BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — More than 2 million acres of federal lands would be sold to states or other entities under a budget proposal from Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, reviving a longtime ambition of Western conservatives to cede lands to local control after a similar proposal failed in the House. Lee, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, included a mandate for the sales in a draft provision of the GOP’s sweeping tax cut package released Wednesday. Sharp disagreement over such sales has laid bare a split among Republicans who support wholesale transfers of federal property to spur development and generate revenue, and other lawmakers who are staunchly opposed. Land in 11 Western states from Alaska to New Mexico would be eligible for sale. Montana was carved out of the proposal after lawmakers there objected. A spokesperson for Montana Sen. Steve Daines said Thursday that he is “against the sale of public lands but glad to see Montana exempted.” Sen. Martin Heinrich, the ranking Democrat on the energy committee, said the proposal would exclude people from places where they fish, hunt and camp. Related Stories A Republican push to sell lands in Nevada, Utah reignites a political fight House Republicans push to sell thousands of acres of land in Utah, Nevada US Justice Department says Trump can cancel national monuments “I don’t think it’s clear that we would even get substantial housing as a result of this,” Heinrich said. “What I know would happen is people would lose access to places they know and care about and that drive our Western economies.” Most public lands are in Western states. In some, such as Utah and Nevada, the government controls the vast majority of lands, protecting them from potential exploitation but hindering growth. Lee’s proposal does not specify what properties would be sold. It directs the secretaries of interior and agriculture to sell or transfer at least 0.5% and up to 0.75% of U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management holdings. That equals at least 2.1 million acres (868,000 hectares) and up to 3.2 million acres (1.3 million hectares). The Republican said in a video released by his office that the sales would not include national parks, national monuments or wilderness. They would instead target “isolated parcels” that could be used for housing or infrastructure, he said. “Washington has proven time and again it can’t manage this land. This bill puts it in better hands,” Lee said. Montana Rep. Ryan Zinke, who served as interior secretary in President Donald Trump’s first term and led the effort to strip land sales out of the House version, said he remained a “hard no” on any legislation that includes large-scale sales. States or other entities would nominate potential parcels. Before carrying out sales, federal officials would have to consult with governors, local officials and any impacted Native American tribes. Conservation groups reacted with outrage, saying it would set a precedent to fast-track the handover of cherished lands to developers. “Shoving the sale of public lands back into the budget reconciliation bill, all to fund tax cuts for the wealthy, is a betrayal of future generations and folks on both sides of the aisle,” said Michael Carroll with The Wilderness Society. Housing advocates have cautioned that federal land is not universally suitable for affordable housing. Some of the parcels up for sale in Utah and Nevada under the House proposal were far from developed areas. Last year Republican officials in Utah filed a lawsuit seeking to take over huge swaths of federal land in the state, but they were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court. Twelve other states backed Utah’s bid.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration is moving to lift restrictions on copper-nickel mining that the Biden administration imposed near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota. The decision, announced Wednesday by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, threw a lifeline to the proposed Twin Metals Minnesota mine near Ely. Democratic administrations have tried to kill the project because of what they called the threat of acid mine drainage into Boundary Waters, the country’s most-visited federally designated wilderness area. Twin Metals is owned by Chilean mining giant Antofagasta. President Barack Obama’s administration declined to renew the company’s mineral rights leases in the area in 2016. The first Trump administration reinstated those leases in 2019. President Joe Biden’s administration canceled the leases again in 2022 and imposed a 20-year moratorium on mining known as a “mineral withdrawal” in a 350-square-mile (900-square-kilometer) area of the Superior National Forest upstream from the wilderness that includes the proposed underground mine site. Related Stories A former Trump official backs World Heritage status for the vast Okefenokee Swamp Justice Department plans to investigate