Environment
Michigan shifts strategy on Line 5, drops federal case
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has voluntarily dismissed her lawsuit against Canadian pipeline company Enbridge, six days after a federal judge ruled in Enbridge’s favor that the case would be heard in federal court. Whitmer’s office signaled in a release Tuesday that the state is “shifting its legal strategy.” Rather than attempting to appeal Judge Janet Neff’s […]
Member of committee guiding wolf policy has been cited for illegal trapping
A member of the committee responsible for establishing how wolves will be managed in Wisconsin has twice been cited for violations of state trapping laws, court records show. Patrick Quaintance, a former warden with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), is a member of the Wolf Management Plan Committee (WMPC) — which is working […]
Sage-grouse protection plans in the West under review by Biden administration
The Bureau of Land Management is updating Obama-era plans to manage the greater sage-grouse in 10 Western states. The BLM has published a request for comments to help update management plans for the bird’s habitat in Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and other Western states. The Interior Department agency will review new scientific data, including […]
DNR releases figures on preliminary deer hunts
The Department of Natural Resources has released the preliminary deer harvest and license sale totals for the opening weekend of the state’s 170th gun deer season. The regular deer season will continue through Nov. 28, following the statewide muzzleloader season (Nov. 29-Dec. 8). The statewide antlerless-only season will last four days, (Dec. 9-12). A DNR […]
Biden opens oil reserve to relieve high gas prices—but it won’t be immediate
As gasoline prices spiral ahead of the big holiday travel season, President Joe Biden authorized the release of a record 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve Tuesday—complicating his administration’s goal to transition to cleaner energy sources. In prepared remarks, Biden said he coordinated the release from the reserve, a complex of […]
Senate confirms first tribal member in history to lead National Park Service
The U.S. Senate approved by voice vote late Thursday the nomination of Charles F. Sams III as the first confirmed National Park Service director since 2017. Sams, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation near Pendleton, Ore., will be the first tribal member to lead the Park Service in the […]
Environmentalists urge keeping climate-oriented job and training program in budget bill
A $30 billion proposal to create a new “Civilian Climate Corps” in the U.S. offers a chance to address climate change while also building skills and creating living wage jobs for people in need of them, advocates say. The idea, inspired by the New Deal’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) that boosted employment and resulted in […]
Legislative roadblocks force DNR to abandon water pollution protections
In early 2019, a drinking water study in rural southwest Wisconsin captured headlines across the state. An alarming 42% of the private wells sampled were contaminated with bacteria or nitrates or both, rendering the water unsafe to drink. The study came on the heels of other concerning well test results in northeast, central and western […]
Jefferson Co. judge rules DNR violated law by not holding wolf hunt in February
A Jefferson County judge ruled on Thursday that the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) violated the law when it chose not to hold a wolf hunt last winter after the animal was taken off the federal list of endangered species. The judge, Bennett Brantmeier, ultimately forced a wolf hunt to be held after a […]
DNR scraps clean water effort
On Wednesday the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced it is abandoning its effort to develop regulations that would reduce nitrate pollution in drinking water caused by manure and commercial fertilizer runoff. “The statutory process and associated firm timelines established by the Legislature for rule-making do not allow adequate time for the department to […]
Senators urge increased production of fossil fuels in reaction to spiraling energy costs
Days after global leaders agreed for the first time to decrease coal usage and subsidies for fossil fuels, U.S. senators battled over rising gasoline prices and urged action on the high cost of energy—including by increasing production of coal, oil and gas. The Tuesday hearing, led by Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Joe Manchin […]
DNR accepting applications for diesel reduction projects
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is accepting applications for projects that reduce diesel emissions and improve air quality and human health. The applications will be accepted through Jan. 7, 2022 with approximately $320,000 available to fund Wisconsin-based projects to reduce emissions. According to a DNR press release, funding for the projects will be supported […]