"Democratic Gov. Tim Walz moved Tuesday to block mining near the pristine Boundary Waters in northern Minnesota, dealing a blow to Republican efforts that have sought to push forward a copper and nickel project in the region."
"The Trump administration plans to remove restrictions on logging across more than 40 million acres of national forest, the Agriculture Department said."
"A lone male roves the Arizona mountains, and a female has been spotted just across the border in Mexico. The sightings raise hopes for the species, despite serious threats."
"The Trump administration is defending a flood policy imposed by the Biden administration and supported by environmental groups against efforts by Republican-led states to overturn it in court."
"A proposal to expand hunting and fishing access within wildlife refuges advanced this week to the White House review stage." "The Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed opening 14 refuges to new hunting or sport fishing access."
"While we think of predators as being dangerous, an otherwise harmless deer meandering into the road is far more likely to take you out than a bear or a wolf or a mountain lion is to stalk and eat you. Occasional news stories about pumas (Puma concolor) might suggest that they are a significant threat to humans. They are not—only around 30 deaths have been recorded since official record-keeping began in 1868."
"Interior Department staffers were optimistic after Doug Burgum was confirmed to lead the agency in 2025... . But since he took over at Interior last year, that hope has been replaced by confusion and concern that the agency is poorly run, has devolved into secrecy and has lost thousands of the staff needed to manage the national park systems and millions of acres of public lands."
"The Trump administration plans to rescind an EPA rule requiring states to consider tribes’ rights to fish, hunt and gather wild plants when establishing water quality protections — a policy the administration argues went beyond the agency’s authority."
"Wandering gliders are descended from some of the earliest known insects – and breed as one global population. ... Whenever we see a dragonfly zipping through the airspace and devouring tiny insects with aplomb, we can appreciate they are so timelessly effective that they have barely needed to tweak their way of life in 200m years."
"President Trump has nominated a former White House official and Project 2025 author to be the Interior Department’s internal watchdog, a move that critics say could hurt the integrity of the office’s investigations."
