House Democrats are demanding an ethics probe into the high-ranking Interior appointee over her financial ties to the massive Thacker Pass lithium mine.
Mining
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Alaska’s public lands are a political battleground
The first year of the second Trump administration saw a bewildering array of federal actions in the 49th state. Here’s your guide to where things now stand.
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Top Interior Department official has ties to Thacker Pass lithium mine
Karen Budd-Falen’s family ranching operation agreed to sell water rights to the company developing the controversial Nevada lithium project.
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The nation’s energy dominance falters
Trump is killing clean energy, and it’s not even helping fossil fuels.
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Trump looks to suffocate public lands
The administration and Congress divert funds away from conservation.
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Court delays land transfer that would enable copper mine at Oak Flat
The Western Apache and a coalition of environmental groups have fought for years against the Resolution Copper mine, which would become one of the country’s largest at the cost of a site revered by the tribe.
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Law enforcement surveilled Nevada lithium mine protesters, according to records
Activists opposed to the Thacker Pass mine were ‘under the microscope’ for years.
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A proposed Utah uranium mine gets the Trump treatment
Feds approve contested facility in just 11 days.
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At U.N., mining groups tout protections for Indigenous people
Even as Oak Flat moves ahead, the mining industry commits to voluntary guidelines to consult with communities.
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A return to the fight against Alaska’s Ambler Road
Alaska Native tribes and activists will use previous momentum to try and keep a road from being built through caribou migratory paths, subsistence harvest areas and remote Indigenous land.
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The indomitable Butte, Montana
The misunderstood, often-maligned mining town helps itself.
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Contamination threatens the last source of clean groundwater in west New Mexico
The toxic legacy of Cold War uranium mining and milling has shattered lives, destroyed homes and created a pollution problem for an entire region.
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Poll finds majority of Westerners support climate action and conservation
Colorado College’s annual survey included residents of 8 Western states, the majority of whom identified as politically conservative or moderate.
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The beautiful and awful Butte, Montana
The indelible history of mining poisons a town yet extracts something new.
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Our imperiled public lands
President-elect Trump, a Republican-dominated Congress and Utah launch an all-out assault on environmental protection.
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How Utah’s Christmas Festival has buoyed a changing coal community
Thirty-five years ago, Helper was nearly a ghost town. Now, art and tourism are providing new paths forward.
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2024 set the stage for clean energy on public lands
Thanks to Biden administration policies, the momentum behind the energy transition could be hard to stall.
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Utah’s coal mines can’t find enough workers
A mine just reopened in eastern Utah, but the industry has changed.
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Beautiful Bears Ears is at risk, again
What are the consequences for the land if the incoming president shrinks the national monument?
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Resource production or preservation? Election puts Alaska lands on the line
From oil in the Arctic to the Ambler Road, Alaska’s resource and conservation battles await a new administration’s fate, affecting communities, ecosystems and industries alike.