Tag: Land environment
California targets urgent projects as wildfire season looms
OROVILLE, Calif. (AP) — California is in such an urgent race with another devastating wildfire season that officials began soliciting local project ideas even...
Old documents fuel latest bid to halt Nevada lithium mine
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Few people had ever heard of Tiehm’s buckwheat when conservationists filed a petition two years ago to list the desert...
Arizona wildfire destroys 12 homes; 200 people evacuated
DUDLEYVILLE, Ariz. (AP) — A small community in south-central Arizona remained under an evacuation notice Friday after crews and air tankers stopped the growth...
California plans $536M for forests before wildfire season
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will authorize $536 million toward forest management projects and efforts to reduce wildfires before the worst of the fire...
Correction: Big Tree-No More story
KENSINGTON, N.H. (AP) — In a story April 5, 2021, about a sugar maple tree being removed, The Associated Press misspelled the name of...
California to add nearly 1,400 firefighters amid dry weather
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday said the state will hire nearly 1,400 additional firefighters as an unusually dry winter...
New Mexico sues US over proposed nuclear waste storage plans
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico sued the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Monday over concerns that the federal agency hasn’t done enough to...
Conservationists sue to save spotted owl logging protections
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit seeking to preserve protections for 3.4 million acres (1.4 million hectares) of northern spotted...
California State Water Project initial allocations lowered
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The California Department of Water Resources has lowered initial allocations from the State Water Project for the 2021 water year...
Report: California wildfire sparked when tree hit power line
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A Northern California wildfire that killed four people and destroyed more than 200 buildings last year was sparked when tree...
Trump’s taxes in hand, Manhattan DA’s probe heats up
NEW YORK (AP) — With former President Donald Trump’s tax returns finally in hand, a team of New York prosecutors led by a newly...
Hawaii town blocked by landslide launches makeshift ferry
HONOLULU (AP) — Volunteers on Kauai’s north shore in Hawaii have launched a makeshift ferry service across a river after a landslide along a...
Gunmen abduct 39 students from school in northwest Nigeria
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Gunmen have attacked a school in northwestern Nigeria and kidnapped 39 students just weeks after a similar mass abduction in...
As climate fight shifts to oil, Biden faces a formidable foe
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — President Joe Biden’s bid to tackle climate change is running straight through the heart of the U.S. oil and gas...
Four oaks, one sacred destiny: Recreating Notre Dame’s spire
JUPILLES, France (AP) — Four French oaks that have been standing for hundreds of years in a once-royal forest now have a sacred destiny....
Claimed value of sleepy NY estate could come to haunt Trump
NEW YORK (AP) — It’s sleepy by Donald Trump’s standards, but the former president's century-old estate in New York's Westchester County could end up...
First oak trees selected to replace Notre Dame’s spire
PARIS (AP) — The first eight oak trees destined to replace the destroyed spire of Paris' scorched Notre Dame cathedral have been selected from...
Portugal: Number of wildfires, scorched areas falls by half
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Portugal’s government is reporting major progress against wildfires that traditionally scorch the country each summer, saying Thursday the average annual...
In Alabama, a vote to keep Confederate monument protections
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama lawmakers on Wednesday rejected a bill that would give cities and counties a possible avenue to take down unwanted...
Grazing rights rescinded for controversial Oregon ranchers
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A senior adviser in the U.S. Department of Interior on Friday rescinded a January Trump administration decision to grant grazing...
Democratic-led House makes conservation push with lands bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House passed legislation Friday that would create about 1.5 million acres of new wilderness and incorporate nearly 1,200 miles of...
Interior nominee Haaland questioned on drilling, pipelines
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Interior Department faced sharp questions from Republicans Tuesday over what several called her...
Interior nominee Haaland vows ‘balance’ on energy, climate
WASHINGTON (AP) — Oil and natural gas will continue to play a major role in America for years to come, even as the Biden...
Riot lawsuit just part of Trump’s post-impeachment problems
NEW YORK (AP) — Acquitted by the Senate of inciting last month's U.S. Capitol insurrection, former President Donald Trump faces more fallout from the...
South Africa reopens its land borders as virus cases decline
JOHANNESBURG (AP) —
South...
Court rules against Apaches in bid to halt proposed mine
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — A federal judge has rejected a request from a group of Apaches to keep the U.S. Forest Service from transferring...
Interior postpones March oil leases onshore and offshore
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The Interior Department said Friday that it is postponing onshore and offshore oil lease sales planned for next month in...
Court: Nigerian farmers can sue Shell in UK over pollution
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Supreme Court ruled Friday that a group of Nigerian farmers and fishermen can sue Royal Dutch Shell PLC in English...
Judge: Trump’s lifting of mining ban in US West was wrong
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday overturned a Trump administration action that allowed mining and other development on 10 million acres...
US agency cancels Trump policy on conservation purchases
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. Interior Department officials on Thursday canceled a Trump administration directive that gave local and state officials power to block...
Agriculture secretary nominee Vilsack endorses biofuels push
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Vilsack, President Joe Biden's nominee for secretary of agriculture, pledged Tuesday to focus on climate change initiatives and work to...
