CHEYENNE, Wyo. – Environmental watchdog groups are eager to get back in the field after a Wyoming federal district court this week struck down so-called data trespass laws.

Erik Molvar, executive director of the Western Watersheds Project, says by threatening citizens with jail time for collecting environmental data on public lands – if private lands had been crossed to reach those sites, even accidentally – the laws made it a lot harder to hold polluters accountable.

"So basically the law clamps down on the free speech rights of environmental watchdog groups, and indeed any member of the public, that wants to warn a federal agency that a problem is happening on public lands that that agency manages," he states.

Legislators passed laws in 2015 and 2016 arguing that measures were necessary to protect the rights of property owners.

But the judge wrote in his ruling that "there is simply no plausible reason for the specific curtailment of speech in the statutes beyond a clear attempt to punish individuals for engaging in protected speech that at least some find unpleasant."

Molvar says his group has collected scientific data for years showing that a majority of waterways on publicly owned lands in Wyoming are contaminated by potentially lethal fecal bacteria from livestock, in violation of the Clean Water Act, and he believes the state laws were passed to protect industry from being held accountable.

"But the Wyoming Legislature wanted to suppress our ability to warn the public about these serious health and safety problems and the risks that are posed by the livestock industry and their fecal coliform contamination," he states.

The court's ruling strikes down the state laws and permanently blocks them from being applied.

Earlier this year, the Wyoming Legislature passed a law that would have added bigger penalties to people who exercised their free speech rights at energy facilities, but the statute was vetoed by Gov. Matt Mead.


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A new bill in Congress would add greater protections to a river and its watersheds in southern Oregon.

Oregon Democratic Sens. Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden have introduced legislation to expand the Smith River National Recreation Area by 58,000 acres.

Owner of the Northwest Rafting Company Zach Collier said it's a remote and special part of the state well known for its biodiversity, from Chinook salmon to rare and endangered plants.

"This water provides spawning habitat for fish, which people catch downstream," said Collier, "but also provides clear, clean water for people to enjoy who are rafting downstream, kayaking downstream, fishing downstream and also drinking that water downstream."

The bill would protect the watershed of the North Fork of the Smith River in Oregon. The Smith River flows downstream into California, an area Collier said is well known for whitewater rafting.

It would safeguard 74 miles of waterway, including creeks adjacent to the Smith River.

It would also ensure that mining couldn't disrupt this sensitive habitat. Collier said nickel mining in particular has been proposed in the region.

"Nickel mining is not good on places," said Collier. "It involves strip mining and tons of chemicals. It's not the cleanest way to mine. It would devastate this area that's uniquely special to the world."

Collier said it's important to protect the landscape and fish habitat. But he noted that it's a special place that looks like it would be home on a different planet - literally.

"That area gets tons of rain," said Collier. "It reminds me of being on Endor in 'Return of the Jedi.' It's just very lush, very green - and just a magical, magical river."

The bill has the support of two California senators as well. It's been referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Nevada is still waiting for official designation of a new national monument. In late November, President Joe Biden said he is "committed" to protecting Avi Kwa Ame, known by some as Spirit Mountain, an area spanning about 450,000 acres near Laughlin. But it hasn't happened yet.

Conservation groups and tribes say making Avi Kwa Ame a national monument would align with Biden's "30 by 30" campaign, which aims to protect 30% of U.S. land and waters by 2030.

Russell Kuhlman, Executive Director of Nevada Wildlife Federation, called the designation "the missing key" to tristate-level land protections in the Western U.S.

"With this designation, it's really going to be a big jump forward in accomplishing President Biden's '30 x 30' initiative," Kuhlman said. "Now the question is, 'How else can we move that needle towards that goal?'"

Opponents of protecting more public land want to see the area used in other ways. Backers of the Kulning Wind Energy Project have proposed a 310-megawatt wind farm within the boundaries of the proposed national monument to provide energy to Nevada and California.

Kuhlman said as the State of Nevada starts transitioning to renewable energy, conservation groups want to be sure wildlife and their habitat are not forgotten. This echoes a similar directive from the Bureau of Land Management that now prioritizes protecting lands that connect wildlife migration corridors.

Kuhlman said the desert floor within the proposed monument boundaries have federal protections above standard BLM lands, but the mountain and ridgetops do not.

"That is where Nevada state mammals - the bighorn sheep, mule deer and a lot of other wildlife - reside. Protecting these areas from water source to water source is what, really, our organization got involved in," he said.

Kuhlman said Nevada will be the new frontier for how renewable energy if alternatives can be increase responsibly. He thinks designation of the Avi Kwa Ame national monument will help set the example - while also ensuring that historic, cultural and biodiverse lands receive protection.

Get in shape. It's a common New Year's resolution, but research shows the Japanese practice of Shinrin-yoku - or "forest bathing" - has multiple benefits for mental and physical health.

Studies show that forest bathing, which is basically getting outside and soaking up some nature, can improve mood.

Dr. Suzanne Bartlett Hackenmiller, chief medical adviser for the app AllTrails - an outdoor hiking and recreation app to help find trails - said researchers from Stanford analyzed MRI data and found that time in nature actually decreases activity in the part of the brain responsible for depression and anxiety.

"They've found that 90 minutes of walking in a natural setting," said Bartlett Hackenmiller, "participants reported less of what we call rumination - just that cycle of spinning negative, stressful thoughts - than people who walked in an urban setting."

She cited a raft of studies that expand on the benefits of getting out in nature. One showed that it helps people reach their fitness goals, because exercising outdoors is more enjoyable, so people are more likely to repeat it.

Nature walks have also been linked to better memory, a boost in immune function, and lowered stress hormones, blood pressure and cancer risk.

Free online apps can help people venture out safely. Here's Meaghan Praznik, head of communications for AllTrails.

"Our built-in navigator helps people make sure that they're never going to miss a turn, and they can follow along the route," said Praznik. "We also have printable maps, which give people a backup map, or even the ability to download offline maps in case you are to lose service."

Other studies have shown time spent in the great outdoors with a group of friends is even more beneficial than walking alone.

And they show that living in an area with higher "surrounding greenness" can affect the genes linked to mental health disorders, tumors and metabolic disease.