On September 6, 2023, the Biden administration made an announcement to cancel remaining oil and gas leases on the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and a proposal to protect over 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge sits in Alaska’s North Slope with the…
The Wildlands Conservancy successfully closed escrow on the 320-acre Cottonwood Wash property in July 2023. Although this property is located within the current Bears Ears National Monument, this privately held parcel was previously excluded from the boundaries of the Monument. Its protection was viewed as critically important with access to cultural sites and recreational opportunities,…
In early August 2023, President Biden protected nearly 1 million acres of federal public lands in Arizona by designating The Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni – Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon National Monument. The Grand Canyon is an iconic landscape and outdoor recreation destination. In 2021, 4.5 million visitors from around the world visited Grand…
On June 2, 2023, the Department of the Interior announced a historic decision to administratively withdraw 336,400 acres of public lands in Chaco Canyon from future oil and gas leasing for 20 years. This action will prevent further oil and gas leasing on federal public lands within ten miles of Chaco Culture National Historical Park…
In 2022, The Conservation Alliance provided a discretionary grant to The Big Bend Conservation Alliance (BBCA) to conserve 30 acres of grassland just outside of Marfa, Texas. This southwest Texan town has some of the state’s best rangeland with desert grasslands that are critical habitat for plants, animals, and climate resiliency. Until recently, residents in…
In August 2023, Mexico saw the designation of Nopoló Park, a 5,000 acre community green space set aside by Presidential decree to support recreation, habitat, and ecotourism. Located between the foothills of the Sierra de la Giganta mountains and the shores of Loreto Bay National Mark Park, this landscape in Baja California Sur is a…
The Nestwood Forest spans Ross Mountain and Howard Canyon, just east of Corbett, Oregon, and is only half an hour’s drive from the Portland-Vancouver metro area. Until recently, this was the largest privately owned forest in the county and was at risk of being divided and developed. Over the last 20 years, Columbia Land Trust…
In June, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released a new plan to protect over 400,000 acres of public lands in the Owyhee Canyonlands in Southeastern Oregon. The proposed Southeastern Oregon Resource Management Plan Amendment is a guide for the management, maintenance, and enhancement of lands with wilderness characteristics for at least the next…
In May 2023, the Trust for Public Land announced that they successfully expanded the Otter Creek Wildlife Management Area in Wallingford, Vermont by 355 acres, protecting critical forestland, biodiversity, and recreational opportunities. The property includes 107 acres of wetlands, 100 acres of floodplain and 1.25 miles of the Otter Creek. The project was supported by…
In March 2023, the White House designated Castner Range National Monument to protect 6,600 acres in El Paso, Texas. Castner is located in a majority Latinx community near Franklin Mountains State Park where free access to open spaces has been limited for the surrounding low-income populations. The landscape is known for its array of Mexican…
