Skip to Content

Federal Lands

Chairman Hastings Letter to Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe Requesting Information and Documents on Migratory Birds

| Posted in Letters

Dear Director Ashe: The Committee on Natural Resources ("Committee") has broad jurisdiction over matters involving the Department of the Interior, energy development on federal lands, wildlife, and migratory birds. In order to better understand the Obama Administration's enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act ("MBT A") and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection…

Chairman Hastings Discusses Magnuson-Stevens Act Reauthorization at Fisheries Conference

| Posted in Press Release

Today, House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA -04) spoke at the third Managing Our Nation’s Fisheries Conference coordinated by the Regional Fishery Management Councils and hosted by the Pacific Fishery Management Council. During his remarks, Chairman Hastings discussed the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, President Obama’s National Ocean Policy, and the…

Chairman Hastings' Speech at the Pacific Fishery Management Council's Managing Our Nation's Fisheries Conference

| Posted in Op-Eds and Speeches

I want to thank Dr. McIsaac, the Regional Fishery Management Councils – in particular, the Pacific Council - and NOAA for hosting this conference. Pulling together a conference involving this many people who have an interest in fisheries management cannot be an easy task. I would like to welcome all of you here to Washington, D.C. I know this is a commitment of time and energy, but I…

CEQ Chair Dodges Questions on Obama Administration Plan to Zone the Oceans

| Posted in Press Release

Yesterday, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held an oversight hearing examining the spending priorities outlined in the President’s FY2014 budget requests for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the Office of Insular Affairs (OIA), and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife…

Chairman Hastings’ Statement on President Obama’s Final Plan to Zone the Oceans

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) released the following statement after President Obama released the final implementation plan for the National Ocean Policy and mandatory ocean zoning initiative. “This final implementation plan raises more questions than answers and provides even less information on what the Obama Administration will impose under the…

Wall Street Journal Editorial: Fishing for Wildlife Lawsuits

| Posted in Blog

"The Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service has resurrected a Clinton-era tactic known as 'sue and settle.' With this strategy, outside green groups friendly to the Administration sue the government, demanding a particular regulatory action. The agency happily forswears court and sits down with the plaintiffs to reach a settlement." Fishing for Wildlife Lawsuits March 10,…

Chairman Hastings Questions Interior Department on Potentially Economically Devastating Sage-Grouse Endangered Species Listing

| Posted in Press Release

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Director Dan Ashe raising concerns of scientific integrity and the imposition of arbitrary deadlines surrounding the decision to potentially list the sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).  The letter requests…

Chairman Hastings Questions Interior Department on Potentially Economically Devastating Sage-Grouse Endangered Species Listing

| Posted in Letters

At the beginning of this Administration, President Obama placed significant emphasis on the importance of scientific integrity in his Administration's policies and practices. In the President's March 9, 2009 Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies, he stated that "[t]he public must be able to trust the science and scientific process informing public policy…