skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, February 7, 2025

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

January jobs report: Unemployment rate falls to 4%, wages rise more than forecast; Trump signs order imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel; Ten Commandments in public schools debate reaches South Dakota; Virginia ranks among worst states for wage theft; Mexican long-nosed bat makes appearance in Arizona.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Attorney General Pam Bondi strikes a Trump tone at the Justice Department, federal workers get more time to consider buyouts, and an unclassified email request from the White House worries CIA vets.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

During Black History Month, a new book shares how a unique partnership built 5,000 schools for Black students, anti-hunger advocates say ag communities would benefit from an expanded SNAP program, and Americans have $90 billion in unpaid medical bills.

BLM releases final conservation plan for NW California public lands

play audio
Play

Tuesday, June 25, 2024   

Conservation advocates say a new Bureau of Land Management final Environmental Impact Statement takes positive steps toward developing a management plan to conserve public lands in Northwest California.

The Northwest California Integrated Resource Management Plan will manage more than 380,000 acres in Butte, Humboldt, Mendocino, Shasta, Siskiyou, Tehama and Trinity counties for at least the next two decades.

John Haschak, vice chair of the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors, said the plan will help protect both endangered habitat and at-risk communities from the impacts of climate change, including wildfire.

"It provides some of the protections for some of these areas that are very sensitive, like Eden Valley, which is very environmentally fragile areas, and then also the Eel River. It's a wild and scenic river, so just making sure that these are managed properly is very important," he explained.

The lands covered by the plan stretch from the North Coast to the Central Valley and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They include isolated redwood groves, oak woodlands, rivers and streams, and are home to elk, bald eagles, sandhill cranes, salmon and steelhead. BLM officials say the plan is a collaborative effort of communities, Tribes, local governments and other partners.

The BLM's final plan establishes management areas to protect recreational uses, including miles of trails for hikers, hunters, anglers, mountain bikers and equestrians, as well as some of the best non-expert canoeing and kayaking in California.

Steve O'Bryan, owner of Pullins Cyclery in Chico, said he has several decades of experience in the region, and he hopes the management plan will keep it in pristine condition.

"I'm pleased to have been a part, maybe, or have some effect on this decision to preserve the land because I've gotten to utilize it most of my life," he said. "And we need to make concerted efforts to conserve some wild spots for the future generations that are headed our way."

A BLM spokesman said the plan will address changing use patterns, provide a broad array of recreation uses, plans for wilderness management, and will protect wild and scenic rivers and areas of critical environmental concern.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Opponents of a South Dakota bill that would require the Ten Commandments be posted in all public school classrooms say it would be an unfunded mandate. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A South Dakota House committee takes up a controversial bill today that would require all school districts in the state to display the Ten Commandment…


play sound

Virginia ranks third behind only Maryland and Delaware among the worst states for the average amount of back wages companies owe to their workers…

Environment

play sound

Some North Dakota school districts are part of a movement that has embraced electric school buses, but the federal funding shakeup carried out by the …


Florida immigrant advocacy groups are intensifying efforts to help undocumented individuals navigate encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. (David Peinado/Pexels)

Social Issues

play sound

Immigrant advocates in Florida are ramping up efforts to help families navigate President Donald Trump's new immigration orders, which have increased …

Social Issues

play sound

The rate of U.S. high school seniors seeking higher education is on the upswing, according to research from Lumina Foundation. Although Hoosier …

Gov. Kathy Hochul's free community college proposal would apply to people pursuing first-time associate degrees for jobs in high-demand fields, including nursing, teaching, technology and engineering. (Adobe Stock)

play sound

New York State is making historic higher education investments. As part of the 2026 budget proposal, Gov. Kathy Hochul proposes free community …

Social Issues

play sound

Gov. Josh Shapiro's proposed state budget includes a significant increase for public education to address Pennsylvania's school funding issues and …

Social Issues

play sound

Alabama nonprofits are coming together to tackle challenges that may threaten their survival, from declining donor support to shifting federal …

 

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