Got Corruption? Data on State Lawmaker Conflicts Hard To Get

July 11, 2012–A large and diverse array of businesses have an interest in the environmental and energy laws that state legislatures consider: including coal, oil, plastics, chemicals, mining, forest products, and others. The possible financial stake lawmakers may have in the bills before them is fertile ground for investigation. Here's help in finding story ideas.

Global Talks Offer Chance To Improve US Extractive Industries Transparency

April 4, 2012–An initiative involving some 35 nations aims to solve many complex revenue-reporting problems, including improving the flow of information across national borders. But solutions can't even begin until individual nations get a grip on accurate data about extractive industries within their own borders. The results could illuminate key environmental policy issues.

USFS Offers Climate Change Bird Atlas

February 15, 2012–The atlas — a database actually — is based partly on climate-related changes in tree cover. It maps out current distribution of 147 species and modeled distribution resulting from climate change.

SacBee Wins Access to Forest-Fire Documents

February 8, 2012–A federal judge ruled that once the documents — depositions of US Forest Service employees about a 2007 forest fire in California that burned tens of thousands of acres — had been entered into court records as part of the evidence discovery process, they were presumptively public records and had to remain that way.  

USFS Fire Retardant EIS May Result in Few Changes

November 9, 2011–The agency would add slightly more acreage to the lists of sensitive land and water areas where fire retardant could be dropped only in cases where human life or public safety is threatened. There would be no significant changes in the formula of the retardant, or the general strategy used to determine when and where it's appropriate to drop retardant.

Major Wetland Losses Still Occurring in Forests and Estuaries

October 26, 2011–Wetland acreage in the US declined during 2004-2009, reversing a slightly positive trend of net wetland gains during 1998-2004, according to the latest assessment from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, released Oct. 6, 2011.

Appeals Court Orders Release of Timber-Trade Records

September 21, 2011–Details and documents on the 2006 US-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement will be released after a federal appeals court ruled Sept. 16, 2011, against claims by the Office of the US Trade Representative that the documents, sought by the Center for Biological Diversity and Conservation Northwest, were exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.

Urban Forest Projects Address Energy, Health, Education, More

August 31, 2011–Organizations in IL, NY, and TX received substantial funding from the US Forest Service so they can work on projects related to urban forests. The products and efforts are available for use by others around the country, making them of interest to any journalist covering urban environmental or health issues.

USFS Releases Court-Ordered EIS for Fire Retardants

May 25, 2011–Information sessions and webinars on possible health and environmental effects of aerial-applied chemicals used to fight wildfires will be held in various locations around the country during the 45-day public comment period that ends June 27, 2011.

Wildfire Mitigation Work Continues This Spring

March 30, 2011–Wildfire season has begun. Some of the areas going up in flames include the increasingly developed zone known as the wildland-urban interface, where fire risks are most apparent to people. One of the steps being taken to help reduce the hazard is fuel reduction work that thins out or removes dense tree stands, making them less prone to wildfire, or at least easier to control when they do burn.