Environment
Biden allocates $1B to prepare for wildfire, hurricane season
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is doubling the amount of federal funding to help states prepare for natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires, he announced Monday. His administration is directing $1 billion to the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which sends resources to communities, states, and tribal governments to prepare for extreme weather events. […]
How a plan to boost Kansas-Nebraska tourism got wrapped up in fears of a 30×30 ‘land-grab’
It started as a research project. University of Nebraska landscape architecture professor Kim Wilson asked her students in 2016 to brainstorm a way to increase tourism in Red Cloud, Neb., the childhood home of renowned writer Willa Cather, just north of the Kansas border. The class found that more than 255 historic sites dot the […]
Migratory bird protections to be permanently restored by Biden administration
The Interior Department plans to officially revoke a Trump-era rule that loosened enforcement of a longstanding law to protect migratory birds, the department said Thursday. The rule put in place by former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt barred government authorities from holding companies liable for environmental violations leading to the deaths of birds protected under the […]
Biden’s ‘30 by 30’ conservation plan urges collaboration with private landowners
The Biden administration plans to broadly define conservation and encourage private landowners to adopt sustainable practices to meet a goal of protecting 30% of the land and water in the U.S. by 2030, according to a multi-agency report published Thursday. The recommendations are short of the most aggressive federal directives congressional Republicans feared would be […]
Republicans lay out possible objections to Biden’s 30 by 30 conservation plan
Republicans on the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee on Tuesday previewed their objections to the Biden administration’s still-unreleased plan to conserve 30% of U.S. land and water by 2030. President Joe Biden created what is commonly called the “30 by 30 plan” in a Jan. 27 executive order, but the administration hasn’t released details about […]
New funding to curb wildfires pushed in Congress, as another fire season looms
WASHINGTON — As wildfires across the United States grow in size, intensity and duration each summer, members of Congress from the West are pushing for massive new investments in ecosystem management and wildfire mitigation. House lawmakers called for more attention to wildfire management and support for wildland firefighters at a hearing Thursday before a House […]
Republicans question legality, revenue impacts of Biden’s oil and gas leasing pause
Republicans on the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee excoriated the Biden administration’s pause of new oil and gas leasing at a hearing Tuesday, illustrating the political pressure the administration faces as it reviews federal energy development policy. Under intense questioning from Republicans about the revenue impacts, legality and duration of the leasing pause, […]
Biden taps Montana’s Tracy Stone-Manning to lead Bureau of Land Management
The White House said Thursday that President Joe Biden will nominate National Wildlife Federation executive Tracy Stone-Manning of Missoula to lead the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Stone-Manning became the senior adviser for conservation policy at the NWF after three years as associate vice president for public lands at the group. She’s also worked for […]
Haaland asks for federal funding for Interior to fight climate change, aid Native Americans
In her first congressional hearing as the leader of the Interior Department, Secretary Deb Haaland fielded questions from members of a U.S. House spending panel Tuesday on the major conservation and energy initiatives that President Joe Biden has outlined. She was noncommittal about some contentious and high-profile items of deep interest to Western states, like […]
Idaho works to find and remove “forever chemicals” in our water
When you pour a glass of water from your kitchen tap, you expect it to be clean. You expect it not to be contaminated with toxic “forever chemicals.” And if you live in Boise, your expectations are most likely true. If you live elsewhere in Idaho, your local water utility may or may not know […]
Montana conservationist to be tapped to head U.S. Bureau of Land Management
President Joe Biden intends to nominate National Wildlife Federation senior adviser and veteran Montana Democrat Tracy Stone-Manning to direct the Bureau of Land Management, an individual familiar with the process confirmed to States Newsroom on Wednesday. Stone-Manning joined the NWF as associate vice president for public lands in 2017 and was promoted to senior adviser […]
Idaho legislators hold hearing on redrawing state border to take in Oregon counties
Two of the Idaho Legislature’s committees teamed up Monday for a joint hearing over a longshot proposal to redraw Oregon’s border so that about 20 rural Oregon counties would become part of Idaho. There was no bill, budget or formal proposal to act on. But the House Environment, Energy and Transportation Committee and the Senate […]