In the News
Democrats question NOAA ‘Fisherman in Residence’
by Michael Doyle
House Democrats are casting barbed questions about NOAA's quiet appointment of its first-ever "Fisherman in Residence," a longtime lobsterman who touts "opposition to offshore wind projects in the Gulf of Maine” as a leading accomplishment. In their eight-page letter to NOAA's Commerce Department overseers, Natural Resources ranking member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-Ore.), ranking member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, press for information concerning … Continue Reading
March 02, 2026
Panel wrestles with vexing law that protects migratory birds
by Michael Doyle
A House Natural Resources subcommittee this week will discuss the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a century-old law with a nagging legal ambiguity at its heart. Written in 1918, the MBTA now shelters under its protective wing more than 1,100 migratory bird species. The crucial question of whether the law covers unintentional as well as deliberate harm to the birds, though, still remains up in the air after all these years. Judges have reached different conclusions, and the dispute has yet to be … Continue Reading
March 02, 2026
Confidential database reveals which items NPS thinks may ‘disparage’ America
by Karin Brulliard, Brady Dennis
At the Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument in Mississippi, staff members asked the Trump administration to review an entire exhibit on the Black teen’s brutal 1955 killing by White men and his mother’s decision to publicize it — though the park’s staff warned that its removal would leave the site “completely devoid of interpretation.” At Arches National Park in Utah, park managers wondered whether a sign about the damage that graffiti and invasive species leave on the iconic … Continue Reading
February 26, 2026
Next Step in Trump’s California Offshore Oil Drilling Effort Announced
by Sage Alexander
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management announced a step toward leasing areas for offshore oil and gas drilling in California this week, by launching an associated environmental process. BOEM announced Thursday the department would prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement for lease sales in northern, central and southern California. A soon-to-be-released statement will primarily concern sales planned for 2027 in central and southern California, according to BOEM. A Northern … Continue Reading
February 25, 2026
North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman calls State of the Union speech ‘a disaster’
North Coast U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman posted a video sharing his “fresh take” on Tuesday night’s State of the Union speech by President Donald Trump. “What a disaster,” he said in the video. “The best I can say is that it probably does reflect the actual state of our union. We have an unhinged madman in the presidency that is running roughshod. Congress refuses to question or check him because he’s managed to turn this Republican Congress into his own little Russian Duma. They don’t do … Continue Reading
February 25, 2026
House panel tangles over forest thinning near power lines
by Marc Heller
Congress has expanded the Forest Service’s ability to remove trees around power lines — but the agency isn’t making much use of its capabilities, according to a leading House Democrat. California Rep. Jared Huffman, the top Democrat on the House Natural Resources Committee, offered that judgment Tuesday at a hearing on the wildfire dangers posed by vegetation along utility rights of way in national forests. The House has approved legislation targeting that concern, but the bill is still … Continue Reading
February 18, 2026
Democrats plot protests for Trump’s State of the Union address
by Sudiksha Kochi
House Democrats are plotting a range of moves to broadcast their defiance of President Trump during his State of the Union address to Congress next week. Trump’s speech marks a significant flash point amid a Department of Homeland Security shutdown, with the White House and Democrats locked in an impasse over reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection after immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minnesota. While some Democrats are making a … Continue Reading
February 17, 2026
‘Let the Record Reflect’: This Congressman Went Barefoot to Honor Bob Weir on the House Floor
by Shirley Halperin
On Feb. 4, 2026, Bob Weir‘s spirit was present on the House of Representatives floor. Congressman Jared Huffman made sure of it. The California Democrat, whose districts include Sonoma, Mendocino, Humboldt, and the Grateful Dead’s home base of Marin County, took off his shoes and socks, then stepped up to the podium to mark the moment. “Mr. Speaker, let the record reflect I delivered these remarks barefoot in honor of Bobby Weir,” said the U.S. representative. “I think he would appreciate … Continue Reading
February 13, 2026
California, Humboldt County leaders decry Trump’s strident deregulation of EPA standards
by Robert Schaulis
This week, the Trump administration and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that they would eliminate what EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin characterized as “the ‘Holy Grail’ of the ‘climate change religion.’” In a press conference Thursday, Zeldin and President Trump announced that they would eliminate “both the Obama-era 2009 Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Endangerment Finding and all subsequent federal GHG emission standards for all vehicles and engines of model years 2012 to 2027 and beyond,” … Continue Reading
February 12, 2026
Sen. Schiff leads probe into Freedom250, the America birthday group offering access to Trump for donations
by Isabella Murray
Sen. Adam Schiff of California and a group of fellow Democrats are launching a probe into Freedom 250, a new non-profit group closely aligned with President Donald Trump that is raising private funding for high-profile events surrounding America's 250th birthday this summer. Freedom 250 -- a nonprofit subsidiary of the National Park Foundation, the congressionally chartered fundraising arm of the National Park Service -- was announced by the White House X account in December 2025, as an … Continue Reading