prosecutor's office in Minnesota's most populous county Justice Department moves to cancel police reform settlements with Minneapolis, Louisville Trump has singled out copper as a focus of his domestic minerals policy and promised during a campaign stop in St. Cloud, Minnesota, last year that he would quickly reverse the moratorium. ◆ Stay up to date with similar stories by signing up to our WhatsApp channel. The Boundary Waters is managed by the U.S. Forest Service, which is part of the Agriculture Department, putting it under Rollins’ purview, and the leases are controlled by Burgum’s Interior Department. “After careful review, including extensive public input, the US Forest Service has enough information to know the withdrawal was never needed,” Rollins posted on X. “We look forward to working with Sec. Burgum to pursue American Energy Dominance and reverse the costly and disastrous policies of the Biden Administration.” Twin Metals spokesperson Kathy Graul praised the Trump administration for beginning the process of reversing the Biden administration’s decision, which she said was “based on a deeply flawed assessment” that failed to consider environmental safeguards the company built into its project design. The company argues that its mine design will prevent acid discharges, and that the best way to determine whether it’s safe is by allowing it to undergo a formal environmental review process, which the state canceled in 2022. “Overturning the mineral withdrawal will allow Minnesota the opportunity to become a global leader in the much-needed domestic production of minerals under some of the most rigorous environment and labor standards in the world,” Graul said in a statement. But critics disputed her claim about public input, pointing out that the Trump administration has not conducted a formal public comment process on the policy reversal. “The announcement by Secretaries Burgum and Rollins is shocking,” Ingrid Lyons, executive director of Save the Boundary Waters, said in a statement. “They claim to have consulted with the people of Minnesota about the Boundary Waters when they clearly have not.” Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota scoffed at the secretary’s claim about a “careful review,” saying on X that the administration is “using pseudoscience to justify bad actions” and predicting that the decision will be challenged in court. “Not this mine. Not this place. The Boundary Waters are too precious,” Smith said. Republican U.S. Rep. Pete Stauber, who represents northeastern Minnesota and has championed the region’s iron and copper-nickel mining industries, said the Biden-era decision was a “massive wrong” that only “further cemented our reliance on Communist China” for critical minerals. “As the demand for critical minerals continues to skyrocket, I look forward to seeing Minnesota’s skilled miners safely deliver our vast mineral wealth to the nation using the best labor and environmental standards in the world,” Stauber said in a statement. Twin Metals is separate from two other proposed copper-nickel mines in Minnesota, the NewRange project formerly known as PolyMet, near Hoyt Lakes, which remains stalled by regulatory and court setbacks, and Talon Metals, near McGregor, which the Biden administration supported.

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — JetZero Inc. announced plans Thursday to build its first manufacturing plant for a next-generation passenger jet in central North Carolina, a project that if successful would create more than 14,500 jobs there in a decade. The California-based startup intends to build the factory at Greensboro’s airport, investing $4.7 billion. The planned hirings from 2027 through 2036 would be the largest job commitment in North Carolina history, according to Gov. Josh Stein. The company previously identified Greensboro as one of three finalists for the factory to build its fixed-wing — also known as all-wing or blended-wing — Z4 aircraft, which JetZero says will be up to 50% more fuel-efficient than traditional tube-and-wing airliners. JetZero has said it’s already raised about $300 million toward investment in the Z4 project, including a U.S. Air Force grant to build and fly a demonstrator model by 2027. United Airlines and Alaska Airlines also are project investors and have made conditional purchase agreements for their fleets, the company said. JetZero aims for the planes to go into service in the early 2030s, with a goal of completing 20 airplanes per month at full production. Related Stories North Carolina House advances more Hurricane Helene aid in $465M package Deadly Air India plane crash renews air safety concerns Qatar Airways earns $2.15 billion profit in fiscal year Stein, on hand with JetZero executives and other officials for the formal announcement at Piedmont Triad International Airport in Greensboro, cited North Carolina’s robust aerospace industry and the first manned powered flights at Kitty Hawk by the Wright brothers in 1903. “North Carolina is the perfect location,” Stein