Forests

"A recent, non-binding opinion from the Government Accountability Office may pave the way for Congress to begin rescinding management plans for national monuments across the country, environmentalists and experts say, potentially leading to protected areas being further opened up for resource extraction. And Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah is yet again at the center of the renewed threats to the nation’s monuments."

"The U.S. Forest Service announced revisions to its oil and gas leasing rules today that the agency promises “modernizes and streamlines” the permitting process to drill for fossil fuels in the nation’s forests and grasslands. The changes prompted the ire of environmental groups who say it is the latest in a year’s worth of attacks on public lands protections by President Trump’s administration."

"A niche rule established by the U.S. Forest Service to justify the clearing of tens of thousands of acres of forest in the name of reducing wildfire risk was unlawfully created and applied, the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon found last week, invalidating its future use across the United States."

"Police and prosecutors from Brazil, French Guiana, Guyana and Suriname have arrested nearly 200 people in their first-ever joint cross-border operation targeting illegal gold mining in the Amazon region, authorities said Thursday."

"Neither the House nor the Senate included funding for the U.S. Wildland Fire Service in new spending bills. The Interior Department is still forging ahead."

"The House of Representatives voted 214 to 208 Wednesday to open up hundreds of thousands of federal acres to mining near the border of Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness."

"Restoration of forestland and other areas is taking root, but lags far behind the rapid rate of deforestation in the Amazon."

"The Republican Study Committee on Tuesday published a framework for a second reconciliation package that calls for selling off federal public lands to build housing, adopting a contentious proposal previously championed by Utah Sen. Mike Lee."

"The House passed a bill last week that would “repurpose” $500 million meant for cleaning up environmental and safety hazards caused by decades of coal mining."

"Some of the world's largest soybean traders are preparing to break their agreement to curb deforestation of the Amazon rainforest to preserve tax benefits in Brazil's top farm state, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters."