Author – The Durango Herald

U.S. wildlife boss departs after stirring fears on species law

BILLINGS, Mont. – The head of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is stepping down after a 14-month tenure in which the agency proposed broad changes to rules governing protections for thousa...

DATE: Aug 10, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Conservationists say U.S. energy panel stacked with industry supporters

BILLINGS, Mont. – Conservationists claimed in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that a Trump administration committee reviewing royalties paid by companies on fossil fuels extracted from public lands ...

DATE: Aug 8, 2018 | CATEGORY: Nation & World

Study: National parks get fewer visits when pollution rises

DENVER – Visitors appear to be steering clear of some U.S. national parks or cutting visits short because of pollution levels that are comparable to what’s found in major cities, according t...

DATE: Jul 19, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

U.S. eases Obama-era coal ash pollution rules for utilities

DENVER – The Trump administration on Wednesday eased rules for handling toxic coal ash from more than 400 U.S. coal-fired power plants after utilities pushed back against regulations adopted...

DATE: Jul 19, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Study links air pollution to drop in national park visitors

DENVER – Visitors appear to be steering clear of some U.S. national parks or cutting visits short because of pollution levels that are comparable to what’s found in major cities, according t...

DATE: Jul 18, 2018 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Turmoil shakes up agency in charge of vast U.S. lands

Critics say Interior Secretary has shut down outside input on land management

DATE: Feb 19, 2018 | CATEGORY: Nation & World

U.S. says snow-loving lynx no longer need special protection

BILLINGS, Mont. – Wildlife officials in the United States declared Canada lynx recovered on Thursday and said the snow-loving wild cats no longer need special protections following steps to ...

DATE: Jan 11, 2018 | CATEGORY: Nation & World

U.S. approves 60-million-ton expansion of Montana coal mine

BILLINGS, Mont. – U.S. officials have approved a 60-million-ton expansion of a southeastern Montana coal mine that serves one of the largest power plants in the western United States, Interi...

DATE: Dec 22, 2017 | CATEGORY: Nation & World

U.S. officials drop mining cleanup rule after industry objects

BILLINGS, Mont. – President Donald Trump’s administration announced Friday that it won’t require mining companies to prove they have the financial wherewithal to clean up their pollution, de...

DATE: Dec 3, 2017 | CATEGORY: Regional News

Biologists: Grizzly numbers hold steady around Yellowstone

BILLINGS, Mont. – Grizzly bear numbers in and around Yellowstone National Park are holding relatively steady, according to figures released Thursday, as state wildlife officials begin discus...

DATE: Nov 30, 2017 | CATEGORY: Nation & World

UN: Better protections needed from mine water disasters

BILLINGS, Mont. – A string of mining waste disasters – some deadly – over the past decade show better protections are needed for communities downstream of massive polluted material storage s...

DATE: Nov 14, 2017 | CATEGORY: Nation & World

Deal bans cyanide traps in Colorado

Department of Agriculture says devices not used on public lands

DATE: Nov 6, 2017 | CATEGORY: Regional News