Law Commons^™

Bullock V. United States Bureau Of Land Mgmt., Henry O'Brien

Public Land & Resources Law Review

A Montana District Court ruled that William Perry Pendley unlawfully served as the Director of BLM for 424 days and cast doubt on the legality of many BLM decisions made during that period. The ruling took a stronger stand against the Trump administration’s liberal and brash use of acting appointees than other, similar cases have.

Wildearth Guardians V. Zinke, Emily M. Mcculloch

Public Land & Resources Law Review

WildEarth Guardians v. Zinke marks an important decision prompting the Bureau of Land Management to seriously consider greenhouse gas emissions when performing environmental assessments for oil and gas leasing. WildEarth Guardians and Physicians for Social Responsibility, two non-profit organizations, asserted BLM improperly failed to recognize greenhouse gas emissions and their impacts on climate change when issuing oil and gas leases in three western states. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia agreed, finding that by failing to take a hard look at environmental impacts from its leasing decisions, BLM violated the National Environmental Policy Act’s requirements.

Maralex Resources, Inc. V. Barnhardt, Bradley E. Tinker

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Maralex Resources v. Barnhardt, Maralex and property owners brought an action to protect private property from BLM inspections of oil and gas lease sites. The Tenth Circuit looked at the plain meaning of a congressional statute and held in favor of Maralex, finding that BLM lacked authority to require a private landowner to provide BLM with a key to inspect wells of their property. The Tenth Circuit held BLM has the authority to conduct inspections without prior notice on private property lease sites; however, it is required to contact the property owner for permission before entering the property.

Rethinking Public Land Use Planning, Mark Squillace

Publications

The public land use planning process is broken. The land use plans of the principal multiple-use agencies—the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”)—are unnecessarily complex, take too long to complete, monopolize the time and resources of public land management agency staffs, and fail to engage the general public in any meaningful way. Moreover, the end result is too often a plan that is not sufficiently nimble to respond to changing conditions on the ground, a problem that appears to be accelerating due to climate change.

It might seem easy to chalk up these problems to …

California V. U.S. Bureau Of Land Management, Oliver F. Wood

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted a preliminary injunction against the Bureau of Land Management from implementing the Suspension Rule, which would delay the requirements of the Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation Rule. Additionally, the court denied the BLM and intervening third parties’ motion to transfer venue to the District of Wyoming. The court held the plaintiffs were entitled to a preliminary injunction because the BLM did not provide a reasoned analysis for the Suspension Rule. This failure to provide meaningful notice and comment was an arbitrary and capricious abuse …

Great Basin Resource Watch V. Bureau Of Land Management, Jody D. Lowenstein

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Great Basin Resource Watch v. Bureau of Land Management, the Ninth Circuit invalidated the BLM’s environmental review, finding that the agency based its approval of a mining project on unsupported reasoning, inaccurate information, and deficient analysis. In negating the action, the court held that the BLM failed to take the hard look required by the National Environmental Policy Act.

Agenda: Flpma Turns 40, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

FLPMA Turns 40 (October 21)

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) administers approximately 245 million acres of our public lands and yet, for most of our nation's history, these lands seemed largely destined to end up in private hands. Even when the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 ushered in an important era of better managing public grazing districts and "promoting the highest use of the public lands," such use of our public lands still was plainly considered temporary, "pending its final disposal." It was not until 1976 with the passage of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) that congress adopted a policy that …

Slides: Flpma In Its Historical Context, John D. Leshy

FLPMA Turns 40 (October 21)

Presenter: John D. Leshy, Sunderland Distinguished Professor of Law Emeritus, U.C. Hastings College of the Law

36 slides

This session traces the history of FLPMA including, among other things, its legislative, administrative, and historical antecedents, including for example, the Public Land Law Review Commission’s 1970 report, One Third of Our Nation’s Lands. It then considers FLPMA’s unique public lands policies and requirements and how they are reflected in the BLM’s management of public lands today.

