Archive
Chicago Selected as Priority City by U.S. Department of the Interior to Connect Youth to the Great Outdoors
The initiative, funded through a $5 million national commitment by the American Express Foundation, will provide two years of funding for the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago to create a community coordinator position to help coordinate efforts, facilitate collaboration, grow resources, and increase participation in outdoor programs on all public lands in Chicago, from local parks to federal lands and waters.
Secretary Jewell, Director Hopper Laud Construction of Nation’s First Offshore Wind Farm
Deepwater Wind is constructing a five-turbine, 30-megawatt wind farm in state waters about three nautical miles southeast of Block Island. At 589 feet above sea level, the turbines will be among the tallest in the world. The project, scheduled to be online in 2016, is expected to power about 17,000 homes.
Amid Poaching Crisis, President Obama Announces Proposal to Tighten Controls on Domestic Ivory Trade
President Obama today announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is proposing new regulations that would prohibit most interstate commerce in African elephant ivory and further restrict commercial exports. This action, combined with others FWS has already taken, will result in a near total ban on the domestic commercial trade of African elephant ivory. The proposed rule builds upon restrictions put in place last year following President Obama’s Executive Order on combating wildlife trafficking.
U.S. Department of the Interior Signs Record of Decision For Four Corners Power Plant and Navajo Mine Energy Project
Deputy Secretary Connor today approved the Four Corners Power Plant (FCPP) and Navajo Mine Energy Project in northwestern New Mexico, under a plan that would minimize and mitigate the project’s projected environmental impacts while maintaining the substantial economic benefits of coal mining and energy production for the Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and local communities.
Interior Department Unveils Proposed Stream Protection Rule to Safeguard Communities from Coal Mining Operations
The proposed Stream Protection Rule released today would include reasonable and straightforward reforms to revise three-decades-old regulations for coal mining in order to avoid or minimize impacts on surface water, groundwater, fish, wildlife, and other natural resources. The proposed rule, which reflects updated science, would replace the 1983 regulations and would better protect the resources.
Secretaries Vilsack and Jewell Laud President Obama’s Designation of Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell joined members of Congress, California State and local elected officials, and community members in praising the President’s designation of the Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument.
Secretary Jewell Applauds President Obama’s Action to Establish Waco Mammoth National Monument in Texas
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell welcomed President Obama’s designation of the Waco Mammoth Site as one of the nation’s newest national monuments, permanently protecting an area with extremely well-preserved fossils of a Columbian Mammoth herd.
Secretary Jewell Applauds President Obama’s Designation of Basin and Range National Monument in Nevada
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today joined members of Congress, state elected officials, and local community leaders in applauding the President’s designation of the Basin and Range National Monument on public lands in southeastern Nevada.
Interior Department Announces $11.8 Million to Support Tribal Climate Change Adaptation and Planning Projects
Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) has awarded $11.8 million in Tribal Climate Resilience Program funding awards. The funding will help federally recognized tribes and tribally chartered organizations with climate change adaptation and ocean and coastal management planning projects.