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Department of the Interior Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs Director Christopher Mansour Letter to Chairman Hastings Regarding Documents Provided to the Committee on the 6-month Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Drilling Moratorium

| Posted in Letters

Dear Chairman Hastings: The Department of the Interior is in receipt of your three letters, dated July 18, 2011, that relate to the status of several of the requests for documents and information that you have made to the Department and its bureaus during the 112th Congress. Specifically, these letters address requests for documents and information that relate to - all…

Dicks Amendment Would Continue Lawsuit-Driven ESA, Divert Scarce Dollars Away from Actual Species Recovery

| Posted in Dear Colleagues

Dear Colleague, The Interior Appropriations bill that Chairman Simpson has brought to the House Floor prioritizes funding to ensure that core responsibilities and environmental protections are met. When it comes to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), this bill focuses funding on the actual recovery of species. It does this by both 1) continuing funds for recovery activities despite the…

39 House Republicans Send Letter to Senators Over Nominee for Fish, Wildlife and Parks Assistant Secretary

| Posted in Letters

Dear Senators Boxer, Bingaman, Inhofe, and Murkowski: As you consider President Obama's nomination of Ms. Rebecca Wodder as Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior, we respectfully write to let you know of our serious concerns with her record as the head of American Rivers, a single purpose interest group focused on litigating against the…

Chairman Hastings Letter to Secretary Salazar Reiterating April 25th Request for Specified Documents and Information on the 6-month Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Drilling Moratorium, Sets New Deadline

| Posted in Letters

Dear Mr. Secretary: On April 25, 2011, we sent you a letter that requested documents, drafts and communications related to the Report of Investigation - Federal Moratorium on Deepwater Drilling Case No. PI-PI-IO-0562- issued by the Office of Inspector General. Specifically, we requested the following items: Any and all documents, referring, relating, or pertaining, directly or…

Chairmen Hastings and Lamborn Letter to Secretary Salazar Reiterating Requests for Documents Related to the Rewrite of the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule, Sets New Deadline

| Posted in Letters

Dear Mr. Secretary: As you are aware, the Committee on Natural Resources (Committee) is actively investigating issues surrounding the Department of the Interior's Office of Surface Mining, Reclamation and Enforcement (OSM) rewrite of the 2008 Stream Buffer Zone Rule (Rule). Through series of letters to the OSM and the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Committee has…

End the Lockout of Border Patrol to Federal Lands - Vote "Aye" on the Lummis Amendment

| Posted in Dear Colleagues

Dear Colleague, The Lummis Amendment to the 2012 Homeland Security Appropriations bill is focused on the serious problem of our Nation’s border security taking a back seat to environmental laws and the regulatory whims of Department of the Interior land managers. An October 2010 GAO report revealed that critical access by the Border Patrol to federal land is routinely blocked and…

59 Representatives Letter to Secretary Vilsack Expressing Concern Over the Proposed National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule

| Posted in Letters

Dear Secretary Vilsack: We write to express our concern over the Proposed National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule published in the Federal Register on February 14,2011 (proposed rule) that would affect the management plans of the nation's 155 national forests and 20 grasslands. With a keen interest in the active management of our nation's federal forest resources and the…

Chairman Hastings Reminds Members that Earmark Moratorium Applies to Bills Referred to Natural Resources Committee

| Posted in Dear Colleagues

Dear Colleague: It is important for all Members to recognize that the moratorium on earmarks applies to matters and bills referred to the Natural Resources Committee. If you are preparing or writing a bill that falls within the jurisdiction of the Natural Resources Committee, please feel free to have your staff contact Committee staff with questions. Read the full Dear Colleague HERE.

Chairmen Hastings and Lamborn Letter to Acting Inspector General Mary Kendall Requesting More Information and Documents Pertaining to the 6-month Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Drilling Moratorium

| Posted in Letters

Dear Ms. Kendall: On July 20, 2010, we requested the Office of Inspector General to conduct an investigation into whether senior officials of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), in an effort to help justify their decision to impose a 6-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, misrepresented that the moratorium was reviewed and supported by a group of…