See: https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/blm/history/contents.htm

Oregon Natural Desert Association V. Jewell, Jody D. Lowenstein

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Oregon Natural Desert Association v. Jewell, the Ninth Circuit invalidated the BLM’s environmental review, finding that the agency based its approval of a wind-energy development on inaccurate scientific analysis. In negating the BLM’s action, the court held that flawed data and indefensible reasoning were discordant with NEPA’s central tenets. Furthermore, the court did not hold the BLM responsible for addressing a distinct environmental issue that was not brought to its attention during the public comment period.

Pit River Tribe V. Bureau Of Land Management, 793 F.3d 1147 (9th Cir. 2015), Kathryn S. Ore

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Pit River Tribe v. Bureau of Land Management, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit explained the correct application of the zone of interests test and further solidified the importance of proper NEPA and NHPA analysis in geothermal leasing. The court reaffirmed that the BLM and the Forest Service must conduct additional cultural and environmental analysis when granting lease extensions under the Geothermal Steam Act. Furthermore, it rejected the BLM’s decision to grant forty-year lease continuations to unproven geothermal leases by treating them as a unit rather than individually.

High Country Conservation Advocates V. United States Forest Service, 52 F. Supp. 3d 1174 (D. Colo. 2014), Kathryn S. Ore

Public Land & Resources Law Review

High Country Conservation Advocates v. United States Forest Service concerns the United States Forest Service’s and the Bureau of Land Management’s authorizations of on-the-ground mining exploration activities in the Sunset Roadless Area of western Colorado. The United States District Court for the District of Colorado’s holding has far-reaching consequences for federal agencies’ analysis and disclosure of impacts on the climate under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). In addition to bolstering the Plaintiffs’ recent successes at establishing legal standing to challenge federal agencies’ disclosures and analyses of impacts on the climate under NEPA, High Country is the first case to …

Slides: Klamath Basin Agreements: Largest River Restoration Project In American History, Amy Cordalis

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Amy Cordalis, Staff Attorney, Yurok Tribe

34 slides

Slides: The Blm And Colorado Dnr Mou: A Water-Based Partnership, Roy Smith

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Presenter: Roy Smith, Bureau of Land Management

19 slides

Agenda: Innovations In Managing Western Water: New Approaches For Balancing Environmental, Social, And Economic Outcomes, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Innovations in Managing Western Water: New Approaches for Balancing Environmental, Social and Economic Outcomes (Martz Summer Conference, June 11-12)

Many aspects of western water allocation and management are the product of independent and uncoordinated actions, several occurring a century or more ago. However, in this modern era of water scarcity, it is increasingly acknowledged that more coordinated and deliberate decision-making is necessary for effectively balancing environmental, social, and economic objectives. In recent years, a variety of forums, processes, and tools have emerged to better manage the connections between regions, sectors, and publics linked by shared water systems. In this event, we explore the cutting edge efforts, the latest points of contention, and the opportunities for further progress.

Land Management, U.S. Bureau Of, Bert Chapman

Libraries Faculty and Staff Scholarship and Research

Provides a historical overview and current assessment of the role played by the Interior Department's Bureau of Land Management in its ownership of federal lands in western states and its efforts to balance economic development of natural resources and conservation of these resources on these lands.

Background Reading: Department Of The Interior, 2013 Departmental Overview, United States. Department Of The Interior, Ken Salazar

The Future of Natural Resources Policy (December 6)

18 pages (DO-5 through DO-22).

"Background Reading"

The Future of Natural Resources Policy: This forum will provide a post-election perspective on some of the challenges and opportunities that natural resources, public lands, and energy policymakers in Washington are likely to face in the next four years. An expert panel will discuss the dynamics in the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and Congress, and how their evolving policies are likely to affect Colorado in the coming years.

