Mientras la Corte Suprema de Estados Unidos analiza una demanda interpuesta por las autoridades de Utah, en la que el tribunal solicita que transfiera más de 18 millones de acres de tierras federales a propiedad estatal, los defensores de las tierras públicas están dando la voz de alarma.

Aaron Kindle, de la Federación Nacional de Vida Silvestre, afirma que, como los estados tienen un historial de venta de tierras públicas, si la Corte Suprema se pone del lado de Utah, las tierras públicas de los 50 estados podrían venderse al mejor postor. Y si los multimillonarios y los fondos de cobertura deciden cerrar el acceso del público al senderismo, el ciclismo de montaña, la caza y la pesca, la economía de recreación al aire libre de $17 billones de dólares de Colorado sufrirían un gran golpe.

"Así que, para los grandes estados de tierras públicas como Colorado, toda nuestra economía recreativa podría estar realmente amenazada, "asegura Kindle. "No sabemos lo que esto significaría para cosas como las estaciones de esquí que tienen arrendamientos en tierras del Servicio Forestal de Estados Unidos, por ejemplo."

La demanda afirma que el gobierno federal está privando a Utah de la oportunidad de monetizar tierras dentro de sus fronteras para la extracción de petróleo y gas, el pastoreo de ganado y otros usos. Los políticos de Utah llevan décadas intentando tomar el control de las tierras BLM, alegando que el estado podría hacer un mejor trabajo en la gestión de las tierras que actualmente son propiedad de todos los estadounidenses.

Kindle admite que la gestión federal no ha sido perfecta, pero dice que eso se debe a que el Congreso ha recortado constantemente los fondos para las agencias encargadas de gestionar las tierras públicas, incluso cuando el estrés, la tensión y el uso han aumentado. Kindle dice que los funcionarios luego critican el desempeño de la agencia y recortan aún más.

"A todos nos gustaría ver la gestión más optima de los terrenos públicos," dice Kindle. "Y creo que ahí es donde debemos centrar nuestros esfuerzos y darles los recursos que necesitan."

Trece estados han presentado un escrito en apoyo de la petición de Utah de que el estado se haga cargo de las tierras federales, lo que podría incluir los parques nacionales y los bosques nacionales. Kindle cree que los terrenos públicos deben mantenerse en manos públicas para que las generaciones futuras puedan disfrutar de los muchos beneficios que proporcionan.

"Apoyan a muchas empresas y a la vida silvestre. Nuestros bosques nacionales proporcionan agua potable a 60 millones de personas en todo el país. Son partes fundamentales de nuestras vidas," agrega Kindle.




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Minnesotans have until next Tuesday to offer their thoughts on the state's next Climate Action Framework.

Those tasked with protecting a distinct type of wetland hope the public learns more about their fate before speaking up.

Only trailing Alaska, Minnesota has the largest amount of peatlands in the U.S. They are waterlogged areas covered with dead plant materials, such as decaying leaves. Almost like a big kitchen sink on the landscape, they absorb carbon emissions while acting as ecosystems for a number of species.

Meredith Cornett, peatland resilience project planner for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, said drainage ditches for unused farmland have turned into a problem because water from peatlands flows into them.

"We are currently doing a demonstration project to identify the best candidates for locking these ditches," Cornett explained. "Filling them in some cases and trying to restore the natural hydrology."

If successful, they can prevent more peatlands from drying out and releasing stored emissions back into the atmosphere. A recent estimate found nearly 850,000 acres of peatland in Minnesota are partially drained. Cornett noted federal grants have helped with restoration work but she encouraged public comments through the updated Climate Action Framework to create more urgency.

In northeastern Minnesota, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is making a strong push to protect and restore peatlands.

Nancy Schuldt, water projects coordinator for the Fond du Lac Environmental Program, said beyond the emissions effects, the wetlands have a deep connection to tribal communities.

"It's important habitat for moose, an incredibly culturally significant species, which is in a population decline up in this region," Schuldt noted.

Habitat for other plant and animal species prioritized by Indigenous populations also benefit from having a diverse group of wetlands in place. In recent decades, the Fond du Lac Band has enhanced water management to overcome the drainage effects traced back to colonization.

Schuldt alluded to the broader threats, such as droughts made worse by climate change, while also calling for a greater political will to limit land development near peatlands.

Support for this reporting was provided by The Pew Charitable Trusts.


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The U.S. Supreme Court has opted not to hear a lawsuit brought by the State of Utah, which alleged the federal government's ownership of large parts of the state is unconstitutional.

The decision marks a win for conservation advocates.

Olivia Juarez, public land program director for the nonprofit GreenLatinos, said Utahns now will not have their tax dollars used to fund what they call the state's "ill-founded lawsuit and disinformation campaign." Utah had made the effort to seize public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

Juarez acknowledged with a Republican-dominated Congress, similar efforts may return.

"We are better set up to fight against some of the biggest challenges that the Trump administration is going to pose to the American public," Juarez contended. "Two of them namely being the climate and biodiversity crisis and also a cultural crisis about belonging."

Juarez pointed out public lands represent the origins of American and pre-American history. The case marks the latest setback for states looking to gain control of public lands, some of which hold valuable oil and gas, timber and other resources. Utah state leaders have said they have not ruled out taking their suit to a lower court.

The nomination hearing for Donald Trump's pick for Interior Secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, is scheduled for this Thursday. The new administration will inherit a number of challenges, including disputes over conservation leases on Bureau of Land Management lands.

Juarez argued the multiple-use doctrine for public lands should be upheld.

"That rule will be under attack by the incoming Congress and presidential administration," Juarez noted. "It'll be important to reaffirm to the next secretary that conservation is a use that is valuable, economically as well as culturally."

Juarez added last weekend, public lands and conservation advocates rallied in Salt Lake City to show their support for protecting public lands across the Beehive State like the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments.

"Our goal was to bring people together at a time that it feels good," Juarez stressed. "It's a really hopeful moment for the nation's will to treat public lands as a solution to climate disaster, rather than making them part of the problem."

The White House announced two new national monuments in California on Tuesday, one just east of Palm Springs and the other near Shasta Lake.

A signing ceremony will take place next week, as the unveiling event was postponed due to high winds.

Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., whose district includes parts of the new 624,000 acre Chuckwalla National Monument, said the lands will now be protected from mining, drilling and development.

"This is one of these unique examples where you have both the conservation and tribal leaders, as well as the renewable energy and utility companies all endorsing this enormous monument," Ruiz explained.

The area south of Joshua Tree National Park is crucial habitat for the Chuckwalla lizard, bighorn sheep and the endangered desert tortoise.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said although President-elect Trump rescinded protections for some monument lands during his first administration, he hopes the two new monuments will endure.

"If the President-elect talks to the parties who really span the spectrum of interests, he will learn how this was a really well-thought-out effort to conserve this land but also make it possible to generate energy," Schiff asserted. "It's a win-win."

Thomas Tortez, former chairman of the Torres Martinez Tribe, noted his ancestral lands will now gain protections.

"The next step is to strategically develop a co-stewardship plan, put all those resources together and then, start to protect the land," Tortez added.

The White House also intends to designate the new Sátíttla Highlands National Monument, which covers 224,000 acres near Shasta Lake in northern California and contains the headwaters for California's entire watershed.

Brandy McDaniels, a member of the Pit River Tribe, said they have been fighting development in the area for decades.

"As social, economically suppressed communities, having to fight against people with deep pockets and have all the money in the world to come in and destroy our lands," McDaniels observed. "That's what we've been fighting to protect for a very long time."


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