"Only a few short weeks after President Donald Trump nominated David Bernhardt, a former oil and agriculture industry lobbyist, to run the Interior Department, the agency is facing a slew of new allegations that top officials violated federal ethics rules by keeping cozy ties to their former employers."
"Hipster tastes have fueled a spike in succulent poaching. Now conservationists are finding creative ways to rescue them".
"Three environmental groups were among the organizations to sue the Trump administration almost immediately after the border wall declaration on Friday."
A rare bipartisan package of public lands measures now moving through Congress is big national news and will yield numerous regional and local stories. The bill permanently authorizes a major conservation fund, expands parks, designates wilderness areas, bars some mining, protects bird species and more. This week’s TipSheet explores why the lands bill matters so much, tracks the legislation’s likely passage and helps you prep your coverage with story ideas and more than half a dozen reporting resources.
"The Trump administration's stated goal for a rule defining which wetlands and waterways get Clean Water Act protection: Write a simple regulation that landowners can understand. ... But scientists who specialize in the study of wetlands and waterways say it's not that simple."
"Brazilian police arrested eight employees of mining firm Vale SA on Friday, accused by state prosecutors of covering up weaknesses at a dam that collapsed and likely killed more than 300 people."
"Protesters in Alaska urged federal officials to keep oil rigs out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge despite a federal law requiring lease sales in the wilderness area."
"The Senate on Tuesday passed the most sweeping conservation legislation in a decade, protecting millions of acres of land and hundreds of miles of wild rivers across the country and establishing four new national monuments honoring heroes including Civil War soldiers and a civil rights icon."
"A federal judge in Alaska is expected any day now to issue a ruling that could finally decide whether the people of the remote city of King Cove, Alaska, get to build a highly contentious single-lane road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge."
"The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today tossed arguments that the Trump administration overstepped when the Department of Homeland Security fast-tracked barrier projects near San Diego and Calexico, Calif., and waived certain environmental laws for construction."
Advertisement 
