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WYDOT works with Google to update road closures and recommend alternate route info (posted 3/10/2024)
Wyoming Department of Transportation
When snow, high winds, and other severe weather conditions require the Wyoming Department of Transportation to close Interstate 80 – one of the nation’s primary east-west highways – conditions on secondary roads are often even more dangerous. Yet without sufficient data, some navigational apps may reroute I-80 motorists and commercial vehicle operators onto those very roads. WYDOT is now working to improve safety and facilitate the efficient movement of freight by sharing road-closure data directly with Google and other navigation companies. Expanding access to road-closure data is especially critical in March and April, which are historically the state’s snowiest months.
"WYDOT is constantly innovating and adapting to the challenges of Wyoming's harsh winters and meeting our mission to keep people and commerce moving," said WYDOT Director Darin Westby. "Last winter saw too many close calls, and we are excited to arrive at a practical solution that will keep both travelers and search-and-rescue responders safer."
Navigational apps generally report road closures and recommend alternate routes based on data collected from other drivers who are using the app. As a result, information about infrequently traveled, local roads may not be updated often enough to reflect fast-changing conditions. In Wyoming, some I-80 motorists following suggested detours have ended up stranded on inaccessible roads without fuel, food, or water. This also creates hazards for the Wyoming Highway Patrol and other emergency responders tasked with finding and rescuing these motorists. Road closures and ill-advised detours during just one storm in 2023 resulted in 28 search-and-rescue missions in Sweetwater County alone.
To help prevent such emergencies, WYDOT has expanded third-party access to a powerful tool known as the Situation Data Exchange, or SDX. WYDOT partner Trihydro, an engineering and environmental consulting firm based in Laramie, developed the SDX in support of the Wyoming Connected Vehicle Pilot, a WYDOT project funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation.
The SDX stores and distributes data collected from wirelessly connected vehicles, including WYDOT fleet vehicles and snowplows. WYDOT also consults with individual counties to include information on local and conditional closures. Navigation companies with access to the SDX will have a new, reliable source of real-time travel information including weather advisories, variable speed limits, road closure notifications, and vehicle weight restrictions.
"Wyoming is leading the way in improving highway safety by making vital traveler information available to all road users, from residents and visitors to commercial truckers," said WYDOT GIS/ITS Manager Vince Garcia.
WYDOT began by reaching out to Google, which has entered into an agreement with Trihydro to be a third-party distributor of SDX data through Google Maps. WYDOT hopes to finalize agreements with Apple and other navigation system providers in the near future to ensure that accurate, up-to-date travel information is available to as many motorists as possible. Meanwhile, WYDOT officials continue to coordinate with the USDOT to expand access to the SDX.
"WYDOT has collaborated with Trihydro’s SDX team to design and implement an exemplary messaging system that maximizes coordination between Wyoming’s jurisdictional levels and navigation companies to create and relay road incident updates and closures," said Eric Kolb, GIS Senior Staff Data Engineer, Google Maps. "The SDX provides Wyoming's high-quality data in the desired format through a convenient interface, all of which reduces Google Maps’ effort to acquire and translate Wyoming’s road incident updates into its navigation database. It’s been a pleasure working with the WYDOT and Trihydro teams to both understand and encourage their motivations and capabilities."
Wyoming residents and visitors can visit WYDOT’s Travel Information Service website at www.wyoroad.info for the latest information on road conditions and closures, including an interactive travel information map. Commercial vehicle operators can visit https://cvop.wyoroad.info/cvop for road and travel information tailored to their needs.
Barrasso, GOP Committee Leaders call on Administration to explain Old-Growth Decision (posted 3/22/2024)
Senator John Barrasso media release
WASHINGTON, D.C. March 22, 2024 — U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), joined republican leaders to call on the Biden administration to explain its rationale for creating a special definition for "old growth and mature forests" on federal lands. The signers of this letter are tasked with overseeing activities on federal lands.
