PUBLIC LANDS: Group urges Jewell to turn conservation 'words into actions' in 2014
Phil Taylor, E&E reporter
Greenwire: Thursday, January 30, 2014
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell should take action on several conservation initiatives she announced in late 2013, including designating new national monuments, finalizing oil and gas master leasing plans, and implementing a departmentwide mitigation strategy, according to a new report from a Denver-based conservation group.
The report by the Center for Western Priorities chronicles conservation steps taken by Jewell's predecessors and offers a wish list of what she could accomplish in 2014.
"Secretary Jewell announced a strong conservation agenda in late 2013. Now it's time for her to put that plan into action," Greg Zimmerman, CWP's policy director, said in a statement. "Interior secretaries have left their mark on American history, from protecting our beloved outdoor spaces to making sure oil and gas is developed responsibly on public lands. Secretary Jewell can do the same."
The report comes days after President Obama's State of the Union address, in which he pledged to "use my authority to protect more of our pristine federal lands for future generations," a clear reference to his conservation powers under the Antiquities Act.
The CWP report quotes a handful of Jewell's remarks from an October speech to the National Press Club, including pledges to tackle climate change and mitigate commercial energy projects through regional conservation and restoration.
"As Secretary Jewell turns her words into actions in 2014, former Interior Secretaries' accomplishments can offer her valuable guidance," the report says.
It cites George W. Bush Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's decision to raise royalty rates on offshore oil and gas development and Obama's first-term Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's support of several national monument designations, among others.
It calls on Jewell to support the president's designation of national monuments in New Mexico's Organ Mountains, Colorado's Browns Canyon and California's San Gabriel Mountains, while establishing new wildlife refuges.
It also calls for the implementation of oil and gas master leasing plans, strong hydraulic fracturing rules, higher onshore royalties and rules reducing methane emissions from wells.
