WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the House Natural Resources Committee took up legislation to designate new wilderness in California, Washington, and Colorado. Included in the bills passed out of committee are the Central Coast Heritage Protection Act (H.R. 2199); San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act (H.R. 2215); Northwest California Wilderness, Recreation, and Working Forests Act (H.R. 2250); Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (H.R. 2642); the Colorado Wilderness Act of 2019 (H.R. 2546); and the Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act (H.R. 1708).
WASHINGTON,D.C. -- Today the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed the Restore Our Parks Act (S. 500), the Land and Water Conservation Fund Permanent Funding Act (S. 1081) and the Conservation of America’s Shoreline Terrain and Aquatic Life (COASTAL) Act out of committee.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The US House of Representatives today passed legislation to finally reform the Mining Law of 1872. The legislation provides the first update to the mining laws since the time of pick and shovel miners.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today marks 47 years since the Clean Water Act was passed into law. Since then, water quality in the United States has improved remarkably. The number of healthy waterways has doubled, providing clean water for drinking, recreation and wildlife. Like other bedrock environmental safeguards, the Clean Water Act has come under attack recently as the Trump administration has sought to make it harder for states to protect local waterways.
WASHINGTON, D.C: Daniel Jorjani was confirmed today as solicitor for the Department of the Interior. His confirmation comes as Jorjani is under investigation for his role in the Interior Department’s unethical public records process.
Today the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife will hold a hearing a suite of bills to strengthen protections for endangered species. Included is the Protect America’s Wildlife and Fish in Need (PAW and FIN) of Conservation Act, which reverses recent Trump administration rollbacks to the highly successful Endangered Species Act.
The hearing comes at the same time the Western Caucus is holding a roundtable to unveil a number of bills that would further undermine endangered species protections.
WASHINGTON, DC: Today, Representatives Grijalva, Beyer, and Dingell introduced the Protect America’s Wildlife and Fish in Need of Protection Act. A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Sen. Udall. The bill reverses recent Trump administrations rollbacks to the highly successful Endangered Species Act.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The House Natural Resources Committee today is holding an oversight hearing on Interior Secretary Bernhardt’s plan to relocate the Bureau of Land Management headquarters from Washington, D.C. to Grand Junction, Colorado. New questions about the move have been raised following the naming of William Pendley as acting head of the agency.
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Senator Cory Booker today introduced the Climate Stewardship Act. The legislation, endorsed by the Sierra Club, calls for the planting of billions of trees, improved conservation practices on working lands, grants for renewable energy and energy efficiency on our nation’s farms, and wetland preservation. It is sponsored in the House by Rep. Deb Haaland.
Today a House Natural Resources Subcommittee is holding a hearing on the Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act. The bill would permanently protect 1 million acres of public lands around the Grand Canyon from new uranium mining claims. It follows the release late yesterday of recommendations from Trump’s Interior Department that clear the way for a vast expansion of dangerous mining on public lands.
Today, Sierra Club joined U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva, Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee; leaders from Indigenous nations; local elected officials; veterans; and conservation groups in supporting H.R.1373 - Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act. The Grand Canyon Centennial Protection Act, will make the 20-year mining moratorium established in 2012 permanent. All told, the legislation would protect approximately one million acres of public lands north and south of the Grand Canyon from toxic mining.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife today held a hearing on the Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act. Introduced by Rep. Grijalva, the bill would protect grizzly bears at a time when hostile state management and federal proposals, climate change and shifting food sources threaten their continued recovery. Grizzly bears are sacred to many Tribal Nations and as a top predator, play a vital role in balancing natural systems.