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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Department of the Interior

Department of the Interior stories: 21 news summaries

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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 Feds Pitch 
 Polar Bear 
 Habitat 

Critics complain move doesn't address main threats

Oct 23, 09 1:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - The federal government has proposed designating 200,000 square miles of land, sea, and ice in northern Alaska as a critical habitat for polar bears. The move is "one step in the right direction to help this species stave off extinction," said an Interior Department official. He acknowledged,... More »

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endangered species • Alaska • global warming • Department of the Interior • wildlife • polar bear • habitat • Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

 Feds to Sterilize Wild Mustangs 

Thousands of wild horses to be shifted east to reduce strain on federal land

Oct 8, 09 6:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tens of thousands of wild horses are to be sterilized and shifted from range land in the West to preserves in the Midwest and East under plans announced yesterday. The move will help manage the unsustainable numbers of horses and burros roaming free in Western states without having to resort... More »

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Department of the Interior • horse • Ken Salazar • Bureau of Land Management • mustang • wild horse

GOP Blocks Obama Interior Dep't Pick

Rejection of top deputy marks first Republican KO of nominee

May 13, 09 11:31 AM CDT
(AP) - Republicans have blocked President Obama's pick for the No. 2 job at the Interior Department because of a flap over oil leases in Utah. In a 57-39 Senate vote, Democrats fell short of the 60 votes they would have needed to advance the nominee past GOP obstacles. It's the first... More »

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Congress • Senate • Senate Republicans • Department of the Interior • Ken Salazar • Interior Dept. • Bob Bennett • secretary of the Interior • Obama administration • President Obama • David Hayes

US Won't Use Polar Bear to Battle Emissions

Law barring connection between carbon and habitat stands

May 8, 09 1:18 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Obama administration will not use the plight of polar bears and their melting habitat to regulate greenhouse gases, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced today that a Bush-era law barring government scientists from considering emissions as they attempt to save the endangered species will stand.... More »

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endangered species • Alaska • greenhouse gases • Department of the Interior • polar bear • Ken Salazar • carbon emissions • Obama administration

Wind Could Provide All US Power: Feds

Interior Dept. study sees offshore turbines generating energy

Apr 3, 09 10:18 AM CDT
(Newser) - Offshore winds are a largely untapped resource that could potentially supply the US with even more electricity than it currently needs, according to a new Interior  Department report. The report says the area off the Atlantic coast could meet more than one-fourth of the national power demand, but the fact... More »

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energy • Department of the Interior • renewable energy • Ken Salazar • natural gas • wind power • turbines • offshore oil • offshore development • domestic oil production • offshore drilling

US Cancels Gas, Oil Leases Near Utah Parks

Administration moves to drilling in environmentally sensitive areas

Feb 4, 09 4:50 PM CST
(Newser) - The Obama administration is scrapping the sales of oil and gas leases on areas of federally protected land spanning 130,000 acres in Utah, Bloomberg reports. “Those are American iconic treasures we need to make sure are being protected,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said today, adding that the... More »

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Barack Obama • Department of the Interior • Utah • Ken Salazar • secretary of the Interior • oil and gas leases • Obama administration • President Obama

Bush Policies Will Blow Through Nat'l Parks for Years

Putting commerce over conservation, White House stifled scientists' protests

Jan 25, 09 1:40 PM CST
(Newser) - Views of spacious skies and purple mountain majesties in US national parks may soon be interrupted by industrial roads and power lines, after years of Bush policies that pushed commerce over conservation, reports the Los Angeles Times. And unlike the many decisions that President Obama can quickly reverse, the changes... More »

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Bush administration • conservation • Department of the Interior • natural resources • oil drilling • national park • National Park Service • Bureau of Land Management

Obama Adds Centrists Salazar, Vilsack to Cabinet 

Salazar brings centrist cred to the team

Dec 17, 08 1:07 PM CST
(Newser) - Barack Obama added Ken Salazar and Tom Vilsack to his growing list of Cabinet appointments today, tapping the noted centrists as secretaries of the Interior and Agriculture respectively. “It is time for a new kind of leadership in Washington that's committed to using our lands in a responsible way,... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Barack Obama • Department of the Interior • Ken Salazar • Tom Vilsack • Department of Agriculture • President Obama • Obama Cabinet

Colo. Sen Salazar Tapped as Interior Secretary

He's to play 'critical role' in moving US toward energy independence

Dec 16, 08 1:43 AM CST
(Newser) - President-elect Barack Obama has tapped Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar to be his secretary of the interior, sources have told the Denver Post. Salazar is "all but certain" to be given the job this week, pending a background check, the newspaper reports. The first-term senator serves on the Senate Energy... More »

MORE ABOUT:
Department of the Interior • Colorado • Ken Salazar • Mark Udall • US Senate • President Obama • Gov. Bill Ritter • Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Bush Loosens
Endangered Species Act

Another midnight ruling refuses protection to threatened animals

Dec 12, 08 9:59 AM CST
(Newser) - The White House incensed environmental groups yesterday by announcing sweeping changes to the Endangered Species Act, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Federal agencies will no longer have to consult with scientists before approving potentially harmful building or logging projects, and the government will not recognize the threat that global warming... More »

