Natural Resources

"The FBI yesterday approved anti-government activist Ammon Bundy for purchase of an AR-15 rifle, reversing its initial rejection days after the Idaho resident staged a social media campaign on his quest for a new firearm."

"The Interior Department broke federal spending law when it dipped into national park fees to keep its most popular sites operating during this winter’s partial federal shutdown, the Government Accountability Office concluded Thursday."

"A top Senate appropriator is seeking federal ethics information for former Interior Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Joe Balash, who recently left the department for a job with a foreign oil and gas company."

"Standing at an overlook on the top of Black Mountain — the tallest point in Kentucky —  the wooded Appalachian mountains stretch on like a sea of green for miles."

"A former Interior Department official who abruptly resigned last month personally expedited environmental review for a 211-mile private road project across federal land that would open up a vast new copper, gold and precious metals mining district near a national park in northern Alaska, according to a company seeking to mine there."

"In the patchwork of rice fields and pastures spreading across southwest Louisiana is a parcel Jay Lewis’ family has called their own for longer than anyone can remember."

"Interior Secretary David Bernhardt issued an order yesterday that will require the National Park Service to open nonmotorized trails to e-bikes — a move that drew quick fire from green groups."

"Hundreds of government workers on the front lines of enforcing Brazil’s environmental laws signed an open letter warning that their work has been hampered by President Jair Bolsonaro, contributing to a rise in deforestation and the fires sweeping through the Amazon."