May 2017

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on April 26 that targets protections for large landscapes made by past presidents over the last two decades under the Antiquities Act. Executive Order 13792 calls on Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to evaluate national monument designations made since 1996 that protect more than 100,000 acres. The Secretary will provide recommendations for any proposed modifications to these monuments as well as recommendations on potential legislative changes that can be made to the Antiquities Act.

On May 5, President Trump signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2017 providing agency funding levels for the remainder of the fiscal year. The final spending levels maintain or improve budgets for natural resource related agencies. In addition, a number of legislative riders that were being considered were not included in the final bill. The bill is generally considered a win for conservation interests that were anticipating large cuts included in President Trump’s proposed budget and recommended funding for FY2017.

Migratory mule deer in Wyoming closely time their movements to track the spring green-up, providing evidence of an underappreciated foraging benefit of migration, according to a new study from a team of researchers led by University of Wyoming and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists at the Wyoming Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.