skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, March 28, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Challenges Facing New Interior Secretary

play audio
Play

Friday, April 19, 2013   

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – It's the first week on the job for new Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

The former REI president spent most of this week learning the ropes in Washington and the Department of the Interior. But there are challenges facing the new secretary about public lands in the West.

Peter Dykstra, regional director of The Wilderness Society, says he's optimistic about the choice of Jewell because her past experience shows she understands the connection between conservation of America's public lands and a strong economy.

"Businesses move to communities that have places that people want to live,” Dykstra says. “Public lands near urban areas provide the opportunities for great cultural experiences but also those great outdoors experiences."

And, he says, it's not just tourism jobs. Places such as Boulder and Colorado Springs are booming tech centers, with jobs in computer, aerospace, electronics and other high-paying industries.

Jewell took over the post from Coloradan Ken Salazar, who stepped down earlier this year.

Bill Dvorak runs outfitting trips on the Arkansas River, about two hours from Denver. He says at least half of his clients come from Colorado.

"People might come down and do a day or an overnight trip on the river,” he says. “And then we can take them mountain biking, or horseback riding, or teach them how to kayak or rock climb. There's a lot of other things that you can do in the area."

Dykstra says another challenge in Colorado and other western states is how to balance energy demands with other uses of public lands.

"I think having a secretary that can really think through how you can have a good energy policy and a good conservation policy will head the Department of the Interior in the right direction," he says.

Oil and gas industry advocates want that direction to include opening up more lands to development. But Dykstra says conservation groups are seeking a mix that includes a bigger emphasis on using lands for renewable energy.





get more stories like this via email

more stories
A report from the Tennessee HealthCare Campaign recommended the federal government needs to strengthen 340B drug pricing and other federal negotiation mechanisms to make needed medicines more readily available and less expensive for hospitals to purchase and administer. (Spotmatikphoto/AdobeStock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

A recent report examined how some rural Tennessee hospitals have managed to stay afloat despite financial challenges. The report includes interviews …


Social Issues

play sound

Earlier this month, a new Arizona Public Service rate hike went into effect and one senior advocacy group said those on a fixed income may struggle …

Social Issues

play sound

Michigan recently implemented a significant juvenile justice reform package following recommendations from a task force made up of prosecutors…


Nearly 13 million Americans receive health coverage through unique plans under both Medicare and Medicaid. They are known as Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans. (Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

play sound

Medicare and Medicaid are key sources of health coverage for many Americans and some people qualify for assistance under both programs. With lagging …

Social Issues

play sound

A mix of policy updates and staffing boosts has helped to put wage theft enforcement on the radar in Minnesota, and officials leading the efforts are …

More than six in 10 Americans favor keeping the abortion pill mifepristone available in the U.S. as a prescription drug, while over a third are opposed, according to a Gallup poll. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

New research shows more than six in 10 abortions in the U.S. last year were medically induced, and U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto - D-NV - is …

Social Issues

play sound

Colorado is working to boost the state's agricultural communities by getting more fresh, nutritious foods into school cafeterias - and a new online …

Social Issues

play sound

Missouri lawmakers are concerned with protecting people from the potential risks of the increasing accessibility of AI-generated images and videos…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021