Publication Items

More Secret Reports from Congressional Research Service [1]

Nobody has ever explained why Congress refuses to release the tax-funded explainers produced by the Congressional Research Service. They are a gold standard for journalists needing quick background. Here are some recent CRS reports relevant to environmental journalists, helpfully released by the Federation of American Scientists.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Climate Change [3]
Disasters [4]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Government [6]
Health [7]
Natural Resources [8]
Nuclear Power & Radiation [9]
Water & Oceans [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about More Secret Reports from Congressional Research Service [1]
Waiting for Ansel Adams: Will 114th Congress Legalize Park Photography? [12]

You may have read in recent WatchDogs about controversial federal laws and rules that could restrict photojournalism in federal parks, forests, and rangelands. Now comes the "Ansel Adams bill" that would make it legal to do an activity that is Constitutionally protected. Only someone has to introduce the bill. Photo: Ansel Adams, by J. Malcolm Greany. [13]

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [14]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Natural Resources [8]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Waiting for Ansel Adams: Will 114th Congress Legalize Park Photography? [12]
"Aluminum Dreams: The Making of Light Modernity" [16]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Consumer [18]
Environmental Health [19]
Natural Resources [8]
People & Population [20]
Technology [21]
Water & Oceans [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about "Aluminum Dreams: The Making of Light Modernity" [16]
Chief Tidwell Directs Forest Service: No Permits, Fees for Journos [22]

"News coverage on [National Forest System] lands is protected by the Constitution," wrote U.S. Forest Service Chief Thomas L. Tidwell in a November 4, 2014, memo to agency leaders, "and it is our responsibility to safeguard this right on the lands we manage for all Americans. Journalists provide a critical public service, and this agency will ensure their access in the pursuit of that public service."
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Forests [23]
Journalism & Media [14]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Natural Resources [8]
Policy [24]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Chief Tidwell Directs Forest Service: No Permits, Fees for Journos [22]
Why Doesn't Congress Want You To Read These Reports? [25]

For decades, Congress has refused to release taxpayer-funded reports by the Congressional Research Service. Fortunately, the Federation of American Scientists' Government Secrecy Project gets them and releases them. Here are some new explainers that may be of use to environmental journalists.
SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [26]
Air [27]
Climate Change [3]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Natural Resources [8]
Pollution [28]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Why Doesn't Congress Want You To Read These Reports? [25]
Getting Past Park Service PIO Harder Than 13-Mile Hike [29]

It's true — some public information officers are really paranoid. High Country News reporter Tristan Baurick, trying to report on preservation of a historic chalet in Olympic National Park, found "a bizarre blockade on press freedom, the likes of which I’d never experienced outside a military base or murder scene."

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Environmental Politics [30]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Natural Resources [8]
Transportation [31]
Region:
Northwest (OR WA) [32]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Getting Past Park Service PIO Harder Than 13-Mile Hike [29]
"The Last Ocean: Antarctica's Ross Sea Project: Saving the Most Pristine Ecosystem on Earth" [33]

SEJ Publication Types:
BookShelf [17]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [14]
Natural Resources [8]
Region:
Antarctica & Arctic [34]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about "The Last Ocean: Antarctica's Ross Sea Project: Saving the Most Pristine Ecosystem on Earth" [33]
Fresh Secret Reports from the Congressional Research Service [35]

Here are some recent explainers of interest to environmental journalists from the CRS, which Congress does not allow to be released to the taxpaying public who paid for them. The WatchDog thanks those who leaked them and the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy for publishing them.

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Agriculture [26]
Chemicals [36]
Climate Change [3]
Economy & Business [37]
Energy & Fuel [5]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Natural Resources [8]
People & Population [20]
Policy [24]
Pollution [28]
Transportation [31]
Water & Oceans [10]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Fresh Secret Reports from the Congressional Research Service [35]
Senate Kills Bill with Fees, Permits for Photogs in Parks [38]

A sloppily written provision that could have opened the door wider for federal land managers to charge fees or require permits for news photography died in the Senate July 10, 2014, along with the "Bipartisan Sportsmen's Bill" to which it was attached. SEJ and other media groups had objected to the language. According to the AP, the bill "would have opened more federal lands to hunters and other sportsmen, increased funds for shooting ranges and blocked government curbs on bullets and fishing gear containing lead."

SEJ Publication Types:
WatchDog TipSheet [2]
Topics on the Beat:
Journalism & Media [14]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Natural Resources [8]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about Senate Kills Bill with Fees, Permits for Photogs in Parks [38]
SEJ Objects to Sportsmen's Act Section Affecting Public Lands Reporting [39]

SEJ and five other journalism groups sent a letter July 8, 2014 objecting to a bill up for debate on the US Senate floor this week that could restrict the ability of journalists to report on stories in National Parks, National Forests and other public lands. Photo: Fern Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Courtesy U.S. NPS.

Topics on the Beat:
Government [6]
Journalism & Media [14]
Laws & Regulations [15]
Natural Resources [8]
Region:
National (U.S.) [40]
Visibility:
Public [11]
- Read more about SEJ Objects to Sportsmen's Act Section Affecting Public Lands Reporting [39]

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