When That Lonesome Whistle Blows
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PEER | February 19, 2020
“Every once in a while, I’ll catch a news item that not only justifies, but freshens and hardens my cynicism. This time, the Beltway news site Politico drooled out a 3,600-word epic produced in conjunction with nonprofit Type Investigations, covering exploration for lithium (a ...
Politics of Oil and Gas Override Public in Federal Land-Use Decisions, Report Says
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PEER |
“The Department of Interior (DOI) is overriding local decision-making in the rural West to allow expanded mining and resource extraction on federal public land, a report says. According to the DOI’s critics, documents recently released by an organization that represents public- ...
Interior Secretary Bernhardt Seems To Have Tailored A Job For P. Daniel Smith
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PEER | February 16, 2020
“When P. Daniel Smith walked away from his job as deputy director of the National Park Service last fall, he didn’t walk back into retirement but rather into a position Interior Secretary David Bernhardt created for Smith that just happened to be based in Smith’s hometown ...
Mike, We Hardly Knew Ye
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PEER | February 15, 2020
“Easily lost amid the turmoil in the Trump administration last week was the firing of Mike Stoker, the administrator for the EPA giant Region 9. Stoker, a Republican and Trump appointee, blames clashes with EPA headquarters in Washington plus his willingness to work with Democrats— ...
BLM Whistleblower: Government Is Giving Public Lands to Robber-Barons
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PEER | February 14, 2020
“A federal whistleblower complaint says there are open pits of toxic wastewater, roads bulldozed through protected wildlife habitat, and secret hunting cabins — all on public lands in Nevada. Is Nevada’s BLM — and its Battle Mountain District, in particular — allowing all ...
NPS Employees Ask: Where Is P. Daniel Smith?
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PEER | February 13, 2020
“When P. Daniel Smith left his job as acting director of the National Park Service on Sept. 30, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt asked him to take a new role leading the agency’s efforts to celebrate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence on July 4, 2026. Under the ...