Natural Resources

"The Obama administration will announce on Friday a halt to new coal mining leases on public lands as it considers an overhaul of the program that could lead to increased costs for energy companies and a slowdown in extraction, according to an administration official."

"The Environmental Protection Agency’s internal watchdog has found no evidence of bias in the agency’s efforts to block a proposed gold mine from being built near Alaska’s Bristol Bay."

"This year marks the 100-year anniversary of the historic Migratory Bird Treaty. Environmentalists find much to celebrate, but challenges remain for migratory bird populations."

"The armed occupation of a wildlife refuge in southeastern Oregon has interrupted important habitat restoration work that must be completed before spring migration — when hundreds of thousands of birds descend on the area’s vast wetlands, conservationists and bird-watchers say."

"A group of armed protestors have taken control of a wildlife refuge in Oregon demanding public lands be privatized. A Colorado College poll released Monday says most voters in seven Western states don’t support their mission."

"BURNS, Ore. — Hundreds of residents crammed into a building at the Harney County Fairgrounds here on Wednesday night, far surpassing the capacity of the rows of brown metal folding chairs set up on a concrete floor, to talk in often deeply emotional terms about their community — and just who should be in charge of its destiny."

"Leading Republican presidential candidates are condemning the armed takeover of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon and distancing themselves from the gunmen."

"The Bundy family of Nevada joined with hard-core militiamen Saturday to take over the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, vowing to occupy the remote federal outpost 30 miles southeast of Burns [Oregon] for years."