department of interior

Feds to Sell Even More Public Land for Fracking Near Sacred Park

Feds to Sell Even More Public Land for Fracking Near Sacred Park

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is pushing ahead with the sale of oil and gas leases on land outside of Chaco Culture National Historical Park and other sites revered by Native American tribes, The Associated Press reported. The latest listing—which quietly appeared on the BLM website not long after the government reopened after […]

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    Report: Trump Admin. Suppressing Media Access of Government Scientists

    Report: Trump Admin. Suppressing Media Access of Government Scientists

    A new Trump administration protocol requires U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists to run interview requests with the Department of the Interior, its parent agency, before speaking to journalists, the Los Angeles Times reported. The move is a departure from past media practices that allowed government scientists to quickly respond to journalists’ inquiries, according to unnamed […]

    Feds Receive First Application to Explore ANWR for Oil

    Feds Receive First Application to Explore ANWR for Oil

    The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management office in Alaska received a plan to conduct extensive, 3-D seismic testing in search of oil on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) this winter. The plan—submitted by surveying services SAExploration, Inc. and its partners Arctic Slope Regional Corporation and the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation—is […]

    National Park Service Releases Climate Report That Officials Tried to Censor

    National Park Service Releases Climate Report That Officials Tried to Censor

    The National Parks Service (NPS) quietly released a long-delayed report that mentions humanity’s role in climate change, which officials had removed in earlier drafts. The report, published Friday without a press release or any social media activity from the parks department or Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, shows estimates of sea level change for 118 coastal […]

    National Parks Added $36 Billion to U.S. Economy Last Year

    National Parks Added $36 Billion to U.S. Economy Last Year

    As the nation observes National Park Week, the Interior Department released a report Wednesday touting that visits to national parks added $35.8 billion to the U.S. economy in 2017—a nearly $1 billion increase from the year prior—and supported 306,000 jobs. The National Park Service said more than 330 million visitors spent $18.2 billion in the […]

    Trump Admin Begins Process to Open Pristine Arctic Refuge for Drilling

    Trump Admin Begins Process to Open Pristine Arctic Refuge for Drilling

    The Interior Department has launched the process of holding lease sales for oil and gas drilling in the 1.6-million-acre coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Despite decades of fierce resistance from Democrats and conservation groups, pro-drilling Republicans were able to realize their goal of opening the refuge after quietly including the measure […]

    Zinke’s New Outdoor Recreation Panel Dominated by Industry Execs

    Zinke’s New Outdoor Recreation Panel Dominated by Industry Execs

    Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has assembled a new outdoor recreation advisory panel dominated by top executives from the industry. The 15-member “Made in America” Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee will advise Sec. Zinke on issues surrounding public lands. They include officials that represent fishing, shooting sports, motorized vehicles and hospitality as well as national park concessionaires. […]

    Trump Administration Sells Oil and Gas Leases Near Utah National Monuments

    Trump Administration Sells Oil and Gas Leases Near Utah National Monuments

    The Interior Department on Tuesday is auctioning off 32 parcels of public lands in southeastern Utah for oil and gas development. The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) lease sale includes more than 51,000 acres of land near Bears Ears—the national monument significantly scaled back by the Trump administration last year—as well as the Hovenweep and […]