Natural Resources

"Upstream mining has left a toxic legacy at the bottom of Coeur d’Alene Lake."

"A House panel yesterday [Wednesday] advanced legislation that would address two hot-button natural resources issues: mandatory funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and offshore drilling."

"The Wilderness Society is suing the Trump administration to try to force the release of documents on its decision to lift restrictions on mining upstream from the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota."

"Bills that would reduce the massive deferred maintenance backlog on public lands and establish mandatory funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, among others, are poised to advance tomorrow [Wednesday] in the House."

"Virginia's longtime ban on uranium mining will remain in place after the Supreme Court issued a splintered decision upholding the policy."

"A number of conservation groups are asking the Interior Department’s internal watchdog to investigate reports that political appointees are improperly interfering in the release of public records."

"Documents that the federal Environmental Protection Agency tried to keep confidential show that its staffers criticized how Minnesota regulators drafted a key permit for the planned PolyMet copper-nickel mine, and concluded that the permit would violate federal law because it lacked pollution limits based on the state’s water quality standards."

"The very first trail I step on is sand — and not just a dusting of the stuff either, but the soft, deep, undulating variety you’d expect to find near a beach. In honor of its designation in February as the 61st and newest national park, I’ve chosen to work my way across Indiana Dunes — formerly a national lakeshore — on a sunny Saturday in April, and picked West Beach as my starting point."

"President Jair Bolsonaro appears intent on decriminalizing Amazon deforestation, ending most fines, straitjacketing law enforcement, and gutting environmental agencies with mass firings."