Laws & Regulations

SEJ FOI Chair Talks to Forest Service Chief Tidwell

After proposing a directive that seemed to require permits and fees for journalists working in U.S. Forest Service wilderness lands, the USFS announced that it had never intended the restrictions to apply to journalists. Tim Wheeler, chairman of the Society of Environmental Journalists' Freedom of Information Task Force, talked with USFS Chief TomTidwell to clarify the USFS position. Here's his report.

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1st Amendment Alarm: USFS Says Media Need Photo Permit in Wilderness

"The U.S. Forest Service has tightened restrictions on media coverage in vast swaths of the country's wild lands, requiring reporters to pay for a permit and get permission before shooting a photo or video in federally designated wilderness areas."

Source: Portland Oregonian, 09/25/2014

Constitution Wins After Court Imposes Prior Restraint on Pipeline Safety Info

As a nationwide newspaper chain probed safety threats posed to the public by gas pipelines, an Alabama court imposed prior restraint on the Montgomery Advertiser, to prevent it from publishing the Alabama Gas Corporation's safety plan, citing homeland security and trade secrets. Now a judge has ruled that the court erred in granting a temporary restraining order.

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Forest Service Seeks To Limit Journalists' Access to Wilderness Lands

The U.S. Forest Service is seeking to harden rules that would require a journalist to get a permit and pay a fee of up to $1,500 in order to report inside a federal wilderness. [Update -- 9/25/14: Forest Service Chief Tidwell says media don't need permit]

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October 21, 2014

Policy Forum: The Role of State Leadership in Cooperative Federalism

The Environmental Law Institute's 2014 Policy Forum, taking place in Washington, DC, will focus on state leadership in environmental protection, examining the inherent tension underlying state-federal partnerships and inconsistencies in state approaches to cooperative federalism. Register by Oct 14th.

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October 1, 2014

Supreme Court Review & Preview

The Environmental Law Institute's annual U.S. Supreme Court update for the 2014 term will feature ELI President John Cruden leading a discussion (in Washington, DC and via teleconference) with two of the most distinguished environmental law school professors in the nation to review the important Clean Air Act cases decided this year, and forecast their implications for future rule making, particularly in the greenhouse gas arena. Register by Sep 26.

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Greens See Judge's Rejection of Colo. Lease as Turning Point on Climate

"Environmentalists who have tried with little success to stop the Obama administration from leasing billions of tons of coal for mining are hailing a U.S. district court ruling in Colorado last week as a game changer. At issue in Judge R. Brooke Jackson's decision that scrapped federal approval of coal-lease expansion was the impact of coal mining and burning on global warming."

Source: Greenwire, 09/18/2014

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