said. “North Carolina was first in flight. We are also the future of flight.” The jobs would pay minimum average salaries of more than $89,000, according to the state Department of Commerce, which provided details of the project discussed earlier Thursday by a state committee that awards economic incentives. State and local monetary and training incentives for JetZero and the project described at the committee meeting could exceed $2.35 billion by the 2060s if investment and job-creation thresholds and other requirements are met. A portion of state incentives awarded by the committee — more than $1 billion over 37 years — is based on a percentage of income taxes withheld from plant workers’ paychecks. The incentives also include up to $785 million from Guilford County and Greensboro and up to $450 million from the General Assembly in part to help with infrastructure, officials said. The project includes a research facility for composite structures. A commerce department official said that JetZero, headquartered in Long Beach, California, looked for over a year for a plant location, examining 25 sites in 17 states. JetZero, currently with just 225 workers, enters a jet purchasing market dominated by industry behemoths U.S.-based Boeing and European Airbus. “We have already shown strong commercial interest and momentum to meet the real airline demand for this aircraft,” CEO Tom O’Leary said. “So this is more than just a factory. It’s a launchpad for a new chapter of American aerospace.” While a variant of the Z4 would have tanker and transport uses in the military, JetZero has said that it would focus first on building a commercial jetliner with about 250 seats and a range of 5,000 nautical miles. The 5-year-old company says the plane’s shape will reduce drag and the mounting of engines on the top and back of the plane will make it much quieter than traditional airliners. The Z4 would run on conventional jet fuel but could be converted to hydrogen fuel, according to JetZero. JetZero says Z4 travelers will board through larger doors and into shorter but wider cabins, and aisles will be less congested as bathrooms will be far away from galleys where meals are prepared. “It’s going to deliver a better passenger experience than you’ve ever had before on any other plane,” O’Leary said. Stein said the state is already home to more than 400 aerospace companies. And the Piedmont Triad airport has emerged as an industry hot spot, with Honda Aircraft placing its headquarters there and Boom Supersonic building its first full-scale manufacturing plant for next-generation supersonic passenger jets. The central location and easy access to interstates also lured Toyota to build an electric battery plant in adjoining Randolph County. North Carolina’s previous largest economic development project, measured by employment, was revealed in 2022, when Vietnamese automaker VinFast announced plans to build an electric vehicle manufacturing plant in Chatham County, promising 7,500 jobs.

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday ordered government officials to consolidate wildland firefighting into a single program, despite warnings from former federal officials that it could be costly and increase the risk of catastrophic blazes. The order aims to centralize firefighting efforts now split among five agencies and two Cabinet departments. Trump’s proposed budget for next year calls for the creation of a new Federal Wildland Fire Service under the U.S. Interior Department. That would mean shifting thousands of personnel from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service — where most federal firefighters now work — with fire season already underway. The administration has not disclosed how much the change could cost or save. Trump in Thursday’s order cited the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in January as highlighting a need for a quicker response to wildfires. “Wildfires threaten every region, yet many local government entities continue to disregard commonsense preventive measures,” the order said. The Trump administration in its first months temporarily cut off money for wildfire prevention work and reduced the ranks of federal government firefighters through layoffs and retirement. Related Stories Trump plans to merge wildland firefighting efforts into one agency, but ex-officials warn of chaos Forest and park service worker cuts leave wildland firefighting crews short-staffed Israel attacks Iran’s capital with explosions booming across Tehran The order makes no mention of climate change, which Trump has downplayed even as warming temperatures help stoke bigger and more destructive wildfires that churn out massive amounts of harmful pollution. More than 65,000 wildfires across the U.S. burned almost 9 million acres (3.6 million hectares) last year. Organizations representing firefighters and former Forest Service officials say it would be costly to restructure firefighting efforts and cause major disruptions in the midst of fire season. They