Jimmy Tobias is a contributing writer for Pacific Standard and a freelance reporter. His work has appeared in The Nation, Outside, High Country News, and others. He is a former staff reporter for the Missoula Independent, Montana's largest newsweekly.
David Bernhardt, a former oil and gas lobbyist, is a behind-the-scenes operator who has positioned himself as an ardent opponent of conservation advocates.
Under the Real ID Act, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen has the power to bypass environmental safeguards, rendering any ecological downside to a border wall a moot point.
Jonathan Motl waged a fierce campaign against unaccountable election spending in the Big Sky state. His work carries lessons for other governments grappling with the same scourge.
Whether Ryan Zinke is in or out of office, a cohort of right-wing industry advocates still wield huge influence over the DOI.
The Democratic congressman will soon be able to reverse much of the anti-conservation legacy that his predecessor leaves behind.
"They are undermining the department's mission at every turn": New documents reveal just how much the Department of the Interior favored industry over conservation.
New documents obtained by Pacific Standard show the scope of Utah's efforts to roll back key protections for public lands across the country.
Senator Mike Lee of Utah wants to take away public lands. His reasons are all wrong.
Records obtained by Pacific Standard reveal that a top official at the DOI had a hand in nixing a government-funded public-health study in Appalachia—after a series of meetings with some of the most powerful mining players in the country.
California plant lovers are finding—and nurturing—species once presumed to be extinct in the wild.
The results of Idaho's gubernatorial primaries suggest a positive shift for conservation.
A high-level official at the Department of the Interior held meetings with a previous employer, the Koch-linked Texas Public Policy Foundation, while it was involved in legal action against the department, according to newly obtained documents.
Records reveal that, following requests by fossil fuel industry groups, a top official at the Department of the Interior appeared to take credit for helping to delay new federal protections for a once-endangered species.
Public records show that a senior DOI adviser has met with mining and fossil-fuel representatives far more than she has with environmentalists.
Public records show that industry groups and conservative politicians have had the ear of top Department of the Interior officials as they seek to dismantle conservation protections for the imperiled species.
Daniel Jorjani, the Department of the Interior's principal deputy solicitor, once advised Charles Koch. Now, he takes meetings with industry representatives and rolls back conservation protections.
The Mangrove Association and its allies in El Salvador are showing that conservation works best if it has grassroots organizing behind it.
Representative Marcy Kaptur, the dean of Ohio's congressional delegation, has a plan to fix the public lands.
Nineteen Republicans voted the Secure American Energy Act out of committee this month. They've collectively received millions from oil and gas interests.
The secretary of the interior wants to raise user fees at the national parks. His proposal will hurt all but the wealthiest Americans, and it won't work.
Exaggeration and misdirection can only damage the conservation movement's credibility.
The NPS is legally obligated to better manage its enormous crowds, but it is crippled by budget cuts and maintenance backlogs.
The beverage industry spent millions trying to get its way in Washington, D.C.—and it worked.
For the far right, Ryan Zinke's national monument review is just the beginning.
Climate change may drive as many as one in three parasite species extinct by 2070. That's very bad.
The Federal Land Freedom Act has nothing to do with freedom, and everything to do with avarice.
A new report by Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee outlines the partisan, industry-friendly nature of Trump's national monument review.
It's an alarmist, politically driven catchphrase. And, from a scientific perspective, it has little credibility.
Armed with potent propaganda, House Republicans are targeting the environmental movement over alleged Kremlin ties.
In a new report, the Union of Concerned Scientists strives to document and detail all of the Trump administration's anti-science actions.
With Outdoor Retailer's departure, Utah pays dearly for its attack on public lands.
Representative Bruce Westerman has received more than $100,000 in timber industry campaign donations. Now, he is pushing a bill that relaxes environmental regulations on the same industry.
User fees and other pay-to-play policies are a regressive scheme that won't fix our public lands. We should resist them.
The Department of the Interior's sage grouse review is a big win for fossil fuel interests.
After recommending that Bears Ears National Monument be reduced in size, one thing is clear: Ryan Zinke is nothing like Teddy Roosevelt.
And the federal government can't do much about it.
Amid vigorous public lands activism, Representative Mark Amodei, a leader of the right-wing land transfer movement, retreats.
David Bernhardt, President Trump's pick for the No. 2 position at the Department of the Interior, has some explaining to do.
With more than $1.6 million from groups backed by shadowy billionaires, the Sutherland Institute, based in Utah, has set its sights on the Bears Ears National Monument.
Representative Raúl Grijalva of Arizona is staunchly progressive and deeply committed to protecting public lands.
Dig behind the headlines, and you'll find powerful propaganda at play.
The state’s government has helped lead the war on national forests and other federal land. The outdoor recreation community is pushing back.
When it comes to imperiled species, sometimes carelessness kills.
As many millions of tourists descend on the national parks this season, is the agency overlooking its obligations under the law?
Wildlife Services, an infamous federal agency that kills tens of thousands of native predators a year, is reviled by conservationists around the country. Is reform looming?
Why San Francisco, a city known for its innovative thinking and environmental leadership, has been unable to save its official bird.
A scrappy group of backcountry hunters wants to keep drones away from wildlife—and they're winning.
How can conservation possibly succeed on a planetary scale if key green leaders and allies keep getting gunned down?
