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The protection of greater sage grouse is in conversation again. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is planning to update its protections this year, as the bird is considered a ‘sensitive species.’ But several conservation groups wrote the agency a letter saying it is still not enough.
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One element of the BLM’s proposed Public Lands Rule would allow for so-called conservation leasing, which would enable public and private entities to carry out restoration work or compensatory mitigation to offset the impacts of projects. The Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, says that such leases could speed the development of clean energy on public lands, an important prospect given the Biden administration’s ambitious goal of permitting 25 gigawatts of such projects by 2025.
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A federal judge in Wyoming has ruled in favor of four hunters in a case that tested the legality of "corner crossing," or stepping from one parcel of public land to another over a common corner shared with private property – a common practice due to the checkerboard pattern of land ownership in parts of the Mountain West.
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The Bureau of Land Management is proposing a new Public Lands Rule that would - among other things - clarify that "conservation is a use on par with other uses of federal public lands."
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The Bureau of Land Management recently proposed an overhaul to the way it manages federal public lands that would elevate conservation as pressure on Western rangelands mounts.
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One of the hardest endurance adventure races in the lower 48 is right here in Wyoming, in the Wind River Mountains. Due to an extreme winter storm, this year was the hardest version of the race to date.
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A new report shows public land conservation lagged in some Western states over the past decade, but the number of acres protected in the Mountain West varies widely by state.
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The Biden administration is keeping the cost of grazing a cow and calf on federal land at $1.35 per month. Conservation groups say this low fee – the minimum it can be under federal law – comes at a high cost to Western lands and the climate.
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The National Park Service is behind on studying 28 potential sites to add to its system. Two of them are in the Mountain West.
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Two bills being proposed in state legislatures in the Mountain West differ completely on how to manage the region’s wild horse and burro population.