also say it could put more focus on trying to extinguish fires — a futile endeavor when blazes get too big — instead of preventing them. That could set the stage for more severe fires as forests get overgrown. A group that includes several former Forest Service chiefs said in a recent letter to lawmakers that consolidation of firefighting work could “actually increase the likelihood of more large catastrophic fires, putting more communities, firefighters and resources at risk.” Another destructive fire season is expected this year, driven by above-normal temperatures for most of the country, according to federal officials. The left-leaning advocacy group Center for Western Priorities said Trump’s proposal was “madness” given that wildfire season is underway. “If President Trump was serious about improving the nation’s wildland firefighting capabilities, he would stop hollowing out the agencies tasked with fighting wildfires,” said Aaron Weiss, the group’s deputy director. A prior proposal to merge the Forest Service and Interior to improve firefighting was determined to have significant drawbacks by the Congressional Research Service in a 2008 report. But the idea more recently got bipartisan support. California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla and Montana Republican Sen. Tim Sheehy are sponsoring legislation similar to Trump’s plan. Sheehy, who was elected last year, founded an aerial firefighting company that relies heavily on federal contracts. Trump also on Thursday signed into law another bill from Sheehy that would reauthorize the sale of U.S. military aircraft and parts for wildfire work. Sheehy said in a statement that fighting wildfires “more quickly and aggressively is America First common sense.” In a separate action aimed at wildfires, the Trump administration last month rolled back environmental safeguards around future logging projects on more than half U.S. national forests. The emergency designation covers 176,000 square miles (455,000 square kilometers) of terrain primarily in the West but also in the South, around the Great Lakes and in New England. Most of those forests are considered to have high wildfire risk, and many are in decline because of insects and disease.

SEATTLE (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday pulled the U.S. out of an agreement with Washington, Oregon and four American Indian tribes to work together to restore salmon populations and boost tribal clean energy development in the Pacific Northwest, deriding the plan as “radical environmentalism” that could have resulted in the breaching of four controversial dams on the Snake River. The deal, known as the Resilient Columbia Basin Agreement, was reached in late 2023 and heralded by the Biden administration, tribes and conservationists as historic. It allowed for a pause in decades of litigation over the harm the federal government’s operation of dams in the Northwest has done to the fish. Under it, the federal government said it planned to spend more than $1 billion over a decade to help recover depleted salmon runs. The government also said that it would build enough new clean energy projects in the Pacific Northwest to replace the hydropower generated by the Lower Snake River dams — the Ice Harbor, Little Goose, Lower Monumental and Lower Granite — should Congress ever agree to remove them. In a statement, the White House said former President Joe Biden’s decision to sign the agreement “placed concerns about climate change above the Nation’s interests in reliable energy sources.” Related Stories Search expands for ex-soldier accused of killing his 3 young daughters Millions of honeybees abuzz after truck overturns in Washington state Israel attacks Iran’s capital with explosions booming across Tehran Conservations groups, Democratic members of Congress and the Northwest tribes criticized Trump’s action. “Donald Trump doesn’t know the first thing about the Northwest and our way of life — so of course, he is abruptly and unilaterally upending a historic agreement that finally put us on a path to salmon recovery, while preserving stable dam operations for growers and producers, public utilities, river users, ports and others throughout the Northwest,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington said in a written statement. “This decision is grievously wrong and couldn’t be more shortsighted.” Basin was once world’s greatest salmon-producing river system The Columbia River Basin, an area roughly the size of Texas, was once the world’s greatest salmon-producing river system, with at least 16 stocks of salmon and steelhead. Today, four are extinct and seven are listed under the Endangered Species Act. Another iconic but endangered Northwest species, a population of killer whales, also depend on the salmon. The construction of the first dams on the main Columbia River, including the Grand Coulee and Bonneville dams in the 1930s, provided jobs during the Great Depression, as well as hydropower and navigation. The dams made the town of