Latest news with #U.S.DepartmentofInterior
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Improvements, full closure Blue Ridge Parkway postponed to accommodate Helene recovery
NORTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Following a request from a North Carolina senator, the planned full closure of the Blue Ridge Parkway to make repairs has been postponed. This week, the U.S. Department of Interior said it will pause the multi-year Great American Outdoors Act project underway on the Parkway. This is to accommodate continuing recovery needs from Hurricane Helene on the country's most-visited national park site. The department's action was in response to Sen. Ted Budd, who requested the delay until after the peak visitors' season. Helene ravaged the region last fall just as the season began, forcing an initial full closure due to debris and heavy damage to the roadway, and much of the the road remains closed to this day. Nearly 200 miles of Blue Ridge Parkway reopens as long-term work remains in North Carolina 'Communities in Western North Carolina were hit hard by Hurricane Helene, and as we begin to rebuild, closing the Blue Ridge Parkway at this juncture would only set us back,' Budd said in a statement. 'The Parkway serves as a lifeline to small businesses and recreation access across the Appalachian Region — bringing tourists, supporting local businesses, and keeping our economy moving. I'm grateful the Trump administration recognized our state's needs following a letter I sent last month. This is the right decision to prioritize the near-term recovery of our region while still ensuring the resurfacing project is completed in the future.' The full rehabilitation project and associated closures are now scheduled to take place in 2026, and the overall project to be completed in 2027 or later. At that time, full closures is slated for a nearly 20-mile stretch between Blowing Rock and Beacon Heights. The National Park Service is working closely with the Federal Highway Administration to make necessary project modifications. 'The National Park Service honors the important relationship between the Parkway and the many communities it connects over its 469-mile passage through North Carolina and Virginia,' the DOI said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How the Velvet-Wood mine in Utah may help fighter jets
The U.S. Department of Interior is hoping to turn an old mine in a remote area in San Juan County into a new mine that will aid in building fighter jets. On Monday, the agency announced it is expediting the review of what it says is a 'major energy project' to mine for critical minerals in an astounding time frame of 14 days. 'The expedited mining project review represents exactly the kind of decisive action we need to secure our energy future. By cutting needless delays, we're supporting good-paying American jobs while strengthening our national security and putting the country on a path to true energy independence,' said Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum. The proposed operation would mine uranium and vanadium at what was once the old Velvet Mine to capture what was once left idled. If approved, the Velvet-Wood mine project in San Juan would produce uranium and vanadium by accessing the old Velvet Mine workings and developing the Velvet-Wood mineralization. The agency says commercial uses of uranium include fuel for civilian nuclear reactors, as well as various uses in medical applications. Uranium is also used for fuel in U.S. Navy nuclear reactors, such as on the Virginia-class attack submarine, and in the production of tritium, which is required for nuclear weapons. Additionally, vanadium has important uses, namely as a strengthening agent in steel production. It is also used in titanium aerospace alloys in both commercial and military aircraft — think of those fighter jets and defense. 'Top Gun' came out in 1986, a wildly popular movie showcasing the talent of the U.S. military. It was resurrected in 2022, with a continuation of the story starring Tom Cruise in 'Top Gun: Maverick.' While it may seem like it is all about glamour, the reality is the United States needs these materials. According to the agency, this new mine which is old would result in three acres of new surface disturbance given the proposed underground mining plan and the existing surface disturbance from the old Velvet mine. Anfield Resources is the company involved in the project. It also owns the Shootaring Canyon uranium mill in Utah, which the company intends to restart. That mill would convert uranium ore into uranium concentrate. 'Today's actions will greatly accelerate the permitting review of the Velvet-Wood,' said Adam Suess, acting assistant secretary for land and minerals management with the Bureau of Land Management. 'By fast-tracking the review process for the project, we are driving American energy dominance and ensuring our nation's energy security,' he added in a press release.
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Are Bears Ears and Grand Staircase back on the hot seat?
