The past few weeks have been fruitful for multiple Western Governors’ policy priorities, with three key pieces of legislation getting the President’s signature in quick succession.

On December 19, President Biden signed the Good Samaritan Remediation of Abandoned Hardrock Mines Act into law, following its passage in the House earlier in December.

Co-led in the Senate by New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich and Idaho Senator Jim Risch, the Senate unanimously passed the bill in July. In the House, Utah Representative Celeste Maloy, Alaska Representative Mary Peltola, and Nevada Representative Susie Lee led the legislation, where it passed on December 10.

Western Governors have played a key role in advocating for legislation to protect Good Samaritans who clean up abandoned mine sites since at least 1995. This year, WGA sent a letter in support of the bill to Senate leadership in March and a letter to House leadership in October.

The bill’s passage marks an important victory for Western Governors’ policy on this issue, which is laid out in WGA’s Cleaning up Abandoned Hardrock Mines in the West policy resolution.

Also in recent weeks, President Biden signed the Water Data Improvement Act and the Water Resources Development Act. WGA has advocated for programs within these bills, including via a letter to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in September.

Just this week, the President signed the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act into law, marking a significant victory for Western Governors and their partners in the outdoor recreation industry.

The bill will expand opportunities for Americans to recreate in the outdoors by boosting access to public spaces like parks and forests, building and maintaining bike trails, protecting rock climbing infrastructure, and more.

Western Governors have been leaders in advocating for this legislation, which aligns with many policy priorities outlined in WGA’s policy resolution, Recreation and Tourism on Public Lands. Read Western Governors’ letter to Senate leadership from September, which supported aspects of this bill.

Read all of WGA’s correspondence and advocacy letters from this year on our Letters Page.

Western Governors assist on wildfire: with devastating fires raging in the Los Angeles area, Western Governors are mobilizing personnel and resources to California to assist in the firefighting effort. Governors from across the West have deployed crews, equipment, and aid to the state, where thousands of firefighters are working tirelessly to stop the blaze. Every neighboring state and many others in the region have now deployed resources to work toward containment.

"The number of resources assigned to this fire siege event has increased significantly," said Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley. "Out-of-state resources continue to arrive in Los Angeles county and city, and we are appreciative to our fire partners from throughout the western United States for providing assistance to Los Angeles County in our time of need."

Please visit fire.ca.gov for the latest information and resources on the fires.

Governor Kelly Armstrong sworn in: on December 15, North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong took the oath of office to become the state’s 34^th Governor.

“Serving the citizens of North Dakota as the 34^th governor is the honor of a lifetime. Kjersti and I are humbled beyond words for this opportunity,” Armstrong said. “After six years of representing North Dakota in Congress, it’s good to be home. Let’s get to work.”

On Tuesday, Governor Armstrong delivered his first State of the State address to legislators. Read a recap of Armstrong’s remarks, along with other Western Governors’ State of the State addresses here.

Great Salt Lake boost: Utah is set to receive $50 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to boost water supply in the Great Salt Lake, which has seen its water levels drop to dangerous lows in recent years. State officials also announced an additional $50 million investment, bringing total funding to $100 million.

The funds will go toward efforts to increase flows into the lake, support infrastructure to deliver conserved water into the lake, restore nearby wetlands, and remove invasive species from the lake and its tributaries.

Tahoe-area sawmill protects against megafire: In Carson City, Nevada, a partnership between the business arm of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California and Tahoe Forest Products has led to the creation of a much-needed sawmill for the area.

Until recently, the Tahoe area lacked a nearby sawmill, which made thinning and processing timber from some fire-prone areas prohibitively expensive. With massive wildfires in recent memory for Tahoe area residents, the need to manage forests and reduce fuel load in the area became a necessity.

Now, Tahoe Forest Products has its mill up and running on a plot of land they are leasing from the Washoe Development Corporation, to the benefit of Washoe Tribe members and the region as a whole. The president of the Washoe Development Corporation stipulated that the project, “can’t harm Mother Earth, it must create workforce development, and it must provide income for the tribe,” and so far it has accomplished all three goals.