Summary:  The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) recently released an environmental assessment that indicates climate change will have significant effects on the Colorado Plateau, including a temperature increase of 1 to 2 degrees Celsius and extremes of both low and high levels of precipitation. The plateau covers more than 30,000 acres, and its wildlife and geography could become destabilized from these changes. Earthjustice is pressuring the BLM to use the study’s findings as a starting point for changing its management policies in the area.

“The report describes fundamental changes in how the Colorado Plateau will look and how it functions, said Heidi McIntosh, managing attorney at Earthjustice’s Denver office. “Change is inevitable. What the BLM should be doing is erring on the side of conservation and caution.”

  Full Article:  http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20130408/NEWS/130409876/1077&ParentProfile=1058"

  Summary:  A federal judge upheld the Obama administration’s 20-year ban on uranium mining on one million acres surrounding the Grand Canyon. This decision will ensure the protection of the area’s watersheds and prevent contamination of the water supply.

“If it had been instituted, it really would’ve crippled the ability of the Interior Department to say, ‘Hold on, we need to take some time to set these lands aside because there’s other lands out there we want to protect,’” said Earthjustice attorney Ted Zukoski.

  Full Article:  http://mohavedailynews.com/articles/2013/03/25/news/state/doc514ffc1fa9255984406614.txt"

  Summary:  Earthjustice defended the towns of Dryden and Middlefield, New York, in legal arguments concerning their authority to prevent oil companies from fracking on their land. The ruling, expected during the next six to eight weeks, rests on whether or not local zoning authority supersedes state regulations.

"Our argument is that the towns of Dryden and Middlefield are not trying to regulate the industry; they recognize that regulating the industry is a matter for the state," said Earthjustice attorney Deborah Goldberg. "But the town of Dryden is exercising its constitutionally protected local power to regulate land use through zoning."

  Full Article:  http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5j8TbMO8U7qW90EFsrTs6zgmljTBA?docId=8dbfd23faeec417c93d65f85225270c2"

  Summary:  There will be no fracking in Avon of Livingston County, New York. A judge ruled in favor of the town’s ban on the extreme efforts to extract fossil fuels. The court denied Lenape Resources’ challenge to the town’s ban on fracking. Courts have upheld similar bans in the towns of Dryden and Middlefield, and this decision comes just before oral arguments in appeals to those earlier rulings.

Said Earthjustice attorney Deborah Goldberg, “One by one, the courts in New York are siding with the people over oil and gas industry interests, ruling that local municipalities have the right to decide what industrial activities are appropriate for their communities.”

  Full Article:  http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/8be416cb57604d15b49e29f41bfbf1dc/NY--Gas-Drilling-Local-Bans"