Reducing environmental bureaucracy

As Congress has ceded more and more power to the Executive Branch, it has become custom for policy to flip … More

When federal regulations stymie efforts to recover formerly endangered species

One of the recurring conflicts under the Endangered Species Act is at what point a species should be delisted. If … More

Unlike politics, property rights provide a firm foundation for conservation

In July, 2017, employees from the National Butterfly Center—a 100-acre butterfly preserve in South Texas owned and operated by a … More

How should we think about wildfires?

Imagine if a factory periodically spewed massive amounts of pollution when its pollution control device failed, fouling the air and … More

Markets, not ill-fitting regulatory mandates, are the solution to bycatch

Since Congress has not updated many federal environmental laws in decades, we’ve grown accustomed to federal agencies and courts twisting … More

Mired in red tape: Pipeline case could upend Clean Water Act permitting

The federal Clean Water Act is a notoriously complex statute, imposing federal permitting on a wide variety of land uses, … More

Five years after the Gold King mine spill, we still need reforms to cleanup abandoned mines

This week was the 5th anniversary of the Gold King mine spill, in which contractors working for the Environmental Protection … More

Conserving habitat requires better incentives, not more regulatory mandates

Loss of habitat is one of the chief threats to endangered and threatened species. Consequently, the Endangered Species Act provides … More

Appeals court: pipeline approval process can’t ignore property owners’ rights

Since the founding era, the Supreme Court has referred to the government’s power of eminent domain—the power to take private … More

Supreme Court: Look to property rules to solve federal land conflicts

Since 2000, the growth of fracking for natural gas has fueled a pipeline boom to get the gas to market … More