Sequestration Irony

We’ve written before in this blog about how sequestration, or the mandatory budget cuts required by Congress this year, would put more stress on an already thinly-stretched environmental budget, as well as have untold ripple effects harmful to our land, water, air, and people’s jobs. The 8.2 percent cut across the board leaves very little discretion to agencies to trim where the least harm would be done, and we’re now beginning to see the real, on-the-ground effects of these cuts.

However, we’ll be the first to admit that there may be some unseen upsides to sequestration; namely, the delay of oil and gas leases in California.

A Jewell of a Morning

Secretary Jewell talks about the outdoors

It was a beautiful sunny spring morning yesterday at the 15,000 acre Prince William Forest Park. Debbie Sease and I, along with a diverse array of over 50 outdoors and conservation leaders, joined Secretary of the Interior  Sally Jewell and National Parks Superintendent Jon Jarvis to discuss how to connect American families with nature and our special places.

Secretary Jewell clearly and passionately understands that connecting kids and families outdoors is absolutely critical for the future of our communities, public lands and wildlife.  She spoke eloquently of the power of private and public sector partnerships, and her great optimism that working smartly together we can collectively make a big difference.

Debbie and I highlighted the Sierra Club's growing outdoors programs  that get over 250,000 kids and adults outdoors--from inner city kids to military families-- as well as our own Jackie Ostfeld's leadership in the Outdoors Alliance for Kids  where she pushes for policies and funding to get kids outdoors.  We got some great kudos from Sheri, with Blue Star Families, about a recent Sierra Club grant to help them get their military families to an outing in the Park.

Secretary Jewell ended her comments by highlighting the need to consolidate all the mapping data out there to better identify lands of high value for wildlife and recreation, cultural and historical values, as well as those of high energy development value.  She urged all of us to be active and smart as we work together to create a healthy future for our children and our public lands.  We're looking forward to what is in store.

--Dan Chu, Sr. Campaign Director, Our Wild America

 

Sierra Club Arctic Advocates Speak Out in Washington

Record temperatures, record storms, record droughts, record wildfires -- and record profits for big oil and gas companies. With extreme weather fueled by the climate crisis affecting the lives of more than 230 million Americans since 2007, calls for action are ranging from the White House to the kitchen tables of the 77% of the country that believe climate action should be a priority for our government. Meanwhile, well-financed fossil fuel interests are pushing projects like the Keystone XL pipeline and drilling in America's Arctic that would only double down on climate-disrupting dirty fuels.

This morning, The Sierra Club hosted a briefing entitled “Protect Our Earth: Keep Dirty Fuels Underneath It” for Congressional staff  to discuss the choices Congress faces for our nation’s energy future, the costs of dirty fuels, and the potential for an American clean energy economy that creates new jobs while securing a safer future for our planet and our families. Speakers included Oil Change International founder Steve Kretzmann, who discussed the dirty and dangerous Keystone XL pipeline, and Lindsey Hajduk, an Anchorage-based Sierra Club organizer fighting to protect America’s Arctic. Here’s what she had to say today:

Hi my name is Lindsey Hajduk and I’m the Sierra Club’s Associate Regional Representative from Anchorage, Alaska.  I have the pleasure of working with Alaskans throughout the state, and also with Americans all across the country that care about protecting the Arctic. 

And I’m happy to say that just last week we shared a great sense of relief to hear that ConocoPhillips will not pursue oil exploration in the Arctic Ocean next year.  We’re relieved, but that’s not enough.  Alaskans don’t want to go through another summer like we had with Shell Oil last year.  We were lucky that Shell’s drill rig, the Kulluk, grounding was the only major disaster in Alaska, but that proved you can’t drill safely in the Arctic.

The Arctic is a fragile environment on the front lines of climate change.  2012 had the lowest sea ice cover on record.  When most people think about ice they think about it crushed in their soda, but the Arctic sea ice is much more than that.  It is its own ecosystem thriving with Arctic cod, seals, walrus, polar bears, and more.  However, it’s safe to say that in the last twenty years half of the Arctic ice cap has melted.  If we think about losing half of the Amazon rainforest there would be alarm all over the world.  We need to be alarmed about the loss in Arctic sea ice. 

The effects of climate change are already having profound impacts on Alaskan’s everyday lives.  Permafrost is melting and shifting building foundations and roads.  Wildlife migration patterns are changing, which can mean hunters must travel further and take longer to feed their families.   

