15 States Get More Federal Recreational Trails
The National Trails system, already stretching more than 12,500 miles, expands with the addition of 31 more trails totalling 716 miles.
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Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)
BLM Tweaks Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Policies
The changes affect only new drilling areas and may include greater consideration of environmental impacts, more public review, fewer "categorical exclusions" from environmental review, and more.
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Texas Gas Pipeline Explosion Kills One
"A natural gas explosion in north Texas killed one member of a crew installing utility poles, and authorities were trying to figure out if the gas line had been marked before digging started."
Source: AP, 06/08/2010
Bush EPA Suppressed NM Waste Records To Sidestep FOIA
EPA Region 6 officials deliberately stopped creating written records related to their oversight of a New Mexico waste facility in order to thwart Freedom of Information Act requests from a citizens' group, according to an EPA Inspector General's report.
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Russian Olives and Tamarisk Get A Little Federal Love
A new report by the US Geological Survey, Bureau of Reclamation, US Forest Service, other federal agencies, and university experts says the water-hogging reputation of the two species has little merit, but found that effects on wildlife are mixed.
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"Cross at Center of Legal Dispute Disappears"
"A seven-foot-tall Latin cross in the middle of both the Mojave Desert and a Supreme Court case on the separation of church and state has been stolen, federal officials said Tuesday."
Source: NYTimes, 05/12/2010
Gulfbase
An excellent collection of resources about the Gulf of Mexico, including several searchable databases. Una colección vasta de recursos sobre el Golfo de México; incluye bases de datos accesibles sobre: México, Centroamérica y el Caribe, Sureste de Estados Unidos, Suroeste de Estados Unidos (solo en inglés).
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Mines in 21 States Outed for Habitual Safety Violations
The 48 mines are also linked by the fact that most of their owners have been legally delaying action on the violations through appeals of the citations. The Mine Safety and Health Administration is faced with a backlog of approximately 16,000 appeals.
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"Albuquerque Sees No Let Up In Pollen Despite Law"
"When you combine Albuquerque's few trees with the city's hot, dry and often windy weather, it could mean big problems for allergy sufferers. This despite a 1994 pollen-control ordinance that bars residents from planting certain types of trees."
Source: NPR, 04/21/2010
"Navajo Nation Stands by Power Plant Despite Snags"
"FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The challenges facing a proposed coal-fired power plant on the country's largest Indian reservation are stark: the withdrawal of a key federal permit, no secured customer or transmission line, and uncertainty over the future of climate change.
The Navajo Nation acknowledges the challenges, but both the tribe and its partner in building the $3 billion, 1,500-megawatt Desert Rock Energy Project say they are committed to moving forward. Environmentalists who have fought the project contend it will be nearly impossible to do so."
Source: AP, 04/02/2010
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