Natural Resources

"A mountain in New Zealand considered an ancestor by Indigenous people was recognized as a legal person on Thursday after a new law granted it all the rights and responsibilities of a human being."

"A federal appeals court on Thursday restored a U.S. agency rule restricting lobster and Jonah crab fishing off the Massachusetts coast to protect endangered whales, rejecting a claim that the agency did not deserve deference under a recent landmark Supreme Court case."

"The Senate confirmed former North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum as Interior Secretary Thursday in a 79-18 vote, with the majority of Senate Democrats joining every Republican in the chamber."

"A new strain of bird flu — H5N9 — has been detected in California’s Merced County at a commercial duck operation."

"Shipments of uranium ore from a revived mining operation just south of the Grand Canyon are expected to resume in February after the Navajo Nation reached a settlement with the mining company, clearing the way for trucks to transport the ore across the largest Native American reservation in the U.S."

"President Trump’s pick to lead the Commerce Department assured senators on Wednesday he won’t try to dismantle the nation’s climate, oceans and weather science agency during a largely genial confirmation hearing."

"Over the past month, the popular Black Sea resort beaches of Russia’s Krasnodar region have been transformed into a scene out of a dystopian sci-fi film, with thousands of workers in white hazmat suits swarming the blackened coast amid dead birds and dolphins."

"One of 17 government watchdogs ousted by President Trump said that the move was “a potentially existential threat” to a crucial government oversight tool."

"Climate change, drought, and fires — all caused or worsened by human activity — are rewriting the future of ancient Sonoran saguaros."