Once again, the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah are potentially on a political merry-go-round for rumored development of mining and oil drilling. As reported in The Washington Post Thursday, anonymous sources within the U.S. Department of Interior — which i sin charge of these monuments — say President Donald Trump is considering shrinking the boundaries of six national monuments in the West for energy development. Those monuments include Bears Ears and Grand Staircase, which Trump reduced significantly in 2017. Trump's proclamation reduced Bears Ears from nearly 1.35 million acres into an 86,447-acre Indian Creek unit and a 142,337-acre Shash Jaa unit. Grand Staircase-Escalante was cut back from nearly 1.9 million acres to three units, the 211,983-acre Grand Staircase, the 551,117-acre Kaiparowits, and the 243,241-acre Escalante Canyons. Just months after Trump was defeated by President Joe Biden, the monuments were restored to their original size. Both reportedly are awaiting yet another review by Trump, as well as four other monuments — Baaj Nwaavjo I'tah Kukveni-Ancestral Footprints of the Grand Canyon, Ironwood Forest, Chuckwalla, and Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks, encompassing landscapes across California, New Mexico and Arizona. Bears Ears and the Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments have hosted three different Interior secretaries: Sally Jewell under President Barack Obama, Ryan Zinke under Trump's first term, and Deb Haaland with President Joe Biden's administration. Jewell said she was 'shocked' at the lack of protections for Bears Ears, while Zinke said it was an immensely 'big' chunk of land that needed to be right-sized. The legacy and controversy related to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument stretches back even longer. It was in 1996 when President Bill Clinton, in front of a desk perched in the neighboring state of Arizona, issued the official monument proclamation, outraging state and local officials. But the Center for Biological Diversity is already preparing for a fight based on the rumored review. 'Trump's plan to strip protections from our national monuments shows just how low he'll go to sell out our most treasured and wild places,' said Kierán Suckling, executive director and co-founder of the Center for Biological Diversity. 'This reveals Trump's disdain for America's natural heritage and his disregard for the American people's love of public lands.' The rumored idea behind Trump's move to once again revisit these monument designations stems from his desire for the country to gain energy independence. In the past, the Bureau of Land Management under the Interior Department said both Bears Ears and Grand Staircase have little to offer in terms of oil and gas potential. There are uranium and vanadium resources in the Bears Ears area, but an existing mine was grandfathered in with the monument designation. Critics worry downsizing the monument opens up more potential for uranium mining, key to advanced nuclear technologies. Utah officials said Thursday they are not surprised by the latest debate regarding Trump and monuments, given his track record. It remains to be seen, however, how fast Trump could pump life into the coal market given his determination to unleash the fossil fuel development in the nation. But it also remains to be seen how much of that effort gets tied up in the courts.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump signs executive order to unleash the coal industry
Coal rich states and the U.S. Department of Interior welcomed the news of President Donald Trump's executive order on Tuesday to delay closure of some coal-fired power plants and end the federal moratorium on coal leases. 'The Golden Age is here, and we are starting to 'mine, baby, mine' for clean American coal,' said Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. 'Interior is unlocking America's full potential in energy dominance and economic development to make life more affordable for every American family while showing the world the power of America's natural resources and innovation.' In support of the Trump administration's pursuit of 'Energy Dominance,' the department is actively working to revitalize the coal mining industry through a series of actions. It will expand access to coal reserves, such as the recent approval of the Spring Creek mine expansion in Montana. It plans to streamline permitting processes by removing regulatory barriers that the department says have undermined American coal production. Coal remains a component of the U.S. energy portfolio and in Utah, according to the Energy Information Administration, the state derives 46% of its net electricity generation from coal. That is down from 75% in 2015. The Interior Department will officially end its moratorium on federal coal leasing, invoked in 2016. For the purpose of clarity, a notice in the Federal Register will emphasize that the Bureau of Land Management will not perform an environmental impact statement, or any other environmental analysis of the federal coal leasing program connected to the 2016 secretarial order issued by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell. In tandem with the order, the BLM will pursue the amendment process to the Buffalo and Miles City resource management plans in Wyoming and Montana, the Interior Department said. Under the current plans, future coal leasing is heavily restricted, making it much harder for new federal coal projects to get off the ground, the Interior Department order said, significantly impacting two of the nation's biggest coal producing regions. By revising these plans, Interior would create a path forward to access untapped federal coal reserves, especially in high-production areas like the Powder River Basin in Wyoming. 'Despite countless warnings from the nation's grid operators and energy regulators that we are facing an electricity supply crisis, the last administration's energy policies were built on hostility to fossil fuels, directly targeting coal. The explosive growth and parallel energy demands of artificial intelligence and electrification have rendered that path not just unsustainable but plainly reckless,' said Rich Nolan, president and chief executive officer of the National Mining Association. 'Today's reported executive actions by President Trump clearly prioritize how to responsibly keep the lights on, recognize the enormous strategic value of American mined coal and embrace the economic opportunity that comes from American energy abundance. It's a stark shift from the prior administration's punitive regulatory agenda, hostile energy policies and unlawful land grabs.' But Ted Kelly, director of Environmental Defense Fund and lead counsel of U.S. Clean Energy, said the order is bad for human health, bad for the environment and is a regressive step that ignores the benefits of clean energy 'We will vigorously oppose these efforts to impose more deadly pollution and higher electricity costs on all Americans. Clean and affordable solutions are the path forward. Clinging to a 19th century power plan makes no sense for 21st century America — it will only mean cost shocks in people's electric bills, losing renewable energy jobs, surrendering U.S. manufacturing of clean energy solutions, and a public health and climate disaster.'
