Interior Department Unveils 2 Major Conservation Initiatives

The Department of the Interior building sign in Washington on Dec. 12, 2018. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

The Interior Department, acting in the waning days of the Biden presidency, has unveiled two major conservation initiatives to protect public lands and wildlife habitats in the Western United States.

The first initiative, announced on Dec. 30, proposes withdrawing 264,000 acres in Nevada’s Ruby Mountains from new oil and gas leasing for a 20-year period, subject to existing rights.

The Ruby Mountains, located in Elko County, are sometimes referred to as “Nevada’s Swiss Alps.” The area features the Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge, a wetland oasis for migratory waterfowl along the Pacific Flyway and fisheries with trout and largemouth bass.

To formally begin the regulatory process, the Interior Department will publish a notice in the Federal Register on Dec. 31 that will initiate a two-year segregation period, during which no new development will be allowed as the agency collects public input and conducts technical and environmental reviews.

“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,” Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a statement.

“Today, we are taking an important and sensible step to pause new oil and gas leasing to ensure that we have the science and public input necessary to inform proposed protections of the Ruby Mountains area for future generations.”

The law allows the secretary of the Interior to withdraw these lands for a maximum of 20 years, with a permanent withdrawal requiring congressional action.

The second initiative, announced on Dec. 30, involves the $100 million purchase of a 640-acre parcel within Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, which will be subjected to permanent protections.

This property, previously owned by the State of Wyoming as school trust land, was the largest remaining unprotected piece within the park’s boundaries. The Interior Department said its conservation is crucial for maintaining wildlife migration corridors and preserving the ecological integrity of the southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

“Today marks an incredible milestone, decades in the making, to permanently protect an essential wildlife migration corridor and treasured landscape within Grand Teton National Park,” Haaland said in a statement. “This will benefit our public lands and Wyoming’s public school students for generations to come.”

The $100-million purchase of what’s known as the Kelly parcel is funded by $37.6 million in private donations and $62.4 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

The LWCF is a unique funding mechanism for public land conservation through oil and gas leases, not taxpayer dollars.

The Interior Department’s latest conservation efforts come amid Republican appeals to halt new regulatory actions during the transition period between presidential administrations.

They argue that such decisions should be deferred to the incoming administration, which may have differing policy priorities regarding public land use and energy development.

Republicans have ramped up efforts to combat “midnight rules”—regulations issued in the final days of an outgoing administration. On Dec. 17, the House passed the Midnight Rules Relief Act (H.R. 115), which would enable Congress to review and potentially nullify multiple regulations simultaneously.

A day later, the measure was received in the Senate, read twice, and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for further consideration.

Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas), chairman of the House Rules Committee, described the bill as a safeguard against an anticipated wave of last-minute regulations from the Biden administration.