U.S. Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy Natural Resources, and John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, along with U.S. Representatives Glenn "GT" Thompson (R-PA), chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture and Bruce Westerman (R-AR), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, have asked U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to answer a series of questions regarding the process that led to this working definition, the statutory authority the administration followed to take this action and what impacts that will have on the government’s 128 forest land management plans.
In a letter to Secretary Vilsack, the members question USDA’s process, authority and rationale that seemingly attempts to codify parts of Executive Order 14072, conflicts with the Forest Service’s authorities and responsibilities, will further undermine forest health, and will increase wildfire risk to millions of acres of federal lands.
"[W]e question what existing statutory authority or Congressional mandate permits or directs the administration to ‘institutionalize climate-smart management and conservation strategies’ to address threats to undefined categories of federal lands. Further, we express significant concerns with the administration’s stated intent to amend all 128 Forest Plans in the space of approximately 13 months through an unprecedented and truncated process. If finalized as proposed, it will conflict with the multiple-use mandate…and the National Environmental Policy Act by placing management restrictions on thousands of acres, stands, or entire units based on a ‘narrative framework’ or a ‘working definition.’" the members wrote.
Read the full letter here and below.
Dear Secretary Vilsack,
We are concerned with the content and the process of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) "First-of-its-Kind National Forest Plan Amendment to Conserve and Steward Old Growth Forests" published in the Federal Register on December 20, 2023. We request your prompt and complete response to the enclosed questions to help inform our respective Committees’ oversight responsibilities and ensure USDA is complying with its Congressionally mandated duties, authorities, and procedural requirements governing 193 million acres of National Forest System (NFS) lands.
The Biden administration seeks to define and effectively create special considerations for "oldgrowth" and "mature forests" on federal lands, apparently striving to elevate a particular stage of forest succession above other, legally required multiple use purposes. This effort was initiated in April 2022 through Executive Order (E.O.) 14072 instructing the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and USDA’s Forest Service to define and inventory oldgrowth and mature forests for lands managed by the agencies. In short, E.O. 14072 effectively charged the Forest Service and BLM to create a special definition and initiate a special disposition for "old-growth and mature forests" on federal lands absent a Congressional mandate or existing authority to do so.
In response to E.O. 14072, the Forest Service initiated a Request for Information (RFI) and an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on federal old-growth and mature forests. In the RFI, USDA stated: "Defining old growth and mature forests for purposes of conducting an inventory as required under E.O. 14072 Section 2(b) does not, by itself, change any current forest management policies or practices." USDA went on to say that developing policies to institutionalize "climate-smart management and conservation strategies that address threats to mature and old-growth forests on Federal land" would follow completion of definition development, identification, and inventory.
The Forest Service and BLM published an "initial draft" seeking to define and inventory "oldgrowth and mature forests" to comply with E.O. 14072. However, after tens of thousands of public comments in response to the RFI, ANPR, and after the Biden administration convened a "Definition Development Team" in Washington, D.C., the administration declared these "definitions are considered dynamic, not static, and thus are subject to refinement as new information is incorporated (working definitions)." The administration’s "initial draft" identified numerous variables that may be utilized in categorizing "old-growth forest types" by Forest Service Region, including species, climate, soil productivity, vegetation types, geographical areas and twenty-nine pages of appendices.
Despite not creating a single, coherent definition for "old-growth" or "mature" forests, the administration proceeded with publishing an introductory report finding wildfire, insects, and diseases as the leading threats to "mature and old-growth forests." The introductory report also noted "tree cutting (any removal of trees) is currently a relatively minor threat…" and "in general, management improved or maintained these stands." Irrespective of the inability to develop a clear definition of "old-growth" or "mature" forests and indifferent to the Forest Service’s threat assessment identifying "tree cutting" as a minor threat, the administration declared the E.O.’s definitional and assessment requirements completed (Fulfillment of Executive Order 14072, Section 2(b)) in an effort to proceed with E.O. 14072 Section 2(c).
