, allowing walkers to observe the many birds and animals that live in these diverse habitats. Youth and community groups worked with the Refuge to build the accessible trail, according to the DOI.<br></p><p style=""><strong>5. Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Trail System, Florida</strong></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image" style="">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzg3NjIxNC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTU4OTkyNH0.PdvkAxJdmwmTi2lJ7FonRbKzl_Z78CbcwZgktJ4BQPs/img.jpg?width=980" id="c2a8a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f83db1268c0f52860058eb741c1ce7ec" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Shelters at Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park</small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit..."><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Mgreason" target="_blank">Mgreason</a></small></p><p style=""><a href="http://www.coj.net/departments/parks-and-recreation/recreation-and-community-programming/docs/preservation-(1)/kathryn-abbey-hanna-park-trails-maps.aspx" target="_blank">The Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Trail System</a> provides 20.85 miles of hiking and biking trails to residents of Jacksonville, Florida and visitors. The trails give hikers a chance to walk along the beach, see the dunes and even rest in maritime hammocks if they get tired.<br></p><p style="">If your home state isn't represented in this list, the new trails also include the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail in Virginia, the Wright's Mountain Trails in Vermont, the Salado Creek Greenway in Texas, the Bays Mountain Park Trail System in Tennessee, the Blackberry Trail in South Dakota, the Jim Mayer Riverswalk Trail in Pennsylvania, the Martin Van Buren Nature Trails in New York, the Guadalupe Ridge Trail in New Mexico and Texas, the Climax Canyon Nature Trail in New Mexico, the River's Edge Trail in Montana, the Wilson's Creek Greenway in Missouri, the Cannon Valley Trail in Minnesota, the North Western State Trail in Michigan and the Fort Larned Historic Nature Trail in Kansas. </p>
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Sow and cub polar bears in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Alan D. Wilson/ Nature's Pics Online / CC BY-SA 3.0
The Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management office in Alaska received a plan to conduct extensive, 3-D seismic testing in search of oil on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) this winter.
The plan—submitted by surveying services SAExploration, Inc. and its partners Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation—is the first step in opening up Alaska's pristine refuge for oil exploration and drilling, the Washington Post reported.
<p>
Last year, Congress
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/arctic-refuge-drilling-2517635533.html">controversially</a> lifted a four-decade ban on energy development in ANWR after pro-drilling Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski buried the provision into the GOP tax bill that passed in December. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-anwr-oil-drilling-2530771183.html">President Trump</a> also claims he was the driving force behind the provision's inclusion.
</p><p>
The companies have requested a permit to survey an area encompassing 2,602 square miles, or the entire "1002 area" of the 1.5-million-acre coastal plain, which has an
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/arctic-refuge-drilling-trump-2561725554.html">estimated</a> 12 billion barrels of recoverable crude.
</p><p>
SAExploration said that "this partnership is dedicated to minimizing the effect of our operations on the environment."
</p><p>
<span></span>However, the Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said the plan is "not adequate," the Post revealed. FWS said the application showed "a lack of applicable details for proper agency review." The department complained that the companies' permit application did not include any studies about the impacts of the seismic work and equipment on wildlife, the tundra or the aquatic conditions in the area.
</p><p>
"There is no documentation of environmental effects, whether positive or adverse," FWS said. According to the Post, the department's response shows no sign it will approve the request.
</p><p>
<span></span>The 1002 area is described by the <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2018/04/threatening-indigenous-rights-and-arctic-ecosystem-interior-launches-process" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> as "the biological heart" of ANWR—home to polar bears, caribou, migratory birds and other species—as well as vital lands and wildlife for the subsistence way of life of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/how-drilling-in-anwr-would-threaten-the-gwichin-peoples-way-of-life-1882011846.html" target="_blank">Gwich'in Nation</a>.
</p><p>
After reviewing the proposal, the
<a href="http://www.alaskawild.org/" target="_blank">Alaska Wilderness League</a> criticized the companies' plan to conduct 3-D seismic exploration in the ecologically sensitive area:
</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">
<span></span>The scars of the 2-D seismic testing completed on the coastal plain in 1984 and 1985 are still visible 30 years later. Modern seismic exploration, however, is done using a 3-D technique that requires a much denser grid of trails—the 1984-85 trails on the coastal plain were approximately four miles apart, while the 3-D seismic trails envisioned here would be a mere 660 feet apart. Seismic activities would involve convoys of 30-ton thumper trucks and bulldozers traveling over extensive areas of fragile tundra. These intrusive surface exploration activities—typically employed year after year throughout the life of an oil field—would cause severe and long-lasting damage to the Arctic Refuge.
