From: Argus Media “A US government trust fund used to clean up oil spills is losing out on millions of dollars in revenue after lawmakers allowed a 9¢/bl excise tax on refiners, importers and producers to expire at the end of last year. The tax is the main source of revenue for the Oil ...

From: E&E News “Jeff Ruch, executive director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, declared today that the FWS refuge reinforcements could compound risks for wildlife if hunting access increases even as Endangered Species Act consultations on incidental take of ...

From: WFAE 90.7 “Just days after announcing that some furloughed staff will be returning to clean up trash-riddled national parks during the government shutdown, the Trump administration is making a similar move at dozens of wildlife refuges around the country. The plans, which have not ...

From: Miami Herald “DeSantis also ordered environmental enforcement moved from the state’s wildlife agency to the DEP. Under Scott, enforcement plummeted to its lowest in three decades last year, according to Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Even before he was ...

From: The Hill “Jeff Ruch, president of the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said the FWS announcement appears to violate the terms of its own shutdown contingency plan. The 2019 plan notes that the Anti-Deficiency Act stipulates emergency funds can be provided for ...

From: KTUU “Acting Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang in a 41-page memo says federal officials should stop ignoring state comments on managing wildlife on federal lands. He says the state had repeatedly sought resolutions without success on topics such endangered ...

From: Wired “”None of the federal environmental laws are written in such a way that if the government is shut down, you can’t do anything,” says Kyla Bennett, senior attorney for the nonprofit group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which advocates on ...

From: The Hill “Jeff Ruch, the president of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, called the timing dubious, especially as Interior has recently pointed to its extreme backup in responding to FOIA requests. The delay has lead to numerous lawsuits. Under a government shutdown ...

From: Boisie State Public Radio “A new rule proposed last week by the U.S. Interior Department could make it harder for news outlets and non-profit organizations to get public information on a range of federal issues. Once adopted, the regulations would allow the agency to put a cap on ...

From: KUER 90.1 “In addition to his track record in Washington governance and politics, Bernhardt also has experience in the fossil fuel industry. He worked for a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm where E&E News reported that his clients included Cobalt International Energy and the ...

From: Dive Photo Guide “How many more bad years can manatees endure before triggering an irreversible downward population spiral?” asked Jeff Ruch, Executive Director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Indeed, it may not be long before the Florida manatee’s ...

From: KUER 90.1 “A new rule proposed last week by the U.S. Interior Department could make it harder for news outlets and non-profit organizations to get public information on a range of federal issues. Once adopted, the regulations would allow the agency to put a cap on the number of ...

From: The Hill “An Interior spokesperson would not answer questions about the rule change, citing the government shutdown. The rule was signed by Principal Deputy Solicitor Daniel Jorjani, a former adviser to Charles and David Koch. An Interior spokesperson in early December cited ...

From: Common Dreams “Amid the chaos of the ongoing government shutdown and winter holidays, critics on Monday are calling out the Trump administration for quietly moving to make it harder for the public to find out what goes on behind closed doors at the U.S. Department of the Interior. ...

From: CBS 4 Miami “As 2018 comes to a close, it’s been a bad year of Florida’s manatee population with the second highest number of deaths ever recorded. According to preliminary figures posted by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), more than 800 manatees died ...

From: Alaska Public Media “If I were a wolf or a bear in Alaska right now, I would be headed for the Canadian border, ASAP,” said Rick Steiner, an environmental advocate and former marine conservation professor in Anchorage. Among Steiner’s concerns was the hiring of Grasser as the ...

From: The Guardian “Overall, though, Ruch said the department’s efforts to alter its Foia policies will “increase the burden on requestors and create a lot more confusion”. “This appears to be an attempt to buttress the bunker and make the department less transparent,” he says ...

From: Clark Fork Valley Press “Federal wildlife officials have agreed to prepare a conservation plan for Montana’s National Bison Range as part of a settlement in a lawsuit brought by an environmental group. The settlement filed last week in U.S. District Court resolves a 2016 ...

From: The Litchfield County Times “A group of U.S. Forest Service professionals started this remarkable group, which has since spread to civil servants in other federal agencies such as the EPA and the Department of the Interior. PEER’s staff is knowledgeable, organized and relentless ...

From: KFSK “In early November Petersburg’s borough assembly voted to send a letter to the chief of the U.S. Forest Service asking for information on Tongass National Forest timber sales. The letter cites a 2016 review by staff in the Forest Service’s Washington office that detailed ...