We agree with the administration’s tacit qualification that Executive Orders do not, and cannot, by themselves, change policies or practices not otherwise authorized under existing law. However, we question what existing statutory authority or Congressional mandate permits or directs the administration to "institutionalize climate-smart management and conservation strategies" to address threats to undefined categories of federal lands. Further, we express significant concerns with the administration’s stated intent to amend all 128 Forest Plans in the space of approximately months through an unprecedented and truncated process. If finalized as proposed, it will conflict with the multiple-use mandate under the National Forest Management Act (NFMA), the 2012 Planning Rule (Final Rule and Record of Decision) governing the Forest Plan development process, and the National Environmental Policy Act by placing management restrictions on thousands of acres, stands, or entire units based on a "narrative framework" or a "working definition."
In the interest of fulfilling our oversight responsibilities and ensuring this administration is complying with its statutory authority and fulfilling its Congressional mandate covering 193 million acres of NFS lands, we request USDA provide written responses to the following questions on or before April 17, 2024:
1) How many USDA Forest Service Land Management Plans have been updated in the last 15 years as required under the National Forest Management Act?
2) How many Forest Plans are out of compliance with NFMA’s requirements?
3) How will USDA’s "Land Management Plan Direction for Old-Growth Forest Conditions Across the National Forest System" comply with the following statutes:
a. the Forest and Rangelands Renewable Resources Planning Act, as amended by NFMA;
b. the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act (MUSYA);
c. the Healthy Forests Restoration Act;
d. the Federal Land Policy and Management Act;
e. the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act; and
f. the Administrative Procedure Act.
4) Specifically, USDA’s proposed national plan amendment includes "Standards for Management Actions within Old-Growth Forest Conditions" stating that "vegetation management within old-growth forest conditions may not be for the primary purpose of growing, tending, harvesting, or regeneration of trees for economic reasons." Please explain how this standard for management action, if adopted as proposed, is consistent with MUSYA and other existing statutory requirements governing NFS lands.
5) Does USDA consider a National Forest Plan amendment to be a rule or rulemaking process as defined under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) or the Congressional Review Act (CRA)?
6) Does USDA consider its "Land Management Plan Direction for Old-Growth Forest Conditions Across the National Forest System," which will amend all 128 national Forest Plans, a rule or rulemaking process as defined under the APA or the CRA?
a. If not, please provide a full explanation with corresponding statutory citations on the classification, description, and APA or CRA exemption covering this agency action.
b. If so, when does USDA anticipate publishing a proposed rule for public comment?
7) Has USDA transmitted the "Land Management Plan Direction for Old-Growth Forest Conditions Across the National Forest System" to each House of Congress and/or the Comptroller General? If so, please provide a copy of the transmission with the corresponding date of transmission.
8) Has USDA transmitted the "Land Management Plan Direction for Old-Growth Forest Conditions Across the National Forest System" to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) or the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA)?
a. If so, please provide a copy of the transmission with the corresponding date of transmission.
b. If not, please provide a full explanation of USDA’s rationale and justification for not transmitting this action to OMB or OIRA.
9) Has USDA conducted a cost-benefit analysis under the Regulatory Flexibility Act20 , Unfunded Mandates Reform Act21, or the Paperwork Reduction Act?
a. If so, please provide a copy of those analyses.
b. If not, please provide a full explanation with corresponding statutory citations on the classification, description, and exemption covering this agency action.
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We look forward to your response no later than April 17, 2024. Please contact our offices with any questions you may have regarding this request.
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Scam Alert 2 – Warrants out for your arrest (posted 3/21/2024)
Scam targeting Pinedale area
Thursday, March 21, 9:45AM: SCAM ALERT 2 A local Pinedale citizen has alerted us to a new incarnation of the phone scams, now targeting the Pinedale/Sublette County area. People are getting calls from someone claiming to be a deputy from the Sheriff’s Office and saying there are warrants out for the person’s arrest. In order to stop from being arrested, the person is instructed to make monetary payments in some fashion. Apparently some people have already lost money falling for this scam. One caller apparently said he was a local officer whose name people might recognize, however with a newly acquired southern accent. Scammers can spoof (fake) phone numbers that show up in the caller ID. Do not believe the displayed number is the true phone number of the caller. Never give money in any form (credit card, bank withdrawals, PayPal, gift cards, etc) to a person calling on the phone. Hang up on these callers. Warn your friends, especially anyone vulnerable in your circle whom you think may not be aware of these kinds of scam calls.