</p><p>
The organization also noted that the SAExploration seismic plan could threaten polar bears:
</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">
The plan makes no mention of Endangered Species Act consultation—only incidental harassment authorization—related to polar bears. This despite the Southern Beaufort Sea population's status as threatened, its 40 percent reduction in population size over the first decade of the 2000s, and the increasing presence of mothers and cubs denning along the coastal plain due to loss of sea ice from climate change.
</p><p>
"This is the polar opposite of what was promised by drilling proponents. Instead of a small footprint and a careful process, they want to deploy a small army of industrial vehicles and equipment with a mandate to crisscross every square inch of the Refuge's biological heart," Adam Kolton, executive director at Alaska Wilderness League, said in a statement.
</p><p>
"This scheme will put denning polar bears at risk and leave lasting scars on the fragile tundra and its vegetation, and that's before a single drill rig has been placed or length of pipeline installed."
</p><p>
The group also noted that the seismic plan promises to mitigate conflicts with subsistence users, but only mentions coordination with only the village of Kaktovik, and did not mention coordination with the Gwich'in.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="780a0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="EIPAYK1576662103"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="996510559574155264" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Investors Controlling $2.5 Trillion Stand With Indigenous People Against Trump Plan to Drill 'Sacred' Arctic Refuge… https://t.co/ggRjhskZaM</div> — Sierra Club (@Sierra Club)<a href="https://twitter.com/SierraClub/statuses/996510559574155264">1526421606.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
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Simulated flooding caused by a Category 3 hurricane striking Theodore Roosevelt Island in Washington, DC. NPS
The National Parks Service (NPS) quietly released a long-delayed report that mentions humanity's role in climate change, which officials had removed in earlier drafts.
The report, published Friday without a press release or any social media activity from the parks department or Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, shows estimates of sea level change for 118 coastal national park sites and estimates of storm surge for 79 of the sites.
<p>
The 87-page study, led by University of Colorado Boulder scientist Maria Caffrey, has been held up for at least 10 months, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting's <a href="https://www.revealnews.org/" target="_blank">Reveal</a> project.
</p><p>
Reveal obtained and analyzed 18 versions of the scientific report and found that on Feb. 6, a park service official removed the word "anthropogenic," or mankind's influence on nature, in five places. Three references to "human activities" causing climate change were also scrubbed.
</p><p>
Caffrey told <a href="https://www.revealnews.org/blog/national-parks-report-finally-released-uncensored/" target="_blank">Reveal</a> that National Park Service officials pressured her to accept the changes or the report might be released in an edited form without her name on it.
</p><p>
However, following Reveal's reporting and a call from Democrats for an investigation on the attempts at censorship, park service officials agreed to re-insert the terms.
</p><p>
"The fight probably destroyed my career with the [<span style="background-color: initial;">National</span> <span style="background-color: initial;">Park</span> Service] but it will be worth it if we can uphold the truth and ensure that scientific integrity of other scientists won't be challenged so easily in the future," Caffrey told Reveal.
</p><p>
<span></span>The final version <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/climatechange/sealevelchange.htm" target="_blank">shows</a> that all coastal parks will need to contend with both changing sea levels and the intensification of storms and associated storm surge, especially along the southeast coast, where it is facing more tropical storms and hurricanes. The Outer Banks of North Carolina is poised to experience the greatest amount of sea level rise over the next century, with the shoreline near Wright Brothers National Memorial projected to rise 2.7 feet by 2100.
</p><div id="7291c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="340UCP1576683814"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="980863329689206784" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">12/ The report, originally drafted by @Dr_Caffrey in summer 2016, has been held for many months, depriving 118 coas… https://t.co/yr6TdBFBW6</div> — Reveal (@Reveal)<a href="https://twitter.com/reveal/statuses/980863329689206784">1522691016.0</a></blockquote></div><p>
An NPS spokesman told <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/national-parks-face-flooding-sea-level-rise-storm/story?id=55327169" target="_blank">ABC News</a> that the department was confident about the report's accuracy and the final language of the document was a result of authors resolving conflicting edits.
</p><p>
"During multiple rounds of review, recommendations and suggested edits that focused the report on issues specific to national park units were offered for consideration by the author team. As often occurs, the author team experienced disagreements regarding the relative merits of incorporating some of the recommendations received before the report was finalized," the spokesman said. "The scientists preparing this report were doing just that when working drafts of the report were published in the news media before the authors had completed their deliberations."
