A Busy Summer Is Winding Down

August has been quite a month for us!  I am just back from a short vacation and wanted to share with you some of the work PEER has been up to while I was gone.

• We filed a response to a proposed 14-day suspension of a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Range Management Specialist in Colorado who protested inaction on illegal grazing at the headwaters of the Rio Grande River. As a result, stretches of protected habitat for migratory birds, including threatened and endangered species, no longer meet minimal landscape health standards for water quality, vegetation, or wildlife suitability.
• We submitted comments on the Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) proposed Scientific Integrity Policy pointing out concerns with this draft policy, including a provision that would forbid scientists from saying or writing anything that “could be construed as being judgments of, or recommendations on, HHS or any other Federal Government policy” without prior management approval.
• We joined with the Global Indigenous Council, the Humane Society, and 32 other organizations in calling for an end to federal subsidies for state agencies that allow the slaughter of bears and other predators. This renewed demand comes after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game operation to shoot 94 brown bears (including cubs), five black bears, and five wolves from helicopters in the southwest portion of the state without scientific basis.

This summer has been a busy time for us. Our work never stops because PEER has such dedicated staff members and partner organizations.  For more about our ongoing work, please read on and be sure to visit our website for the latest updates.

Please join us for a webinar tomorrow, Wednesday August 23 at 4:00pm EST with the Nantucket PFAS Action Group. Together, we have a fantastic story to tell. Register now»

The Maryland Public Utility Commission has granted a request by a PEER-led coalition of groups asking for more transparency in Maryland’s renewable energy program. Groups are concerned that the state is not disclosing enough information on dirty energy subsidies and hiding the actual impacts of these subsidies.
Read the Letter »

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) has withheld $14 million in conservation aid because of ongoing violations by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in conducting timber operations in sensitive fisheries and wildlife areas. This last December, PEER wrote to FWS complaining about DNR’s violations and urging FWS to withhold unallotted Federal Aid funds.” Read More »