Environment
U.S. House plan for new mining royalties draws objections from Western senators
U.S. senators of both parties at a hearing Tuesday rejected House Democrats’ plans to impose billions of dollars in royalties and other fees on companies that mine for gold, copper, lithium and other minerals, largely in Southwestern states. Among the opponents was Nevada Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, who said she objected to the House proposal […]
North American Grasslands Conservation Act would fund restoration, conservation of Idaho’s habitats
The “sagebrush sea” is synonymous with the iconic wide-open landscapes of the American West. This drab, gray-green member of the sunflower family was once ubiquitous across much of Idaho. What may look like a lifeless desert actually supports over 350 plant and animal species. A common phrase often uttered by developers, farmers, hunters and even […]
Wildfire smoke is here to stay. Here’s how to clean the air inside your home.
The fierce wildfires that broke out across much of the western United States this summer, spreading smoke across hundreds of miles, continue to pose a serious health hazard to millions. More are expected this fall. That’s a major health concern because microscopic particles in wildfire smoke, carried by the wind, can penetrate deep into your […]
U.S. Senate confirms Stone-Manning as public lands chief without GOP support
The U.S. Senate voted along party lines Thursday night to make Tracy Stone-Manning the first confirmed director of the Bureau of Land Management since the Obama administration. The vote, 50-45, ended a contentious confirmation process for Stone-Manning, a senior adviser for conservation policy at the National Wildlife Federation who served as chief of staff to […]
‘Wildfire year’ meant record days at the highest preparedness level, Forest Service chief says
The U.S. Forest Service spent more consecutive days this summer at the agency’s highest level of preparedness for wildfires than in any previous year, Forest Service Chief Randy Moore told a U.S. House subcommittee Wednesday. Moore’s comments reflected the growing danger from more intense and harder-to -control fires that have swept Western and Midwestern states […]
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 […]