In The News
House of Representatives approves Keystone project
The Star Phoenix William Marsden November 14, 2014 The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday voted overwhelmingly 252-161 to authorize the immediate construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The U.S. Senate will debate the measure on Tuesday and might vote that same day. It is uncertain if Keystone can get the 60 votes to avoid a filibuster. In many ways, the House and Senate votes are political stunts designed to help either Democrat Sen. Mary Landrieu or Republican opponent Rep. … Continue Reading
11.17.14
House to Vote on Keystone Bill as Louisiana Runoff Looms
Bloomberg By Jim Synder Nov. 14, 2014 (Bloomberg) -- The House is poised to vote again to approve the Keystone XL pipeline -- this time with the promise of a Senate vote next week as Republicans and Democrats seek advantage in a runoff for the last undecided U.S. Senate seat. During debate before today's House vote on the last leg of the $8 billion pipeline, Republicans asserted that the project will add jobs while Democrats called Keystone a risk to the environment. President Barack O… Continue Reading
10.24.14
DeFazio holds discussion at OSU
The Daily Barametor By Abigail Erickson October 22, 2014 Rep. Peter DeFazio addressed students - and the rest of Oregon State University - about climate change when he visited OSU Oct. 21. Associate Director of the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute Kathie Dello also spoke during the event. Together, DeFazio and Dello spoke about how researchers and legislators are collaborating to combat climate change. After statements from Dello and DeFazio, the floor was opened to questions from… Continue Reading
10.20.14
Feds extend comment period on Idaho wolf, coyote hunting derby
Associated Press By Keith Ridler October 17, 2014 BOISE, Idaho - Federal officials have extended the comment period for a proposed wolf- and coyote-hunting derby on public land in Idaho after receiving a letter from Democratic Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management extended the deadline one week through Thursday on Idaho for Wildlife's request for a permit for the Jan. 2-3 competitive event near Salmon in the east-central part of the state. The permit would be… Continue Reading
10.17.14
Protecting Wild Salmon and Wild Rivers
Earth Island Journal By Bonnie Gestring OCtober 17, 2014 US Forest Service should place a mineral withdrawal on critical Smith River watershed The Smith River, which originates in the wilds of southwest Oregon and flows through northwest California, is the only major undammed river remaining in California. Its free-flowing waters still provide the rare opportunity for wild salmon to make the epic journey from the ocean to the Smith's headwaters to spawn, as salmon once did in rivers throug… Continue Reading
10.16.14
Obama monuments rile the GOP
The Hill By Timothy Cama October 16, 2014 President Obama's growing list of national monuments is angering Republicans, with many calling the increased land protections an abuse of power. The president has named 13 national monuments so far using the century-old Antiquities Act, putting tight restrictions on more than 1 million acres of public land. The most recent designation came last week, when the president designated more than 350,000 acres of the San Gabriel Mountains… Continue Reading
10.14.14
Democrats tell feds to crack down on illegal drilling
Fuel Fix By Jennifer Dhlouhy October 10, 2014 WASHINGTON - Federal land managers need to work harder to prevent oil companies from illegally burrowing into federal mineral estate, four House Democrats say. In a letter to Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze, the Democrats note that the potential economic and environmental costs of a practice known as "drilling without approval" can be substantial - as much as $530,000 annually in lost royalties to North Dakota alone. Although so… Continue Reading
10.14.14
House Dems urge BLM to prevent illegal drilling
E&E News By Phil Taylor October 10, 2014 Leading House Democrats yesterday urged the Bureau of Land Management to strengthen its national policy for preventing illegal drilling for federal minerals, a practice that they warned increasingly threatens the environment and taxpayers. The letter from Reps. Peter DeFazio of Oregon, ranking member of the Natural Resources Committee, and Reps. Rush Holt of New Jersey and Jared Huffman and Alan Lowenthal of California comes shortly after the re… Continue Reading
10.07.14
Facing Threat From Pot Farms, West Coast Fisher Proposed For Endangered Species Protection
Jefferson Public Radio By Tony Schick October 7, 2014 PORTLAND -- New threats and a legal settlement prompted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposal today to list West Coast populations of fisher as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The fisher, an elusive cousin of the mink, otter and weasel, was first driven into scarcity by fur trappers and loggers in the late 1880s. Today it's getting poisoned by marijuana growers. Once prevalent throughout the West Coast, natural f… Continue Reading
10.02.14
Brave new world meets same old rhetoric
Politico By Elana Schor October 2, 2014 The U.S. energy supply has entered a strange new era that would have seemed unfathomable just a few years ago - one where gasoline prices keep falling even as a jittery world faces turmoil in the Middle East and beyond. But when it comes to political talking points, Democrats and Republicans keep singing the same old tunes. Drill more, open up the coasts and cut red tape, the GOP says, reciting from the well-worn script it used back when gasoline pr… Continue Reading
10.02.14
Fall weather helps crews at Deception Creek, Rep. DeFazio takes tour