Unless you look out onto the land and ocean with an Inupiat elder you may not realize what is at stake, but it is their livelihoods.  You would see the lichen the caribou thrive off of, the bear scat that is a sign of what’s to come or has already been, or the spray from a bowhead whale announcing its arrival.  There is a delicate balance keeping Alaska Native communities strong, and already we may be tipping the scale.

The Arctic is changing twice as fast as the rest of the country, and its specialized wildlife are struggling to keep up. This, in addition to burning more fossil fuels drilled in the Arctic would be a double-whammy that we just cannot afford.  

President Obama has to prove his commitment to fight climate change by keeping as much as 15.8 billion tons of CO2 in the ground.  That’s how much greenhouse gases we’re talking about.  If we keep that oil under the Arctic Ocean, we’d be keeping the equivalent of 13 year’s worth of US cars and light trucks off the road.  And, we’d also be saving ourselves from disastrous drilling operations too.

Just a few months ago Alaskans and the world watched Shell Oil’s rollercoaster 2012 program.  The list of Shell’s failed track record is extensive, including losing control of its ship at harbor, damage to its oil spill containment dome, violating the clean air act, illegal discharges, its rig ran aground, and both drill rigs are under criminal investigation.  It was a whirlwind of problems Shell still tries to gloss over, but Shell took all the risks and left all the consequences on the shoulders of Alaskans and the federal government.

Rather than opening the Arctic for more drilling, the Obama administration should cancel offshore leases, buy them back, and put the areas off-limits to oil and gas exploration.  It’s not as crazy as it sounds.

Drilling in the Arctic Ocean is a bad idea, and I’m not the only one saying it.  The investment company Lloyd’s of London, the bank WestLB, the British Parliamentary Committee, and even the oil company Total SA have all stated the risks of drilling in the Arctic Ocean are too great and they will not support offshore drilling operations.  Now, President Obama should do the same.

But that’s not all.  We need to be sure to protect special areas throughout the Arctic landscape.  Politics are pushing to drill where no companies have drilled before, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  We have been disappointed in Senator Lisa Murkowski, my senator, for introducing bills to open the Arctic Refuge for oil drilling.  This is the only 5% of our Arctic coastline currently not open for oil and gas, and critical for a caribou herd that communities depend on in Alaska and Canada.  We need common sense energy policies to reign, not politics.

Congress needs to lead the way for renewable energy policies that give us the energy independence we need, not put Americans at more risk from climate change. President Obama needs to make protecting America’s Arctic the cornerstone of his climate legacy beginning with declaring the Arctic Ocean and coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge off-limits to dangerous drilling.

Thank you.

###

And the Winner Is...

                        copyright 2012 by Terray Sylvester

Before he heads out on his next adventure, Terray Sylvester probably has some laundry to do and photos to download.  Luckily, we caught one of his best shots in between trips as an entry in our first annual My Piece of America photo contest.  Terray is the winner of the competition, where we asked for your pictures of America's public lands -- from your favorite National Park to your best mountain view.  We received over 1,400 submissions and admitted we had a preference for the special places that the Sierra Club is working to protect, including great spots like the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and beyond.

The winning photograph is a terrific image that captures the perfect light and beauty of the sandstone canyons of the Southwest, but it is also an agent for one of the Sierra Club's favorite places and campaigns -- Greater Canyonlands National Monument.  Beyond the boundaries of Canyonlands National Park outside Moab, Utah, lie even more canyons, creeks, nooks, and crannies at the heart of red rock country. This assemblage of roadless areas captures the Colorado Plateau at its best.  You've heard it on this blog time and again, this 1.8 million-acre proposal is a world-renowned recreation hot spot, a photographers playground, and an archeologist's dream.

A bit about our winner, in his own words --

I'm a graduate student at the University of Montana in Missoula, where I study environmental writing, policy, and science. I was born in Truckee, Calif., and I grew up in the Lake Tahoe area. Most of my trips in canyon country took place after I moved to Colorado for an internship with High Country News magazine, which is based in Paonia, Colo., on the Western Slope of the Rockies. From Paonia, it's a swift, spectacular drive out to the Canyonlands area in Utah. I took that shot while descending the Dirty Devil with a group of friends from Paonia. The Dirty Devil is a notoriously silty, shallow river, but fortunately my camera lens stayed a little bit cleaner than we did.

Terray's image offers us the best of the narrows of Happy Canyon near the Dirty Devil River of southern Utah, an area threatened by tar sands development.  Congratulations to Terray for his winning image, and thank you for helping us protect Greater Canyonlands. You, to,o can do your part by taking action at the Greater Canyonlands My Piece of America webpage and sending a letter to President Obama.

Islands Worth Celebrating!

Who doesn't like a party? Especially when it celebrates the designation of our country’s newest National Monument -- one that protects the lands, waters, and wildlife of the San Juan Islands. Just off the coast of Washington State, I recently traveled to the islands to attend an event with a host of elected officials, business owners, recreationists, and conservationists.  Friends came together to thank the Obama administration for designating the new San Juan Islands National Monument and to celebrate a long-fought-for victory.

National monument status will permanently protect precious lands in the San Juan Islands. These sites, already managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), include recreational areas beloved by locals and visitors, cultural sites used by local tribes for thousands of years, historic lighthouses, disappearing habitat, and much more. Protecting recreational use of these beautiful public lands will ensure tourism and outdoor recreation continue to have a positive impact on our economy. The Outdoor Industry Association estimates that recreation -- hiking, camping, paddling, and climbing -– contributes $22.5 billion to Washington's economy and supports more than 226,000 jobs.

National monument status assigns these lands to the BLM's National Conservation Lands System, which requires the BLM to protect and preserve these lands, directs the agency to work closely with the local community on a management plan, and prevents potential exploitation, development, or sale of these sites. The Conservation Lands assignment could also have been made by Congress by designating a national conservation area (NCA). Senator Cantwell, Senator Murray, Representative Larsen, and Representative DelBene introduced legislation to do just that in both the 112th and 113th Congresses. Congressional gridlock has long prevented action on this and more public lands legislation. As a result, the Washington State delegation joined the community in supporting presidential action to accomplish our goal of permanent protection of BLM lands in the San Juan Islands with a strong community voice in their management.

Many of Washington State's congressional leaders were on hand at Monday's event, Representatives Larsen and DelBene highlighted the economic opportunities that come from conservation designations, while Senator Cantwell spoke of the importance of the designation for future generations and the value of local input in the process. She noted that just because the land was under the ownership of the BLM didn't mean it would be protected from development. "We had a choice," she said. "Do we want to toss it up for the future to see what this land might become, or do we want to say it's so special that it will be preserved? The community was loud and clear. They wanted the latter." She also highlighted that national monument designations don't happen overnight.

Efforts to protect lands in the San Juan archipelago began in earnest in 1989, when a hiker noticed trees on the backside of Chadwick Hill marked for logging. Supporters spent a week gathering 600 signatures to stop the logging operation, but the group was told it needed to create a larger vision, which has now been included with the 450 acres on Chadwick Hill. About four years ago, the group realized that the rest of the BLM land in the islands was not afforded any protections. The effort to create a national monument made of these lands came from that moment, Cantwell recounted.

Senator Cantwell said of the campaign to create the monument, "It may have started in a living room on Lopez Island, but it traveled all the way to the Oval Office."

This is what made this celebration even sweeter -- it is important to remember that a group of committed individuals can still come together and protect special places; and that this protection is good for our economy and even better for the lives of our future generations. The people of western Washington know this and they are thankful for the actions of the Obama administration and the Department of the Interior.

--Dan Ritzman, Senior Campaign Manager

 

Secretary Salazar asks for a show of hands from all those "happy" about the new monument (photos: Dan Ritzman)

Inspiring: Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument

Colonel Charles Young House (Photo: WikiCommons)

Last week, Ohio received an honor in both the conservation of public land and in memorializing a piece of early-American history. The Wilberforce, Ohio, home of Charles Young, a Buffalo Soldier and the very first African-American colonel, became a national monument Monday. President Obama gave the designation to the historic hero’s home at a special signing ceremony in the Oval Office.

In total, the president designated 5 new national monuments across the country last Monday, enhancing his legacy of protecting and preserving public lands. But more importantly, sites like the Charles Young Buffalo Soldiers National Monument allow future generations to learn more about our shared cultural history. Charles Young is an inspiring figure. Americans will treasure his legacy all the more with the addition of his home to the national monument system.

