Navajo Nation
The Navajo Nation sued Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in federal court, claiming he cut funding for the nation’s Judicial Branch from $17 million each calendar year from 2014 to 2018 to less than $1.5 million this year.
Read moreInterior Department
Strip Mining
The Montana Environmental Information Center, et al. sued Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in federal court for approving a 6,500-acre expansion of the Rosebud coal strip mine in Montana.
Read more
Major Water Deal Proposed for Ex-Client of Interior Secretary
The Interior Department is proposing to award one of the first contracts for federal water in perpetuity to a powerful rural water district that employed Secretary David Bernhardt as a lawyer and lobbyist.
Read more
Time Ticks Away at Wild Bison Genetic Diversity
Evidence is mounting that wild North American bison are gradually shedding their genetic diversity across many of the isolated herds overseen by the U.S. government, weakening future resilience against disease and climate events in the shadow of human encroachment.
Read moreEndangered Species
The Center for Biological Diversity sued Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in federal court for “failing to designate critical habitat for 14 endangered species of plants and animals from the island of Hawaii.”
Read more
Grizzly Bear Reintroduction Plans Eyed for Northern Cascades
Grizzly bears could soon roam the North Cascade mountains in Washington state and revitalize the alpine forest, but not everyone welcomes the prospect of the keystone predator’s return.
Read moreEndangered Species
The Animal Legal Defense Fund sued Interior Secretary David Bernhardt and his agency’s creatures in federal court, claiming they illegally undermined the Endangered Species Act through regulations.
Read moreProposal Seeks to Modernize Campgrounds at National Parks
The Interior Department is reviewing recommendations to modernize campgrounds at national parks. The recommendations posted online this week come from an advisory committee created under former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke that has been looking at ways for private businesses to operate on public lands.
Read moreClimate Change
Save the Colorado, et al. sued Interior Secretary David Bernhardt in federal court, claiming the environmental impact statement for the operational plan for Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River at Lake Powell ignored the best available science on the impact climate change is likely to have on the river.
Read moreTop Interior Lawyer Ducks Questions on Oversight Requests
The top lawyer for the Interior Department dodged questions from House Democrats on congressional oversight Thursday, just two days after he was narrowly confirmed by the Senate amid accusations he lied to Congress.
Read more
House Committee Backs Bill for California Beach Protection
A resolution to expand protective areas in the Santa Monica mountains and Los Angeles coast areas was one of three bills brought to the House floor Wednesday with unanimous and favorable support.
Read more
House Dems Push Legislation to Protect Endangered Species
Climate scientists believe Earth is in the middle of its sixth mass extinction event, and in light of that, House Democrats Tuesday renewed calls for legislation that would reverse the Trump administration’s rollback of key protections for endangered wildlife and plant species.
Read moreHouse Democrats Call for Overhaul of Oil-Leasing Rules
Taxpayers lose billions each year in royalties generated from oil and gas leases on public lands while fossil fuel developers reap profits at their expense, but Democrats on Tuesday pushed legislation that would overhaul leasing laws that have not been updated in a century.
Read moreFeds Must Face Suit Over Hunting Advisory Panel
The Department of Interior must face a lawsuit that skewers its administration of secretive White House advisory committee on trophy hunting, a federal judge ruled.
Read moreDemocrats Move to Block Trump Sabotage of Endangered Species Act
Democrats introduced legislation Tuesday that would repeal rules the Trump administration used to reduce protections under the Endangered Species Act.
Read more
Environmentalists Say Feds Fail to Protect Crayfish From Coal Mining
Political appointees in President Donald Trump’s Interior Department have weakened protections for Appalachia’s endangered crayfish to benefit the coal mining industry, environmentalists claim in a federal lawsuit.
Read moreEndangered Species
The Center for Biological Diversity brought a federal complaint over the government’s failing to designate critical habitat for five species of Florida and Caribbean coral and seven species of Pacific coral under the Endangered Species Act.
Read more
Environmentalists Sue to Block Evisceration of Endangered Species Act
After 45 years of saving animals like the bald eagle and grizzly bear from extinction, new Endangered Species Act rules will weaken protections for thousands of plant and animal species, according to a lawsuit filed against the Trump administration Wednesday.
Read moreNatural Resources
Siding with the Western Organization of Resource Councils, a federal judge enjoined the secretary of the interior from relying on recommendations of his Royalty Policy Committee, as it “operates in secret and works to advance the goals of only one interest: the extractive industries that profit from the development of public gas, oil, and coal.”
Read more