Lewiston, Idaho, the most inland seaport on the West Coast, and many farmers in the region rely on barges to ship their crops. But the dams are also main culprit behind the salmon’s decline, and fisheries scientists have concluded that breaching the dams in eastern Washington on the Snake River, the largest tributary of the Columbia, would be the best hope for recovering them, providing the fish with access to hundreds of miles of pristine habitat and spawning grounds in Idaho. The tribes, which reserved the right to fish in their usual and accustomed grounds when they ceded vast amounts of land in their 19th century treaties with the U.S., warned as far back as the late 1930s that the salmon runs could disappear, with the fish no longer able to access spawning grounds upstream. “This agreement was designed to foster collaborative and informed resource management and energy development in the Pacific Northwest, including significant tribal energy initiatives,” Yakama Tribal Council Chairman Gerald Lewis said in a written statement. “The Administration’s decision to terminate these commitments echoes the federal government’s historic pattern of broken promises to tribes, and is contrary to President Trump’s stated commitment to domestic energy development.” Republicans in region opposed agreement Northwestern Republicans in Congress had largely opposed the agreement, warning that it would hurt the region’s economy, though in 2021 Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho proposed removing the earthen berms on either side of the four Lower Snake River dams to let the river flow freely, and to spend $33 billion to replace the benefits of the dams. “Today’s action by President Trump reverses the efforts by the Biden administration and extreme environmental activists to remove the dams, which would have threatened the reliability of our power grid, raised energy prices, and decimated our ability to export grain to foreign markets,” Rep. Dan Newhouse, a Republican from Washington, said in a news release. Tribes, environmentalists vow to fight for salmon The tribes and the environmental law firm Earthjustice, which represents conservation, clean energy and fishing groups in litigation against the federal government, said they would continue working to rebuild salmon stocks. “Unfortunately, this short-sighted decision to renege on this important agreement is just the latest in a series of anti-government and anti-science actions coming from the Trump administration,” Earthjustice Senior Attorney Amanda Goodin said. “This administration may be giving up on our salmon, but we will keep fighting to prevent extinction and realize win-win solutions for the region.”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — South Africa’s leader visited the region where devastating floods have left at least 78 people dead in the country’s southeast as searches continued Friday for a fourth day and authorities said they expected the death toll to rise. President Cyril Ramaphosa traveled to the town of Mthatha in Eastern Cape province, where the floods hit hardest when they began early Tuesday. Ramaphosa attended a briefing by officials from the National Disaster Management Center and also visited a bridge where a school bus was washed away by flooding. Six students, the bus driver and another adult onboard were confirmed dead, while four other schoolchildren were among the missing. Ramaphosa’s visit came amid questions over authorities’ response to the disaster, which was caused by an extreme weather front that brought heavy rain, strong winds and snow to parts of the province. Forecasters warned about the bad weather last week. The head of the provincial government said that the rescue effort was “paralyzed” in the first few hours of the floods, because of a lack of resources like specialized search and rescue teams, divers and K-9 dog units in one of the country’s poorest regions. Related Stories At least 49 dead in flooding in South Africa The death toll in floods in South Africa has risen to 78 Floods kill at least 111 in a Nigerian market town Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane said that the province of 7.2 million people has just one official rescue helicopter, which had to be brought from another city more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) away. Ramaphosa defended the response and said that while the government was deeply distressed at the deaths, “it could have been much worse.” The floods in the predawn hours caught many unaware, with victims washed away, along with parts of their houses and other debris, or trapped inside as water engulfed their homes. The rain has stopped and floodwaters are subsiding. Authorities say they expect more bodies to be recovered as rescue teams search the floodwaters and what is left of damaged houses and other structures to look for those still missing. Many children are among the dead. “I need psychological help because I saw people dying in front of me. They were being dragged by the water along