Ken Salazar news stories on Newser

US Won't Restrict Shooting on Federal Land

John Johnson — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 18:56:22 CST

Score one for gun owners: The Interior Department is backtracking on a plan to restrict target shooting on federal land, reports MSNBC . Interior chief Ken Salazar today ordered that the draft proposal be shelved. It would have curbed the practice in areas deemed to have too many people living nearby....

Feds OK Giant Christo River Art

Rob Quinn — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 06:00:00 CST

After 18 years and $7 million, the artist Christo has won federal approval for his controversial plan to wrap a 42-mile stretch of Colorado's Arkansas River. The New York-based artist, known for his larger-than-life outdoor projects, aims to install 5.9 miles of fabric in segments over the river, the...

Feds: Big Oil Not Using the Leases They Have

Kevin Spak — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 09:37:53 CDT

With oil companies and Republicans criticizing the Obama administration for being too slow to issue new offshore drilling permits in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Interior Department hit back with a report yesterday revealing that the industry isn’t using the majority of the leases it already has....

Montana Gov OKs Shooting Endangered Wolves

Kevin Spak — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 08:44:40 CST

Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has all but declared open season on gray wolves, ordering wildlife officers not to investigate or prosecute ranchers who shoot the endangered animals to protect their livestock, CNN reports. He’s also directed them to kill entire packs if they endanger the state’s elk or livestock. Schweitzer,...

Biggest-Ever Solar Plant Wins OK in Calif.

Rob Quinn — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 05:59:07 CDT

Federal regulators have green-lighted the world's largest solar power installation. The Blythe Solar Power Plant, to be built on 7,000 acres of public land in California, will double the amount of solar energy the US can produce, the Los Angeles Times reports. The German company behind the project aims...

US Lifts Moratorium on Drilling Early

John Johnson — Tue, 12 Oct 2010 11:47:45 CDT

The government's controversial moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico is ending more than a month early. The Interior Department lifted the ban this afternoon, opening the way for drilling to resume within weeks, the AP reports. The feds are satisfied that new rules put into place will...

Feds Tighten Offshore Drilling Rules

Rob Quinn — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 05:07:00 CDT

Oil companies will no longer be allowed to launch new deep-water drilling projects in US waters without submitting environmental impact studies under new guidelines announced yesterday. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says the administration is banning "categorical exclusions" like the one that allowed BP to drill its ill-fated Macondo well on...

Obama Used Bush Drilling Policies He Slammed

Rob Quinn — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 04:00:00 CDT

President Obama and his administration have gone from condemning Bush-era offshore drilling policies to embracing them to blaming them for the mess in the Gulf, a Wall Street Journal look at Obama's energy policy finds. The tough talk about environmental protection heard on the campaign trail gave way to support...

Judge Won't Delay His Ruling to Lift Moratorium

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 12:02:30 CDT

A federal judge in New Orleans has refused to delay his decision to strike down a 6-month moratorium on deepwater drilling imposed after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Justice Department had asked US District Judge Martin Feldman to stay his ruling while it appeals to the...