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‘Big and bold’ infrastructure bill still falls short on helping states fight climate change
The Senate is poised to pass a massive $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that would upgrade state transportation networks, electric grids, water systems and more. It’s a major spending boost and potential job-creator that yet falls short of the administration’s goals to address climate change and reduce its effects in the states. The White House worked […]
Stone-Manning nomination set to advance to full Senate
The U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee deadlocked 10-10 along party lines Thursday on approving Tracy Stone-Manning’s nomination as head of the Bureau of Land Management. That means an extra procedural vote will be forced before the full U.S. Senate takes up the nomination of Stone-Manning, aNational Wildlife Federation senior adviser whose career has […]
Democrats unite around ‘climate corps’ that could employ youth, prevent fires
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer pledged on Tuesday to include a Civilian Climate Corps in a $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill later this year, as a broad swath of Democrats rallied around a framework of employing thousands of young people to do conservation work. Schumer, (D-N.Y.), appeared with a handful of congressional Democrats, led by […]
Manchin will vote for Stone-Manning, hearing scheduled Thursday
The U.S. Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee is expected to vote Thursday on the nomination of Tracy Stone-Manning to lead the Bureau of Land Management, with Chairman Joe Manchin planning to vote to approve her — a major step forward for her confirmation after weeks of aggressive Republican opposition. Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, […]
Does McConnell’s salvo mean BLM director nomination is moving forward?
U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday joined the ranks of GOP senators opposing the confirmation of Tracy Stone-Manning, the president’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management, possibly signaling the confirmation could soon move beyond the Energy Committee. The strongly critical statement from McConnell, of Kentucky, was not a surprise, but the […]
Biden public lands nominee opposed by GOP over link to 1989 tree-spiking in Idaho
Republicans in the U.S. Senate are ramping up opposition to President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Bureau of Land Management after a conservative news site and other news reports detailed her connection to an Idaho tree-spiking scheme three decades ago. Without GOP support, Montana’s Tracy Stone-Manning would need the votes of every Democrat in […]
Federal judge halts Biden pause on new oil and gas leases across the U.S.
A federal judge in Louisiana has ordered the Biden administration to restart regular sales of oil and gas leases, forcing the administration to prematurely abandon a central piece of its climate change agenda. In a preliminary ruling issued Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty granted the request of Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry and 12 other Republican-led […]
Public lands pick fends off objections from U.S. Senate Republicans
Republicans on the U.S. Senate Energy Committee on Tuesday grilled public lands nominee Tracy Stone-Manning of Montana about her past opposition to an “energy dominance” agenda, as well as her 2020 support for the Democratic challenger to a GOP senator from her home state who sits on the committee. The sometimes rancorous hearing previewed a […]
Biden’s public lands pick wins backing by environmental advocates ahead of hearing
Environmental groups are lining up behind President Joe Biden’s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management prior to her Tuesday confirmation hearing. More than 100 organizations wrote to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.), and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R-Ky.), Monday asking that the Senate confirm Tracy Stone-Manning, a Montanan who led conservation and […]
National parks struggling with maintenance would get a boost under Biden budget request
Basic needs at the largest U.S. national parks top the Biden administration’s first proposed lists of projects to receive funding through public lands trust funds, showing how much maintenance is needed even as parks brace for record numbers of visitors this summer. The projects likely wouldn’t be visible to the usual tourist, but they are […]
Heading for a national park? The ‘biggest season in the history of the Park Service’ predicted
Leaders of a U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday extolled national parks for providing a respite during the COVID-19 pandemic, but cautioned that enthusiasm for outdoors recreation will create its own problems in this summer’s tourism wave. Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent and the chairman of a subcommittee that oversees the U.S. National Park Service, […]
Migratory bird protections to be permanently restored by Biden administration
The Interior Department plans to officially revoke a Trump-era rule that loosened enforcement of a longstanding law to protect migratory birds, the department announced last week. The rule put in place by former Interior Secretary David Bernhardt barred government authorities from holding companies liable for environmental violations leading to the deaths of birds protected under […]