Conservation laws and regulations

FILE - This on Feb. 27, 2016, file photo provided by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, from a remote camera set by biologist Chris Stermer, shows a mountain wolverine in the Tahoe National Forest near Truckee, Calif., a rare sighting of the predator in the state. U.S. wildlife officials have agreed to decide by the end of August 2020, whether climate change and other threats are pushing the rare wolverine closer to extinction. Government attorneys and conservation groups that sued to force a decision filed court documents Thursday, July 2, settling the lawsuit and agreeing to the deadline. (Chris Stermer/California Department of Fish and Wildlife via AP, File)

US sets deadline for wolverines protection decision

Jul. 2, 2020 4:06 PM EDT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. wildlife officials have agreed to decide by the end of August whether climate change and other threats are pushing the rare wolverine closer to extinction in the mountains of the West. Government attorneys and conservation groups that had sued to force a decision filed court...

FILE - This March 10, 2010, file photo provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service shows a female bi-state sage grouse in Nevada. Conservationists are headed back to court again to try to force the Trump administration to protect the rare game bird along the California-Nevada line where the government keeps changing its mind about whether to add the cousin of the greater sage grouse to the U.S. list of threatened and endangered species. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service via AP, File)

Lawsuit brewing in fight over game bird in Sierra Nevada

Jun. 26, 2020 12:09 AM EDT

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Conservationists are headed back to court to try to force the Trump administration to protect a rare game bird along the California-Nevada border as the government keeps changing its mind about whether to list the cousin of the greater sage grouse as threatened or endangered. Three...

FILE — In this June 8, 2020, file photo, Sen. Edward Markey, left, D-Mass., and challenger Rep. Joseph Kennedy III, D-Mass., participate in a televised debate ahead of the Democratic primary, in East Providence, R.I. During the coronavirus pandemic, Markey missed 34 of 42 Senate votes in May and the first half of June, or about 80 percent, according to information from GovTrack, an independent clearinghouse for congressional data. (Jessica Bradley/WPRI-TV via AP, Pool, File)

Where's Markey? Senator misses dozens of votes in pandemic

Jun. 25, 2020 12:18 PM EDT

BOSTON (AP) — When the U.S. Senate gathered to debate a major, bipartisan bill aimed at spending nearly $3 billion on conservation projects last week, just two senators failed to cast votes. One was Sen. Edward Markey, who is locked in a tough re-election primary battl e against a fellow Democrat —...

FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2018 file photo, emigrant Peak is seen rising above the Paradise Valley and the Yellowstone River near Emigrant, Mont. Lawmakers have reached bipartisan agreement on an election-year deal to double spending on a popular conservation program and devote nearly $2 billion a year to improve and maintain national parks. (AP Photo/Matthew Brown, File)

Senate approves $2.8B plan to boost conservation, parks

Jun. 17, 2020 3:49 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate has approved a bipartisan bill that would spend nearly $3 billion on conservation projects, outdoor recreation and maintenance of national parks and other public lands, a measure supporters say would be the most significant conservation legislation enacted in nearly half a...

In time of crises, lands bill gives Senate a chance to unite

Jun. 13, 2020 8:39 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — At a time of national crises, the Senate has been able to come together on a topic both parties celebrate: the great outdoors. While the country copes with the coronavirus, an economic downturn and a reckoning over racism, lawmakers have reached bipartisan agreement on an election-year...

FILE - In this March 29, 2020, file photo, a bird flies among wind turbines near King City, Mo. The Trump administration is moving to scale back criminal enforcement of a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species. The former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service told AP billions of birds could die if the government doesn't hold companies liable for accidental bird deaths. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)

US moves forward with plan to end wild bird protections

Jun. 5, 2020 2:15 PM EDT

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — The Trump administration moved forward Friday with plans to scale back a century-old law protecting most American wild bird species despite warnings that billions of birds could die as a result. Officials said in a draft study of the proposal that it could result in more deaths of...

Trump seeks to scale back environmental reviews for projects

Jun. 4, 2020 8:44 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing agencies to look for ways to speed up building of highways and other major projects by scaling back environmental reviews, invoking special powers he has under the coronavirus emergency. Separately Thursday, the...