Slides: Air Monitoring And Litigation Update, John Jacus

Air Quality Impacts from Oil and Gas Development (January 27)

Presenter: John Jacus, Partner, Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP, reviews recent litigation aimed at oil and gas development activities with respect to air emissions impacts, and also several recent and ongoing studies and ambient monitoring efforts focused upon air emissions from oil and gas activities

23 slides

Slides: Bmps For Reclamation: Do We Know What Is Effective?, Peter Stahl

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Pete Stahl, Wyoming Reclamation and Restoration Center

19 slides

Conflict Of Interest That Led To The Gulf Oil Disaster, Peter J. Honigsberg

Peter J Honigsberg

On April 20, 2010, British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing eleven people and spilling billions of gallons of oil into the gulf. In the days and weeks that followed, the media pointed to the Minerals Management Services (MMS), the regulatory agency responsible for managing offshore drilling, as being complicit with BP. The MMS issued permits for deepwater drilling in violation of its regulations; provided hundreds of exemptions to the regulations; maintained lax monitoring and enforcement procedures; allowed the companies to draft regulations that suited their interests and objectives; and engaged in inappropriate relationships …

Slides: Summary: Sources Of Stress And The Changing Context Of Natural Resources Law And Policy In The New West, William R. Travis

The Future of Natural Resources Law and Policy (Summer Conference, June 6-8)

Presenter: Dr. William R. Travis, Department of Geography, University of Colorado at Boulder

43 slides

Executive Power And The Public Lands, Harold H. Bruff

Publications

No abstract provided.

Day 2. Tuesday, August 12, 2003: Roan Plateau Proposed Wilderness Area, Roan Plateau

Energy Field Tour 2003 (August 11-16)

4 pages (includes color illustration).

Contains references.

Agenda: Coalbed Methane Development In The Intermountain West, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center

Coalbed Methane Development in the Intermountain West (April 4-5)

306 p. : ill., maps ; 28 cm

"July 2002"--Cover

Proceedings of a conference held April 4-5, 2002

Listed as no. 28 in the Research Report Series on the NRLC Recent Publications list

Includes bibliographical references

Contents:

Coalbed methane development in the Intermountain West : a primer / Gary Bryner -- Coalbed methane development in the Intermountain West : case studies. Coalbed methane in the San Juan Basin of Colorado and New Mexico / Catherine Cullicott, Carolyn Dunmire, Jerry Brown, Chris Calwell ; Coalbed methane development in Wyoming's Powder River Basin / Diana Hulme -- Keynote address / Rebecca Watson …

Keynote Address, Rebecca Watson

Coalbed Methane Development in the Intermountain West (April 4-5)

6 pages.

Cbm Development From The County Perspective, Josh Joswick

Coalbed Methane Development in the Intermountain West (April 4-5)

4 pages.

Recreation Management By The Blm: A Local Perspective, Ann Morgan

Outdoor Recreation: Promise and Peril in the New West (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

10 pages.

Field Level Conflict Management In Outdoor Recreation, Arden Anderson

Outdoor Recreation: Promise and Peril in the New West (Summer Conference, June 8-10)

16 pages.

Contains references.

The Failure Of Federal Land Planning, Steven P. Quarles

The National Forest Management Act in a Changing Society, 1976-1996: How Well Has It Worked in the Past 20 Years?: Will It Work in the 21st Century? (September 16-18)

26 pages.

How The Regulated Community Views Regulation To Protect Living Resources: The Endangered Species Act, Biological Diversity, And Ecosystem Management, Steven P. Quarles

Biodiversity Protection: Implementation and Reform of the Endangered Species Act (Summer Conference, June 9-12)

21 pages.

Contains footnotes.

The Sonoran Desert Tortoise And The Mexican Spotted Owl: The High Road And The Slow Road To Conservation, Duane L. Shroufe

Biodiversity Protection: Implementation and Reform of the Endangered Species Act (Summer Conference, June 9-12)

13 pages.