On November 13, 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced their first revision to the Wilderness Stewardship Policy since the original policy was issued in 1986. According to the Service, the policy (which can be viewed online) was issued without a chance for public comment and includes the following provisions:

The policy affirms that [...]

On November 7, the Environmental News Service posted an article highlighting the fact that the recently passed $700 billion bailout of the U.S. financial system will also bring more money to local governments that host federal public lands — including national wildlife refuges. Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne will be announcing and distributing this money [...]

Recently this blog has been looking at the predictions for the new Secretary of Interior. With Obama’s decisive victory yesterday, all eyes are turning to who he will appoint to head the major departments and agencies of the federal government, and this includes the Department of the Interior, which oversees the National Wildlife Refuge System.
On [...]

In a previous blog post, I talked about speculation from The Huffington Post about who the new Secretary of Interior might be if Barack Obama wins the election, as the polls seem to indicate.
Now Grist — the website of environmental news and commentary — is offering their predictions for a future Secretary of Interior, and [...]

The most respected polls in America clearly indicate that unless something dramatic happens in the next ten days, Democrat Barack Obama will likely be the next president of the United States, which means we’ll soon be hearing names tossed about for those individuals who will be serving in the new cabinet.
Fortunately, recent media reports indicate [...]

Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne recently announced that the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission approved $4.1 million in funding to add more than 4,400 wetland acres to seven national wildlife refuges.
According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service press release:

Among the wetlands that will be acquired in national wildlife refuges are 2,027 acres for the [...]

In past blog posts, I’ve discussed the raging controversy that currently exists along the U.S./Mexico border where the Bush administration has waived countless federal laws in order to rush the construction of a poorly planned and largely ineffective border wall that is supposed to enhance our national security.
On June 27, the Texas Observer provided some [...]

Last week the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reached an agreement with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) to jointly manage the National Bison Range, which is in Montana and part of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
An original agreement with the tribes at the Bison Range broke down over 18 months ago amid accusations [...]

Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne recently announced that the government is accepting comments on the Bush administration’s recent proposal to allow concealed weapons in national parks and national wildlife refuges, which would overturn a 25-year-old regulation that has required guns be unloaded and placed out of sight, such as in the trunk of the owner’s [...]

The Department of Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the well known and highly respected Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology as the two groups join together to promote birding, habitat conservation and citizen science to a broad audience across the country.
According to the USFWS:

The partnership [...]