Press Releases

Tribal Witnesses Emphasize Spiritual and Cultural Significance of Grizzly Bears, Champion Grijalva Bill to Guarantee Tribal Input on Grizzly Management

Yesterday's Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee legislative hearing featured powerful testimony from Native American tribal witnesses on the profound significance of grizzly bears to tribal culture and tribal support for Chair Raúl M. Grijalva's (D-Ariz.) Tribal Heritage and Grizzly Bear Protection Act. Grijalva's bill ensures that grizzly bears are permanently protected for their ecological and cultural value and guarantees Native American tribes a role in conserving and managing t… Continue Reading

Chair Grijalva: Secretary Bernhardt “Not Losing Sleep” Over Climate Change Concerns Me – and So Does His Lack of Transparency With Congress

Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) today said he is seriously concerned about the direction of the Department of the Interior (DOI) following Interior Secretary David Bernhardt's testimony yesterday, his first before the Committee since taking the top post. Bernhardt revealed his total lack of concern about climate change during his appearance, telling the Committee he has "not lost any sleep" over the issue despite recent news that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are the highest recorded… Continue Reading

Chair Grijalva, Rep. Lowenthal Strongly Condemn Interior Department Renewal of Mining Leases Near Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), who chairs the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources, today strongly condemned the Department of the Interior's (DOI) decision to renew two mining leases for a possible copper sulfide mine on the edge of the Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness (BWCAW) in Minnesota, despite scientific evidence, economic data, ongoing litigation and a public record of opposition dating back 50 years. DOI's decision comes shortly afte… Continue Reading

Media Advisories

Hearings for Week of May 20 – NOAA and FWS Budgets, Insular Territory Health Disparities, Threat of Mass Extinctions, Public Lands Legislative Hearing

The Committee on Natural Resources will holdfour hearings during the week of May 20, addressing issues from the recently reported extinction crisis to the approximately 1.5 million Americans about to lose health care access as U.S. territories face Medicaid funding challenges. Witness lists are available below. As with all hearings, these events are open to media and the public. Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Hearing: Examining the President's Fiscal Year 2020 Budget Proposal for… Continue Reading

Hearings for Week of May 13 Feature Secretary Bernhardt Testimony, Bureau Budgets, Grizzly Bear Protection, Climate Change on Public Lands

The Committee on Natural Resources will hold six hearings during the week of May 13, featuring Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt's first testimony before the Committee since taking over from his predecessor, Ryan Zinke. Witness lists are available below. As with all hearings, these events are open to media and the public. Full Committee Hearing Hearing: U.S. Department of the Interior Budget and Policy Priorities for FY 2020 When: Wednesday, May 15, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time Wh… Continue Reading

Chair Grijalva, Sen. Udall to Lead Press Conference This Thursday Announcing Introduction of Hardrock Mining Reform Legislation

Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) will announce the introduction of hardrock mining reform bills in the House and Senate at a press conference on Thursday, May 9, at 9:15 a.m. Eastern time on Capitol Hill. Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Chair Alan Lowenthal (D-Calif.), an original cosponsor of the House bill, and multiple conservation and business advocates will also speak in favor of modernizing the nation's badly antiquated hardrock mining laws. … Continue Reading

In the News

Tribes seek ban on public hunting of revered grizzly bears

Native American leaders pressed lawmakers in Congress Wednesday to adopt permanent protections for grizzly bears, a species widely revered by tribes but that has been proposed for hunting in Wyoming and Idaho. Proposed legislation would block grizzly hunting in the Lower 48 states, regardless of the species' population size, and allow for the reintroduction of bruins to tribal lands. Grizzlies play a central role in the traditions and ceremonies of many tribes, said former Hopi Tribe chairman … Continue Reading

Exclusive Interview with House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raúl Grijalva

Since Democrats have taken back the House of Representatives, climate change and conservation are finally back on the agenda in Congress. As our last interview of Earth Week, we wanted to chat with the Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Rep. Raúl Grijalva, about his priorities for the committee and how his party can continue to push for environmental action even if President Trump been no #FriendOfThePlanet. This is the first in a two-part series with the Chairman, look ou… Continue Reading

U.S. lawmakers hear call for stronger oil, gas regulations at Santa Fe hearing

There are old lessons New Mexicans should have learned about a powerful industry extracting valuable minerals from below the soil, members of the U.S. House of Representatives said Monday at a federal committee hearing in Santa Fe. Decades ago, it was uranium. Now Democratic lawmakers say they fear oil and gas could leave a similar legacy in the state. During the first of several congressional hearings, lawmakers, tribal leaders and environmentalists spoke about the need for stronger f… Continue Reading