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Bush administration • Department of the Interior • Endangered Species Act • wildlife • secretary of the Interior • midnight regulation

 Guns OK'd in National Parks 

Campers will be allowed to pack heat in all but 3 of America's national parks

Dec 6, 08 6:10 AM CST
(Newser) - Visitors will be allowed to carry concealed and loaded weapons in all but three of America's 391 national parks under a new Bush administration policy, the Washington Times reports. The move, widely seen as a parting gift to the NRA from the president, reverses a 25-year-old Interior Department policy and... More »

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Bush administration • NRA • gun control • Department of the Interior • national park • guns

Obama Plans to Erase
Bush's Environmental Mark

EPA, Interior Dept. to be put to work fighting climate change

Nov 28, 08 10:11 AM CST
(Newser) - Whoever Barack Obama picks for the top posts at the EPA and the Interior Department will likely be put straight to work reversing the course those agencies have been on for eight years, the Washington Post reports. Obama has made it plain that he plans to undo many of the... More »

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Barack Obama • Department of the Interior • Environmental Protection Agency • George W. Bush • EPA • Obama administration • President Obama

White House Scrambles to Find Operatives Permanent Jobs

Bush appointees 'burrow' in at agencies

Nov 18, 08 7:13 AM CST
(Newser) - The Bush administration is racing to put its political appointees into permanent civil service jobs before the clock runs out, reports the Washington Post. Federal job protection rules will make it tough for the new administration to dislodge the Bush operatives once they are in, meaning that they may keep... More »

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Bush administration • Department of the Interior • civil service • George W. Bush • political appointee

Interior Dept. Scandal Rocks Drilling Debate

Lawmakers, voting next week, question ability to handle lease revenues

Sep 11, 08 3:12 PM CDT
(Newser) - Revelations that Interior Department employees were literally in bed with Big Oil have given fresh ammunition to congressional Democrats seeking to limit offshore drilling, the AP reports. Lawmakers say serious question have been raised about the agency's integrity after investigations found that employees responsible for collecting oil and gas royalties... More »

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ethics • Department of the Interior • Bill Nelson • scandal • offshore oil

Sex, Ethics Scandal Rocks Interior Dept. Oil Agency

Probes reveal sex, drugs, improper dealings in 'culture of ethical failure'

Sep 10, 08 5:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - It's not quite the Interior Department Gone Wild, but it's not that far off, either. A dozen current and former employees of the departmental agency that deals with oil and gas royalties have been accused of having sex with reps of the energy industry, illegally accepting gifts, using cocaine in... More »

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ethics • Department of the Interior • drug use • government contracts • corruption charges • Inspector General

Endangered Species Listings Plummeting Under Bush

Wildlife advocates sue to save animals

Mar 23, 08 5:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Bush administration for years has quietly established obstacles to listing new animals and plants on the endangered species list, the Washington Post reports. A total of only 59 domestic species have made it onto the list in the past seven years, compared to 58 each year under Bush's father... More »

MORE ABOUT:
endangered species • Department of the Interior • endangered species list • extinction • sockeye salmon • George W. Bush • WildEarth Guardians • pygmy rabbit

Feds to Allow Guns Inside
National Parks

NRA backs move to overturn 100-year-old ban on loaded firearms

Feb 23, 08 11:57 AM CST
(Newser) - The federal government is preparing to loosen a ban on bringing loaded guns into national parks, reports the Los Angeles Times. The NRA has been pushing for the ban to be eased, saying it violates the right to bear arms and puts citizens at risk of attack from savage wild... More »

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NRA • gun control • Department of the Interior • national park • guns

US to List
Polar Bears as Endangered

Move would make species first official victim of global warming

Feb 3, 08 7:13 AM CST
(Newser) - The US Department of the Interior is expected this week to change the polar bear's conservation status from "vulnerable" to "endangered"—which would make the animals the first species officially recognized as victims of global warming. The year-old proposal concerning the appealing predators would give conservationists a... More »

MORE ABOUT:
endangered species • global warming • list • Department of the Interior • Endangered Species Act • polar bear

US Oil Program Troubled: Report

Management issues plague Interior Dept. collection service

Sep 26, 07 4:58 PM CDT
(Newser) - An Interior Department report has found that the internal program responsible for collecting $10 billion per year from companies that drill on US land is plagued by unethical practices and mismanagement. The report cited “profound failure,” and said the agency—which is years behind in its billing—wasn’... More »

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oil • gas • Department of the Interior • False Claims Act • auditor

Environment Agency Battles Its Own Threats

Steward of endangered species suffers government neglect

Jul 5, 07 12:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - The bald eagle's exit from Endangered Species Act protection drew attention away from the watchdog agency that defends threatened species—and is in peril itself. The budget has been slashed, open jobs go unfilled, and the fate of hundreds of plant and animal species hangs in the balance. The LA ... More »

MORE ABOUT:
endangered species • US Fish and Wildlife Service • Department of the Interior • endangered species list • Endangered Species Act

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>


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