"Plan To Protect ‘Ghost Fleet’ On Potomac River Hits Rough Water"
"Watermen fear creating Mallows Bay national marine sanctuary could hurt their livelihood, despite assurances".
Source: Bay Journal, 03/22/2017
Natural Resources
Farm Policy in Age of Climate Change Creating Another Dust Bowl: Critics
"Over the past decade, farmers in the Great Southern Plains have suffered the worst drought conditions since the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. They've battled heat, dust storms and in recent weeks, fires that devoured more than 900,000 acres and killed thousands of cattle. These extreme conditions are being fueled by climate change. But a new report from an environmental advocacy group says they're also being driven by federal crop insurance policy that encourages farmers to continue planting crops on compromised land, year after year."
Source: InsideClimate News, 03/22/2017
Push To Undo Obama’s Monument Designations Hits An Obstacle: The Law
"Powerful Republican congressmen and governors are pressing President Donald Trump to take an unprecedented step: Reverse his predecessor’s creation of several national monuments under a law that dates back to Theodore Roosevelt. No president has ever attempted such a reversal, and legal experts doubt it could succeed."
Source: McClatchy, 03/22/2017
Between the Lines: As Rules Change for Journalists, Room Remains for Determined Voice
Energy writer Andrew Nikiforuk talks with SEJournal's Between the Lines editor about his book “Slick Water: Fracking and One Insider’s Stand Against the World’s Most Powerful Industry.” The SEJ award-winning text follows the seven-year saga of a longtime oil patch consultant-turned-whistleblower.
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"Interior: Trump Budget Calls For 12% Cut"
"The Interior Department would see a 12 percent cut to its overall budget in fiscal 2018 under President Trump's proposal unveiled today."
Source: Greenwire, 03/17/2017
"President's Budget Proposal Viewed As Overly Harsh For National Parks"
"President Trump's proposed budget for Fiscal 2018 was roundly criticized Thursday by the nation's environmental and conservation community, which said not only that it would "undermine" and be a "disinvestment" in public lands, but could lead to operational reductions across the National Park System. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, however, said it represents a "savings" for taxpayers."
Source: National Parks Traveler, 03/17/2017
"WV Senate Bill Eliminates Mine Safety Enforcement"
"State safety inspectors wouldn’t inspect West Virginia’s coal mines anymore. They would conduct 'compliance visits and education.'"
Source: Charleston Gazette-Mail, 03/16/2017
EPA Budget Cuts Threaten a Program Near You
As the Trump administration proposes big cuts at environmental agencies like the U.S. EPA, the latest TipSheet explores how to dig up local angles from the budget action. Examples: Tracking changes at EPA regional offices and labs, at Superfund or at state revolving funds for clean water and safe drinking water programs.
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"Water Rights: Landmark Ruling Lets Tribe Tap Calif. Aquifer"
"A Native American tribe has a legal right to groundwater in Southern California's arid Coachella Valley, a 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled yesterday."
Source: Greenwire, 03/09/2017
"Senate To Consider Resolution Rolling Back Obama-Era Land Rule"
"The Senate is set to roll back another Obama-era environment rule this week. Senators on Monday will begin the process of repealing a Bureau of Land Management rule to reorganize the government’s land planning and management guidelines."
Source: The Hill, 03/07/2017
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