December Conservation Update

In this final Conservation Update for 2022, we highlight the Mountain Pact’s 2022 Year in Review. We also cover the biggest recent news in conservation and public lands, including the historic commitment to protect 30% of the Earth’s lands and oceans made by almost 200 countries during the COP15 biodiversity summit; the daunting task of reallocation of water rights in the face of worsening drought that was discussed by Colorado River Basin States and other stakeholders during the Colorado River Water Users Association conference; the worsening of other disasters, such as wildfire, which are becoming a year-round phenomena; the preservation of diverse species, including cryptobiotic soil and wolves; and much more.

November Conservation Update

In this Conservation Update, we report on The Mountain Pact's recent letter signed by over 100 Colorado local elected officials thanking the Biden administration for the designation of Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument along with an ad that ran in the Denver Post; news of a possible designation of an Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Southern Nevada; a Bureau of Land Management release of an Instruction Memorandum on Habitat Connectivity on Public Lands; how the recent election results may impact conservation efforts; and much more.

The Mountain Pact Say Thank You for Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument

On November 10, we sent a letter signed by 106 Colorado mountain community county commissioners, mayors, and council members thanking the Biden administration for designating Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument to protect Camp Hale, the Tenmile Range and its rich history while helping communities that depend on outdoor recreation and sustainable public lands succeed. We also thanked the administration for initiating consideration of a 20-year withdrawal of the Thompson Divide area from new oil and gas leasing and mining. The letter also encouraged the Biden administration to designate more national monuments soon.

The signers of the letter were highlighted in and ad in the Denver Post on Sunday, November 13 thanking President Biden; Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper; Representative Neguse; and Governor Polis for their leadership to permanently protect Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument!

October 2022 Conservation Update

In this Conservation Update, we report on President Biden's visit to Colorado to designate Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument while also proposing a 20-year mineral withdrawal of Thompson Divide; continued support for more national monument designations in Nevada, Texas, and elsewhere; the U.S. government warned that it may impose water supply cuts on California, Arizona, and Nevada to protect the Colorado River and its two main reservoirs from overuse, drought, and climate change; Great Sand Dunes National Park was expanded; and much more.

September 2022 Conservation Update

In this Conservation Update, we report on the efforts encouraging President Biden to designate Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument in Colorado; Secretary Haaland's visit to Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada; the Glenwood Springs Mayor encouraging the Bureau of Land Management to do more to protect our lands and waters; our attendance at the Global United Nations Mountain Partnership meeting in Aspen; and much more.

August 2022 Conservation Update

In this Conservation Update, we report on the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and its historic climate change provisions; more reports in the mountain west about the shortage of affordable housing; wildfires burning in Montana and California and record flooding in Death Valley National Park; the strong support for the proposed national monument across the country; the chorus of voices urging President Biden to use his authority under the Antiquities Act to protect Colorado’s public lands; the decision by a federal judge to restore a 2016 moratorium on coal leasing on federal lands that had been overturned by the Trump administration; and much more.

President Biden Signed Inflation Reduction Act Into Law

President Biden signed into law, the single biggest U.S. investment to tackle climate change - ever - the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022! An event to celebrate the enactment of the bill will be held at the White House on September 6.

In addition to many tangible and cost-saving climate actions, we are thrilled that many of the oil and gas leasing reforms The Mountain Pact has been pushing for for years have been included in the final bill.

Senate Passes Inflation Reduction Act

In reaction to the Senate passing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 The Mountain Pact issued a statement.

July 2022 Conservation Update

In this Conservation Update, we report on a a long-anticipated reconciliation package that would invest hundreds of billions of dollars to combat climate change and advance clean energy programs; a new poll of voters in the Mountain West that shows that support for public lands is very strong; Colorado Senator Bennet’s draft legislation to designate a National Conservation Area for a portion of the Dolores River Canyon; national parks coming face to face with climate change; California Senator Padilla’s PUBLIC Lands Act; efforts to to include the CORE Act and the Grand Canyon Centennial Protect Act as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2023; the Bureau of Land Management’s approval of solar energy projects; President Biden’s executive actions to boost wind energy production and blunt the impacts of extreme heat; the Biden administration is being sued for resuming oil and gas lease sales across the west; and much more.

