Earther

Ryan Zinke Unveils Official Portrait Featuring National Monument He Shrunk

It’s portrait season in Washington, DC. The latest Trump official to get the official portrait treatment is scandal-plagued former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. He unveiled his official portrait (as well as an unofficial joke one) that will serve as a reminder of his greatest accomplishment during his tenure: shrinking a national monument that tribes hold … Continued

Earther

Report: Grand Jury Hearing Evidence That Ryan Zinke Lied to Federal Investigators

Former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke—who used to be one of the nation’s top environmental officials until he resigned last year amid a slew of ethics scandals and investigations—has apparently failed to leave his troubles behind with his backwards ranger hat. Per a Friday report by the Washington Post, prosecutors are currently showing evidence … Continued

Earther

Ryan Zinke Scribbles About His Public Lands Legacy as National Parks Devolve Into Chaos

Wednesday is scandal haver Ryan Zinke’s last day as Secretary of the Interior. And it looks like his last official tweet will be the perfect memorial to his utter lack of self awareness. The tweet features a photo of Zinke’s farewell note that looks part serial killer, part mixtape written in barely-legible red marker on … Continued

Earther

Ryan Zinke’s Replacement Is a Fresh Nightmare for Public Lands

Noted oil and gas lover Ryan Zinke is on his way out the door at the Department of Interior. And like fellow grifter Scott Pruitt who also left us too soon, Zinke’s temporary (for now) replacement is much less scandal-plagued and much more laser-focused on gutting the agency. David Bernhardt is currently the Department of … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Ryan Zinke Will Be Drilling Oil Fields in Trump Official Heaven Now

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke—who, when he’s not wearing ranger hats backwards and insisting he’s a geologist has worked diligently to undermine environmental policies and rack up ethics scandals—is out, Donald Trump tweeted on Saturday. Zinke will depart at the end of 2018, the president wrote. Like former Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt, Zinke is … Continued

Earther

Genius Ryan Zinke Calls Congressman Who Will Likely Be Future Oversight Chair a Drunk

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke—a man who wears ranger hats backwards and spreads conspiracy theories about how “radical environmentalists” are responsible for wildfires when he’s not destroying public land protections and calling for more drilling—just accused a sitting congressman of alcoholism in retaliation for writing that Zinke should resign. Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, the top Democrat … Continued

EartherEarth Science

Ryan Zinke Says ‘Radical Environmentalists’ Are to Blame For the Wildfire That’s Killed 79 People

Americans of all political persuasions are rushing to blame the devastating Camp Fire on their political foes, but Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke would like everyone to take a deep breath and calm down… and recognize that “radical environmentalists” are to blame. Zinke, who is under investigation for numerous alleged ethics violations, appeared on the Breitbart … Continued

EartherConservation

Grizzly Bears’ Future May Hinge on This Court Decision

This month, hunters in Wyoming and Idaho were going to have their first opportunity to shoot grizzly bears for sport in more than 40 years. But a court order last week put the kibosh on that, throwing the future of the controversial trophy hunt and the fate of the animals into uncertainty—at least for now. … Continued

EartherConservation

Wow, Americans Are Selling a Lot of Dead Giraffes

A new report is drawing attention to fact that thousands of giraffe parts are imported into the U.S. for sale each year—which is extremely legal and fine according to U.S. and international law. Wait, what?! The report, which the Humane Society published Thursday following an investigation into the U.S. giraffe market, found that market to … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Ryan Zinke Has Taken His Rambling, Confused Thoughts on Climate Change and Wildfires All Over the Country

Park ranger cosplay enthusiast Ryan Zinke has had himself a couple of weeks. In the midst of a catastrophic summer of wildfires, the Secretary of the Interior has tied himself in knots trying to figure out how to talk about the role of climate change in driving those fires. Over the course of the past … Continued

EartherClimate Change

Trump’s Giant Offshore Oil and Gas Lease Sale Was a Flop

The Department of the Interior just held the biggest offshore oil and gas auction in U.S. history. Like all things Trumpian, the bluster beforehand didn’t quite match the results. Of the 78.1 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico offered up to oil and gas companies, 801,289, or just about one percent, were snapped up, … Continued

EartherConservation

Wyoming’s Grizzly Bear Hunt Won’t Happen Without a Fight

The Interior Department’s proposal to allow Alaskan hunters to shoot black bears in their dens may have sparked more outrage, but some major bear hunting news also came out of Wyoming last week, when a state commission decided to allow the first hunting season for grizzlies in over 40 years. On May 23, the Wyoming … Continued

EartherConservation

Oh God, Ryan Zinke

Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is a man of pomp, circumstance, and the mountains. He has a big boy flag he makes staff raise when he’s in his office, rode a horse to his first day of work, and calls himself a geologist. I don’t know if you heard, but he also used to be a … Continued

EartherConservation

Zinke Abandons Plan to Make National Parks Outrageously Expensive

Another wildly unpopular Ryan Zinke proposal bites the dust. Last November, the Department of Interior floated the idea of major fee hikes at some of the most popular parks in the national park system during the high season. The public spoke during a comment period, and it was not happy. On Thursday, in a rare … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

God’s Reps Are Not Into Offshore Drilling

Since its January roll out, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s offshore drilling plan has come under fire from all quarters. First Florida Governor Rick Scott asked for a waiver. Then other governors jumped on board. Now the good Lord has weighed in through earthly representatives to register opposition to the Interior Department’s plans to drill large … Continued

ScienceBiology

Trump Administration, Which Said It Would Keep African Elephant Trophy Ban, Changes Its Mind

After months of back and forth on the subject, President Donald Trump’s administration has done what everyone pretty much knew it would do the whole time and has lifted a ban on the importation of some African elephant trophies from Zimbabwe and Zambia. Per NPR, in a March 1st memo, the US Fish and Wildlife … Continued

EartherEnvironmental Justice

Documents Show Ryan Zinke Ignored Public Support for Bears Ears in Favor of Oil and Gas

When President Donald Trump essentially erased the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke emphasized that the move had nothing to do with oil and gas. Turns out, he was lying. Surprised? Yeah, me neither. The New York Times reported Friday that oil and gas exploration had, well, a lot to do … Continued

Tech News

Trump Officials Want to Charge More Money to Access Public Records—Despite Fewer Requests

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on Independence Day, 1966. The act, he wrote, sprung from a principle that is “essential” to the nation: “A democracy works best when the people have all the information that the security of the nation will permit.” Only national security, Johnson said, … Continued

EartherConservation

Trump’s Infrastructure Plan Shows No Love For Public Lands

On Monday, President Donald Trump’s much-delayed, likely DOA infrastructure plan was released. It’s the latest incarnation of the administration’s priorities to turn federal lands into a national energy sacrifice zone. Tucked into the $200-billion plan unveiled today are two particularly wild ideas. One is to pay for the $11.3 billion National Park Service maintenance backlog … Continued

EartherConservation

Ryan Zinke Is Actually Trying to Improve Public Lands For a Change

Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has spent much of 2018 so far courting controversy with his plan to open up coastal waters to offshore drilling. On Friday, he took a moment to focus on the actual interior of the country with a new secretarial order on big game migration corridors. The announcement, which aims … Continued