KVAL October 1, 2014 OAKRIDGE, Ore. -- The fall weather has helped firefighters get the upper hand on the Deception Creek fire, with the rain and increased humidity helping to subdue the flames within the fire lines. Rep. Peter DeFazio is scheduled to take a tour of the charred forests east of Oakridge on Wednesday with the U.S. Forest Service. The over 6,000 acre Deception Creek Complex is about 95 percent contained, the U.S. Forestry Service said. "This was the biggest fire of … Continue Reading
10.02.14
Mining company's drilling effort dealt blow
The Statesman Journal By Zac Urness October 1, 2014 Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio issued a joint statement with Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) on the Red Flat permit denial. "This is great news for the Smith River and all who depend on it. The Smith is one of the most pristine and ecologically important rivers in our districts ... We cannot expose the North Fork Smith River watershed to the public health and environmental risks of exploratory drilling or mining. The decision by Oregon Water Re… Continue Reading
10.01.14
Elephants: Critical to America's National Security | Commentary
The Hill, Commentary By Kerry Kraemer Oct. 1, 2014, 5 a.m. Though Ahmed Godane, the leader of the Somalian terrorist group al-Shabab, was killed in a U.S. airstrike earlier this month, Ugandan authorities uncovered a 19-person al-Shabab cell armed with explosives just last week. What action can the United States take against African terrorist groups that advances American security, protects U.S. service members, and fits within budgetary constraints? One approach suggested by Rep.Peter A. D… Continue Reading
09.30.14
DeFazio demands changes to proposed wilderness rules
The Statesman Journal By Zac Urness September 29, 2014 Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio and three other members of the House Natural Resources Committee demanded the U.S. Forest Service change a controversial set of rules governing commercial photography and filming in federal wilderness areas in a letter sent Monday. After facing nationwide outrage over a proposal limiting media access and filming in 36 million acres of wilderness managed by the agency, U.S. Forest Service chief Tom Tidwell made… Continue Reading
09.30.14
Peter DeFazio: 'Strong concerns' remain for Forest Service's wilderness photo rules
The Oregonian By Ros Davis September 29, 2014 Rep. Peter DeFazio and three other congressional leaders said Monday they still have deep concerns about the constitutionality of a U.S. Forest Service proposal restricting wilderness photography. The Forest Service faced nationwide outrage last week over plans to require a permit for photography and filming in vast swaths of the country's federally designated wilderness areas. Its chief, Tom Tidwell, backed off late Thursday, saying h… Continue Reading
09.29.14
Endangered African Elephant Wins New Allies
The Guardian Liberty Voices By Tamara Christine Van Hooser Septemner 28, 2014 African elephants drew the international spotlight in June 2014 when poachers killed Satao, a well-loved icon of elephant-kind in Kenya, for his giant ivories, but their endangerment is winning them new allies in the fight to survive. A new measure came before the U.S. House of Representatives this week in an attempt to honor the slain African elephant by enacting stricter sanctions against poachers to interrup… Continue Reading
09.29.14
Forest Service backs off: No charge for news coverage in wilderness
The Seattle Press Intelligencer By Joel Connolly September 26, 2014 The U.S. Forest Service, seeking to "clarify" a proposed fee that caused an uproar, says it does not intend to slap fees on news organizations reporting stories on federally designated wilderness areas. "To be clear, provisions in the draft directive do not apply to news gathering or activities," U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell said in a statement. But the status of other picture-taking and filming in wilderness are… Continue Reading
09.29.14
Lawmakers blast Forest Service’s media rules
The Hill By Timothy Cama September 25, 2014 Members of Oregon's congressional delegation are criticizing new rules from the United States Forest Service that restrict photography and video in national forests. Following a report that photos and videos would require a $1,500 permit, lawmakers said the rules were unnecessary and an overreaching restriction on First Amendment rights, according to the Salem, Ore., Statesman Journal. "This seems like a fairly ridiculous overreac… Continue Reading
09.26.14
Forest Service proposal sparks 1st Amendment firestorm
E&E News By Phil Taylor September 24, 2014 A Forest Service policy requiring reporters to pay for a permit -- and tailor their message -- in order to shoot photos or video in a congressionally designated wilderness area has riled the Fourth Estate, Democrats from forested states and even some wilderness advocates. The agency proposed on Sept. 4 to make permanent a long-standing interim policy that sets guidelines for whether the service approves permits for commercial filming and still… Continue Reading
09.26.14
Forest Service aims to restrict photography/filming in Wilderness Areas
S News Net By David Clucas September 25, 2014 Woof! It's been a rough week for outdoor photography at the hands of federal officials. Earlier this week it was announced that the National Park Service had fined a group of climbers $4,000 after spotting them in a 2011 Patagonia catalog photo making an illegal climb in Capitol Reef National Park. Separately, news broke Wednesday that federal officials want to enforce Wilderness Act rules that prohibit most filming and photography in th… Continue Reading