deb haaland – Outdoor Advocacy Project

Advocacy Updates: Oil + gas on public lands, Bears Ears, wildfires & more!

Salutations outdoorists,

Remember last year, when we teamed up with Public Land Solutions to help stop oil and gas leasing near Moab, UT (and gathered over 36,000 signatures––and the lease sale got cancelled)? While that campaign was a victorious success, it wasn’t enough.

It’s time for oil and gas leasing reform on our public lands.

President Biden recently put a pause on all new oil and gas leasing on federal public lands, but that is a temporary halt giving the administration an opportunity to make major changes to the role fossil fuel exploration and extraction plays on our public lands.

Need scientific evidence on why we need oil and gas reform on public lands? This report recently released by Public Land Solutions details the ways inactive oil and gas wells are negatively impacting wildlife, recreation and rural communities. Here’s additional reading from Center for American Progress on why oil and gas + public lands = no bueno.

Outdoor Alliance has a letter-writing tool you can use to directly submit a comment to Interior’s comment portal––deadline is TOMORROW!

Note: Be sure personalize your message for the greatest impact––during Interior’s forum last month they specifically requested “quality over quantity” for these comments. Set a timer for 5 minutes and get personal with your comment!

The comment period ends 4/15, but our work getting educated and activated on oil and gas reform is just getting started. More to come soon!

Other outdoorsy news you oughta know right now:

Secretary Haaland visited Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments last week, meeting with key Tribal, community and lawmaker stakeholders to discuss solutions to the designations of these high contested places.
The upcoming wildfire season is already looking grim and California scientists just made an alarming discovery. Stay tuned for wildfire resources dropping soon from Recreate Responsibly.
We are stoked about Outdoor F.U.T.U.R.E.: “Standing on stolen land and recreating on broken treaties, the Outdoor F.U.T.U.R.E. initiative seeks to build momentum for the creation of a national equity fund that will ensure long-term investments in programs to serve all youth with opportunities to explore the great outdoors.” Want to learn more? Register here for their webinar on 4/20.
When we say “Moab,” if you think “backcountry skiing,” then this survey about the economic impact of backcountry skiing in the Manti-La Sal National Forest is for you!
For the first time in years, National Park visitation dropped in 2020–by 28%. (via Backpacker)

Got the beta on an outdoor advocacy issue, event, or rad content we ought to know about? Give us the scoop: team@outdooradvocacy.com – we want to hear from you and amplify your nooks of advocacy + the outdoors!

Every other week, we give you a download on the latest outdoor advocacy and community happenings – sign up for the e-mail newsletter or subscribe below and never miss another Advocacy Update when it drops!

April 14, 2021April 14, 2021

OAPLeave a comment

Confirmation hearing set for Interior Secretary Nominee Deb Haaland

Big news, outdoorists! The confirmation hearing for Interior Secretary nominee Deb Haaland has officially been set by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for February 23rd at 9:30 AM (Eastern). Learn more about the news here via Indian Country Today, and catch up on our past post about Haaland’s nomination here.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Outdoor Advocacy Project (@outdooradvocacy)

Wondering what this confirmation hearing means, or how the Cabinet works? Did that last question confuse you even more? We’ve got you covered: check out this resource about the confirmation process.

We recently joined Wilderness Society and nearly 500 outdoor and environmental organizations in a letter supporting this historic nomination. Here’s an excerpt from the letter:

“If confirmed, Rep. Haaland would be the first Native American to lead the Department and the first Native American Cabinet Secretary in our nation’s history.

As Vice Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee and Chair of the National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands subcommittee, Rep. Haaland is a proven leader and the right person to lead the charge against the existential threats of our time – tackling the climate, biodiversity, extinction and COVID-19 crises, and racial justice inequities on our Federal public lands and waters.

The Department of the Interior is responsible for managing 500 million acres of our shared public lands, waters, wildlife, and natural resources, as well as offshore energy and mineral resources. The department is also responsible for upholding the Federal government’s treaty and trust responsibilities to Native American tribes, including managing more than 55 million acres of lands held in trust for Native Americans by the government.

Over the last four years alone, the previous administration routinely neglected to properly consult tribal governments before proceeding with fossil fuel development projects, land management plans, lease sales, and rulemakings that degraded air and water quality across the nation.

Given DOI’s track record of failing to consult with Tribes or engage with Indigenous communities while enacting public lands policies against the better interests of Indigenous people, Rep. Haaland’s confirmation would be both an historic and much-needed step toward reckoning with a long and troubling legacy while building new, lasting, equitable achievements.”

Read the full Haaland Community Support Letter here.

Advocates, get ready to take action in support of Haaland’s nomination. She is already receiving pushback for her strong stances against the oil and gas industry, so call your reps to voice your support and stay tuned for further action items–and as always, we’ll keep you updated with any new developments.

February 17, 2021February 17, 2021

OAPLeave a comment

Advocacy Updates: Meet the Woman In Charge of Public Lands

Outdoorists, we finally have something to be merry and bright about.

Meet your (soon-to-be) next Secretary of the Interior: Deb Haaland.

After much speculation about who would be the next leader of our nation’s federal parks, public lands, natural resources and more, President-elect Biden named Congresswoman Deb Haaland as his choice for the most outdoorsy Cabinet position. Haaland makes history as the first Native American to serve in a Presidential Cabinet.

Not sure exactly what a Secretary of Interior does? In their own words, the Interior’s job is to “uses sound science to manage and sustain America’s lands, water, wildlife, and energy resources, honors our nation’s responsibilities to tribal nations, and advocates for America’s island communities.”

We are stoked about this news, and look forward to working with Rep. Haaland and the Biden administration to not only reverse the damage done during the current administration, but to forge progress ahead in protecting our public lands and focusing on the intersections of climate change, social justice, biodiversity and our communities.

Other outdoorsy things you ought know:

We joined 200+ organizations in urging President-elect Biden to include an emergency investment of $500 million for local parks in any stimulus or economic recovery packages
Our friends at Outdoor Alliance explore four reasons to be excited about Deb Haaland’s nomination to Sec. of Interior
REI holds vendors accountable for climate and DEI practices with new product standards (via SNEWS)
Looking for ways to #DefendTheArctic? Check out this 30 Days of Action toolkit for guidance and resources to help you take action

That’s a wrap for this week. However you’re celebrating the holidays this season, we hope you get out there (safely and Recreate Responsibly), and tag us as you do good on your outdoorsy adventures: #outdooradvocacy!

December 23, 2020February 22, 2021

OAPLeave a comment