Last Saturday, someone did a similar scam blast targeting people in the Salt Lake City, Utah area spoofing Pinedale Online’s phone number and claiming to be from Rocky Mountain Power telling people they will have their power shut off if they don’t immediately pay their bill.
These calls were not coming from Pinedale Online or Rocky Mountain Power. Utilities do not call people to collect on delinquent accounts. Never give out a credit card number or personal information about any of your accounts over the phone to a caller, no matter who they claim to be. These people can sound quite convincing and be quite high pressure in their tactics. Don’t be tricked.
If you are concerned, hang up on the caller, and use a number from your utility bill or the phone book to call back the agency the scammer claimed to be from. Never call back a phone number the caller gives you, it is part of the scammer’s network continuing the scam.
Barrasso, Senate Republicans criticize tax hike on American energy producers (posted 3/21/2024)
Senator John Barrasso media release
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) led his Republican colleagues in a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressing serious concern over the $110 billion in target tax increases on the production of oil, gas, and coal in the Biden administration’s General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2025 Revenue Proposals (Green Book).
The senators detail how the administration’s proposed $5 trillion in new tax increases will result in lower wages and higher prices for American workers. Their letter specifically highlights how the Biden administration is weaponizing the tax code to stifle U.S. energy production. As a result, American families and small businesses are faced with higher energy prices and our allies around the world will be forced to turn to our adversaries for their energy needs.
In the letter, the senators call on the administration to unleash our abundant American energy resources and stop attacking our energy producers who are ready to provide reliable and affordable energy for the American people.
"We write with grave concern regarding the administration’s continued hostility towards American energy production. The administration has once again doubled down on weaponizing the tax code against U.S. energy producers," the senators wrote. "It is alarming that the administration believes utilizing our nation’s abundant natural resources will be detrimental to long-term energy security. Sadly, the administration would willingly suppress energy production knowing it means fewer jobs and higher prices for the American people. America is fortunate to have abundant energy resources. Our nation needs to be focused on unleashing American energy and innovation instead of throwing away one of our biggest economic and geopolitical advantages."
Co-signers of this letter include U.S. Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Finance, and U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), John Kennedy (R-La.), and John Hoeven (R-N.D.).
Full text of the letter can be found here.
Dear Secretary Yellen:
We write with grave concern regarding the administration's
continued hostility towards American energy production. Working families and small businesses are facing immense challenges including high energy prices. At the same time, our allies and partners across the globe are asking for reliable American energy resources to escape their dependence on Russian energy and to deal with the energy crisis. Instead of increasing U.S. energy production, the administration is focused on increasing energy taxes. The administration has once again doubled down on weaponizing the tax code against U.S. energy producers. The Department of Treasury's General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2025 Revenue Proposals (Green Book) is filled with crippling tax hikes on the production of oil, gas, and coal.
The latest Green Book calls for $5 trillion in new tax increases, which will fall on a wide range of industries, as well as workers. These taxes will fall on workers and families in the form of lower wages and higher prices. The broad tax hikes alone will deliver a heavy blow to energy production while simultaneously suppressing growth in numerous sectors of the economy. But, the administration has decided to go even further by specifically imposing additional burdens on energy producers by removing virtually every longstanding tax provision in the Internal Revenue Code designed to support traditional energy production. Specifically, the Green Book calls for more than $110 billion in targeted tax increases on oil, gas, and coal production.
What is most troubling is that the administration explicitly acknowledges its intention to chill investment in conventional energy production, stating, "These oil, gas, and coal tax preferences distort markets by encouraging more investment in the fossil fuel sector than would occur under a neutral system. This market distortion is detrimental to long-term energy security and is also inconsistent with the administration's policy of supporting a clean energy economy, reducing our reliance on oil and reducing greenhouse gas emissions."