</p><p>
<span></span>As EcoWatch <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/scientists-climate-change-language-us-2545036053.html">mentioned previously</a>, the Interior Department, along with many other departments, are headed by Trump appointees who are hostile to climate science. Not long after Trump's inauguration, references to climate change were <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-climate-change-website-2209059875.html" target="_blank">removed</a> from the White House website, among other alterations. The Environmental Data & Governance Initiative <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-science-censored-2524505490.html" target="_blank">published a report</a> in January detailing how "<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/usda-bans-climate-change-2470565728.html" target="_blank">language about climate change</a> has been systematically changed across multiple agencies and program websites," the report found.
</p><p>
That same month, nearly all members of the National Park Service advisory panel <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/national-parks-zinke-2526263781.html">abruptly quit</a> in protest of the Trump administration's policies, which they say have neglected science, climate change and environmental protections.</p>
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Trump Admin. Wants to Reinstate 'Cruel' Hunting Tactics in Alaska, Conservation Groups Say
22 May 2018
Animals
Brown bears in Katmai National Park and Preserve in Alaska. NPS Photo / B. Plog
The Trump administration has proposed new regulations to overturn an Obama-era rule that protects iconic predators in Alaska's national preserves.
Wildlife protection organizations condemned the move, as it would allow hunters to go to den sites to shoot wolf pups and bear cubs, lure and kill bears over bait, hunt bears with dogs and use motor boats to shoot swimming caribou. Such hunting methods were banned on federal lands in 2015 that are otherwise permitted by the state.
<p>
<span></span>The proposed rule, <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2018/05/22/2018-10735/alaska-hunting-and-trapping-in-national-preserves" target="_blank">posted</a> Tuesday in the federal register and pushed by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/department-of-interior">Interior</a> Secretary <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump">Ryan Zinke</a>, "would remove a regulatory provision issued by the National Park Service (NPS) in 2015 that prohibited certain sport hunting practices that are otherwise permitted by the State of Alaska."
</p><p>
Members of the public are invited to post comments on the proposed rule by 11:59 p.m. EST on July 23, 2018.
</p><p>
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game was "pleased to see the National Park Service working to better align federal regulations with State of Alaska hunting and trapping regulations," Maria Gladziszewski, the state agency's deputy director of the Division of Wildlife Conservation, said in an email to <a href="https://www.apnews.com/b6f958ae02dc4eb19741927a1a56ed85/Interior-moves-to-lift-restrictions-on-hunting-bears,-wolves" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a>.
</p><p>
She added that the proposal is "progress in that direction, and we appreciate those efforts. Alaskans benefit when state and federal regulations are consistent."
</p><p>
NPS said lifting the prohibitions would increase hunting opportunities on national preserve land, which follow Sec. Zinke's <a href="https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/signed_so_3356.pdf" target="_blank">two</a> <a href="https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/revised_so_3447.pdf" target="_blank">orders</a> last year.
</p><p>
Safari Club International, a hunting advocacy group, backed the Interior's new proposal. Zinke, an avid hunter himself, created his <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-zinke-announces-creation-international-wildlife-conservation-council" target="_blank">International Wildlife Conservation Council</a> that is mainly comprised of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trophy-hunting-committee-trump-2548409021.html" target="_blank">trophy hunters</a> and members of the Safari Club, who <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trophy-hunting-committee-trump-2548409021.html">advocate for</a> federal programs that support hunting.
</p><p>
Conservation groups expressed outrage over the Trump administration's proposal. They <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/senate-wildlife-hunting-alaska-2324764417.html" target="_blank">contend</a> Alaska's predator-control activities are intended solely to artificially inflate game populations, such as moose, for human hunting.
</p><p>
"The Trump administration has somehow reached a new low in protecting wildlife," said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president and CEO at <a href="https://defenders.org/" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife</a>, in a statement issued to EcoWatch. "Allowing the killing of bear cubs and wolf pups in their dens is barbaric and inhumane. The proposed regulations cast aside the very purpose of national parks to protect wildlife and wild places."
</p><p>
She added, "The National Park Service should not accept Alaska's extreme predator control program as a suitable method of managing wildlife and their habitat."
