OCTOBER 9: PUBLIC LANDS RULE, GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, AND SOME GOOD NEWS

Photo by Mikayla Whitmore.

There is a lot going on this fall that affects Avi Kwa Ame and our nation’s public lands. First, something everyone can and should help with—protecting the Public Lands Rule.

The Public Lands Rule guides the Bureau of Land Management to consider conservation, recreation, cultural resource protection, and sustainable use alongside development by providing long guidance for the agency to make smart, science-based decisions about where and how different uses are permitted on the 245 million acres it stewards.

Despite receiving overwhelming public support (92% of all public comments submitted were in favor of its implementation), the current administration has announced its intent to rescind the Public Lands Rule. If that happens, the BLM will lose essential tools to restore degraded lands, safeguard intact ecosystems, and respond to the growing pressures of drought, wildfire, and climate change–not to mention opening the door to over-utilizing public lands and waters for industry, regardless of the long-term impact this may have. Conservation Lands Foundation has organized a petition and we encourage you to add your voice on this subject. Protecting legislation and government policies that in turn protect our public lands is a top priority.

Another topic of interest that hits closer to home is an upcoming Notice of Intent by Equinox Gold, Castle Mountain Venture to expand their mining operation in Castle Mountains National Monument. Their expansion potentially impacts Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in a variety of ways, including widening the Walking Box Ranch Road to accommodate a water line, the possible addition of above-ground power poles, and increased water usage that may impact the water table in the nearby Ivanpah Valley and Mojave Preserve. Equinox Gold has been a good neighbor and an honorable company, and their operation brings much needed business into the town of Searchlight, but there are a number of issues to look carefully into as they present their planned expansion details, and Friends of Avi Kwa Ame will be closely following this issue.

While there aren’t enough concrete details at the moment to formulate an informed opinion on this topic, the public scoping period will be October 17th to November 20th (when you will receive information, can ask questions, and make comments), and there will be a meeting in Searchlight with an online option on November 5th. If you would like to be notified when the Notice of Intent is released and get more details about this meeting, you can email the BLM at blm_nv_avikwaame@blm.gov to be added to their Avi Kwa Ame National Monument stakeholders mailing list.

We do have some good news too! The Department of the Interior renewed our Avi Kwa Ame Monument Management Plan Advisory Committee term for another two years. We have our advisors in place, and this means that we can (hopefully) move forward with meetings that will help formulate the permanent management plan for the monument—after the federal government reopens, that is. Not having our federal employees at work is impacting the monument in a number of ways, from stalling desperately needed on-the-ground work like the repairs to the historic barn at Walking Box Ranch, to preventing administrative movement on necessary projects like the management plan, inter-tribal coalition meetings, and assessing backroads for safety and wayfinding needs. We wish the whole U.S. government and all of the tribal nations affected by the shutdown a speedy resolution and recovery, and wish the same for all of our hard-working federal employees who give so much.

Last but not least, we are hosting the second of two retreats this year at the Mystery Ranch Research Station (through a grant from Conservation Lands Foundation) to bring together conservation advocates from around the Southwest. The 3-day event will focus on using creativity and the arts to help tell stories about the landscape, bring together communities and address the issues surrounding public lands protection and advocacy. We’re excited to share our experiences that helped designate Avi Kwa Ame as a national monument, and to learn from what other advocates are doing in their communities.