In the latest move to keep the public out of public lands, E&E News is reporting that the Trump administration is planning to permanently end recreational use on the National Mall. The proposal looks at closing 28 athletic fields on the National Mall and at Rock Creek Park.
In an interview with NPR’s 1A today, Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt defended a proposal by Interior Secretary Zinke to raise entry fees at some national parks by as much as 200%, saying the cost is on par with what it costs his family to see a 3-D movie.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on the FY18 budget resolution (216-212) which advances drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
LOS ANGELES-- Sierra Club Ambassador Kiersey Clemons joined a three day Sierra Club Outing to Bears Ears National Monument in Utah to experience the extraordinary red-rock terrain and deep history of Tribal Nations tied to this area. The monument is at the center of the Trump administration's plans to roll back protections for iconic lands across the country. Watch the just released video from Clemons’ trip here: https://youtu.be/WAQxN5DTmVU
Under the leadership of Secretary Zinke, the Department of the Interior has proposed raising entry fees at major national parks across the country. The proposal would hamper the the public’s ability to enjoy our natural wonders at the same time that Zinke is looking to ease access for the fossil fuel industry.
Instead of protecting public health and the environment, a new rule will only serve the coal industry, community members and advocates say. After the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) unreasonable request to delay the long overdue deadline for the final Texas Regional Haze plan, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is doubling down and putting the health of Texas and Oklahoma’s families and public lands at risk for the benefit of Texas coal plants. While claiming to address sulfur dioxide pollution from Texas coal plants, the final rule issued by EPA today actually allows more pollution from these plants than they produced in 2016. By failing to finalize and implement the 2016 proposed plan that required actual pollution reductions in Texas, Administrator Pruitt is putting the interests of polluters over public health in Texas, Oklahoma and across the central United States.
A leaked copy of Interior Secretary Zinke’s secret recommendation on national monuments shows the Secretary hopes to strip protections from public lands and waters across the country. Sites that could lose protections include Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante in Utah, Cascade-Siskiyou in Oregon, Gold Butte in Nevada, Katahdin Woods and Waters in Maine, Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks and Rio Grande del Norte in New Mexico, Northeast Canyons and Seamounts near Massachusetts and Rose Atoll and Pacific Remote Islands.