Congress Gives Interior Programs a Treat
Yesterday, Congress handed out a giant treat to agencies charged with protecting and managing our nation’s wildlife and natural resources. The House and Senate have approved a $32.2 billion Interior and Environment Appropriations bill — a $4.7 billion increase over 2009 funding levels — which gives a much needed boost to conservation programs across the […]
Report: Climate Change Is Greatest Threat Ever To U.S. National Parks
In a recently released report, our colleagues at the Natural Resources Defense Council have identified how great a threat global warming poses to U.S. national parks. U.S. Today Science Fair reports: The report – National Parks in Peril: The Threats of Climate Disruption – outlined hazards due to rising temperatures in 25 of the country’s 351 national […]
Room to Roam: Protecting Public Lands Near and Far
Last weekend, thousands of volunteers from coast to coast took part in National Public Lands Day. Four signature sites of this year’s celebration were the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC; Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco, California; Angeles National Forest outside Los Angeles, CA; and the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site […]
Your National Parks
Ken Burns’ 12-hour series on National Parks is turning a lot of attention towards America’s treasured wilderness and natural wonders. From Mount Rainier to the Everglades, our national parks exist because of our past commitment to conservation. Now we’re being called on again to make sure our national parks make it to the next generation. […]
This Labor Day Weekend, “Snap” Your Public Lands
Labor Day weekend might mean the end of summer days, but it’s still a great excuse to spend some quality time outdoors. Even if you can only spare a few hours this weekend, consider getting together with your friends or family to take a quick trip to your nearest public lands to snap a photo (or 10) to enter […]
Happy Anniversary!
Today marks the 45th anniversary of the Wilderness Act, a landmark conservation law that helps ensure America’s pristine public lands are protected and managed to preserve their natural conditions. Thanks to the Wilderness Act, many of America’s greatest landscapes have been set aside to survive as a legacy for future generations. The idea that all […]
Let’s Go Slow on Oil Shale
Underneath a 1,300 square mile area along the T-shaped border of Colorado, Utah and Wyoming lies more estimated oil–in the form of oil shale–than all the oil in of Saudi Arabia. It seems perfect that we have all the oil we need for the next hundred years right in our own backyard. That backyard, however, […]
In the West it’s Cookin and It Ain’t Good Lookin
In Western states, land is literally being cooked to extract oil. Long avoided due to its intense water and energy demands, industries are starting to look at oil shale development to meet America’s domestic energy needs. However, this growing interest in oil shale development is two steps back in the wrong direction. The process of […]
Make a Statemant for Public Lands
Covering almost one-third of the nation, America’s public lands are some of the last and best habitat for wildlife. If you’re like me and value the beauty of public lands, the wildlife they support and recreation opportunities they provide, you may sometimes wonder what you can do to help protect these special places. While calling […]
Congress Passes Historic Plan to Protect America’s Public Lands
Congress has passed the Omnibus Public Lands Bill that will designate more than 2 million acres of wilderness in nine states and establish three new national park units, a new national monument, three new national conservation areas, more than 1,000 miles of national wild and scenic rivers, and four national trails. America’s hunters and anglers […]