The Latest Breaking News from Patrick Donnelly

A rare olive-colored fish in Nevada nears a key step toward endangered species listing

U.S. wildlife officials want to add a rare Nevada fish to the list of endangered species

The Independent UK · May 21, 2025

Doug Burgum could soon be driving Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ promises on public lands

Conservationists fear an expansion of drilling with North Dakota governor Trump’s pick for secretary of the interior and White House ‘energy czar’

The Guardian - US · Dec 1, 2024

Nevada lithium mine wins final approval despite potential harm to endangered wildflower

For the first time under President Joe Biden, a federal permit for a new lithium mine in the U.S. has been approved

The Independent UK · Oct 24, 2024

Salton Sea eyed for lithium extraction

As companies with billionaire backing buy in, frontline communities weigh the economics with health and environment

Salon · Sep 7, 2023

Can Congress fix an 1872 mining law?

Federal rules for mining haven't been updated since Ulysses S. Grant was president

Salon · Feb 16, 2023

Lithium miner cited for violating endangered flower habitat

Five days after the U.S. Energy Department announced a $700 million conditional loan to an Australian company for a lithium mine in Nevada, federal land managers cited the developer for trespassing within the habitat of an endangered wildflower

The Independent UK · Jan 19, 2023

Feds launching review of mine at site of endangered flower

Days after U.S. wildlife officials declared a Nevada wildflower endangered at the site of a proposed lithium mine, federal land managers are initiating a review of the project plans the developer says will allow the mine and flower to co-exist

The Independent UK · Dec 21, 2022

Nevada flower listed as endangered at lithium mine site

U.S. wildlife officials have declared a Nevada wildflower endangered at the only place it’s known to exist — on a high-desert ridge where a lithium mine is planned to help meet growing demand for electric car batteries

The Independent UK · Dec 14, 2022

A desert icon faces near-certain doom

Desert tortoises are facing multiple extinction threats, including from climate change

Salon · Dec 12, 2022

Endangered listing for Nevada toad in geothermal power fight

A tiny Nevada toad at the center of a legal battle over a geothermal project has officially been declared an endangered species after U.S. wildlife officials temporarily listed it on a rarely-used emergency basis last spring

The Independent UK · Dec 2, 2022