June 2022 Conservation Update

In this Conservation Update, we report on the management challenges posed by crowds in the backcountry; how the housing crunch is forcing more people to camp on public land; the rain and flooding in Yellowstone; a Senate subcommittee hearing on the Grand Canyon Protection Act; the 116th birthday of the Antiquities Act; the historic agreement signed by the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service with five Native American tribes for the co-management of Bears Ears National Monument; Secretary of Agriculture Vilsack’s directive to the USDA Forest Service to take bold action to restore forests, improve resilience, and curb climate change; a new report says that the Biden administration’s fossil fuel leasing program undercuts its climate goals; the announcement by the Department of the Interior of $279 million in funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund to all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia for state-identified outdoor recreation and conservation projects; and much more.

May 2022 Conservation Update

In this Conservation Update, we report on the infrastructure funding that will be allocated to western conservation projects; New Mexico’s Hermits Peak Calf Canyon Wildfire, the largest in the state’s history; the U.S. Forest Service’s temporary halt to prescribed burning; how climate change is negatively affecting snowmelt in the Colorado River Basin; the effort to reform U.S. mining laws; the meeting organized by The Mountain Pact with local elected officials and Chuck Sams III, the Director of the National Park Service; a letter released by The Mountain Pact signed by 123 local elected officials calling on the Biden administration to protect more Bureau of Land Management lands; how the courts have shaped the Biden administration’s oil and gas leasing strategy; and much more.

Over 120 Western Local Officials Call for More Protections for Bureau of Land Management Lands

Officials Urge the Biden Administration to Take Administrative Action as Part of the America the Beautiful Initiative

On May 24, 2022, The Mountain Pact released a letter signed by 123 local elected officials from Western states that calls on the Biden administration to protect more Bureau of Land Management lands as part of the administration’s America the Beautiful initiative.

April 2022 Conservation Update

In this Conservation Update, we report on some efforts to address the affordable housing shortage in the mountain west; how public land managers are dealing with the ongoing challenges of increased visitation; the very early start to a scary 2022 wildfire season; the Biden administration’s launch of a $1 billion America the Beautiful Challenge to support and accelerate locally led conservation and restoration projects; various local efforts urging the president to use the Antiquities Act to create new national monuments; the Biden administration’s work to grow renewable energy projects on public land; the decision by the Interior Department to resume onshore oil and gas leasing at a smaller scale and raise royalty fees for the first time since they were imposed in the 1920s; and much more.

New Fact Sheets Highlight the Bi-Partisan Nature of National Monument Designations

The Mountain Pact released fact sheets highlighting the nearly 100 national monuments in ten Western states that were designated by an equal number of Republican and Democratic presidents through the use of the Antiquities Act

March 2022 Conservation Update

In this March 2022 Conservation Update, we report on the ongoing shortage of affordable housing in Western mountain communities; the impacts of climate change on the ski industry; the forecast of continuing drought in the West; President Biden’s signing of the Amache National Historic Site Act into law; the commitment of the Biden administration to elevate the role of Tribes in the management of public lands; a new report from several conservation groups that shows speculative oil and gas leases on public lands put our landscapes at risk, even if they’re never drilled; Grand Teton National Park’s acquisition of a 35-acre parcel inside the park’s boundary using funding from the Land and Water Conservation Fund; and Interior Secretary Halaand’s visit to the proposed Castner Range National Monument.

February 2022 Conservation Update

In this February 2022 Conservation Update we report on the Senate’s approval of legislation to designate a former Japanese American internment camp in Colorado as Amache National Historic Site; the ongoing western drought; how climate change is impacting the ski industry; the enduring popularity of our public lands; Clark County Commission’s support of the proposed Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Southern Nevada; the Biden administration giving states $1.15 billion to plug orphaned wells which leak planet-warming methane; Colorado College’s 12th annual Conservation in the West bipartisan poll; and much more.

January 2022 Conservation Update

In this first Conservation Update of 2022, we report on the catastrophic wildfire in Boulder County; the dire drought conditions in many places in the West; the Biden administration’s new effort to tackle the growing wildfire threat and grow renewable energy projects on public land; the record-smashing visitation to our national parks in 2021; the push for the designation of two new national monuments - Avi Kwa Ame and Castner Range; and much more.