Natural Resources

"Vast amounts of river-borne sediment are trapped behind the world’s large dams, depriving areas downstream of material that is badly needed to build up the marshes and wetlands that act as a buffer against rising seas."

"In September 2011, after 20 years of planning, workers began dismantling the Elwha and Glines dams on the Elwha River in northwestern Washington state. At the time, it was the largest dam removal project in U.S. history, and it took nearly three years for both barriers to be dismantled and for the river to once again flow freely.

"The grasslands of U.S. Great Plains have seen one of the sharpest increases in large and dangerous wildfires in the past three decades, with their numbers more than tripling between 1985 and 2014, according to new research."

"The International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB), meeting this week in Paris, added 23 new sites to the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR), a program of the United Nations."

"U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke says government shouldn’t be in the business of running campgrounds, so he wants to turn national park campsites over to private businesses."

"Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has recommended President Trump 'revise the existing boundaries' of the Bears Ears National Historic Monument and call on Congress to dictate the terms of how parts of the area should be managed."

"The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it will review a massive and controversial federal plan to protect the dwindling population of greater sage grouse in 11 western states."

"Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today announced a review of federal greater sage grouse conservation plans to determine in part if they are hindering energy production on public lands."

"Neil Shook was relaxing at home in Woodworth, N.D., on a Saturday afternoon just over a week ago. 'My wife was outside and she yelled at me to come outside and take a look at this,' he recalls. A massive brown cloud covered the horizon to the west."

"The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today approved David Bernhardt as Interior deputy secretary in a 14-9 vote, paving the way for his confirmation by the full Senate."