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Read the full story in The Hill» The release of internal documents sought by The Hill related to the replacement last year of Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Dan Wenk were delayed by the Interior Department under a new rule that gives political appointees more say over what is released. Interior political officials held back the release of […]
Continue ReadingRead the full story in The Hill» The number of criminal environmental enforcement cases brought by the Interior Department has decreased by nearly 40 percent since 2016, according to internal data shared with The Hill. Criminal environmental cases that often deal with unlicensed big-game hunting, illegal drug running, or oil and gas theft have all dropped […]
Continue ReadingRead the full story in The Hill» The National Park Service (NPS) plans to pay the salaries of full-time staff from the money it collects from entrance fees, a move that is likely to enrage Democratic lawmakers who chastised the agency for dipping into the coffers to keep parks open during this year’s partial government […]
Continue ReadingRead the full story in The Hill» The Trump administration on Thursday announced final plans to ease oil and gas drilling rules that were originally established as a response to the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The move will remove some of the safety mandates placed on the oil and gas industry under former President […]
Continue ReadingRead the full story in The Hill»President Trump on Friday signed a presidential permit to jump-start construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline with a facility in Montana, a move seen as a way to circumvent previous court orders halting development. The permit authorizes energy company TransCanada Corp. to “construct, connect, operate, and maintain” pipeline facilities between the U.S. […]
Continue ReadingRead the full story in The Hill» A federal judge late Tuesday temporarily blocked oil and gas drilling on thousands of acres of public land in Wyoming, ruling that the Trump administration failed to “sufficiently consider climate change.” The decision by Judge Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that the U.S. […]
Continue ReadingRead the full story in The Hill» An internal email sent to National Park Service (NPS) staff reveals for the first time that the parks lost between $10 million and $11 million during the 35-day partial government shutdown, which left a number of popular parks open but furloughed most rangers and staff. The email strongly […]
Continue ReadingRead the full story in The Hill» A new Interior Department rule could make it harder for news organizations and nonprofits to get public information from the government. Filed to the Federal Register between Christmas and New Year’s Day on Friday, the suggested rule would change the way the agency must file Freedom of Information […]
Continue ReadingRead the full story in The Hill» A Trump political appointee previously working at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will soon take over as the head inspector general (IG) overseeing investigations at the Interior Department, according to an internal email first obtained by The Hill. Suzanne Israel Tufts will take over as […]
Continue ReadingRead the full story in The Hill» The Trump administration is abruptly ending a decades-long program that trained national wildlife refuge managers with law enforcement capabilities to police often remote spots of public land. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) announced to employees on Sept. 21 that refuge managers who were also trained to police […]
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