SEJ and five other journalism groups sent a letter July 8, 2014 objecting to a bill up for debate on the US Senate floor this week that could restrict the ability of journalists to report on stories in National Parks, National Forests and other public lands. Photo: Fern Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Courtesy U.S. NPS.
The Senate seems to be moving ahead on a bipartisan omnibus bill to expand hunting and fishing on public land, among other things. It includes provisions that would allow federal land managers to charge fees to some documentary photographers. On July 7, the Senate voted 82-12 to limit debate on the motion to proceed with the bill.
"A coalition of Alaska Native tribes will intervene to support the Environmental Protection Agency in a lawsuit that challenges its authority to halt a major copper and gold mine near Bristol Bay."
"BILLINGS, Mont. — Coal industry representatives say lawsuits against mines in three Western states could have consequences across the U.S. as environmentalists seek changes in how mining is approved on federally owned reserves."
"New federal research using data from southern West Virginia show streams affected by mountaintop removal mining have fewer fish species and fish overall than other streams."
"Security analysts in London and Baghdad say control of rivers and dams has become a major tactical weapon for ISIS""
"Protesters gathered to illegally dredge for gold on Tuesday in an Idaho river where such mining is banned, in an open challenge to the U.S. government's authority to regulate public waters and lands in Western states, an organizer said."
"Yosemite National Park, in California's Sierra Nevada, is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the law that preserved it — and planted the seeds for the National Park system. At the same time, the park faces the challenge of protecting the natural wonders from their own popularity."
"Vancouver city council decided that the land still belongs to the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh people"
"PINEDALE, Wyo. — The anticline is a tableland of nearly 200,000 acres, the Tetons visible in the distance and, in June, still covered with snow. The plateau is filled with sagebrush that barely reaches the knee, short grass, dirt roads and the occasional oil drill. Beneath its rocky surface are 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, one of the richest concentrations in the entire United States."
Advertisement 
