"U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw federal protections from millions of acres of Utah wilderness will reopen much of the iconic terrain to gold, silver, copper, and uranium land claims under a Wild West-era mining law, according to federal officials."

"The Trump administration will once again cut the fee ranchers pay to graze livestock on millions of public acres, dropping the per-animal rate by nearly 25 percent for the coming year."

"The CEO of America’s largest water utility warned that a federal push to streamline permits for infrastructure projects could stymie stronger water quality standards."

"As the head of the federal agency controlling billions of acres of public lands and waters, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has spent the past year making bold policy proclamations to advance President Trump’s energy agenda .... But legal experts say many of the moves were made without fully considering the laws and procedures governing changes like these, making them vulnerable to legal challenges that could delay or block them."

"The Trump administration has formally suspended a major Obama-era clean water regulation ahead of plans to issue its own version of the rule later this year."

"The Trump administration is poised to ask Congress for deep budget cuts to the Energy Department’s renewable energy and energy efficiency programs, slashing them by 72 percent overall in fiscal 2019, according to draft budget documents obtained by The Washington Post."

"The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention resigned on Wednesday, in the middle of the nation’s worst flu epidemic in nearly a decade, because of her troubling financial investments in tobacco and health care companies that posed potential conflicts of interest."

"Record-low snowfall in some parts of the Rocky Mountains this winter isn't just bad for the ski industry. It's also a real problem for water managers throughout the western United States."

"Alaska Governor Bill Walker said on Tuesday he has asked U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to pare back a Trump administration plan for oil and gas leasing off the state’s coast."

"Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt says he supports a unified national vehicle fuel standard, stoking state fears that the agency may do away with waivers allowing states to implement stronger standards."