February 2023

On January 30, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Final Determination under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to limit the use of certain waters in the Bristol Bay watershed as disposal sites for discharges of dredged or fill material associated with development of the proposed Pebble Mine in southwest Alaska. The determination was based on an extensive review of scientific and technical research spanning two decades, and robust stakeholder engagement, the majority of which opposed the mine. The EPA determined that certain discharges associated with developing the Pebble mine would have “unacceptable adverse effects” on the salmon fishery in the Bristol Bay watershed. This represents only the third time in 30 years that the EPA has used its authority in this manner to halt development. Alaska’s Governor Dunleavy and the mine’s developers have indicated they will challenge the EPA determination in court. If the court upholds the EPA determination, it will mark the end of a multi-decade battle over the project.

The American Farm Bureau and 17 other organizations representing agriculture, home builders, construction infrastructure companies, as well as state and county farm bureaus, are challenging the new Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) definition through a lawsuit against the EPA. The challenge was filed January 19, 2023, in the Southern District Court of Texas. The industry complaint alleges that the rule “effectively reads the term ‘navigable waters’ out of the CWA,” that it “asserts improperly vague and malleable jurisdiction,” violates principles of federalism, “exceeds the Agencies’ delegated authority under the Commerce Clause,” and violates other constitutional principles.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and researchers at the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit released an interactive geonarrative highlighting the world’s longest mule deer migration from the Red Desert to Hoback, Wyoming. In addition, last December, USGS released Ungulate Migrations of the Western U.S., Volume 3.

Learn about Wyoming’s migratory ungulates (mule deer, elk, pronghorn, etc.).