It is alarming that the administration believes utilizing our nation's abundant natural resources will be detrimental to long-term energy security. Sadly, the administration would willingly suppress energy production knowing it means fewer jobs and higher prices for the American people. The Green Book proposals are neither policy neutral nor do they consider the fact that conventional energy production is the highest taxed industry in the world, and pays high rates of tax to the federal government - as well as state and local governments. This relentless action from the Administration lacks the foresight necessary to realize the detrimental impact that these repeals will have.
Many of the President's targeted tax hikes would repeal cost recovery provisions and deny necessary and ordinary deductions which give energy producers parity with other sectors of the economy. One example of this is the proposed repeal for the expensing of Intangible Drilling Costs (IDCs), which are widely utilized by independent producers to deduct expenses related to drilling. These expenses include labor, site preparation, repairs, equipment rentals, and survey work. Often times these items represent between 60 and 80 percent of total production costs.
Another important cost recovery mechanism the administration seeks to eliminate is Percentage Depletion. This is a type of depreciation for mineral-based assets that allows for a deduction from taxable income to reflect the declining production of reserves over time. Percentage Depletion is in line with standard depreciation for other assets and is necessary to recover costs associated with maintaining production on marginal wells, mines, and deposits. The entities benefitting from Percentage Depletion are often independent and family-owned production companies, as well as farmers and ranchers who may rely on small royalty payments.
There are more than a dozen other related energy tax provisions in the crosshairs of the administration's tax plan, all of which pale in comparison to the lavish subsidies and refundable tax credits afforded to the renewable energy industry. These proposals undermine the industry responsible for providing 80 percent of the nation's energy, as well as the foundation for modern manufacturing. The administration is attacking the industry providing our allies with an alternative to relying on foreign adversaries for their energy needs. No other nation produces, or refines, with the same environmental standards we see with American-made energy.
America is fortunate to have abundant energy resources. Our nation needs to be focused on unleashing American energy and innovation instead of throwing away one of our biggest economic and geopolitical advantages. When facing a whole-of-government assault, American energy producers cannot continue to make long-term investments, which provide stability and energy security both at home and overseas. These crushing tax proposals, paired with the administration's heavy-handed regulations and mandates, would threaten American families' access to affordable and reliable energy, while giving our adversaries the upper-hand in global energy markets.
Barrasso statement on EPA’s Electric Vehicles mandate (posted 3/20/2024)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) released the following statement after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released finalized rules on new emissions standards on cars, trucks and SUVs.
"The out-of-touch Biden administration is trying to force Americans into expensive electric vehicles they don’t want, don’t need and can’t afford. Democrats are already telling Americans what kind of stoves to cook with. Now they want to control every room in your house – even your garage.
"In Wyoming, we drive larger vehicles longer distances than most other states. We should be able to make our own decisions about what works best for our needs. Republicans will fight to overturn the Biden car mandate and put Americans back in the driver’s seat."
EPA sets new pollution standards for vehicles (posted 3/20/2024)
WASHINGTON – Today, March 20, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced final national pollution standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032 and beyond. These standards will avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and provide nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society, including $13 billion of annual public health benefits due to improved air quality, and $62 billion in reduced annual fuel costs, and maintenance and repair costs for drivers. The final standards deliver on the significant pollution reductions outlined in the proposed rule, while accelerating the adoption of cleaner vehicle technologies. EPA is finalizing this rule as sales of clean vehicles, including plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, hit record highs last year.
EPA projects an increase in U.S. auto manufacturing employment in response to these final standards, consistent with the broader Biden-Harris Administration commitment to create good-paying, union jobs leading the clean vehicle future. Strong standards have historically contributed to the U.S. leading the world in the supply of clean technologies, with corresponding benefits for American global competitiveness and domestic employment. Since President Biden took office, companies have announced more than $160 billion in investment in U.S. clean vehicle manufacturing and the U.S. auto manufacturing sector has added more than 100,000 jobs.
