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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Political appointees in the Trump administration relied on faulty science to justify stripping habitat protections for the imperiled northern spotted owl, U.S. wildlife officials said Tuesday as they struck down a rule that would have opened millions of acres of forest in Oregon, Washington and California to potential logging. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reversed a decision made five days before Trump left office to drastically shrink so-called critical habitat for the spotted owl. The small, reclusive bird has been in decline for decades as old-growth forests disappear. The Associated Press obtained details on Tuesday’s...

**SNIP** Trump’s four years in office greatly empowered anti-government extremists. His Interior Department repeatedly hosted people who want to see federal lands sold off. Fierce critics of endangered species protections and federal land management were tapped for powerful department posts. William Perry Pendley, a conservative lawyer with extreme anti-environmental views who spent his career lobbying for the sale of federal lands, was put in charge of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management. Trump issued pardons for people like Utah state Rep. Phil Lyman (R) - who in 2014 led anti-federal land protesters on an illegal ATV ride on public lands that...

Shenandoah National Park- Today, Second Lady Karen Pence, joined by Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, visited Shenandoah National Park to talk about the many mental health benefits the outdoors offer and the important work of National Park Service employees as America reopens.Upon arriving to Shenandoah National Park, Mrs. Pence and Secretary Bernhardt delivered remarks to National Park employees at the Dickey Ridge Visitor Center Overlook. As the Lead Ambassador for PREVENTS, Mrs. Pence highlighted the important mental health benefits of getting outdoors, and she thanked the employees for their hard work in safely reopening and preserving the park during such difficult times.Then, Mrs. Pence and...

Acting Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt ordered Thursday that federal land managers consider public access when selling or trading public land. “This order will help ensure that the Bureau of Land Management considers public access to public lands,” Bernhardt said in a statement. “It requires that before the BLM exchanges or disposes of any land, they must first consider what impact the disposal or exchange of land will have on public access. The Trump Administration will continue to prioritize access so that people can hunt, fish, camp, and recreate on our public lands," he said. This order will address...

“Bernhardt got this nomination as a reward for months of work cramming America’s natural heritage into a wood chipper,” Kieran Suckling, executive director of the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “He’s already done more damage to our environment than anyone else in Interior Department history. Confirming him as Interior secretary would be a boon to polluters and a colossal disaster for our public lands and endangered species.” Center for Western Priorities' Executive Director Jennifer Rokala called Bernhardt's nomination "an affront to America's parks and public lands." "As an oil and gas lobbyist, Bernhardt pushed to open...

President Trump announced Monday afternoon he will nominate Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to serve as the next Secretary of the Interior. Donald J. Trump ✔@realDonaldTrump I am pleased to announce that David Bernhardt, Acting Secretary of the Interior, will be nominated as Secretary of the Interior. David has done a fantastic job from the day he arrived, and we look forward to having his nomination officially confirmed! 18.7K 12:13 PM - Feb 4, 2019 Twitter Ads info and privacy 6,746 people are talking about this Bernhardt took on the acting position last fall when then Interior Secretary Ryan...