Republicans say new rule would give the federal government too much authority over waterways and wetlands.
Politics
Prairie dog case challenges ESA
District judge rules ESA has no say over species that don’t have multi-state presence or economic impact.
EPA says fracking could contaminate drinking water
Feds identify no widespread problem but concede to insufficient data.
Senate approves major reform of the chemical safety law
The biggest bipartisan environmental legislation to pass the Senate in decades.
Southwest rain, Endangered Species Act, school-to-prison pipeline and more.
Hcn.org news in brief.
Senate considers legislation to help the West store and conserve water
Twelve Western states have declared drought emergencies.
More waterways likely protected under new EPA rule
The controversial Clean Water Act rule protects tributaries with any sign of water, no matter the flow.
Feds move to protect birds from oil pits and power lines
Planned regulations come as many Western migratory species experience steep declines.
Northwest tribes are a growing obstacle to energy development
B.C. tribal members turned down $260K each in order to stop a gas terminal.
John Podesta: Legacy maker
This Washington insider’s ‘hidden hand’ has guided the environmental achievements of presidents for two decades.
Still quiet at Canyons of the Ancients
Modest increases in visitation and infrastructure since this Colorado monument designation in 2000.
A timeline of the Antiquities Act
The presidential power tool for land conservation since Teddy Roosevelt.
On New Mexico’s Gila River, a contentious diversion gets the go-ahead
Questions remain of how much water it will yield and whether local farmers can afford to buy it.
Tesla powerplay, Sacramento Delta protections, Recapture Canyon protesters found guilty and more.
Hcn.org news in brief.
The Latest: A bill to open public land to Border Patrol
Sen. John McCain proposes more immediate access at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Wyoming trespass law is the latest in grazing battle
Questions remain over whether the bill prohibits certain data collection on federal land or just private and state.
Obama’s preemptive strike to reform Endangered Species Act
The administration’s proposal is aimed at warding off a GOP overhaul of the law.
The taxpayer money that fuels federal land transfer demands
How the behind-the-scenes lobby group American Lands Council gets funding.
Courts force feds to consider climate impacts of mining coal
A Colorado mine sees the latest in a string of rulings that may threaten the industry.
New border security bill would roll back public lands protections
Sen. John McCain’s proposal would give Border Patrol more immediate access to sensitive borderlands.
