Without agency approval, the Delta tunnels deal can’t proceed — but conflicting statements make next steps uncertain.
Department of Interior
Posted inArticles
Six bills that weaken species protections move in Congress
Lawmakers shift the focus to politics, not science, as a deciding factor of designation.
Posted inArticles
Senate opens a path to drill the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
However, several more steps would have to happen for drilling to be authorized.
Posted inArticles
Trump’s BLM removes a hurdle for controversial Cadiz project
The Mojave Desert project moves forward without typical environmental review.
Posted inArticles
National Park Service survey finds widespread harassment
After survey finds 1 in 10 employees report sexual harassment, agency promises action.
Posted inArticles
The battle over Alaska refuge oil reignites under Trump
Will Congress break its stalemate on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge?
Posted inArticles
19 Western species won’t receive federal protections
The animals range from minuscule Nevada mollusks to dwindling Pacific walruses.
Posted inNovember 27, 2017: Profit and Politics
The Navajo Nation has a wild horse problem
The population is exploding, but the tribe doesn’t have funding to manage it.
Posted inNovember 27, 2017: Profit and Politics
What drove an Interior whistleblower to dissent?
Climate change official Joel Clement was one of the few current staffers to speak out.
Posted inOctober 2, 2017: Following Ancient Footsteps
Laundry at Old Faithful; Death Cafés; Dumpsters in the wind
Mishaps and mayhem from around the region.
Posted inArticles
RV industry lobbies to privatize services on public lands
And they have found an ally in Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
Posted inOctober 2, 2017: Following Ancient Footsteps
Public land is the essence of freedom
A hunter reflects on the gut-level connection she has to the public land she traverses.
Posted inArticles
What is the Department of the Interior?
The Department of the Interior protects and manages the United States’ natural and cultural resources. This executive branch department is made up of 10 agencies that oversee federal public-land management on roughly 500 million acres, largely in the West. These include the National Park Service, responsible for national parks and some national monuments, and the […]
Posted inArticles
Coal. Guns. Freedom?
How the Trump administration has seized mythologies around coal.
Posted inOctober 2, 2017: Following Ancient Footsteps
Latest: Park Service to cull part of Grand Canyon’s bison herd
The burgeoning North Rim population threatens vegetation, water and cultural sites.
Posted inArticles
In monuments report, a skewed view of protections
Under the Antiquities Act, landscapes like the Grand Canyon count as ‘objects’ that can be protected.
Posted inArticles
These six Western monuments face reductions
See photos of the landscapes singled out in the Interior Department’s recommendations.
Posted inArticles
Key stories for understanding the monuments debate
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has advised Trump to modify 10 national monuments.
Posted inArticles
Zinke’s fire memo calls for aggressive forest thinning
The policy ignores major drivers of Western fire: weather and climate change.
Posted inOctober 2, 2017: Following Ancient Footsteps
Sally Jewell defends Interior Department legacy
As Obama’s policies are rolled back, his last Interior secretary reviews what’s at stake.