Eight percent of employees reported sexual harassment in new survey. The Department of the Interior has fired four senior managers after a survey uncovered pervasive harassment there, Secretary Ryan Zinke announced on Thursday. In a press release, the department said that 35% of its employees reported some type of harassment or discrimination in the survey,…
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Utah representative Rob Bishop got his way on Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante. Now, he has his sights set on a bigger target: taking apart the law that created them. From the moment that President Barack Obama proclaimed Bears Ears National Monument, Rep. Rob Bishop was among the new preserve’s loudest critics. On December 4,…
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When three parks in Alaska were on the brink of closure, Valdez Adventure Alliance stepped in to help. In 2017, Valdez Adventure Alliance reopened a 7-mile segment of the Shoup Bay Trail for the first time in 5 years.At its best, the Shoup Bay Trail is a sampler of what makes Alaska great. For 10…
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Mon, 2/12, 6-8 pm Group: The Mountaineers When: Monday, February 12, 6 to 8 pm Where: Seattle Program Center, Seattle, WA Cost: Free; email to reserve a table to sell gear (registration required) Details: Interested in learning how to snowshoe, kayak, or navigate in the backcountry? Want to meet new exploration buddies? Have a gear wishlist a…
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Sensitive and hazardous areas would likely close. A sign informs visitors of a closure at Yosemite during the government shutdown in October 2013.When the federal government shut down in October 2013, the National Park Service was hit hard. With no funding, the agency temporarily shuttered more than 400 parks, from popular outdoors destinations like Yellowstone to the…
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Thurs, 2/8, 1:30-4:30 pm Group: Sierra Club When: Thursday, February 8, 1:30 to 4:30 pm Where: California state capitol, Sacramento, CA Cost: Free Details: Trump recently announced his disastrous plan to hand over all of America’s oceans – including the Pacific – to oil companies so they can expand offshore drilling off the California coast…
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The DOI’s plan to open up more of America’s waters for drilling has conservation groups worried, but the government says their concern is misplaced. Gulf Islands National SeashoreSediment from the Appalachian Mountains washing into the Gulf of Mexico for a million years has sprouted a chain of barrier islands off the coast of Florida and…
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A jaunt down a stream is a less in what water can accomplish. Aravaipa Canyon“Don’t tell anyone about this place.” This is my hiking partner’s entreaty after two days in Aravaipa Canyon. With its thousand-foot-tall walls, the canyon offers a full-immersion lesson in what a little water can accomplish if given a lot of time.…
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The best local trails, as selected by BACKPACKER Local scout Erica Zazo. Hot dogs. Lake Michigan. Da Bears. And excellent trails? Absolutely: The Windy City’s greater stomping grounds offer river-sculpted canyons, quiet hardwood forests, glacially molded ridges, and plentiful waterfalls within easy dayhiking distance. Sample the best of the Midwest on these favorites: Many are…
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Paul Daniel Smith was reprimanded for pressuring subordinates to let Daniel Snyder sidestep agency rules. Paul Daniel SmithThe new acting director of the National Park Service is a 31-year veteran of the agency who once received a reprimand after an investigation found that he misused his authority by permitting the billionaire owner of an NFL…
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