These standards will provide greater certainty for the auto industry, catalyzing private investment, creating good-paying union jobs, and invigorating and strengthening the U.S. auto industry. Over the next decade, the standards, paired with President Biden’s historic Investing in America agenda and investments in U.S. manufacturing, will set the U.S. auto sector on a trajectory for sustained growth. Additionally, the final standards will lower costs for consumers. Once fully phased in, the standards will save the average American driver an estimated $6,000 in reduced fuel and maintenance over the life of a vehicle.
EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan will join President Biden’s National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi today at an event in Washington, DC to announce the final standards and how they build on President Biden’s historic climate and economic record. The event will be livestreamed starting at noon EDT.
"With transportation as the largest source of U.S. climate emissions, these strongest-ever pollution standards for cars solidify America’s leadership in building a clean transportation future and creating good-paying American jobs, all while advancing President Biden’s historic climate agenda," said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. "The standards will slash over 7 billion tons of climate pollution, improve air quality in overburdened communities, and give drivers more clean vehicle choices while saving them money. Under President Biden’s leadership, this Administration is pairing strong standards with historic investments to revitalize domestic manufacturing, strengthen domestic supply chains and create good-paying jobs."
"President Biden is investing in America, in our workers, and in the unions that built our middle class and established the U.S. auto sector as a leader in the world," said President Biden’s National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. "The President’s agenda is working. On factory floors across the nation, our autoworkers are making cars and trucks that give American drivers a choice – a way to get from point A to point B without having to fuel up at a gas station. From plug-in hybrids to fuel cells to fully electric, drivers have more choices today. Since 2021, sales of these vehicles have quadrupled and prices continue to come down. This growth means jobs, and it means we are moving faster and faster to take on the climate crisis – all thanks to the President’s leadership."
Statement from United Automobile Workers: "The EPA has made significant progress on its final greenhouse gas emissions rule for light-duty vehicles. By taking seriously the concerns of workers and communities, the EPA has come a long way to create a more feasible emissions rule that protects workers building ICE vehicles, while providing a path forward for automakers to implement the full range of automotive technologies to reduce emissions."
Light- and Medium-Duty Vehicle Final Standards
The final standards announced today, the "Multi Pollutant Emissions Standards for Model Years 2027 and Later Light-Duty and Medium-Duty Vehicles," build on EPA’s existing emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks for model years 2023 through 2026. The standards continue the technology-neutral and performance-based design of previous EPA standards for cars, pickups, and vans, and leverage advances in clean car technologies to further reduce both climate pollution and smog- and soot-forming emissions. EPA is finalizing the same standard proposed for MY 2032 while allowing additional time for the auto sector to scale up clean vehicle manufacturing supply chains in the first three years covered by the rule.
Annually, the net benefits to society for the light- and medium-duty final rule are estimated to be $99 billion. The final rule is expected to avoid 7.2 billion tons of CO2 emissions through 2055, roughly equal to four times the emissions of the entire transportation sector in 2021. It will also reduce fine particulate matter and ozone, preventing up to 2,500 premature deaths in 2055 as well as reducing heart attacks, respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, aggravated asthma, and decreased lung function.
EPA received extensive feedback on the proposed rule, including through written comments, testimony at public hearings, and other stakeholder engagements. The final standards were informed by the best available data in the public record and rigorous technical assessments. Like the proposal, EPA’s final rule gives manufacturers the flexibility to efficiently reduce emissions and meet the performance-based standards through the mix of technologies they decide is best for them and their customers. EPA’s analysis considers a broad suite of available emission control technologies, and projects that consumers will continue to have a wide range of vehicle choices under the final rule, including advanced gasoline vehicles, hybrids, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and full battery electric vehicles.
Compared to the existing MY 2026 standards, the final MY 2032 standards represent a nearly 50% reduction in projected fleet average GHG emissions levels for light-duty vehicles and 44% reductions for medium-duty vehicles. In addition, the standards are expected to reduce emissions of health-harming fine particulate matter from gasoline-powered vehicles by over 95%. This will improve air quality nationwide and especially for people who live near major roadways and have environmental justice concerns.