</p><p>"The proposed rule sounds nothing like the Park Service I know," said Phil Francis, chair of the <a href="https://protectnps.org/" target="_blank">Coalition to Protect America's National Parks</a> and a retired NPS veteran with more than 40 years of experience with the agency. "Under the Organic Act of 1916, the National Park Service is mandated to conserve wildlife, not exploit it through these despicable hunting practices. You don't have to be an avid hunter to know that killing bears with cubs in their dens or shooting swimming caribou from a moving motorboat are simply wrong."</p><p><span></span>The <a href="https://blog.humanesociety.org/2018/05/trump-administration-wants-reinstate-cruel-hunting-practices-alaska-like-killing-hibernating-bears-shooting-wolf-pups-dens.html?credit=blog_post_052118_id9758" target="_blank">Humane Society</a> blasted the Trump administration for reinstating "cruel" hunting practices in Alaska and is urging the public to help keep the prohibitions in place.
</p><p>
"Last year, when the state of Alaska and Safari Club International sued NPS to invalidate this crucial rule, the Humane Society of the United States <a href="https://wildernesswatch.org/images/wild-issues/2017/02-08-2017-NPS-Predator-Regs-Suit-Intervention.pdf" target="_blank">intervened in the lawsuit</a> to defend the rule and <a href="http://www.humanesociety.org/news/magazines/2016/11-12/alaska-predator-control.html?credit=blog_post_052118_id9758" target="_blank">similar rules</a> issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service," the group said.
</p><p>
"Now, in a new ploy, the NPS is claiming that due to secretarial orders issued by Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to expand hunting opportunities on federal lands and improve coordination with states, the agency is required to rescind these protections. In reality, the agency and Zinke have no authority to override Congressional protections for these federal lands."</p>
From Your Site Articles
- Trump Administration Reverses Ban on Elephant Trophy Imports ›
- Trump Rollback Allows Hunters to Kill Bears and Wolves in Their Dens - EcoWatch ›
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Utah's Zion National Park. Jared / Flickr
As the nation observes National Park Week, the Interior Department released a report Wednesday touting that visits to national parks added $35.8 billion to the U.S. economy in 2017—a nearly $1 billion increase from the year prior—and supported 306,000 jobs.
The National Park Service said more than 330 million visitors spent $18.2 billion in the communities near the national parks last year.
<p>"This report illustrates the incredible economic value of our national parks," Interior Secretary
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/ryan-zinke" target="_blank">Ryan Zinke</a> said in a <a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/zinke-announces-358-billion-added-us-economy-2017-due-national-park-visitation" target="_blank">statement</a>, "and further shows the value in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch" target="_blank">President Trump</a>'s plan to rebuild park infrastructure."<br></p><p style="">The annual report comes not long after Zinke <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/national-parks-entrance-fees-2559617590.html">backed down</a> on his proposal to nearly triple entrance fees for some of the country's most-visited parks to pay for the parks systems' $11 billion maintenance backlog. </p><p>Critics scorned the exorbitant rates for reducing park access for low-income Americans and the economic impact on national park gateway communities from decreased visitation.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="f5371" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1IVF8L1576663814"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="989220452370350080" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">@Interior @NatlParkService So why are you trying to triple entrance fees? That money usually goes back into the US… https://t.co/NbkaPlAxCl</div> — Classic Movies 🎞 (@Classic Movies 🎞)<a href="https://twitter.com/ClassicMP/statuses/989220452370350080">1524683509.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p style="">
<span></span>John Garder, the senior director of budget and appropriations at the <a href="https://www.npca.org/" target="_blank">National Parks Conservation Association</a>, told EcoWatch that the department's announcement confirms the huge economic value of parks and is "one of many reasons to protect and repair them."
</p><p style="">
<span></span>In his statement, Zinke insisted on the need to close the maintenance backlog.
</p><p style="">
"As parks remain a popular destination for American families, we must continue to address deferred maintenance and infrastructure needs to ensure parks remain world-class destinations," he said. "One of the ways the President and I are doing this is by partnering with Congress on a
<a href="https://www.doi.gov/pressreleases/secretary-zinke-partners-congress-bipartisan-bill-fix-our-national-parks" target="_blank">bipartisan bill to address the maintenance backlog</a>."
</p><p style="">
This proposed legislation would use up to $18 billion in new revenues from mining and drilling in America's
<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" target="_blank">public lands</a> and coastal waters to pay for the delayed park projects.
