Weekly News Roundup – February 3, 2012

Want to know what National Wildlife Federation was up to this week? Here is a recap of the week’s NWF news:

Obama Administration Hits the Accelerator for Responsible Offshore Wind Development

February 2 – The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the agency responsible for permitting offshore wind energy, has hit the accelerator in the pursuit of this massive, domestic clean energy source.

In releasing the Final Environmental Assessment for commercial wind leasing and site assessment activities on the Mid-Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf, BOEM has effectively cut at least two years off the permitting process for offshore wind off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia. Once an auction process is completed, it is expected that numerous leases will be issued in 2012, allowing critical data to be collected for the development of construction and operations plans for offshore wind projects in these areas.

Tribes Prepare for Homecoming of Wild Bison from Yellowstone

January 31 – People on the Fort Peck Reservation in northeast Montana are preparing a big welcome-home ceremony for a fellow Plains native whose absence for more than a century has left voids in the ecosystem and cultures it helped shape.

Nearly 70 wild bison from Yellowstone National Park, part of the country’s last, free-ranging herd, will be released onto the reservation, home to the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes. The release, expected some time in March, will mark the return of the last genetically pure bison to the plains and the reunion of animals and people once seen as inseparable.

Great Lakes–Mississippi River Separation is Possible, Practical and Preventive

January 31 – A much-anticipated study says separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins to prevent the spread of Asian carp and other invasive species is not only possible, but a natural step toward much-needed action to improve Chicago’s water infrastructure.

Great Lakes environmental groups reacting to the study, released today by the Great Lakes Commission and Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Cities Initiative, commended the authors’ factual analysis concluding that separation is possible and that it must include essential upgrades to sewage, flood control and waterborne transportation while preventing the transfer of invasive species.

And here are highlights from NWF in the News:

For more, visit www.nwf.org/News