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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 […]
Florida advocate picked to oversee U.S. parks and wildlife pledges commitment to conservation
Florida’s Shannon Estenoz, tapped by President Joe Biden to oversee management of U.S. wildlife and parks, on Wednesday repeated the administration’s promises to increase access to outdoor recreation, use conservation for job creation and collaborate with states and private landowners. Asked by members of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at her confirmation […]
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 central […]
No details yet on Biden conservation plan, but Republicans slam it as a ‘land grab’
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 how […]
Senate Republicans rip into Biden’s oil and gas leasing pause
Republicans on the U.S. Senate Energy & 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, […]
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 […]
Congressional panel splits on regulation of ‘orphaned’ oil and gas wells
Members of a U.S. House Natural Resources panel have agreed on the need to clean up and cap abandoned oil and gas wells, but disagreed along party lines about the extent of the federal government’s role in well regulation. The Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee hearing was held Thursday to consider a bill introduced by […]
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 Wednesday. Stone-Manning joined the NWF as associate vice president for public lands in 2017 and was promoted to senior adviser for […]
Biden’s budget aims to fight climate change, promote conservation, aid Native Americans
President Joe Biden’s first budget request laid out this week reflects the administration’s commitments to advancing conservation and combating climate change, proposing new money across federal agencies to address those issues. Like most domestic programs in Biden’s overall $1.5 trillion budget proposal for fiscal 2022, the recommendations for increased spending on conservation and climate goals […]
Biden administration mum so far on returning gray wolves to endangered species list
A controversial decision in the last months of the Trump administration to remove gray wolves from the endangered species list led to a massive overhunt in Wisconsin this year that Ojibwe tribal representatives said disrespected their wishes. But there’s no indication yet that the Biden administration will attempt to roll back that move, despite an order the […]
Biden pairs ‘down payment’ on climate crisis with rebuilding infrastructure
President Joe Biden’s sprawling $2 trillion infrastructure and jobs proposal includes significant spending to address climate change, providing what conservationists say is an important “down payment” to address the crisis. A 25-page outline released Wednesday calls for $10 billion for a Civilian Climate Corps, $16 billion for capping abandoned wells and cleaning up abandoned mines, […]