Natural Resources

"Previously accused of sabotaging the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, Steven Gardner is now likely to be its next chief."

"Three former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrators who served under Republican presidents came out against a proposed gold and copper mine in Alaska on Tuesday."

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit on Tuesday upheld a 20-year ban on uranium mining around Grand Canyon National Park but ruled in a separate case that a uranium company could open a mine nearby."

"When environmentalists press for the removal of river-choking old dams, George Howard can smell the money."

"Will Badlands National Park have enough forage in the future for its bison herds? Can the Wind River Reservation manage tribal water storage to account for the fact that snow now melts earlier? Could flash droughts be predicted more accurately, such as the one that Montana experienced last summer that led to one of the worst ever wildfire seasons in the state?"

"The man President Trump picked to regulate coal believes that mining is simply 'accelerated erosion.'"

"A uranium company launched a concerted lobbying campaign to scale back Bears Ears National Monument, saying such action would give it easier access to the area’s uranium deposits and help it operate a nearby processing mill, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post."

"The head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is seeking a 30-day extension in the agency’s timeline to consider a proposal to prop up coal and nuclear power plants."

"The company says Donald Trump is exceeding the powers of his office by enacting the largest removal of protection from federal lands in history".

"Republicans have little room for dissension as they debate a plan to overhaul the nation’s tax system, and the Senate wooed Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski by including a provision that allows oil exploration in a portion of Alaska’s North Slope. That doesn’t sit well with some moderate House Republicans, including Miami Rep. Carlos Curbelo."