</p><p style="">
The Trump administration has proposed massive budget cuts to the National Park Service, including the
<a href="https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/fy2019_bib_j0001.pdf" target="_blank">firing 1,835 employees</a> at a time when park visits are at <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/socialscience/annual-visitation-highlights.htm" target="_blank">record highs</a>.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="c14fa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="QI6PY21576663814"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="953750062408093696" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Majority of National Parks Panel Quits in Protest of Ryan Zinke https://t.co/eCA7pP6wuI @IMPL0RABLE @American_Bridge @The_Anti_Fox</div> — EcoWatch (@EcoWatch)<a href="https://twitter.com/EcoWatch/statuses/953750062408093696">1516226709.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
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Polar Bear sow and two cubs in the Arctic Refuge's 1002 area targeted for oil drilling. Wikimedia Commons
The Interior Department has launched the process of holding lease sales for oil and gas drilling in the 1.6-million-acre coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).
Despite decades of fierce resistance from Democrats and conservation groups, pro-drilling Republicans were able to realize their goal of opening the refuge after quietly including the measure in last year's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
<p>
A notice published Friday in the Federal Register starts the 60-day public scoping period to assist in the preparation of an environmental impact statement for the
<a href="https://www.blm.gov/programs/planning-and-nepa/plans-in-development/alaska/coastal-plain-eis">leasing program</a>.
</p><p>
The sale targets the 1002 area on the Prudhoe Bay in Northern Alaska, which has an estimated 12 billion barrels of recoverable crude. The area is described by the
<a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2018/04/threatening-indigenous-rights-and-arctic-ecosystem-interior-launches-process" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> as "the biological heart" of the Arctic Refuge—home to polar bears, caribou, migratory birds and other species—as well as vital lands and wildlife for the subsistence way of life of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/how-drilling-in-anwr-would-threaten-the-gwichin-peoples-way-of-life-1882011846.html">Gwich'in Nation</a>.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xNzU4MDQwOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDMzODI1Mn0.v3dPAwkAsAhPAsRgp53fpZXpGDgrwJC5Qm77KIlICmg/img.jpg?width=980" id="437a9" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="00ec840a36c6a4d5476dbe0c89e00e6d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
</p><p>
Environmental groups condemned the plan, calling it "shameful" that it would be published just before the eighth anniversary of the
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/deepwater-horizon">Deepwater Horizon oil spill</a> in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history.
</p><p>
"The
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/">Trump</a> administration's reckless dash to expedite drilling and destroy the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will only hasten a trip to the courthouse," Jamie Rappaport Clark, president of <a href="https://defenders.org/" target="_blank">Defenders of Wildlife</a>, said in a statement. "We will not stand by and watch them desecrate this fragile landscape."
</p><p>
In a statement, Assistant Interior Secretary Joe Balash called the drilling plan "an important facet for meeting our nation's energy demands and achieving energy dominance."
</p><p>
"This scoping process begins the first step in developing a responsible path forward. I look forward to personally visiting the communities most affected by this process and hearing their concerns," Balash added.
</p><p>
Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski, who has long fought to open the refuge, said in a joint statement with other Alaskan lawmakers that drilling would "help ensure the energy and economic security of our nation."
</p><p>
In February,
President Trump spoke
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-anwr-oil-drilling-2530771183.html">about his indifference</a> on the matter until an oil industry friend told him that past presidents, including conservative icon Ronald Reagan, couldn't get drilling done. He then directed lawmakers to put the provision in the tax bill.
</p><p>
"I never appreciated ANWR so much," Trump said during a speech at a Republican retreat in West Virginia. "A friend of mine called up who is in that world and in that business. He said, 'Is it true that you're thinking about ANWR?' I said 'Yeah, I think we're going to get it but you know …' He said, 'Are you kidding? That's the biggest thing by itself. Ronald Reagan and every president has wanted to get ANWR approved.' And after that I said 'Oh, make sure that is in the bill. It was amazing how that had an impact."
</p><p>
He made similar remarks a month later at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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</p><p>
The purpose of the public scoping process is to assist the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in identifying relevant issues that will influence the scope of the environmental impact statement and guide its development. It may also inform post-lease activities, including seismic and drilling exploration, development, and transportation of oil and gas in and from the coastal plain. </p><p>
The bureau has invited the public to provide comments on scoping issues and will hold public scoping meetings in Anchorage, Arctic Village, Fairbanks, Kaktovik and Utqiaġvik at times and locations to be announced in local media, newspapers and on the BLM website.
</p><p>
Comments will be accepted through June 19, 2018, and can be sent by any of the following methods:
</p><p>
Website:
<a href="https://www.blm.gov/alaska/coastal-plain-eis" target="_blank">www.blm.gov/alaska/coastal-plain-eis</a><br>
Email:
<a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank">[email protected]</a><br>
Mail: Attn: Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program EIS
<br>
222 West 7th Avenue, Stop #13
<br>
Anchorage, Alaska 99513
</p>
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