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A Texas Program Has Achieved Remarkable Success in Protecting Rare Sea Turtles. So Why Does the National Park Service Want to Defund It?

by Texas Monthly | August 19, 2020
“The Kemp’s ridley sea turtles begin arriving at Padre Island National Seashore in April, waves breaking against their olive-colored shells, salt spraying from their nostrils as they haul themselves up the sandy beach to nest. Every year, volunteers and park staff led by Dr. Donna ...

BLM chief signed an order to keep himself in power

by E&E News | August 19, 2020
“William Perry Pendley signed a succession order months ago that will keep him indefinitely at the helm of the Bureau of Land Management. Pendley’s order states that “in the absence” of a permanent BLM director, the deputy director of policy and programs — in this ...

OP-ED | Public Lands Are Key to Fighting Climate Change

by Common Dreams | August 17, 2020
Public lands account for a quarter of the nation’s land area and nearly a quarter of the nation’s carbon dioxide emissions through extraction and combustion of fossil fuels ...

Democrats use vulnerable GOP senators to get rare win on environment

by The Hill | August 17, 2020
“President Trump’s decision to withdraw his controversial nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is a rare example of Democrats and conservation groups being able to leverage the vulnerability of Republican senators to their advantage. But the Department of the ...

White House withdraws nomination for Bureau of Land Management head

by The Durango Herald | August 17, 2020
“The Trump administration withdrew its nomination of William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management on Saturday after both Republican and Democratic senators said he would face tough questioning in a confirmation hearing. Peter Jenkins, senior counsel for Public ...

Trump seen putting biofuels decisions on hold

by Politico | August 17, 2020
“A White House official confirmed Saturday the Trump administration intends to withdraw the controversial nomination of William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management, Pro’s Anthony Adragna and Ben Lefebvre report. With the Senate effectively out until September, ...

Critics celebrate Pendley ouster, but he’s still in charge

by E&E News | August 17, 2020
“President Trump’s decision to pull the nomination of William Perry Pendley to lead the Bureau of Land Management has raised questions about BLM leadership and why the president made the decision to walk away from the controversial nominee. On Saturday the White House confirmed ...

Critical sea turtle program on Padre Island threatened with cuts

by San Antonio Express News | August 17, 2020
“For decades, the public releases of baby Kemp’s ridley turtles at the Padre Island National Seashore have been one of the most popular summer rituals of the Texas Gulf Coast. “In a lot of ways, it’s like being a mother. You find the nest, you protect the eggs and the ...

How Trump bent the National Park Service to do his bidding

by Mashable | August 14, 2020
“For the first 100 years of the National Park Service’s existence, there has almost continually been an official director who leads the prestigious conservation agency. Now, that’s changed. The Trump administration has never had anyone in the official position of director ...

Bills In Congress Would Grant Federal Whistleblowers Access To Courts

by Shadowproof | August 10, 2020
“Legislation introduced in Congress would fill multiple gaps in federal whistleblower protections and finally grant access to courts and jury trials for review of their cases. Representative Carolyn Maloney, the chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, introduced the ...

Third Acting NPS Director Under Trump Will Retire Next Month

by Government Executive | August 10, 2020
“The third acting National Park Service director under the Trump administration abruptly announced on Friday he plans to retire next month amid a legal challenge to his appointment. Vela’s retirement comes after the nonprofits Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility and ...

Interior backtracks on coal nominee’s title

by E&E News | August 10, 2020
“The head of the Interior Department’s coal mining bureau has a new title. Lanny Erdos, who has been leading the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (OSMRE) for 10 months, was previously the agency’s acting director. Watchdog groups noted in an E&E ...

With Tactics Honed on Climate Change, Ken Cuccinelli Turned to the Portland Streets

by Inside Climate News | August 10, 2020
“When Ken Cuccinelli was Virginia Attorney General a decade ago, he pursued an extraordinary legal campaign against one of the nation’s top climate scientists, in essence accusing him of fraud for his research tracking the rise in global temperatures. At the same time, ...

EPA Sued for Records Over Delayed Interactive PFAS Data Map

by Bloomberg Law | August 10, 2020
“The Environmental Protection Agency is failing to release records linked to a delayed interactive map for identifying local sources of “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, according to a lawsuit filed in a federal court in Washington. The EPA said in its per- and polyfluoroalkyl ...

Washington GOP Nominates Extremist Sheriff For Governor

by The National Memo | August 9, 2020
“It’s not the first time that Republicans in Washington state have chosen a far-right gadfly as their nominee for the governorship, but Tuesday’s primary in which Loren Culp—a small-town cop who has never previously run for elective office—outpaced a large field to ...

U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein Introduces Bill to Protect Congressional Whistleblowers from Retaliation

by Sierra Sun Times | August 9, 2020
“Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Thursday introduced the Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act, a bill to strengthen protections for federal whistleblowers who share valuable information with Congress. The bill is endorsed by the ...

New leadership at Arches, Canyonlands

by Moab Sun News | August 7, 2020
“Patricia Trap assumed her new role as superintendent of the Southeast Utah Group Area National Parks on August 2. Kate Cannon, who held the position since 2006, retired in January. The group includes both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, as well as Hovenweep and Natural ...

Park Service head retires; successor quickly named

by Roll Call | August 7, 2020
“The acting head of the National Park Service abruptly announced his retirement on Friday, vacating a role that a Senate-confirmed nominee has not held during the entire Trump administration. David Vela, a 30-year career NPS official who assumed the role of acting director of the ...

Safety Agency Trump Wants Shut Moves Ahead with ‘Quorum of One’

by Bloomberg Law | August 7, 2020
“The new chairwoman of a federal agency that investigates major industrial accidents has an unusual problem: she’s the only person on its five-member board, and President Donald Trump wants it shut down. Katherine Lemos said she plans to continue the U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s ...

Vela Out As Acting National Park Service Director

by National Parks Traveler | August 7, 2020
“David Vela reportedly was replaced Friday as acting director of the National Park Service, the latest upheaval the organization has endured under the Trump administration. There was no official word from the Park Service on Friday morning of the change, but three sources told  ...
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