By Mark Moran Advocates in Alaska’s Interior warned a proposed gold mine on the Johnson Tract in Lake Clark National Park threatens critical habitat ecosystems and a large chunk of the state’s economy. Contango Silver and Gold Mining Inc. said it will be sensitive to the environment while creating jobs. Contango is working with Alaska Native-owned Cook Inlet Region Inc. to establish the mine at the headwaters of the Johnson River, a prime spot for commercial and sportfishing, bear watching, salmon runs and ecotourism. David Jenkins, president of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, contended the environmental risk is not worth the economic reward, especially when the bulk of the profit from the mine flows to out-of-state investors, including asset management companies like BlackRock and Vanguard. “Why would you risk a 100% Alaskan economic engine that’s sustainable and just keeps providing benefits year after year for something that’s temporary, and most of the economic benefit is likely to go elsewhere outside of the state of Alaska?” Jenkins asked. Read the full...
By John Loftus, Editor at Large Conservative conservation groups are warning against a Trump administration proposal to give away a piece of Yosemite National Park in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains to a private developer. National Park Service (NPS) staff in California and Washington, D.C., have been trying to arrange a Yosemite land exchange between the federal government and a Nevada-based developer since the spring of 2025, NOTUS reported Aug. 28. But two conservative conservation groups, Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship (CRS) and the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), are pushing back against the proposal, which they believe does not serve the public interest and reverses longtime precedent. “This move by the administration is quite unprecedented, and I fear it is a harbinger of additional efforts to give away our iconic natural treasures,” David Jenkins, president of CRS, told the Daily Caller. “While land exchanges are quite common, they occur when doing so offers a clear benefit to the park and is in the public interest. This is different; it appears to be for the sole benefit of a private interest.” Read the full...
The Trump administration is moving ahead with plans to rescind a quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging and other development on national forest lands, drawing the ire of environmentalists nationwide By Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Trump administration announced Tuesday it is moving ahead with plans to rescind a quarter-century-old rule that blocked logging, road building and other development on national forest lands, drawing the ire of environmentalists nationwide. The U.S. Forest Service is filing a proposal that would scrap the so called roadless rule adopted in the last days of Bill Clinton’s presidency in 2001. The agency described the rule as a one-size-fits-all restriction that has frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to reducing wildfire risks in the nation’s forests. “Our forests can’t afford another decade of inaction. Across the country, we’ve watched preventable conditions — overgrown stands, insect outbreaks and disease — turn healthy landscapes into tinderboxes,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement. Read the rest of the...
By Karl Schneider A coal-fired power plant in Indiana will receive millions of dollars from the federal government after the Trump administration on June 4 announced $700 million in subsidies to the U.S. coal industry. Hallador Power Company’s Merom Generating Station, which sits along Sullivan Lake south of Terre Haute, will receive more than $27 million to modernize. The 1080-megawatt plant is one of 12 listed on the U.S. Department of Energy website receiving subsidies under the 1950 Defense Production Act. “This modernization initiative will maintain operational reliability and promote environmental stewardship,” a DOE news release says. Hallador Energy, based in Colorado, did not immediately respond to IndyStar’s request for comment. President Trump announced the subsidies from the Oval Office, saying the federal money will support thousands of jobs and save Americans billions in electricity costs. “We’re officially invoking the Defense Production Act to save 13 coal plants …” Trump said. “These were incredible plants.” Congress established the federal law behind the infusion of funds in 1950 during the Korean War. The law gives the president authority to expand the U.S. industrial base. The news sparked disapproval from several corners. David Jenkins, president of the national nonprofit Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, said the “taxpayer dollar handout to the coal industry is boneheaded on steroids,” in a news release. “This is a total misuse of the Defense Production Act, a giant gift-wrapped payout to subsidize and prop up a flailing industry that can no longer compete in the free market,” said Jenkins, whose group is based in Virginia. Read the rest of the story at...
New Coal-Fired Plants in Anchorage, Alaska, and Mt. Storm, West Virginia, Would Total 2.85 GW. They Would Be the First New U.S. Coal Plants to Come Online Since 2013. By Robert Walton, Senior Editor Dive Brief: The U.S. Department of Energy on Thursday committed up to $850 million to construct two new coal-fired power plants, modernize more than a dozen other facilities, and bolster coal export capabilities from the West Coast. The funds will support 17 total projects, including new coal-fired plants in Anchorage, Alaska, and Mt. Storm, West Virginia, which will have a combined capacity of 2.85 GW. “It’s all very clean,” President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House. Consumer and environmental advocates criticized Trump’s support for the ailing coal sector. It is “swamp politics at its worst, and there is nothing even remotely conservative about it,” David Jenkins, president of Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, said in a statement. Read the rest of the story at Utility...
Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship is featured in a Kiowa County Press report examining concerns over a proposed rollback of federal oil and gas bonding rules managed by the Bureau of Land Management. The article explains that current bonding requirements are meant to ensure energy companies set aside enough money to properly plug wells and restore drilling sites once production ends. Without strong bonding rules, cleanup costs from abandoned or “orphaned” wells can fall to taxpayers instead of industry. CRS raises concerns that weakening these requirements could significantly increase public liability for cleanup, with estimates in the report suggesting potential taxpayer exposure in the hundreds of billions over time. The coverage highlights ongoing debate over how to balance energy development on public lands with long-term environmental and financial responsibility. Read the full article here:...