Dutch court orders Shell Nigeria to compensate farmers
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — In a victory for environmentalists and Nigerians whose land was polluted by oil leaks, a Dutch appeals court ordered...
Biden: ‘We can’t wait any longer’ to address climate crisis
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the most ambitious U.S. effort to stave off the worst of climate change, President Joe Biden signed executive orders to...
Biden: ‘We can’t wait any longer’ to address climate crisis
WASHINGTON (AP) — In the most ambitious U.S. effort to stave off the worst of climate change, President Joe Biden signed executive orders Wednesday...
AP sources: Biden to pause oil and gas sales on public lands
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is set to announce a wide-ranging moratorium on new oil and gas leasing on U.S. lands and waters,...
World leaders cheer US return to climate fight under Biden
BERLIN (AP) — World leaders breathed an audible sigh of relief that the United States under President Joe Biden is rejoining the global effort...
US government approves routes for Wyoming CO2 pipelines
CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — The U.S. government has approved routes for a system of pipelines that would move carbon dioxide across Wyoming in what...
Biden plans temporary halt of oil activity in Arctic refuge
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — President Joe Biden's administration announced plans Wednesday for a temporary moratorium on oil and gas leasing in Alaska's Arctic National...
Washington state nixes methanol plant meant to supply China
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Officials in Washington state denied a key permit for a large proposed methanol plant Tuesday, saying the project that aims...
Germany: Buried barrel may be linked to far-left group
BERLIN (AP) — German authorities say forestry workers have unearthed a barrel containing material that may be related to the far-left Red Army Faction...
Apaches object to Forest Service review of huge copper mine
FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — The U.S. Forest Service released an environmental review Friday that paves the way for the creation of one of the...
Search now recovery mission for Oregon woman in landslide
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Searchers used inflatable yellow rafts and drove metal poles into deep mud Thursday as they searched for a woman who...
Trump administration slashes imperiled spotted owls’ habitat
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — The Trump administration said Wednesday that it would slash millions of acres of protected habitat designated for the imperiled northern...
Environmentalists move toward lawsuit over fuel break plan
RENO, Nev. (AP) — Environmentalists have filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S government to block plans to build up to 11,000...
Sage grouse review done, but scant time for Trump’s changes
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration has completed a review of plans to ease protections for a struggling bird species in seven states...
US triples daily numbers allowed at Southwest hike The Wave
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Outdoor enthusiasts and landscape photographers hoping to land one of the elusive permits needed to explore the colorful, contoured...
50 countries vow to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030
PARIS (AP) — At least 50 countries committed to protecting 30% of the planet, including land and sea, over the next decade to halt...
One-third of America’s rivers have changed color since 1984
America’s rivers are changing color — and people are behind many of the shifts, a new study said.
...
US holds first oil lease sale for Alaska’s Arctic refuge
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. government held its first-ever oil and gas lease sale Wednesday for Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an event...
Judge allows oil, gas lease sales in Alaska’s Arctic refuge
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A U.S. judge on Tuesday refused to halt an oil and gas lease sale for Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge...
Regulators get plan for undoing the Atlantic Coast Pipeline
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The developers of the now-canceled Atlantic Coast Pipeline have laid out plans for how they want to go about unwinding...
Ranchers whose case sparked standoff may get grazing rights
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The federal government has proposed awarding grazing allotments to an Oregon ranching family whose members were convicted of arson in...
Congress takes aim at climate change in massive relief bill
WASHINGTON (AP) — The huge pandemic relief and spending bill includes billions of dollars to promote clean energy such as wind and solar power...
Argentina: Mercosur will address EU environment concerns
BERLIN (AP) — South America's Mercosur countries will address environmental concerns raised by the European Union that have stalled ratification of a free trade...
California environmentalists blast federal oil lease sale
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — Oil and gas leases on federal public lands in California were put up for auction for the first time in...
US plans oil, gas lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic refuge
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management plans to hold an oil and gas lease sale for Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife...
Mysterious silver monolith disappears from Utah desert
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A mysterious silver monolith that was placed in the Utah desert has disappeared less than 10 days after it...
Plan released to reduce massive wildfires in US West
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — U.S. officials on Friday released an overarching plan for removing or changing vegetation over a huge swath of the U.S....
Land conservation plan stirs fight over Trump restrictions
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — Proposed land conservation purchases in dozens of states would preserve more natural areas within tourist destinations, U.S. officials announced Friday,...
Trump plans would ease protections for sage grouse in West
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — The Trump administration announced plans Thursday that ease protections for sage grouse in the West, prompting an outcry by critics...
Trump administration takes steps toward refuge lease sale
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Trump administration is taking steps toward a lease sale within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an area President-elect Joe...
Federal agencies fall short of Trump forest protection goals
Nearly two years ago, President Donald Trump stood amid the smoky ruins of Paradise, California, where he blamed the deadliest wildfire in the state's...
Audit pans California’s lead cleanup at Exide battery plant
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will need to spend $650 million to clean up a heavily contaminated battery recycling plant in Southern California, but...
