Natural Resources

"Ken Salazar, the secretary of the interior, announced on Thursday that he would not extend the lease of an oyster farm in the Point Reyes National Seashore in Northern California, allowing the estuary there to become a wilderness area."

"CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A longtime Massey Energy executive has agreed to cooperate with investigators as they continue to try to work their way up the corporate ladder in their probe of the worst U.S. coal-mining disaster in nearly 40 years, federal prosecutors revealed Wednesday."

"Republicans stopped Sen. Jon Tester's (D-Mont.) Sportsmen's Act dead in its tracks Monday evening."

"GARY -- The warming planet is affecting Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. From lower water levels in Lake Michigan to declining food sources for the endangered Karner Blue butterfly, climate change is having an impact on the national park."

"HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Patriot Coal has agreed to phase out mountaintop removal and other forms of strip mining, in a move Patriot officials say is in the best interests of their company, its employees and the communities where it operates."

"The presidential and congressional elections of last week brought good news for those who value sensible land conservation policies. But there was more good news on the state and local levels as well."

"TEMACAPULÍN, Mexico -- "'What do we stand to lose because of the dam? We will lose everything!' said Maria Abigail Agredani, a member of the committee for this indigenous community in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, reporting the damage that will be caused by the hydroelectric complex being built nearby."

"SALT LAKE CITY -- The U.S. Department of the Interior scaled back a Bush administration plan Friday to lease Western range lands for development of oil shale and tar sands, the unconventional sources of oil found in pockets of the Rocky Mountains."