Zinke shrunk national monuments, rolled back sage grouse protections and ramped up drilling.
Endangered Species
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Update: Razorback sucker populations are increasing
The endangered fish seem to be recovering in the San Juan River.
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More plans, less protection for sage grouse
A final environmental assessment weakens drilling restrictions on millions of acres.
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Settlement forces Oregon to update water pollution permits
In 2017, the state had the worst backlog of expired permits nationwide.
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Reckoning with History: How the once-radical Endangered Species Act was weakened
The ESA started out strong, but opponents have chipped away at the landmark law.
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Can big data help save endangered species?
A new tool could improve rare species recovery — or justify letting some species perish.
Posted inNovember 12, 2018: Old Wests, and new
What’s special about a good-for-nothing sunflower?
In an age of extinction, a sunny, endangered flower serves as a beacon of arid lands.
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Oil and gas leasing delayed in sage grouse habitat
Federal court rejects Interior’s ‘intentional decision’ to limit public comment.
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The impermanence of wonder and whales
A writer comes to grips with the plight of the Puget Sound orca.
Posted inNovember 26, 2018: Follow the fish
Sagebrush Rebel appointed to Interior Department
Property rights lawyer Karen Budd-Falen will give legal counsel on wilderness, wildlife and many of the policies she’s spent her career attacking.
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Interior Department issues order to avoid settlements
Critics say the decree will slow down the implementation of enacted laws.
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How politics could impact future counts of Yellowstone grizzlies
A ruling restoring federal protections cited a concession to states on census estimates.
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Judge to U.S. Fish and Wildlife: Don’t ‘cherry pick’ science
Now the agency must reconsider protections for the rare Pacific fisher.
Posted inDecember 10, 2018: Critical Mass
The arresting quiet of a crane migration in Washington
Sandhill cranes, cattle and the surprising benefits of their coexistence in the West.
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Mixed-ancestry wolves are recolonizing the Pacific Northwest
Their combination of coastal and inland DNA could help them survive a changing climate.
Posted inAugust 6, 2018: What Are We Doing Here?
After the mountain yellow-legged frog disappeared
A wildlife biologist returns to a childhood stomping ground, devoid of its once-plentiful amphibians.
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Imperiled wildlife are caught in a political tug-of-war
The proposed bills and rule changes that would reshape the Endangered Species Act.
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Most Americans support the Endangered Species Act
It’s politicians — not citizens — who want to gut protections for threatened species.
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Feds eye changes to a bedrock environmental law
A clash over the National Environmental Policy Act follows familiar fault lines.
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Supreme Court to states: Live up to your treaty obligations
Will future courts order states to take down fish-blocking dams?