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Judge unfreezes lawsuits filed over downsizing of Utah monuments
A federal judge ruled that two lawsuits challenging President Donald Trump’s rollbacks of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments in Utah can proceed. District Judge Tanya Chutkan reopened cases originally filed in 2017 by environmental groups and Tribal entities to oppose President Donald Trump’s downsizing of both national monuments during his first term. Judge Chutkan put the case on hold after President Joe Biden restored the […]
Read MoreFederal judge blocks bid to relocate Forest Service HQ to Utah
A federal judge has issued a preliminary ruling blocking the Trump administration from moving the U.S. Forest Service’s headquarters from Washington, D.C., to Salt Lake City, Utah. U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria signed an order Tuesday granting a stay on the move. “Congress did not contemplate USDA using its appropriated funds to shut down offices or relocate employees,” Chhabria wrote. “To the contrary, […]
Read MoreColorado’s fight to save ponderosas from existential threat of pine beetles
A historic drought and the ongoing impacts of climate change have opened the door for a tiny beetle to threaten more than 600,000 acres of ponderosa pine forest across Colorado. “We anticipate there to be anywhere from twice as much, to three times as much, activity as we saw last year,” said Dan West, an entomologist with the […]
Read MoreJudge halts Trump’s tree demolition at D.C. golf course
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes presided over an unusual holiday hearing on Monday that stretched to almost four hours following the Trump administration’s actions to cut down hundreds of trees at the East Potomac golf course in Washington, D.C. over the weekend. The administration provided just a few hours advance notice to the court before moving ahead with a […]
Read MoreTrump exempts Arctic winter oil and gas drilling from environmental review
The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will exempt winter oil and gas drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska from the environmental reviews normally required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The Interior department is using a categorical exclusion, which is supposed to be used for activities that have no significant impact on the environment. The […]
Read MoreInside Utah’s bid to become the country’s next nuclear hub
Aaron and Kate talk to Lexi Tuddenham, executive director of HEAL Utah, about Utah’s push to promote nuclear development and how it intersects with public lands. We also cover the Roadless Rule comment period results and a sketchy-sounding proposal to build over 450 nuclear reactors in Utah to power data centers on public lands. News […]
Read MoreAnalysis: 99.1 percent of public comments oppose Roadless Rule repeal
A new analysis by the Center for Western Priorities found that 99.1 percent of the 370,238 public comments posted on the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule oppose the Trump administration’s plan. The comment period closed October 6. The 2001 Roadless Rule prohibits most road construction and commercial logging on […]
Read MoreSTATEMENT: New analysis finds 99.1 percent of public comments oppose repealing the Roadless Rule
DENVER—A new analysis by the Center for Western Priorities found that 99.1 percent of the 370,238 public comments posted on the U.S. Forest Service’s (USFS) proposal to rescind the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule oppose the Trump administration’s plan. The comment period closed October 6. The 2001 Roadless Rule prohibits most road construction and commercial […]
Read MoreAbandoned mines ‘a constant problem’ across the West
An investigation by ABC News has shed new light on the problem of abandoned mines in the Western U.S. and across the country. The investigation compiled records from the Office of Surface Mine Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE), part of the Department of the Interior, to create an interactive map of more than 230,000 documented abandoned mine sites. Many of […]
Read MoreArrests made as Border Patrol cuts down iconic tree to clear way for border wall
On Monday, contractors knocked down an iconic “grandmother” cottonwood tree on federal land in the San Rafael Valley near Lochiel, Arizona to clear the way for border wall construction. Armed Border Patrol agents cleared an encampment of about 50 people who had gathered to try to protect the cottonwood after three others had already been felled. All […]
Read MoreSupreme Court to open term with Colorado climate lawsuit
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court will open its new term with a major climate lawsuit brought by Boulder, Colorado as its first case. In 2018, the city and county of Boulder sued ExxonMobil and Suncor, alleging that the companies misled the public about their climate impacts, in violation of Colorado state law. The Supreme Court […]
Read MoreChiricahua positioned to become Arizona’s newest national park
Arizona is one signature away from its fourth national park. The Senate passed a bill by unanimous consent Wednesday to redesignate Chiricahua National Monument as a national park and sent it to President Trump’s desk. The bill was sponsored by U.S. Representative Juan Ciscomani and U.S. Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego. It leaves the […]
Read MoreSTATEMENT: New map shows 1,492 national park projects put on a “low priority” list
DENVER—Earlier this year, National Park Service headquarters in Washington shifted about 1,500 projects, many already approved, to a new “low priority” list, the Associated Press reported in August. The projects span more than 200 sites and carry a combined cost estimate of more than $400 million. Park Service employees “were told to not expect anything on the […]
Read MoreMAP: The national park projects the Trump administration labeled “low priority”
Earlier this year, National Park Service headquarters in Washington shifted about 1,500 projects, many already approved, to a new “low priority” list, the Associated Press reported in August. The projects span more than 200 sites and carry a combined cost estimate of more than $400 million. Park Service employees “were told to not expect anything […]
Read MoreNuclear startup plans hundreds of reactors on Utah public land
Valar Atomics, a nuclear startup, is planning to place 456 small nuclear reactors on more than 9,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land near Price, Utah, according to documents reviewed by NPR. The company calls the proposal “Project Beehive.” In addition to the reactors, the site would include data centers, a facility to make […]
Read MoreArizona tour company sues Trump admin over nonresident park fees
An Arizona tour company is suing the Trump administration over higher national park fees for people who don’t live in the United States, arguing the policy goes beyond the administration’s legal authority. Under the Trump administration’s policy, nonresidents are charged an additional $100 per person at some of the nation’s most-visited national parks, and nonresident […]
Read MoreBurgum considers building MLB ballpark in Grand Teton National Park
The Trump administration has scouted sites inside Grand Teton National Park to build a Major League Baseball field, the Washington Post reported Saturday, after MLB asked about staging a regular-season game in a national park. National Park Service Deputy Director Frank Lands toured three potential locations, including one the Post described as “already disturbed land.” WyoFile, […]
Read MoreSTATEMENT: The National Park Service’s hare-brained plan to put a MLB ballpark in Grand Teton National Park
We can’t afford to let Grand Teton become Doug Burgum’s single-use sandlot.
Read MoreDeveloper withdraws proposal for data center & natural gas plant on BLM land
The company proposing a data center and natural gas plant on federal land near Henderson, Nevada has withdrawn its proposal. The 1,000-megawatt data center could have been one of the state’s most energy-intensive, using enough energy to power between 700,000 and 1 million homes, according to NV Energy. In a statement, the developer said it consulted with the […]
Read MoreCommenters overwhelmingly reject Forest Service travel rule rewrite
Ninety-nine percent of public comments on the Trump administration’s plan to rewrite the Forest Service’s Travel Management Rule oppose the change, according to a new analysis from the Center for Western Priorities. Of the 134,312 comments submitted before the comment period closed on Wednesday, just 0.4 percent supported the revision, and nearly a third of […]
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