AP Exchange: Nevada home to world’s 3rd largest Joshua tree
RENO, Nev. (AP) — In a land of twisted limbs and giant Dr. Seuss-like branches reaching toward the sky, it stood out among the...
Mitt Romney calls for US commission to deal with wildfires
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah announced legislation Thursday to establish a national commission focused on diminishing future wildfire...
Team investigating deadly Calif. fire seizes PG&E equipment
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Fire investigators looking into what caused a wildfire that killed four people in far Northern California have taken possession...
Warming trend means California’s lethal fire season not over
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Cool weather and light drizzle in some places provided relief for firefighters working to increase containment of numerous wildfires across...
California governor calls for protecting 30% of state land
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday to protect nearly a third of California’s land and coastal waters in...
Judge throws out EPA decision on California salt ponds
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A federal judge on Monday blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from allowing the dredging and filling of salt ponds...
Governor asks court to block actions by Trump’s land boss
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The governor of Montana on Monday asked a judge to block three sweeping land use plans that would open most...
Winds intensifying as firefighters battle fire in California
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Winds grew stronger Thursday in California's wine country, threatening to escalate a massive wildfire that has burned for days and...
Japan court orders gov’t, TEPCO to pay in Fukushima disaster
TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese court on Wednesday found the government and the operator of the wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant negligent for failing to...
$215M in BP oil spill money to restore Louisiana marshes
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana will get nearly $215 million in BP oil spill money for two projects planned to restore more than...
Judge removes Trump public lands boss for serving unlawfully
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A federal judge ruled Friday that President Donald Trump's leading steward of public lands has been serving unlawfully, blocking him...
Judge: Eric Trump must give NY deposition before election
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s son Eric has until Oct. 7 to speak to New York investigators probing his family’s business practices,...
Bolsonaro to world: Brazil is victim of environmental smear
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro defended his administration’s record protecting the Amazon rainforest, telling the United Nations’ virtual meeting of...
Key EU states worry South America trade pact may hurt Amazon
BRUSSELS (AP) — EU countries remained divided Monday on whether to approve a preliminary free trade deal drafted last year with South American countries...
Austrian minister to Trump: No, we do not live in forests
BERLIN (AP) — The Austrian government has spoken up to correct U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that people in its country live in "forest...
Lawyers: Trump son won’t testify in NY probe before election
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump’s son Eric is willing to comply with a subpoena to testify in a New York investigation into...
Lightning storm, easterly wind: How the wildfires got so bad
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — It began as a stunning light show on a mid-August weekend — lightning bolts crackling in the skies over Northern...
Trump spurns science on climate: ‘Don’t think science knows’
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — With the smell of California wildfires in the air, President Donald Trump on Monday ignored the scientific consensus that climate...
Easing fires not as simple as climate change vs. forest work
SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Deadly West Coast wildfires are dividing President Donald Trump and the states' Democratic leaders over how to prevent blazes from...
The Latest: Biden vows to ‘restore dignity for everyone’
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. presidential campaign (all times local):
...
Winds a worry as death toll reaches 35 from West Coast fires
BEAVERCREEK, Ore. (AP) — Nearly all the dozens of people reported missing after a devastating blaze in southern Oregon have been accounted for, authorities...
Media access to wildfires, disasters varies widely by state
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Journalists have captured searing, intimate images of active and dangerous wildfires burning in California, due in large part to a...
Climate change largely missing from campaign as fires rage
WASHINGTON (AP) — Historic fires are raging across the western United States ahead of what scientists say is the typical peak of wildfire season....
Climate change largely missing from campaign as fires rage
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Historic fires are raging across the western United States ahead of what scientists say is the typical peak of wildfire...
Latest: 500,000 people in Oregon forced to flee wildfires
The Latest on wildfires in the U.S. West (all times local):
...
California wildfires growing bigger, moving faster than ever
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — When it comes to California wildfires, it now takes days, not decades, to produce what had been seen as a...
As California burns, the winds arrive and the lights go out
SHAVER LAKE, Calif. (AP) — New wildfires ravaged bone-dry California during a scorching Labor Day weekend that saw a dramatic airlift of more than...
US Forest Service police dog survives second stabbing attack
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A highly decorated U.S. Forest Service police dog suffered nine stab wounds during a marijuana raid in Northern California. But...
Laura’s coastal cost assessed with drones, satellite images
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Hurricane Laura was hardly done ripping across Louisiana before scientists started combing through satellite imagery and drone footage and...
Jackie O’s island getaway sold to land preservation groups
AQUINNAH, Mass. (AP) —...
Judge says owner of San Francisco Bay Area island broke law
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) —...
Brazil Indigenous chief Raoni tests positive for coronavirus
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP)...
Top Brazil official says no halt to Amazon protections
BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) —...
Evacuations lifted near California fires, some go home
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) —...
2 lawsuits challenge Trump’s drilling plan in Alaska refuge
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) —...
NY AG probes if Trump pumped up value of estate, assets
NEW YORK (AP) —...
3 large corrals approved for western US wild horse roundups
RENO, Nev. (AP) —...
