Bureau of Land Management
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DeChristopher case begs question: What if enviros were allowed to bid on oil leases?
What if instead of landing him in jail, Tim DeChristopher's bidding was welcomed? What if enviros were allowed to bid for federal land leases?
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Feds lease prime solar land, but nary a panel is in sight
Congress set aside millions of acres for solar farms. Not one panel has been erected. Also, Greenpeace v Facebook and Tea Party v climate change
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Is Bill Barrett Corp's Major Lobbying Spree Aimed at Ken Salazar?
In the fall of 2008, the outgoing Bush administration gave the oil and gas industry a parting gift that now threatens to destroy the Roan Plateau in Colorado, an area known for its stunning vistas, “beloved by hunters, anglers and hikers for its clear streams, herds of deer and elk, and rugged beauty.” The Roan, […]
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BLM opens land near Alaska’s Bristol Bay to development
Some 2 million acres near Alaska’s Bristol Bay will be opened to development for the first time under a plan released Friday by the Bureau of Land Management. The agency’s decision to throw the door open for mining and drilling in the area, which is home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon run, is opposed […]
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BLM publishes proposed rule which ignores House committee’s resolution
Originally posted at the Wonk Room. —– The Bush administration is rushing forward with plans to mine the Grand Canyon for uranium, ignoring a command from Congress to cease such operations. Since 2003, mining interests have staked out over 800 uranium claims within five miles of Grand Canyon National Park. As Mineweb reports, “The Bureau […]
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House energy bill includes oil-shale provisions that alarm conservation groups
The energy bill that passed in the House last night also permits forward movement on commercial oil-shale development, a provision added to the legislation on Monday. The provision repeals the current moratorium on finalizing regulations regarding oil-shale production, and would allow states to decide whether or not to permit oil-shale development on federal lands within […]
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The Supreme Court considers an extortion suit against federal land managers
The Supreme Court heard argument in a curious case this week. No, I'm not talking about the celebrated "Bong Hits for Jesus" case. The second case on Monday's docket involved an Alabaman turned Wyoming rancher claiming that government bureaucrats had engaged in extortion by enforcing the letter of the law.
An appellate court in Denver, Colo., ruled that Harvey Frank Robbins (the rancher) could sue Charles Wilkie and other Bureau of Land Management employees under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (also known as RICO) -- a law used to prosecute mobsters involved in organized crime.
Now the chance for the Supremes to weigh in, and maybe hint at what they're thinking ...
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Keep the Pedal From the Metal
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is barring off-road enthusiasts from one of their favorite playgrounds in Utah — but this time, it’s to safeguard their own health, not that of the environment. At Manning Canyon, a recreation area near Salt Lake City, the soil is contaminated with arsenic, lead, mercury, and other heavy metals […]
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Coal bed methane extraction threatens Wyoming’s Red Desert
OREGON BUTTES, Wyo. Tom Bell remembers how plush the carpet was in Interior Secretary Stewart Udall’s Washington, D.C., office. Bell spent time on his hands and knees there during the 1960s, poring over a large map while making the case for preserving Wyoming’s Red Desert as a national pronghorn antelope refuge. The Pinnacles in the […]