Opinion Pieces

Under Trump, our public lands are spewing carbon dioxide

OPINION - The Trump administration tried to sneak two alarming climate change reports past the public last year just after Thanksgiving, apparently hoping everyone would be shopping or sleeping off a turkey hangover. The attempt backfired spectacularly. One of the reports, the National Climate Assessment, gave a new sense of urgency to climate policy in a way unmatched by other recent scientific analyses. Its projections of huge impacts on people's health, their homes, and the overall U.S. econ… Continue Reading

With Hammond pardons, did Donald Trump write a blank check to anti-government extremists?

Anti-government extremists disguising themselves as populists have already latched on to President Donald Trump's July 10 pardon of Dwight and Steven Hammond, a father-and-son ranching duo who set fire to federal lands, to argue that attacking public property is now legal activism. The public should not be fooled by this argument or misunderstand where it leads, and Congress needs to exercise its oversight authority to clarify that the Trump administration hasn't written a blank check to a dangerous ideology.… Continue Reading

This trick could allow dangerous uranium mining at the Grand Canyon

Opinion: Uranium would enjoy looser environmental and permitting standards because of its importance to 'national security and economic prosperity,' U.S. Rep. Raul Grijalva says. On May 18, the Department of the Interior released a list of 35 minerals set to enjoy looser environmental and permitting standards because of their importance to "national security and economic prosperity." The list includes uranium even though DOI's screening tool suggested it didn't meet the criteria. The Grand Can… Continue Reading

Newsletters

Leading Democrats Introduce a Mining Reform Bill

Last week Ranking Member Grijalva and Rep Lowenthal, the top Democrat on the Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, introduced the Hardrock Leasing and Reclamation Act of 2018. The Grijalva-Lowenthal bill requires hardrock mining operations to meet some of the same requirements and standards that already apply to oil, gas, and coal development on public lands. Among other measures, the bill would: Eliminate the antiquated use of mining claims, and create a leasing system for hardrock mi… Continue Reading

This Week in Committee: Markup on Nine Bills

Today marks the 230th day since our fellow Americans living in Puerto Rico lost power and were devastated by Hurricane Maria. Many people living on the island are still lacking power and still need assistance from the federal government. Instead of addressing the immediate needs of the people, Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) traveled to Puerto Rico to promote oil and gas projects and discuss importing fossil fuels to the island. Bishop has continuously ignored the fact that renewable energy sources… Continue Reading

This Week in Committee: Floor Vote on a Bill that Would Drive the Pacific Northwest's Salmon Runs Closer to Extinction

The House is voting on H.R. 3144 on Wednesday - also known as the Columbia River Salmon Extinction Act - which will drive the Pacific Northwest's salmon runs closer to extinction. Federal agencies have been ordered by the courts to develop a new salmon recovery plan to bring back dwindling salmon populations. H.R. 3144 attempts to mandate an outdated recovery plan that won't recover salmon and that has been deemed illegal by federal courts. Ranking Member Grijalva opposes the bill for the follow… Continue Reading

Letters

Grijalva Bishop Letter to GAO Requesting Report on Wildlife Trafficking May 6 2019

Grijalva Letter to Wicker and Cantwell on NOAA Nominee Barry Myers May 2 2019

Grijalva Letter to Bernhardt on Testifying Before the Committee April 29 2019

Reports

Unmasked: How Republicans Trick Taxpayers and Treat Industry

GAO: BLM Could Improve Oversight of Lease Suspensions with Better Data and Monitoring Procedures

A June 19, 2018, report by the Government Accountability Office on the oil and gas industry frequently leasing public land and doing nothing with it.… Continue Reading

Bureau of Land Management Needs to Improve Its Data and Oversight of Its Potential Liabilities

A June 5, 2018, GAO report on the high cost to taxpayers of orphaned oil and gas wells. The report finds that the Bureau of Land Management has not kept accurate records of such costs.… Continue Reading

Photos

Democratic Forum on the Dangers of Opening Alaska’s Arctic Refuge to Oil and Gas Drilling

Grijalva Introduced a Bill that Permanently Protects Grizzly Bears

Grijalva Traveled to Appalachia to Witness Environmental & Health Degradation Caused by Mountaintop Removal Mining