Natural Resources

"David Vela's short tenure as acting director of the National Park Service ended abruptly today [Friday]."

"In the midst of another hot summer and an ongoing pandemic, public parks are vital refuge. But a new study has found that access to parks in the U.S. differs sharply according to income and race."

"California has about 47,000 abandoned mines and roughly 5,000 of those are contaminating water, soil, vegetation, and air across the state, according to a state report issued Tuesday."

"President Trump on Tuesday signed into law the Great American Outdoors Act, a measure with broad bipartisan support that guarantees maximum annual funding for a federal program to acquire and preserve land for public use."

"A lawsuit was filed Tuesday to stop the Trump administration from building a 211-mile-long industrial road that would cross Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve and the Kobuk Wild and Scenic River in Alaska."

"A botanist hired by a company planning to mine one of the most promising deposits of lithium in the world believes a rare desert wildflower at the Nevada site should be protected under the Endangered Species Act, a move that new documents show could jeopardize the project."

"More than 300 environmental groups are calling on senators to vote against President Trump’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), arguing William Perry Pendley should be disqualified because of his history of controversial comments and opposition to federal ownership of public lands."

"A 36,000-acre tract of lakes and forest in the Adirondacks is on the market for $180 million."

"House Democrats today [Friday] passed a $1.3 trillion spending package that puts them at odds with the Trump White House over Department of Energy funding priorities and would block permitting for the Pebble mine in Alaska."

"Thousands apply yearly to travel Montana’s Smith River. Now anglers, ranchers and conservationists fear for its future".