They’ll learn about his rise to military prominence as the child of former slaves from Kentucky. They’ll visit the house Charles Young named “Youngsholm,” where he shared company with other influential African-American leaders and thinkers like W.E.B. Du Bois and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

Historic: First State National Monument

Brandywine Creek, First State National Monument (Photo: WikiCommons)

Last Monday afternoon, Barack Obama penned his approval of five new national monuments. It was truly a historic moment, especially for the state of Delaware. In designating the First State National Monument near Dover, the president made Delaware, the nation’s first state to sign the Declaration of Independence, the last state to receive a national monument. Finally, the National Park System -- of which monuments are part -- reaches all 50 states.

The new monument, which will now be preserved through federal land conservation efforts, will tell the story of Delaware’s rich colonial history through four separate sites--the Woodlawn Tract, the Old Sheriff’s House, the New Castle Courthouse Museum, and Dover Green. It will also serve as a place where tourists and nearby urban residents can retreat into nature, connect with wildlife, and learn the role that Delaware played in the both the establishment of the nation and America’s wild legacy.

The monument designation itself has been a long time in the making. For years, Delaware Senator Tom Carper and the entire Delaware delegation have made it a priority to create a national monument in their home state. Even Vice President Joe Biden has shown his support for maintaining a national monument here, in his home state. With support from civic leaders, preservationists, other elected officials, and the Conservation Fund, their dream is now a reality.

Monumental Progress Against Climate Disruption

Sierra Club members and supporters have had plenty to celebrate this week. When President Obama used his pen to designate five diverse sites across the country as national monuments, we applauded him and we welcomed the economic and recreational benefits, as well as the cultural preservation, that these sites will bring.

We’ll continue to celebrate the revenue that new national monuments will bring to local economies, the cultural and historical landmarks they will protect, and the opportunities for travel and exploration they will provide for bird watchers, kayakers, climbers, and other adventurers. But designating national monuments will have a much longer lasting effect -- one that goes beyond a fleeting adventure down a river or trip to visit to a historic site -- it will help reverse the disruption of our climate.

By expanding our nation’s fleet of national monuments to include more large landscapes, the president is making great strides in establishing his lasting climate legacy. America's public lands are increasingly under threat from oil and gas drilling, coal mining, and the effects of a changing climate. The same dirty fuels being extracted from our public lands are exacerbating climate disruption at a pace that is too fast for our landscape and wildlife to adapt.

Congressional Inaction Leads to Four Years Without Wilderness Protection

Four years ago this week -- on March 30, 2009 -- the 111th Congress passed a historic piece of legislation that protected over 2 million acres of wilderness across nine states. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 was the largest wilderness bill in decades, and represented the culmination of years of work by countless activists to protect our country’s last wild places. Last year, Congress again reached a historic milestone, albeit an unfortunate one. The 112th Congress became the first since 1966 not to protect a single new acre of wilderness. Dozens of bipartisan, common-sense proposals were stalled in yet one more example of Republican obstructionism.

The real losers of all this bickering are the treasured places that remain unprotected -- landscapes like 20,000 acres in Tennessee’s Cherokee National Forest. The Tennessee Wilderness Act would protect these lands from logging and off-road vehicles, and would also create the first new wilderness in Tennessee in over a generation. The local community very much wants to see the area protected because it will draw tourists to the region and be a boon to the local economy. Both of the state’s Senators, both Republican, are strong champions of the bill and actively want to see it move forward. But despite this support, congressional inaction and opposition from Republican leadership to any new wilderness has caused the bill to languish.

Cherokee National Forest, Tennessee (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Wild: San Juan Islands National Monument

Turn Point Light Station, Stuart Island, San Juan Islands, Washington (Photo: Bureau of Land Management)

Almost 1,000 acres of islands, located among pinnacles and reefs in Washington State’s Puget Sound, make up the brand-new San Juan Islands National Monument. The site is one of five unique landmarks that President Obama declared as national monuments Monday, granting them critical federal protection.

Rare -- even ancient -- wildlife inhabits the San Juan Islands, where bald eagles, marine mammals like baby seals, seabird colonies, and 600-year-old trees reside. The area is also steeped in history, and is home to storied lighthouses on both the Patos and Turn Point Islands, along with culturally significant Native American sites, such as ancient fishing grounds and camas gardens.

Thanks to local community efforts and support from the San Juan County Council, State Senator Kevin Ranker, Representatives Rick Larsen and Suzan DelBene, Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, Governor Jay Inslee and, ultimately, President Obama, the lush green and rocky islands will be protected for generations to come.