USA Today
17-03-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
Lawmakers want US Dept. of Interior Sec. Doug Burgum to halt plan to kill 450,000 owls
Lawmakers want US Dept. of Interior Sec. Doug Burgum to halt plan to kill 450,000 owls Former North Dakota governor urged to step in to stop Fish and Wildlife cull Show Caption Hide Caption To save spotted owls from extinction US officials may kill thousands of barred owls In an effort to save the spotted owl from extinction, U.S. wildlife officials are proposing to kill 450,000 barred owls. Straight Arrow News In August 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a plan to kill 450,000 invasive barred owls along the West Coast. The plan permits the lethal removal of the owls by attracting them with recorded calls and then shooting them. A group of lawmakers sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Interior last week, asking for the program to be halted, claiming it could cost more than $1.35 billion over 30 years. A group of 19 lawmakers signed a bipartisan letter last week, asking the federal government to halt a plan that aims to kill tens of thousands of barred owls along the West Coast. In a letter addressed to U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on March 7, lawmakers urged the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to stop all spending on its Barred Owl Management Strategy. Introduced last year, the plan aims to kill 450,000 invasive barred owls, which are a threat to the region's native spotted owl. The letter claims that about $3,000 would be needed to kill one owl, resulting in more than $1.35 billion over a 30-year period. The Barred Owl Management Strategy does not provide financial specifics. "This is an inappropriate and inefficient use of U.S. taxpayer dollars," the letter states. In addition to funding, the letter claims that a wildlife control plan like the Barred Owl Management Strategy has no precedent for success and that barred owls are not actually an invasive species, but rather, a part of a dynamic ecosystem. "While we do not comment on congressional correspondence, the U.S. Department of the Interior takes all correspondence from Congress seriously and carefully reviews each matter. Should there be any updates on this topic, we will provide further information at the appropriate time," the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said in a statement shared with USA TODAY. Read the full letter Can't access the above PDF? Visit More news: Climate change among factors imperiling northern spotted owls' survival What is the Barred Owl Management Strategy? Finalized in August 2024, the Barred Owl Management Strategy is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's long-term plan to protect native spotted owls in Washington, Oregon and California from the invasive barred owl species. The northern spotted owl, native to the West Coast region, has been endangered since 1990. The species is listed as Near Threatened under the Endangered Species Act and according to the American Bird Conservancy, only about 15,000 spotted owls remain in the U.S. Barred owls, larger and more aggressive than spotted owls, have been invading the West Coast region since the 20th century, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Barred owls displace spotted owls, disrupt their nesting, compete for food and in some cases, have interbred or killed spotted owls. The Barred Owl Management Strategy permits the lethal removal of barred owls by attracting the owls with recorded calls and then shooting them when they respond and approach. In areas where firearms are not allowed, barrel owls may be captured and euthanized. These procedures will be conducted in less than half of the identified regions − more than 24 million acres − and may only be completed by specialists, not the general public. "The protocol is based on the experience gathered from several previous barred owl removal studies and is designed to ensure a quick, humane kill; minimize the potential for non-fatal injury to barred owls; and vastly reduce the potential for non-target species injury or death," the strategy reads. Which lawmakers signed the letter? Republican Rep. Troy E. Nehls of Texas Democrat Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove of California Democrat Rep. Josh Harder of California Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia Democrat Rep. Troy A. Carter, Sr. of Louisiana Republican Rep. Jefferson Van Drew of New Jersey Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Andrew Ogles of Tennessee Republican Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas Democrat Rep. Donald G. Davis of North Carolina Republican Rep. Tony Wied of Wisconsin Democrat Rep. Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. of California Democrat Rep. Lois Frankel of Florida Democrat Rep. Summer L. Lee of Pennsylvania Democrat Rep. Deborah K. Ross of North Carolina Republican Rep. Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin Republican Scott Perry of Pennsylvania Republican Anna Paulina Luna of Florida Not the first time alarms have been sounded The lawmakers' letter is not the first time the Barred Owl Management Strategy has received pushback. In November, Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy filed a lawsuit in Seattle, Washington challenging the plan. The environmental organizations claimed that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to properly analyze the impacts of their strategy and improperly rejecting reasonable alternatives. The lawsuit remains underway. The organizations then, in December, asked President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to examine and terminate the plan, according to an Animal Wellness Action news release. Contributing: Zach Urness, Salem Statesman Journal Editor's note: This story was updated to correct typos. Greta Cross is a national trending reporter at USA TODAY. Follow her on X and Instagram @gretalcross. Story idea? Email her at gcross@
