Ground Truth Blog
It’s Official: Devil’s Staircase Protected as Wilderness
President Trump signed into law today a multifaceted public lands bill that at long last creates the Devil’s Staircase Wilderness Area in the rugged mountains of southwest Oregon’s Coast Range, a designation FSEEE has sought for more than a decade. Yesterday, FSEEE...
Court Rules Against Atlantic Coast Pipeline Again
The bad news keeps coming for backers of a controversial natural gas pipeline that would span the Appalachian Mountains. Yesterday, a federal appellate court declined to reconsider its earlier finding that the Forest Service overstepped its authority when it granted...
Forest Service Proposes Reopening Road Through Grizzly Habitat
The southern border isn’t the only place where Trump Administration proposals are stirring controversy. Last week, officials with the Idaho Panhandle National Forests issued a draft record of decision to rebuild a long-abandoned stretch of road just south of the...
Majority Support Keeping Roadless Rule in Place for Tongass
More than 140,000 people submitted comments or signed petitions on a proposal to revise or rescind a rule that protects wild stretches of Alaska’s Tongass National Forest from road-building and logging, with the majority voicing support for keeping the rule as is....
BLM Withdraws New Mexico Oil and Gas Leases
Facing pressure from conservationists, Native American tribes and members of Congress, Bureau of Land Management officials have decided not to offer oil and natural gas leases near Chaco Culture National Historic Park in New Mexico. In a brief statement released on...
More Problems for Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Construction has halted on the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, as the pipeline’s proponents grapple with adverse judicial rulings and growing skepticism that the project will go forward. Dominion Energy, the project’s lead developer, is also facing increasing costs....
Groups Sue Forest Service Over Grazing
A pair of environmental groups is suing the Forest Service for approving livestock grazing in an area of southwest Colorado that is home to bighorn sheep. In establishing a new grazing allotment for domestic sheep in the San Juan Mountains, officials with the Rio...
Study: Owls Thrived After Rim Fire
The 2013 Rim Fire burned more than 250,000 acres in Yosemite National Park and the adjacent Stanislaus National Forest, making it the largest fire ever recorded in the Sierra Nevada. It also burned much of the best habitat for great gray owls, which are listed as...
Colorado Wilderness Bill Proposed
Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet will introduce legislation this week that would create about 73,000 acres of new wilderness areas in the state and extend protection to about 400,000 acres. Bennet’s legislation combines four bills that have previously been introduced in...
Trump Administration Accused of Favoring Drilling During Shutdown
Democrats are accusing the Trump administration of favoring oil and gas drilling during the partial government shutdown. Since the shutdown began, the Bureau of Land Management has issued more than 150 permits to drill on public land, according to an objection filed...
Legislation Backs Northern Minnesota Mine
In his first bill introduced as a member of Congress, Rep. Pete Stauber (R-Minn.) is pushing for a land exchange that could clear the way for a massive copper and nickel mine near Lake Superior in northern Minnesota. PolyMet Mining, Inc., wants to exchange 6,690 acres...
Disease Threatens Beech Trees
A mysterious disease first detected seven years ago is attacking beech trees in Ohio and Pennsylvania. Scientists are scrambling to find the cause as the disease spreads rapidly. Beech leaf disease has been detected in 11 counties in Ohio, eight in Pennsylvania, and...