BLM Dispatch #13 - Millions of Acres of BLM Land On the Chopping Block
I continue to be dumbfounded by politicians who are ignoring the overwhelming majority of Americans and their own constituents who value our shared public lands.
According to the latest Conservation In the West poll (which does not include California, Oregon, and Washington) want their elected officials to prioritize clean water, healthy air, and wildlife habitat. An overwhelming 89% of voters across party lines support keeping National Monument protections in place.
Public lands - and the wildlife, biodiversity, watersheds, and recreation they support — remain one of the last places where Americans find common ground. Where else do you see hunters, birders, OHV users, and hikers standing shoulder to shoulder, all holding signs about the importance of keeping public lands in public hands?
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BLM Dispatch #12 - Humboldt Sink, Nevada
I woke to the sound of something chewing on the side of my tent at exactly 4:53am, two minutes before my alarm was set to rustle me from sleep. As if the creature and the clock were in cahoots.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
My head, turned sideways on the pillow and snug against the tent wall, put my face just inches from the sound, my breath like a strange little space heater for the fellow.
I gave a gentle flick toward the noise (kangaroo rat? western whiptail?), and the visitor abandoned its post in search of less polyester fare.
Alright pal, I said, I’m up.
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BLM Dispatch #11 - Pershing County, Nevada
On Tuesday, May 6, around 11pm, Republican Representatives Mark Amodei and Celeste Maloy introduced a surprise amendment to the House Natural Resources Committee that would authorize the sale of BLM lands in Nevada and Utah. The provision was quietly slipped into a sweeping environmental bill during the final hour of a 13-hour debate — without public input, transparency, or meaningful discussion.
Initial estimates suggested 11,000 acres would be affected. But as conveyance, disposal and checkerboard resolution maps became available of the exact parcels marked for disposal, the number ballooned to 540,385 acres.
Everyone was talking about the land totals — but no one was showing what the landscapes actually looked like.
So I decided to go see them. If these lands were going to be handed over to the highest bidder, the least I could do was document them. To create a photographic record of what we stand to lose.
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