"A sweeping plan, carefully vetted on the Olympic Peninsula, would designate 126,000 acres of mountains and forests on the peninsula as wilderness and protect 19 streams under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act."
"Steelhead trout numbers are growing on the Carmel River, a potential model for other dam removal projects nationwide".
"Millions of tourists will head out into America’s national parks this summer in search of fresh mountain air. But according to a new report they should instead expect dangerous levels of pollution; roughly 96% of the nation’s parks are struggling with significant air quality issues."
"After a long legal battle and a surprising loss in a lower court last year, green groups are celebrating their successful appeal of oil and gas drilling near New Mexico's sensitive Chaco Canyon area."
The leasing of public lands to drill for oil and gas may seem a labyrinthine topic. But it could be time to get wonky and, ahem, drill down on it, as the politics of 2020 bring the controversial practice to the fore. The latest Backgrounder helps get you up to speed on the story.
Happen to have any air breathers in your audience? Then the latest State of the Air Report will give you fodder to cover the persistent pollution problems that plague the skies. This week’s TipSheet has the backstory on the fight against air pollution and five smart ways to tell the story from a local-regional context.
"The governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, signed legislation Friday designed to address decades-long disputes in his state over who gets access to the state's beaches and waterfronts."
"Democrats are embracing a once-fringe demand that could cut emissions at the scale of the Obama administration's biggest climate policies. A growing number of presidential candidates want to lock down the vast fossil fuel deposits sitting beneath federally owned lands and waters."
"State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard has put a halt to new oil and gas leasing on some 73,000 acres of state trust land near the Chaco Culture National Historic Park in Northwest New Mexico, saying the move will help protect archaeological and cultural resources of the state’s pueblos and tribes."
