Washington, D.C. (April 9, 2013) – Earlier this week, the San Jose Mercury News reported a story about a bird that supposedly needs wildfires to survive. The black-backed woodpecker feeds on insects that inhabit standing dead trees after a wildfire, and radical environmental groups are pushing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for protection of this bird under the Endangered Species Act. The John Muir Project of the Earth Island Institute, along with the Center for Biological Diversity, claim that this bird warrants protection because fire suppression, salvage logging, and forest thinning to reduce the intensity of wildfires harms the habitat of the black-backed woodpecker. In 2010, the John Muir Project released a report entitled “The Myth of ‘Catastrophic’ Wildfire,” which attempted to convince the public that wildfires are not, in fact, a danger to us. Chad Hanson, a staff ecologist at the John Muir Project, even said that he hopes the Forest Service will be proactive about “educating people that when fire happens, it is not a bad thing.” Read more »
GRANADA, COLO. – Congressman Cory Gardner (CO-04) announced today that a former internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II will soon see funds for preservation and restoration thanks to a federal grant from the National Park Service. Colorado Preservation, Inc. (CPI), a Denver-based non-profit will use the $29,060 grant to make The Granada Relocation Center, commonly known as Camp Amache, more accessible to historians and visitors. Read more »
Statement by Congressman Tom McClintock in response to the release by the Interior Department of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) calling for removal of the Klamath Dams: Read more »
Washington, DC - Today the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development announced their approval of a $1,285,000 loan to the Emmons, Logan, and McIntosh County service area project, an effort by the South Central Regional Water District to provide clean water to the citizens of South Central North Dakota. Read more »
Washington, D.C. (March 28, 2013) – This week, the Obama administration announced a new nationwide initiative. Its goal? To help wildlife adapt to the threats of climate change. The National Fish, Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy, which falls under the jurisdiction of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, plans to “reduce the negative impacts of climate change on fish, wildlife, plants, and the natural systems upon which they depend.” The plan lists off seven goals, ranging from increasing awareness to safeguard wildlife from climate change and “enhancing capacity for effective management in a changing climate” to “reducing non-climate stressors to help fish, wildlife, plants, and ecosystems adapt to a changing climate.” Read more »
Washington, D.C. (March 27, 2013) – The Obama Administration notified states Monday that there would be significant deductions in federal mineral royalties paid to states due to the effects of the sequester. The decision to cut these payments come at a great cost to Western Caucus member states, who will bear 99.3% of the burden of these cuts, totaling $109 million. This money is used by states to finance K-12 education, highways funds, community colleges, and flood protection projects, among other things. Congressional Western Caucus Chairman Steve Pearce, and Western Caucus member and Republican Study Committee Chairman Steve Scalise released the following statements in response: Read more »
Washington, D.C. – Rep. Kristi Noem announced today that she plans to introduce legislation to help fight the pine beetle infestation. This legislation will prioritize rehabilitation and restoration of federal land that has been impacted by large-scale beetle infestations and move resources from land acquisition to land management for five years. Senator John Thune (R-SD) has introduced companion legislation (S. 661) in the Senate. Read more »
WASHINGTON – Texas Congressmen Bill Flores, John Carter, K. Michael Conaway and Mac Thornberry along with New Mexico Congressman Steve Pearce introduced legislation that stops lawsuit abuse from the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Read more »
WASHINGTON– Congressman Rob Bishop (UT-01), Chairman of the Public Lands and Environmental Regulation Subcommittee, today decried President Obama’s use of the century-old Antiquities Act to create five new national monuments. The Antiquities Act, established in 1906, gives the executive branch the authority to restrict access to federally owned land by circumventing the open, public, process typically taken by Congress to establish new land designations, including national monuments. Read more »
WASHINGTON, D.C., March 25, 2013 - House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04), Senator Orin Hatch (UT), Senator John Barrasso and Rep. Cynthia Lummis (WY) today, along with 68 other Members of Congress, sent a bipartisan, bicameral letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Director Dan Ashe urging support for the delisting of the gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in all lower 48 states. Read more »
