TheRepublic.com - Environmental conservation and preservation News

NC Senate takes up energy conservation rollback

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 04:05:04 -0400

RALEIGH, North Carolina - A bill rolling back energy-efficiency standards for commercial builders in North Carolina is headed to the Senate floor.

Senate panel OKs renewal of timber county funding

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:58:14 -0400

GRANTS PASS, Oregon - A U. S. Senate committee on Tuesday endorsed legislation to extend federal subsidies for timber counties one more year, and to protect more wilderness and wild rivers in Oregon.

NC group offers reward for stolen Venus flytraps

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:51:10 -0400

WILMINGTON, North Carolina - A North Carolina environmental group is offering a $1,500 reward to find the thief who stole more than 1,000 Venus flytraps from a city garden in Wilmington.

USFS may not refill Incline Lake after all

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:37:42 -0400

RENO, Nevada - The U.S. Forest Service is leaning toward abandoning plans to restore a small lake overlooking Lake Tahoe to the way it was when the rich and famous vacationed at the private enclave a half century ago and instead let it return to a natural wetland.

Nebraska habitat estimate cut for endangered bug

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:57:13 -0400

LINCOLN, Nebraska - A federal agency has proposed a nearly 50 percent cut in the Nebraska land the agency says is needed to support the endangered Salt Creek tiger beetle.

Appeals court: BLM must story more grazing plans

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:25:46 -0400

GREAT FALLS, Montana - The Bureau of Land Management must consider a wider range of grazing alternatives, including some that provide more protections for public land, when it reviews permits in the Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled.

3 state biologists get rescue awards

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 05:07:03 -0400

SANTA FE, New Mexico - Three state biologists are being honored for their work rescuing threatened and endangered species.

Lawsuits filed against Calif.'s Delta Plan

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:35:14 -0400

FRESNO, California - Several opposing groups have filed lawsuits against a broad, long-range plan to manage the ailing Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta that was adopted in May.

Environmental group sues feds over Idaho water

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:50:16 -0400

BOISE, Idaho - An environmental group is suing federal water and wildlife agencies, contending that the agencies have long delayed taking the steps needed to protect Idaho's water quality.

Quinn signs into law tough fracking regulations

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:27:09 -0400

CHICAGO - Gov. Pat Quinn on Monday signed into law the nation's strictest regulations for high-volume oil and gas drilling.

Alaska receives donation for debris removal

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:07:08 -0400

JUNEAU, Alaska - The state has received a $19,000 donation for marine debris cleanup on Alaska shores.

Should jeeps be allowed in parts of the preserve?

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:53:29 -0400

PHOENIX - The McDowell Sonoran Preserve is the jewel of Scottsdale, 43 square miles of pristine desert set aside for the sake of its own beauty.

Quivira hunting proposal worries conservationists

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:49:37 -0400

STAFFORD, Kansas - Conservationists are raising concerns that a proposal to expand hunting at the Quivira National Wildlife Refuge in south-central Kansas could threaten whooping cranes that migrate through there, while refuge managers contend the federally endangered birds would be protected.

More peregrine falcons released in western SD

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 08:47:46 -0400

RAPID CITY, South Dakota - Four young peregrine falcons have been released in Rapid City as part of an effort to re-establish a population of the birds in western South Dakota's Black Hills.

DNR: 750 acres in Charlevoix Co. to be protected

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 05:48:04 -0400

CHARLEVOIX, Michigan - The state Department of Natural Resources says about 750 acres in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula will be protected, available for public use and managed as a working forest.

Conservation group hosting Neb. bird watching tour

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 21:05:04 -0400

TEKAMAH, Nebraska - A conservation group is sponsoring a guided bird watching tour and habitat presentation at Summit Lake in Tekamah.

Judge: Ruling on Vegas pipeline plan to take time

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 17:26:39 -0400

ELY, Nevada - A state judge in Nevada says it will be months before he issues a ruling in a challenge over a $15 billion pipeline project to carry billions of gallons of water to Las Vegas from rural counties along the Nevada-Utah line.

Demolition work starts for Grand Traverse Bay park

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 16:50:24 -0400

ACME TOWNSHIP, Michigan - Work starts Monday on demolition of several buildings along Grand Traverse Bay where a mile-long waterfront park is taking shape.

Fracking fuels water fights in nation's dry spots

Sun, 16 Jun 2013 15:39:50 -0400

SAN FRANCISCO - The latest domestic energy boom is sweeping through some of the nation's driest pockets, drawing millions of gallons of water to unlock oil and gas reserves from beneath the Earth's surface.

Scientists hunt for rabbit habitat - with drones

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 14:26:11 -0400

BOISE, Idaho - Scientists in Idaho will be flying military-style drone aircraft over the state's sagebrush sea, not in a bid to find terrorists but to help locate the best habitat for one of West's smallest mammals, the pygmy rabbit.

Forest Service plans prescribed burns for Croatan

Sat, 15 Jun 2013 06:13:04 -0400

NEW BERN, North Carolina - The U.S. Forest Service is conducting a prescribed burn this weekend on up to 1,000 acres in the Croatan National Forest along North Carolina's coast.

Judge won't stop Klamath irrigation shut-off

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 19:11:56 -0400

KLAMATH FALLS, Oregon - A judge on Friday denied motions to temporarily stop the state of Oregon from shutting off irrigation on ranches in the upper Klamath Basin to satisfy water rights the Klamath Tribes are using to protect fish.

Enviros: New Ind. BP refinery permit falls short

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:17:38 -0400

INDIANAPOLIS - An environmental group that helped push BP PLC to a multimillion-dollar settlement last year over air emissions at its northwestern Indiana oil refinery says the sprawling complex's revised wastewater permit falls short of what's needed to protect Lake Michigan's waters.

Inspector general confirms wildlife agency probe

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:56:06 -0400

FRANKFORT, Kentucky - The Office of Inspector General in the Kentucky Cabinet for Public Protection has opened an investigation into the Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources.

Dishing up trash: New look for sustainable seafood

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:28:22 -0400

Most people have only ever seen a scorpion fish in an aquarium. Unless they dine at Carolina Crossroads Restaurant in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where they'll find the spiny, venomous creature on the menu.