February 12, 2026
Panel OKs mineral, grazing and national park bills
by Michael Doyle
The nation's critical minerals would land on a new kind of list under legislation approved by the House Natural Resources Committee on Wednesday. The committee approved by voice vote an amended version of H.R. 755, the "Critical Mineral Consistency Act," from Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.), designed to align the U.S. Geological Survey's list of critical minerals with a separate list maintained by the Department of Energy. During the Biden administration, the USGS critical mineral list did … Continue Reading
February 12, 2026
Scoop: Dems eye protests at Trump's State of the Union
by Andrew Solender
Some House Democrats say they plan to defy instructions from House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) not to protest President Trump during his State of the Union address on Feb. 24. Why it matters: Even some top progressives and lawmakers who participated in demonstrations at Trump's speech last year acknowledge it wasn't their shining moment. "Last year didn't really work as envisioned," Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told … Continue Reading
February 11, 2026
NPS to visitors: English is ‘official language,’ even on Spanish websites
by Heather Richards
The National Park Service has long provided park websites in other languages — like Spanish, Russian or French — in a nod to the millions of visitors of diverse background who descend on parks each year. But now those websites also include one sentence in English. NPS this week added a disclaimer to emphasize that English is the “official language and authoritative version of all federal information.” At least 11 alternative language sites — including for California’s Joshua Tree National … Continue Reading
February 11, 2026
Trump history purge sparks combative House hearing
by Heather Richards
A House Natural Resources hearing intended to showcase plans for the nation's semiquincentennial devolved into a forum on the Trump administration’s recent efforts to purge national parks of negative history. Democrats dominated Tuesday's nearly three-hour Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing convened by Chair Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) with warnings that the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary is being overshadowed by the Trump administration’s removals of U.S. history and … Continue Reading
February 10, 2026
Potential conflicts over celebrating America’s 250th anniversary spill out in congressional hearing
by Gary Fields, Sean Murphy
Congressional Democrats on Tuesday accused the Trump administration of trying to hijack plans to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary and using the nonprofit National Park Foundation to solicit money from private donors for some of the president’s pet projects, including the massive arch he wants to build in the nation’s capital. During a hearing on the 250th anniversary commemoration, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman said President Donald Trump and his allies are attempting to use the celebration to … Continue Reading
February 09, 2026
‘Little death bombs’: Illegal cannabis farms poison California’s forests. Who’s cleaning them up?
by Rachel Becker
Law enforcement raided the illegal cannabis operation in Shasta-Trinity National Forest months before, but rotting potatoes still sat on the growers’ makeshift kitchen worktop, waiting to be cooked. Ecologist Greta Wengert stared down the pockmarked hillside at a pile of pesticide sprayers left behind, long after the raid. Wild animals had gnawed through the pressurized canisters, releasing the chemicals inside. “They’re just these little death bombs, waiting for any wildlife that is going … Continue Reading
February 07, 2026
Marin Co.: County Receives Federal Funding For Housing, Childcare Safety
by Bay City News Service
Marin County will receive $3.1 million in federal funding for workforce housing and child safety improvements under a sweeping appropriations package signed into law this week. The funding is included in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which is part of a broader package of appropriations measures that together fund more than 95% of the federal government through Sept. 30. Three Marin County projects are slated to benefit from the … Continue Reading
February 05, 2026
California Congress member’s barefoot Bob Weir tribute draws decorum reminder
by Aidin Vaziri
A California Congress member set aside House tradition this week — literally — when he delivered a floor speech barefoot to honor Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir. The gesture briefly drew a reminder about decorum from the presiding officer. Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, took to the House floor on Wednesday, Feb. 4, to pay tribute to Weir, the legendary guitarist who died Jan. 10 at 78, and highlight the musician’s deep ties to Marin County and the North Bay. At the close of his … Continue Reading
February 02, 2026
Hill Democrats probing Trump’s mineral megadeals
by Hannah Northey
Top House and Senate Democrats are investigating the Trump administration's unprecedented move to directly invest or take equity stakes in more than a half-dozen mining and mineral companies. Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), House Natural Resources ranking member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and House Oversight ranking member Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) are demanding documents and a briefing from the secretaries of Energy, Defense, Commerce and … Continue Reading
January 29, 2026
Bay Area’s giant 550-mile trail could earn same status as Pacific Crest Trail
by Gregory Thomas
A 550-mile hiking-and-biking trail encircling the Bay Area might soon gain a prized federal recognition that would put it in the same class as the Pacific Crest Trail and Appalachian Trail. New legislation introduced Wednesday in the U.S. House of Representatives would designate the Bay Area Ridge Trail — a mostly complete hiking route that weaves a giant loop through the nine-county region — as a National Scenic Trail. There are only 11 such trails in the country, including several … Continue Reading