US holds first oil lease sale for Alaska's Arctic refuge

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. government held its first-ever oil and gas lease sale Wednesday for Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, an event critics labeled as a bust with major oil companies staying on the sidelines and a state corporation emerging as the main bidder. The sale, held as scheduled...

Judge allows oil, gas lease sales in Alaska’s Arctic refuge

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A U.S. judge on Tuesday refused to halt an oil and gas lease sale for Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge that was pushed by the Trump administration in its final days. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason's decision came after conservationists and Indigenous groups...

U.S. judge allows oil and gas lease sales in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge amid environmental concerns

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — U.S. judge allows oil and gas lease sales in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge amid environmental concerns.

Alaska court hears challenge to Arctic refuge oil leases

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Attorneys for conservation groups asked a U.S. judge Monday to halt the issuance of oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ahead of a planned sale this week. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said she would try to issue a decision by late Tuesday, the day...

Ranchers whose case sparked standoff may get grazing rights

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The federal government has proposed awarding grazing allotments to an Oregon ranching family whose members were convicted of arson in a court battle that triggered the takeover of a federal wildlife refuge by right-wing extremists. The Dec. 31 action by the Bureau of Land Management in...

Kentucky adds its 1st new nature preserve in a decade.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The state’s newest nature preserve is a hilly 338-acre refuge a few miles from the Kentucky River, much of it wooded, with a beautiful creek running through it and the potential to restore endangered plants and rare mussels. The Drennon Creek State Nature Preserve in Henry...

Damage from border wall: blown-up mountains, toppled cactus

GUADALUPE CANYON, Ariz. (AP) — Work crews ignite dynamite blasts in the remote and rugged southeast corner of Arizona, forever reshaping the landscape as they pulverize mountaintops in a rush to build more of President Donald Trump’s border wall before his term ends next month. Each blast in...

Groups seek to block lease plans for Alaska refuge

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Indigenous and conservation groups asked a federal judge Tuesday to block the Trump administration from issuing oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The groups in separate filings requested a decision by Jan. 6, the date of a scheduled lease sale. They say the...

US plans oil, gas lease sale in Alaska's Arctic refuge

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management plans to hold an oil and gas lease sale for Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge next month, weeks before President-elect Joe Biden, who has opposed drilling in the region, is set to take office. Conservation groups criticized Thursday's...

'World’s loneliest elephant' arrives safely in Cambodia

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — The pachyderm dubbed the “ world’s loneliest elephant ” after languishing alone for years in a Pakistani zoo was greeted on his arrival in Cambodia on Monday by chanting Buddhist monks and was then sent on his way to a wildlife sanctuary. Like other...