Publication Items

Proposal Could Restrict Public Access to NOAA Fisheries Data

NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service is considering a rule which could restrict public access to important data on commercial fishing — and overfishing. This data includes federally required public records paid for by taxpayers. The watchdog group OMB Watch criticized the proposed rule's handling of confidential information

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Laws & Regulations
Fish & Fisheries
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Proposal Could Restrict Public Access to NOAA Fisheries Data
Journalists Detained at Texas Protest of Keystone XL Pipeline

The two New York Times journalists were working on private land with the permission of the landowner, near Winnsboro in northeast Texas, when they were detained, according to the online energy publication FuelFix. The 78-year-old owner of the land, who objects to the routing of the pipeline across it, was also arrested for trespassing on her own land.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media
Energy & Fuel
Activism
Region:
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Journalists Detained at Texas Protest of Keystone XL Pipeline
SPJ Publishes Useful Resource List for Access to Information

The list, recently published by the Society of Professional Journalists, includes items ranging from the FOIA letter generator from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press to Charles Davis' "The Art of Access" blog.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Government
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about SPJ Publishes Useful Resource List for Access to Information
EPA To Propose Downgrading Access to Annual Drinking Water Quality Reports?

Some utilities want to get rid of the requirement — substituting online notification, even for water customers who lack Internet connections. A legislative effort to ease the notification requirement failed in the Senate in summer 2012. Now EPA is starting procedures which might lead to doing the same thing by rulemaking. Deadline for comments is October 11, 2012.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans
Laws & Regulations
Government
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about EPA To Propose Downgrading Access to Annual Drinking Water Quality Reports?
Polar Bear Scientist Cleared; Interior Dept. Still Under Openness Cloud

Five years after wildlife biologist Charles Monnett's 2006 observations of dead polar bears, believed to have drowned because of disappearing Arctic ice, Interior started an investigation of Monnett's science. The findings — partially published September 28, 2012 — were confused and contained no findings of scientific misconduct.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Water & Oceans
Science
Government
Environmental Politics
Climate Change
Wildlife
Region:
Antarctica & Arctic
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Polar Bear Scientist Cleared; Interior Dept. Still Under Openness Cloud
Federal FOIA System Begins Evolving Via New Online Portal

While it still has a long way to go to reach its potential, the new "FOIAonline" web portal benefits environmental reporters now. Submit and track FOIA requests online to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Technology
Government
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Federal FOIA System Begins Evolving Via New Online Portal
Colin McDonald Puts Boots on the Ground

Nadia White interviews San Antonio Express-News reporter Colin McDonald, who's built his newspaper career at the intersection of environmental news and adventure writing.

SEJ Publication Types:
Inside Story
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media
Region:
Southwest (AZ NM OK TX)
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Colin McDonald Puts Boots on the Ground
SEJournal Summer/Fall 2012, Vol. 22 No. 2,3

In this issue: How Carson's Silent Spring shapes modern environmentalism; Florida's lost wildlife highways; an interview with San Antonio Express-News enviro-adventure reporter Colin McDonald; bridging the journalism/science divide; SEJ Awards winners; EPA's ECHO database, your two-faced best friend; and more.

SEJ Publication Types:
SEJournal Online
Topics on the Beat:
Chemicals
Climate Change
Pollution
Technology
Water & Oceans
Wildlife
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about SEJournal Summer/Fall 2012, Vol. 22 No. 2,3
Can You Find Local Stories in FAA Wildlife Strike Database?

Should passengers taking off from — or landing at — your local airport worry about bird strikes? You can find information leading to a few answers in the Federal Aviation Administration's online, searchable FAA Wildlife Strike Database.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Wildlife
Transportation
Disasters
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about Can You Find Local Stories in FAA Wildlife Strike Database?
More Secret CRS Backgrounders Written at Public Expense

The Congressional Research Service regularly produces objective and informative background material on matters of interest to environmental journalists. Because Congress refuses to release these reports to the public, the WatchDog links to leaked versions published by the Project on Government Secrecy of the Federation of American Scientists.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet
Topics on the Beat:
Government
Climate Change
Military
Transportation
Water & Oceans
Visibility:
Public
- Read more about More Secret CRS Backgrounders Written at Public Expense

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