Today,  House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT), Subcommittee on Federal Lands Chairman Tom McClintock (R-CA), and Reps. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and Greg Walden (R-OR) sent a letter to the White House about the consideration of national monument designations in California and Oregon that will exacerbate water shortages and increase threats of catastrophic… Read more »

Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a markup on 5 bills including H.R. 564 the “Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act” (Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler), which passed committee. H.R. 564 authorizes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to issue one-year permits to Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and several tribal groups to lethally take… Read more »

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed Rep. Amata Radewagen’s (R-American Samoa, At-large) H.R. 4576, Ensuring Access to Pacific Fisheries Act, by voice vote. The bill implements U.S. participation in two international fishery treaties that the U.S. helped negotiate, the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fisheries Resources in the North Pacific Ocean and… Read more »

Today, the House Committee on Natural Resources held a markup on four bills including H.R. 5032 (Rep. Dave Brat, R-VA). The bill removes a federal land-use restriction on a piece of land in the town of Louisa, Virginia so that it may be repurposed to provide residents with a safe supply of drinking water.   Louisa has spent millions of dollars studying ways to comply with… Read more »

Today, H.R. 4245 sponsored by Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME) and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) passed on suspension by voice vote. H.R. 4245 exempts sea urchins, sea cucumbers and other seafood exports from duplicative federal requirements imposed on buyers and sellers of related products by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). “This is a big win for Maine jobs,” Rep. Poliquin said. “Our… Read more »

Today, President Barack Obama expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument off the coast of Hawaii by 442,781 square miles. Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) and Congresswoman Aumua Amata (American Samoa) issued the following statements: “The sweeping size of this expansion is unjustified,” Bishop stated. “It will impose great harm to a critical local… Read more »

Today, the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans held an oversight hearing on conflicting ideas between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) that could threaten portions of California’s water supply. NMFS proposed holding back water behind Shasta Dam through the summer and fall to preserve cold water for the Winter-run Chinook… Read more »

TO: Attorney General Loretta Lynch and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell  FROM: Rob Bishop, Chairman House Committee on Natural Resources Dear Ms. Attorney General and Madame Secretary:  In a February 26, 2015 correspondence (Letter) to Secretary Sally Jewell and former Attorney General Eric Holder, I outlined a number of items that needed to be sent to Congress prior to… Read more »

Today, the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans held an oversight hearing on “The Implications of President Obama’s National Ocean Policy.” President Obama established the National Ocean Council (Council) in 2010, composed of 24 federal officials. The Council is required to develop a framework for coastal and marine spatial planning—an initiative viewed as “zoning” oceans for… Read more »

Today, the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans held an oversight hearing to examine the limited growth of hydropower and barriers to expansion. Hydropower is clean, renewable and emissions-free yet still faces large hurdles in the federal regulatory process. Washington state witness Jessica Matlock, Director of Government Relations for Snohomish County Public Utility District No. 1,… Read more »