Last week, NBC Nightly News highlighted the wildfires burning throughout the United States. There are currently 39 fires in 11 states. The map below shows location and proximity of the current fires. This year is on track to be a record year for wildfires. Watch Here:

In a recent article in The Atlantic, Karl Smith from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, explains how hydraulic fracturing could help end gasoline price volatility.  Hydraulic fracturing allows the development of oil reserves that have previously been unreachable with other forms of energy exploration. While a traditional well may produce 50 barrels of oil per day, a… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) and Subcommittee on Water and Power Chairman Tom McClintock (CA-04) sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell highlighting the lack of transparency surrounding the National Blueways Program and seeking answers to critical questions that the Obama Administration has continually refused to answer. This letter… Read more »

Today, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee held a legislative hearing on H.R. 2824, the Preventing Government Waste and Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in America Act, legislation to protect American jobs, save taxpayer dollars, and support U.S. energy production by stopping the Obama Administration from imposing coal regulations that would cost thousands of American jobs and devastate… Read more »

The Natural Resources Morning News Round-up: Associated Press – Matthew Daly: “Report: Wildlife agency ignored whistle-blowers” Tri-City Herald – Geoff Folsom: “Franklin County farmer testifies in Washington, D.C., to protect bladderpod” Capital Press – Tim Hearden: “Hastings bill aims to improve forest management, prevent wildfires” The World – Thomas Moriarty:… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) and Water and Power Subcommittee Chairman Tom McClintock (CA-04) today applauded the Senate passage of H.R. 678, the Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act, which would create new American jobs and by authorizing more production of clean, renewable hydropower and eliminating bureaucratic… Read more »

Today, the House Natural Resources Committee held an oversight hearing on “Transparency and Sound Science Gone Extinct?:The Impacts of the Obama Administration's Closed-Door Settlements on Endangered Species and People.” The hearing examined the need for data transparency as it relates to federal decisions on implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This hearing was part of a… Read more »

The Natural Resources Morning News Round-up: The Hill – Ben Geman: “House panel votes to block Interior’s ‘fracking’ rule” Fuel Fix – Jennifer A. Dlouhy: “GOP advances bill to block federal fracturing rules” Durango Herald – Joe Hanel: “Tipton’s healthy-forest bill makes it through House panel” Missoulian – Rob Chaney: “Daines amendments focus on forest fires,… Read more »

House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today sent a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Dan Ashe seeking additional information following the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) Management Advisory, issued on July 11, 2013, regarding the FWS’s inaction on whistleblower complaints related to violations of the… Read more »

Today, the House Natural Resources Committee passed H.R. 1526, the “Restoring Healthy Forest for Healthy Communities Act” by a voice vote. This legislation renews the federal government’s commitment to manage federal forests for the benefit of rural schools and counties, improves forest health and helps prevent catastrophic wildfires. “Across our country, rural forest communities… Read more »