Investing in America’s Clean Transportation Future
The final rule reflects the significant investments in clean vehicle technologies that industry is already making domestically and abroad, as well as ongoing U.S. market shifts and increasing consumer interest in clean vehicles. The Biden-Harris Administration is also directly supporting communities across America in moving towards a cleaner transportation future, including by building a national network of EV chargers and alternative-fuel stations; ensuring domestic manufacturers have the critical minerals and materials they need to make EV batteries; and funding clean transit and clean school buses, with priority for underserved communities. President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is focused on growing the American economy from the bottom up and the middle out – from rebuilding our nation’s infrastructure, to creating a manufacturing and innovation boom, to building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient.
Source: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/biden-harris-administration-finalizes-strongest-ever-pollution-standards-cars-position
Bridger-Teton National Forest to celebrate Smokey Bear’s 80th Birthday (posted 3/20/2024)
Bridger-Teton National Forest to celebrate Smokey Bear’s 80th Birthday
Bridger-Teton National Forest
PINEDALE, WY - In celebration of Smokey Bear’s 80th Birthday, the Bridger-Teton National Forest will kick start the year by hosting 19 historical paintings by Rudy Wendelin. These paintings will be on display at the Sublette County Library in Pinedale, WY from April 8 through April 19, 2024.
The Pinedale Ranger District will be hosting an opening night reception on Tuesday, April 9, from 5 to 7 pm. Staff and friends of Smokey Bear will be on hand and light refreshments will be served.
A ’Read with Smokey’ event will be held on Tuesday, April 16, 2024 from 5 to 7 pm. Smokey Bear himself will be in attendance and fans young and old are encouraged to read selections from some of his favorite story books. Hot cocoa and s’mores will be provided.
The Bridger-Teton National Forest is one of just 14 locations across the Nation, including National Forests and Grasslands, to host the painting collection during the 2024 birthday celebration event. The artwork is on loan to the Forest from the Special Collections section of the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Library in Washington, DC. These paintings were completed from 1977 through 1995 and remain the most famous depictions of Smokey Bear. Painter Rudolph ‘Rudy’ Wendelin worked for the U.S. Forest Service as an illustrator beginning in 1933 and retired in 1973. Thanks to Wendelin’s art, Smokey’s message "Only YOU can prevent wildfires" has prevailed for decades.
"In honor of Smokey’s 80th birthday, this is the perfect time to (re) introduce Smokey Bear to the next generation of land stewards," says Kate Olsen, Pinedale District Ranger. "We look forward to a whole year of events and activities throughout the Forest, highlighting Smokey Bear and his wildfire message."
Created August 9, 1944, the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign is the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history, educating generations of Americans about their role in preventing human caused fires. Despite the campaign's success over the years, wildfire prevention remains one of the most critical issues affecting our country. Smokey's message is as relevant and urgent today as it was in 1944.
Wendelin, who died in 2000, created hundreds of Smokey Bear representations that highlighted natural resource conservation and wildfire prevention. Under Wendelin’s direction, Smokey Bear grew into the beloved image and national icon that he remains to this day.
Nan Stinson, Fire Prevention Specialist for the Bridger-Teton National Forest, stated "I am very excited that we were selected to host this tour. This is a great opportunity for our local communities to see these paintings in person and be reminded of Smokey’s timeless message."
Sublette County Library, Pinedale Branch, is located at 155 S. Tyler Ave. in Pinedale. Hours for viewing are Monday-Thursday, 10 am to 8 pm, Friday 10 am – 6 pm, Saturday 10 am – 5 pm. The library is closed on Sunday.
For more information about Smokey Bear visit www.smokeybear.com.
For other news, events and information please visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/btnf or follow the Bridger-Teton National Forest on Facebook @BridgerTetonNF or on Twitter @BridgerTetonNF.
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