Page 2 - Rob Schnabel News Today

A proposed mining operation in central Idaho is raising concerns about possible damage to nearby fish and wildlife habitat. The U.S. Forest Service has released a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Stibnite Gold Project, an open-pit mine in the headwaters of the East Fork of the South Fork Salmon River near McCall. ...

A new study out this week reports Maryland could realize economic benefits from agricultural conservation efforts in the Chesapeake Bay region. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation is helping to implement the Clean Water Blueprint established in 2010, which seeks to restore the bays water quality along with rivers and streams feeding into the bay by 2025. One of the approaches used is creating forest buffers along waterways to help capture runoff. ...

Plastic waste is a growing problem across the globe, and it is not just an issue for landfills. Policymakers in Washington state are aiming to find solutions to this pollution. Recent research has found by 2050, plastic waste will be four times larger than it is now. ...

A program in the works is expected to help ensure the livelihood of farmers in Ohio and strengthen food-system resilience. The Family Farm ReGeneration Act is a new law to incentivize established farmers and producers to sell land, livestock, buildings and equipment to those just getting started. Amalie Lipstreu, policy director at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, said access to land is the greatest challenge for beginning farmers. ...

Farmers are scaling up the practice in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and beyond—and it could simultaneously help clean up the Chesapeake Bay, mitigate climate change, and save small family farms.

Just three years after the New Mexico Healthy Soil Act was approved by lawmakers, the Land of Enchantment is boasting more "soil health champions" than any other state, according to the Soil Health Champions Network. The Act authorized the New Mexico Department of Agriculture to provide financial assistance to help residents implement conservation projects focusing on one or more of five "healthy soil" principles. Robb Hirsch, co-founder of the Healthy Soil ...

Columbia project would harm valuable wetlands and not address the fundamental problem of stormwater management.

Michigan farmers say the U.S. Department of Agricultures (USDA) new, billion-dollar investment in projects by "climate-smart" farmers, ranchers and forest landowners will make a big difference in the fight to protect the environment. The program, Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, encourages producers and landowners to implement practices that either reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon. ...

Chesapeake Bay states have until 2025 to implement practices to reduce watershed pollution, and a new report shows "climate-smart" farming can help prevent farm runoff. In the Chesapeake Bay Clean Water Blueprint, roughly 80% of the remaining pollution reduction must come from agriculture - and Pennsylvania is farthest behind among the Bay states. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation report said implementing regenerative farming practices, from rotational grazing to planting forest b...

Chesapeake Bay states have until 2025 to implement watershed pollution-reduction practices, and a new report shows "climate-smart" farming in Maryland can help prevent farm runoff. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation report found that using regenerative farming practices, from rotational grazing to planting forest buffers along streams, can reduce pollution from animal waste and soil erosion. Rob Schnabel, the foundations Maryland restoration biologist, said Maryland is a leader in...