The new director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently made some of his first public comments since assuming his new position. The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Director Dan Ashe, who was attending the Outdoor Writers Association of America Conference at Snowbird, expressed concerns over the budget cutting proposals put forth by House [...]

Dan Ashe has been confirmed as the 16th Director the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency Ashe has served in for more than 15 years.
Ashe was nominated on December 3, 2010, but Republicans upheld his confirmation as they attempted to use his position as a pawn in their battles over deepwater drilling permits in [...]

As this blog reported on May 31, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is in the process of producing a required conservation plan for Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge in Idaho, but early signs that the Service might restrict recreational activities had local politicians calling for the refuge to be stripped of federal control.
Now Idaho’s [...]

As this blog reported on April 14, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been in the process of producing a required conservation plan for Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge in Idaho, but early signs that the Service might restrict recreational activities had local politicians calling for the refuge to be stripped of federal control.
As [...]

Republican senators continue to uphold the nomination of long-time U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employee Dan Ashe to become director of the Service — which has been without a designated leader since February 2010, when former director Sam Hamilton had a fatal heart attack while skiing.
Despite widespread support for Dan Ashe, Republican Senators David Vitter [...]

If the federal government shuts down now or in the near future due to budget reasons, what will it mean for refuges? According to the Department of the Interior shutdown fact sheet:

Visitors to national parks, wildlife refuges, and public lands should be advised that -

The National Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service and Bureau of [...]

As Congress and the White House continue to debate about the House GOP budget, which guts funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the Nature Conservancy in California is touting the wonderful impact that the Land and Water Conservation Fund has had on protecting prime natural areas within the state.

Dan Roth with the Nature [...]

The National Wildlife Refuge Association has issued an alert for refuge advocates who are needed to protect funding for the National Wildlife Refuge System.
The House of Representatives’ Continuing Resolution (CR) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 proposes cuts to current funding by at least $60 billion across non-defense, discretionary programs. This includes a $12 million [...]

In case you’ve been living in a cave the past week, the House Republicans have officially hijacked the budget process and are now using it to carpet bomb every environmental protection law and regulation that their ideology (which is always aligned with big business) rejects.
House Speaker John Boehner once talked about not overplaying the [...]

The National Wildlife Refuge Association has posted a video featuring Desiree Sorenson-Groves, Vice-President of Government Affairs, where she explains the maze of budget action that is currently happening on Capitol Hill and how it relates to our National Wildlife Refuge System.
 

The Wilderness Society has a budget blog on their website that’s tracking the GOP’s attack on wild lands and conservation in the current budget debate.
Scary to read how the GOP thinks the last election has given them an open door to attack all wild lands, endangered species, and many important conservation efforts that America [...]

The National Wildlife Refuge Association is calling for refuge advocates, conservationists, and wildlife supporters to act now to prevent cuts proposed by House Republicans for both the National Wildlife Refuge System budget and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is a major source of funding to acquire new lands and waters for national wildlife [...]