"A controversial plan to divert water from above a key California watershed, pushed hard by Governor Jerry Brown as a vital new anchor for the state's drought-parched water system, would involve far less environmental restoration than initially proposed under changes announced on Thursday."

"Environmental advocates and states are scrutinizing coal mining company financial reports to determine whether they have enough money to cover the cost of returning sites to pre-mining conditions."

"President Obama used the backdrop of the Florida Everglades this Earth Day to highlight the dangers posed by a changing climate. He also took a swipe at Florida's Republican governor, who's been accused of discouraging state workers from discussing global warming."

"John Kerry is heading north. On Friday, the U.S. Secretary of State will travel to the Canadian Arctic city of Iqualuit, Nunavut, where he will take temporary reins of the Arctic Council, a forum that could ultimately determine the fate of the Arctic."

"President Obama will tout his administration's efforts to protect the environment during a visit to the Everglades in south Florida on Wednesday, as the White House presses its go-it-alone climate-change agenda."

"The Bureau of Land Management has not asked the Justice Department to prosecute Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy or anyone else involved in an armed standoff last year with BLM officials who were attempting to round up cattle that were illegally grazing on federal lands, according to documents a government watchdog group sued to obtain."

"Calling the deal too costly with too little benefit, the South Florida Water Management District board on Thursday effectively canned a 2010 deal to buy 46,800 acres of U.S. Sugar land that it once considered critical to restoring the Everglades and coastal estuaries."

"For 6 million years, the Colorado River has gathered fresh snowmelt high in the Rocky Mountains and carried that water south for 1,450 miles (2,300 kilometers). It travels over falls and rapids, through deserts and canyons, all the while providing water to 35 million people and thousands of acres of farmland. But today the river is at risk."

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to list species of Appalachian crayfish as endangered, with potential consequences for the struggling eastern Kentucky mining industry."

"Life has returned to normal at the Bureau of Land Management's Gold Butte area in southern Nevada. Visitors are car camping, searching for prehistoric rock art and admiring the Mojave Desert's multi-hued landscapes -- and Cliven Bundy continues to graze his cows."