Aubrie Spady
FOX NEWS
Tue, December 31, 2024 at 8:42 AM MST·2 min read
The Biden administration is attempting to implement last-minute restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the west just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
On Monday, the Department of the Interior announced plans to pursue a 20-year ban on oil and gas leases in 264,000 acres of Nevada's Ruby Mountains.
The administration submitted an application to withdraw the acreage from any potential leasing, which initiated a two-year ban on new mineral leases in the area during the approval process. The proposal now heads into a 90-day public comment period, which will fall under the Trump administration.
"The Ruby Mountains are an iconic landscape with exceptional recreation opportunities and valuable fish and wildlife habitat worth preserving for the future," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. "Today’s action honors the voices of Tribal communities and conservation and sportsmen’s groups and marks another important step to protect a treasured landscape."
The Biden administration's lease limitation does not put restrictions on mining in the region.
Scotus Hears Arguments In Case That Could Reshape Environmental Law
During Trump's first administration, the Forest Service conducted a study to determine whether 54,000 acres could be leased for oil and gas drilling in the Ruby Mountains.
The proposal was eventually rejected in 2019 after the public comment period saw "thousands of comments from the local area, the state of Nevada, and from across the nation" opposing the idea, according to William Dunkelberger, the forest supervisor who signed the decision.
Tue, December 31, 2024 at 8:42 AM MST·2 min read
The Biden administration is attempting to implement last-minute restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the west just weeks before President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.
On Monday, the Department of the Interior announced plans to pursue a 20-year ban on oil and gas leases in 264,000 acres of Nevada's Ruby Mountains.
The administration submitted an application to withdraw the acreage from any potential leasing, which initiated a two-year ban on new mineral leases in the area during the approval process. The proposal now heads into a 90-day public comment period, which will fall under the Trump administration.
"The Ruby Mountains are an iconic landscape with exceptional recreation opportunities and valuable fish and wildlife habitat worth preserving for the future," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. "Today’s action honors the voices of Tribal communities and conservation and sportsmen’s groups and marks another important step to protect a treasured landscape."
The Biden administration's lease limitation does not put restrictions on mining in the region.
Scotus Hears Arguments In Case That Could Reshape Environmental Law
During Trump's first administration, the Forest Service conducted a study to determine whether 54,000 acres could be leased for oil and gas drilling in the Ruby Mountains.
The proposal was eventually rejected in 2019 after the public comment period saw "thousands of comments from the local area, the state of Nevada, and from across the nation" opposing the idea, according to William Dunkelberger, the forest supervisor who signed the decision.
Great Basin, Nevada, Elko County, Ruby Mountains, Lamoille Canyon.
Jenna Padilla, the geologist for the Humboldt-Toiyabe Ruby Mountains ranger district at the time, said that geological surveys "show there is low to no potential for oil" in the region, the LA Times reported in 2018.
It is unclear whether the Trump administration will consider potential leases in the region, but such actions could face roadblocks following the Biden administration's new proposal.
Outgoing Biden Interior Department announces flurry of new wilderness protections
Zack Budryk
Mon, December 30, 2024
The Biden administration proposed two rounds of new environmental protections for sites in the Western U.S. on Monday, beginning a process that would extend into the forthcoming Trump administration.
The first protections announced apply to Nevada’s Ruby Mountains and would protect the range from mining for 20 years, beginning with a two-year segregation period during which no new mining claims would be allowed on an area spanning about 264,000 acres.
“The Ruby Mountains are cherished by local communities for their scenic value, cultural heritage, numerous wildlife and benefit to the local economy through a thriving outdoor recreation industry,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement Monday. “Today, we are taking an important and sensible step to pause new mining claims to ensure that we have the science and public input necessary to inform proposed protections of the Ruby Mountains area for future generations.”
The new protections will be subject to a 90-day public comment period, which will stretch into the first months of the second Trump administration.
The department also announced permanent protections in Grand Teton National Park and the $100 million purchase of a 640-acre parcel of land from Wyoming. Prior to the sale, it was the biggest unprotected swath of land within the national park. The land includes the beginning of a key migration corridor for the pronghorn, an antelope-like mammal with a habitat range spanning from Canada to parts of Texas.
“People from every state come to Grand Teton National Park each year to enjoy the stunning landscapes and iconic wildlife protected in the park,” National Park Service Director Charles Sams said in a statement. “We are grateful for the support of countless stewards in the park’s local community, Wyoming and across the nation who contributed their voices leading to this incredible conservation achievement that will benefit generations to come.”
In his first term, President-elect Trump rolled back Obama-era protections for two Western national monuments: the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante monuments. President Biden restored those protections in 2021.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
No comments:
Post a Comment