September 28, 2020 — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes eliminating about 205,000 acres in Oregon from the northern spotted owl critical habitat designation. The reduction would apply to Bureau of Land Management lands, where officials have … More
Category: Dispatch
Retardant use spikes as crews fight blazes — and COVID-19
July 22, 2020 — By Marc Heller — This wildfire season could be a banner year for chemical fire retardants. The COVID-19 pandemic is part of the reason. With the Forest Service under pressure to stop wildfires before … More
Updates from El Yunque
May 29, 2020 — El Yunque National Forest encompasses much of Puerto Rico’s Sierra de Luquillo Mountains and is the only tropical rain forest in the U.S. National Forest system. Even though it is one of the smallest … More
Protecting America’s Wilderness Act
May 25, 2020 — The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 2546 by a vote of 231-183, sending the bill to the Senate in mid February. The Protecting America’s Wilderness Act would designate more than 1.3 million acres … More
Dogs and Lizards
November 5, 2019 — We all know this about dogs—they’re serious sniffers. Now, biologists are putting that olfactory prowess to work to help save an endangered lizard in California. Blunt-nosed leopard lizards used to be common in the … More
Lawsuit Challenges Minnesota Mine
September 11, 2019 — Conservationists filed a lawsuit this week challenging a government ruling granting a water permit to a Canadian mining firm that wants to dig an open-pit copper and nickel mine in the Superior National Forest. … More
Federal Land Critic Now in Charge of BLM
July 31, 2019 — A man who argues that all lands owned by the federal government should be sold is now in charge of the nation’s largest system of federal lands. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt signed an order … More
More Goats Removed from Olympics
July 24, 2019 — Another 76 mountain goats have left the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state as wildlife managers continue their efforts to move the invasive ungulates to the North Cascade mountains. The animals were lifted by helicopter … More
Trump Administration Seeks to Cut Environmental Reviews
June 14, 2019 — The Trump administration this week released a plan to roll back environmental reviews and opportunities for public input for a wide range of projects on national forests, including major logging operations. In a statement … More
Trump Administration to Close Job Corps Centers
May 24, 2019 — More than 1,000 U.S. Forest Service employees could lose their jobs under a plan announced by the Trump administration today to shutter nine Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers and largely privatize those that remain … More