Environment
U.S. Senate to vote on Montana’s Tracy Stone-Manning as public lands chief
The U.S. Senate is set to vote as soon as Thursday on the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning, a conservation advocate and former top aide to Montana Democrats, to lead the Bureau of Land Management, putting the end to her contentious confirmation process in sight. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed cloture on Stone-Manning’s nomination, setting […]
Idaho Legislature’s interim committee begins process of appraising federal lands
The Idaho Legislature’s Committee on Federalism shifted gears Tuesday and hardly mentioned President Joe Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine and testing rules for employers. Instead, the committee talked about federal lands, Biden’s America the Beautiful conservation plan, unemployment benefits and refugee settlement in Idaho. The 10-member committee, which includes eight Republicans and two Democrats, convened Sept. 22 […]
U.S. House Dems pass $28.6B in disaster aid for recovery from hurricanes, wildfires, floods
WASHINGTON — Congressional Democrats unveiled a short-term spending measure on Tuesday that would keep the federal government operating through Dec. 3 and provide $28.6 billion for costs related to recent natural disasters. The bill was passed by the House on a party-line vote Tuesday night, 220-211. But it faces a battle in the evenly divided Senate, […]
Biden administration to move BLM headquarters back to D.C. from Grand Junction
President Joe Biden’s administration announced on Friday that it would return the headquarters of the Bureau of Land Management to Washington, D.C., reversing a controversial decision by the Trump administration — with the support of a bipartisan array of Colorado political leaders — to relocate the office to Grand Junction. The BLM’s Grand Junction office […]
How the House reconciliation bill targets 4 local plans for oil and gas leasing, mining
Proposals targeting specific areas for conservation in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and federal waters off Louisiana’s coast made their way into the gigantic budget reconciliation bill that Democrats are moving through Congress. The portion of the $3.5 trillion package approved on a party-line vote by the House Natural Resources Committee last week includes nationwide measures […]
President Biden in Boise: U.S. can’t ignore drastic consequences of climate change
During his first presidential visit to Idaho, President Joe Biden on Monday said the drastic consequences of climate change have created a need for additional investments in disaster relief and support for wildland firefighters and programs. “We can’t continue to try to ignore reality,” Biden said during a meeting at the National Interagency Fire Center […]
Here are the four big climate items in the reconciliation bill in Congress
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee late Thursday approved its first piece of Democrats’ sweeping $3.5 trillion spending blueprint on a party-line 24-13 vote. Among the highest priorities for President Joe Biden in the plan was addressing climate change, and the panel included initiatives ranging from oil and gas reform to offshore wind ventures. The […]
Recreation tips: How to keep our popular South Fork Boise River corridor clean and beautiful
The South Fork of the Boise River is a scenic and popular place to go fishing, camping and whitewater rafting. It’s got a blue-ribbon rainbow trout fishery, lots of camp sites, and a challenging whitewater canyon. With a steady stream of new people moving into the greater Boise area, public use is increasing in the […]
White House seeks at least $24B to aid states struck by hurricanes, wildfires
WASHINGTON — The White House is urging Congress to approve at least $24 billion — and likely more — for disaster relief costs, saying that the aid should be included in a short-term spending bill expected this month. That tally includes $14 billion for recovery costs related to extreme weather events including hurricanes, floods and wildfires during […]
Bureau of Land Management seeks public comment on Twin Falls-area wind farm proposal
Bureau of Land Management officials are hosting two webinars in early September to get the public’s feedback on a proposed wind farm to be located outside of Twin Falls. The proposed Lava Ridge Wind Energy Project would include up to 400 turbines and seven new substations situated on public lands about 25 miles northeast of […]
Biden administration to restart oil and gas leasing
The Interior Department will make significant steps toward restarting its leasing programs for onshore and offshore oil and gas development in the coming months, the Biden administration said in a court filing Tuesday. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management anticipates holding a sale for offshore leases in October or November, the administration said. The Bureau […]
The content of Simpson’s salmon plan has been at forefront. But its character may matter even more.
Editor’s note: This piece includes numbered footnotes (*1, *2, *3, etc.) to maintain the structural integrity of the guest columnist’s original work. You can find the corresponding information at the end of this column. The beat goes on to salmon extinction in Idaho and northeast Oregon. New evidence is constant. A few Snake River sockeye […]