Ground Truth
What, Me Worry?
Yesterday, a federal appeals court ruled that the Forest Service is liable for toxic waste cleanup costs from a mining operation in New Mexico. The appeals court remanded the case back to district court to determine how much the Forest Service will have to pay of the...
Prosecutor or Referee?
Last week, as jury selection was underway in the retrial of four men accused of brandishing weapons during the 2014 standoff between federal agents and supporters of scofflaw rancher Cliven Bundy, Attorney General Jeff Sessions traveled to Las Vegas. According to the...
Congress Debates Land Swap for Minnesota Copper Mine
A land swap that could clear the way for a massive copper and nickel mine near Lake Superior in northern Minnesota will be up for debate during a House Natural Resources Committee hearing tomorrow. Minnesota Democrat Richard Nolan is the author of a bill that would...
Feds Seek Prison Terms for Bundy Backers
Jury selection began this week as the government tries once again to secure convictions against four men who brought assault-style rifles to a 2014 standoff between federal agents and supporters of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. The government’s first attempt to...
Deep Workforce Cuts Proposed for BLM
As many as 1,000 jobs at the Bureau of Land Management may disappear next year, according to an email sent to agency employees last week by BLM Acting Director Mike Nedd, as the Trump administration works to sharply pare back the Interior Department’s budget. The 2018...
Bill Would Roll Back Environmental Rules on Logging Projects
Arkansas Rep. Bruce Westerman has reintroduced a bill that would roll back environmental regulations governing logging on national forests. The Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017 would allow the Forest Service to sidestep laws including the National Environmental...
Zinke to Trump: Roll Back National Monument Designation
Department of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke wants President Trump to narrow the boundaries of Utah’s Bears Ears National Monument, marking a significant advance in the administration’s pledge to roll back national monument designations. In a memo sent to Trump on...
Forest Service Approves Controversial Copper Mine
A proposal to dig a $2 billion, mile-wide, half-mile-deep copper mine in southern Arizona cleared a significant hurdle yesterday when the Forest Service granted formal approval for the controversial project. Toronto-based Hudbay Minerals wants to dig the mine in the...
Fighting for Survival
In the waning days of 1973, Richard Nixon signed into law the Endangered Species Act. It was anything but a controversial step for the embattled president, who a few months later would resign his office. Earlier that year, the ESA had passed the Senate unanimously;...
An Emphatic Ruling Against a Montana Mine
Question: How many laws can the federal government violate by giving the green light to a copper and silver mine in a wild corner of Montana? Answer: At least five. Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy took the Forest Service to task for approving the...
Female Forest Service Employees Report Hostile Workplaces
A 2015 study commissioned by the U.S. Forest Service’s California region found that female employees in the agency were more likely to face hostile working conditions than their male colleagues. The McClatchy news organization reported the findings after obtaining the...
“Preserve the Best and Conserve the Rest”
The work of a Forest Service wildlife biologist is not that of your typical desk worker—just ask Hadley B. Roberts. Roberts, a longtime FSEEE member, was a Forest Service employee for nearly three decades. He spent much of that time traipsing through the wilds of New...
The Roundup for May 19, 2017
Go West, BLM? - FSEEE Two Republican lawmakers from Colorado have introduced legislation that calls for moving the Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters from the nation’s capital to a western state. Timber! Loggers hope to fire up chain saws with help of Trump,...
Trouble for California Salmon
Salmon, trout and steelhead in California face a grim future if present trends continue, according to a study released this week, and climate change is the primary culprit. The report, titled “Fish in Hot Water,” estimates that 45 percent of the state’s salmonid...
Go West, BLM?
Two Republican lawmakers from Colorado have introduced legislation that calls for moving the Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters from the nation’s capital to a western state. Sen. Cory Gardner and Rep. Scott Tipton introduced the legislation earlier this month....
The Roundup for May 12, 2017
Senate unexpectedly rejects bid to repeal a key Obama-era environmental regulation - The Washington Post The Senate on Wednesday narrowly blocked a resolution to repeal an Obama-era rule restricting methane emissions from drilling operations on public lands — with...
Senate Upholds Climate Change Rule
A rule designed to limit the amount of methane released from drilling for oil and natural gas on public land will remain in place—at least for now. The Senate voted 51-49 yesterday against rescinding the rule, one of many the Obama administration promulgated to fight...
Good Earth Power Sued Again
The company that holds the largest forest restoration contract ever issued by the Forest Service is being sued by two former executives who claim they are due more than $4 million in unpaid salary and damages. Good Earth Power AZ is tasked with thinning 300,000 acres...
The Roundup for May 5, 2017
Want to receive The Roundup each week in your inbox? Join our email list (signup in the right hand bar), and we'll be sure to keep you up to date on all the actions taking place on your public lands. Trump Attacks National Monuments - FSEEE President Donald Trump...
Trump Attacks National Monuments
President Donald Trump signed an executive order today that could open millions of acres of national monuments to industrial development or even rescind such designations altogether—a move no previous president has ever attempted. The order requires Secretary of...
Camping Restrictions Considered for Colorado Wilderness
Forest Service officials in Colorado are laying plans to limit camping in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness Area, which holds some of the most iconic mountain scenery in the nation. The number of visits to the most popular destinations in the wilderness area nearly...