“When P. Daniel Smith walked away from his job as deputy director of the National Park Service last fall, he didn’t walk back into retirement but rather into a position Interior Secretary David Bernhardt created for Smith that just happened to be based in Smith’s hometown, according to job posting records. But it was more...

“Easily lost amid the turmoil in the Trump administration last week was the firing of Mike Stoker, the administrator for the EPA giant Region 9. Stoker, a Republican and Trump appointee, blames clashes with EPA headquarters in Washington plus his willingness to work with Democrats—including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—for his February 5 ouster. Stoker, 64,...

“When P. Daniel Smith left his job as acting director of the National Park Service on Sept. 30, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt asked him to take a new role leading the agency’s efforts to celebrate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence on July 4, 2026. Under the arrangement, his colleagues said, Smith would be allowed...

“National Park Service officials have declined to respond to allegations that P. Dan Smith, who was brought out of retirement by former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to effectively be director of the National Park Service, was given a sweetheart deal last fall when he stepped down to allow David Vela to serve as the agency’s...

“NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A lawsuit seeking to return federal protection to the real bears that inspired teddy bears has been thrown out by a federal judge. The people and environmental groups who sued in 2018 didn’t provide any evidence to back up their claims that they would be hurt by the decision to remove...

“The ousted head of the Western region office of the Environmental Protection Agency said Tuesday he believes he fell victim to his popularity with Democrats, like Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who had praised him for his work on the cleanup of the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in San Francisco. Mike Stoker is perhaps best known for...

“NEW ORLEANS — A lawsuit seeking to return federal protection to the real bears that inspired teddy bears has been thrown out by a federal judge. The people and environmental groups who sued in 2018 didn’t provide any evidence to back up their claims that they would be hurt by the decision to remove Louisiana...

“A federal agency finally has published an investigation into lead contamination caused by target shooting on public lands in Arizona, two years after investigators substantiated several concerns raised by a whistleblower. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel made the allegations and investigation public last week as part of the process of closing the case. The move...

“COKER CREEK, Tenn. — The U.S. Forest Service has finished repairs on an estimated $2.4 million in damage the agency did to the Trail of Tears in Coker Creek, Tennessee, back in 2014 in a misguided attempt to discourage off-roaders and address erosion.” Read the PEER Story…

“DYER, Nevada—On a cold, windy day in late October, in one of the most remote and least populated regions of the state, a half-dozen workers prepared to drill another test hole in the arid volcanic rock. They were looking for deposits of lithium, a metal that has become indispensable to smartphones and electric-vehicle batteries, and...