with the corrugated iron,” said Zinathi Vuso, a resident of Mthatha. “Others tried to hold or climb onto something, but it would break and they ended up dead,” Vuso said. “That is why you are seeing people still getting recovered and others are yet to be found.” Bodies were found by search teams up to 2 kilometers (more than a mile) away from where the victims were believed to have been during the flooding. Authorities were appealing for residents to report missing people so rescuers could get a better idea of how many people they were still looking for, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa, who led a national government team deployed to the province earlier in the week, said on national broadcaster SABC late Thursday. “We are in a crisis. A real disaster,” Hlabisa said. “The more water subsides, the more people will be found.” Some South African coastal areas are vulnerable to extreme weather blowing in from the Indian Ocean and Southern Ocean. More than 400 people died in flooding in and around the east coast city of Durban in 2022. Many victims of this week’s floods in the Eastern Cape were living on flood plains near rivers. Poor areas with informal housing were the worst affected, government officials said. ___ AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa

The city of Jackson announced 10 new chargers for electric vehicle owners on Thursday thanks to a $160,000 donation from Entergy. City officials said the public chargers — located at stations at the Warren Hood Building parking lot on the corner of Pearl Street and State Street, as well as Thalia Mara Hall and Union Station — are free to use for now but didn’t know for how long that would stay the case. As of 2023, Mississippi had the fewest number of electric vehicles on the road per capita, based on registration data from the U.S. Department of Energy. DOE numbers also show Mississippi has the second fewest public charging stations per capita after Louisiana. In 2018, state lawmakers passed an annual fee of $150 for electric car owners and $75 for hybrid vehicles owners as a way of compensating for lost gas tax revenue. Entergy bought the chargers from Tesla, and the nonprofit Adopt a Charger installed the units through local contractor Lavallee, which will also maintain them for the city. Jackson’s Planning and Development Director Jhai Keeton said the city is paying just $600 a year for the chargers. Adopt a Charger partners with private companies, in this case Entergy, who want to sponsor charging stations for public use. The nonprofit, according to its website, has also partnered on stations at the Mississippi Children’s Museum and at Hinds Community College in Raymond. Related Stories California, Colorado and other states sue Trump for blocking EV funding Fishermen sue Mississippi over plan to lease oyster reefs Deion Sanders absent from football camps in Boulder, Colorado. No reason specified by school While there were already several charging stations in Jackson, the ones unveiled Thursday are the first owned by the city. Prior to then, Tupelo had the most charging stations of any Mississippi city with 13, according to DOE data. Hattiesburg and Jackson, not including the new stations, each have 12, and there are 10 in both Biloxi and Gulfport. The Mississippi Department of Transportation is using $50 million in federal funds to develop electric vehicle corridors with 30 new stations throughout the state, but those projects are likely one to two years away. ___ This story was originally published by Mississippi Today and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

BRASILIA, Brazil (AP) — The removal of hundreds of cattle raised illegally on public land designated for sustainable forest use in Brazil’s Amazon has sparked protests and divided residents, with some seeking to preserve rubber-tapping and Brazil nut harvesting and others wanting to consolidate livestock farming. The removal operation started last week in one of the country’s most renowned Amazon conservation units, the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve, named for the famed rubber tapper and environmentalist killed in 1988. Federal agents working with police and military officials seized around 400 heads of cattle from two farmers who had failed to comply with judicial eviction orders. The raids are set to continue in the coming weeks. But dozens of residents of the reserve protested the action, seeking to create a blockade in the city of Xapuri to prevent the removal of the cattle. The first truckload, carrying 20 head of cattle, had to take an alternate route to avoid confrontation. Related Stories Brazil slaughterhouses reduce ties to Amazon deforestation, but cattle laundering remains issue Brazil's Amazon forest loses in May an area larger than NYC Amazon commits to stepping up fake-review fight after UK watchdog’s investigation The protest, which had the support of local politicians, held powerful symbolism because Xapuri is the city where Mendes was gunned down. It also represented a contrast to the 1980s, when rubber tappers fought against cattle ranchers. A rubber tree is prepared for the removal of rubber in the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve, Acre state, Brazil, Dec. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File) Read More A rubber tree is prepared for the removal of rubber in the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve, Acre state, Brazil, Dec. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The cattle removal came in response to a 56% surge in deforestation during the first five months of 2025 compared to the same period last year. The cleared area is nearly five times the size of Central Park in New York City. The reserve holds about 140,000 heads of cattle. “Monitoring has identified that the environmental crime stems mainly from large-scale cattle ranching, which is illegal as it violates the rules of the protected area,” said a statement from the federal agency Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation, known as ICMBio. The Chico Mendes Reserve is one of several Amazon extractive reserves where forest communities can practice low-impact extractive activities with protections against land developers. Rules limit deforestation to small-scale cattle raising and agriculture, and land sales are forbidden. Still, the Chico Mendes Reserve is the most deforested federal conservation unit in Brazil. ‘Working to find a solution’ The current problems worsened in the four-year term of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro that ran through 2022, when deforestation exploded in the reserve. Bolsonaro defanged environmental protection and said the Amazon had too many protected areas. Some residents of Chico Mendes began selling their land parcels illegally to farmers, who hoped they would eventually be legalized. The strong reaction against the operation led to the creation of a WhatsApp group with around 1,000 members in which some issued threats against Raimundo Mendes de Barros, cousin and political heir of Chico Mendes, who opposes cattle expansion. But historical organizations applauded the cattle removals, including the National Council of Extractivist Populations, which issued a note supporting the operation. Cleisson Monteiro, president of the Association of Residents and Producers of the Chico Mendes Extractive Reserve in Xapuri, backed the protests against the cattle removals. He said that while deforestation must be addressed, federal agents sparked anger and fear among families who don’t comply with all the reserve’s rules. The area where the raids began, known as Seringal Nova Esperanca, “no longer has a rubber-tapper profile,” Monteiro said. “The people who live there have a different way of life. They are farmers engaged in small-scale family agriculture, with some cattle ranching for beef and dairy.” Monteiro said that about 140 families live in Nova Esperanca, including his own, all of whom have different degrees of non-compliance with the reserve’s rules. He said that, even though only two individuals were targeted, there is concern that the operation could affect other families. “ICMBio shouldn’t have acted at this moment, because we’re working to find a solution,” he said. ‘The forest can’t compete’ The reserve is home to around 4,000 families. About 900 families produce rubber for a French shoe company, Veja. The project has proven successful, but the demand is not high enough to absorb the reserve’s full production potential. Jeffrey Hoelle, a professor of anthropology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, who has studied the area for two decades, said that cattle farming has been more lucrative for residents than traditional means of harvesting rubber and nuts from the forest. “Twenty years ago, rubber tappers were just starting to adopt cattle. And over the last couple of decades, it’s become increasingly popular,” Hoelle said. “It’s just become more acceptable over time. But essentially, the forest can’t compete in terms of economic value with cattle. The extent to which rubber and Brazil nuts can provide for people is really limited compared to cattle, for which, unfortunately, you have to cut down the forest and plant pasture.” ___ The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

DATELAND, Ariz. (AP) — Storks scatter, white against blue water, as Dan Mohring’s pickup truck rumbles down the dirt road. He’s towing a trailer full of ground-up beef, chicken, fish and nutrient bits behind him, ready to be shot out of a cannon into the ponds below. It’s time to feed the fish. Mohring fires up the machine and the food flies out in a rainbow arc. Then the water comes alive. Hundreds of thrashing, gobbling barramundi wiggle their way to the surface, all fighting for a piece. Until, in a few months, they will become food themselves. In the desert of landlocked Arizona, where the Colorado River crisis has put water use under a microscope, Mainstream Aquaculture has a fish farm where it’s growing the tropical species barramundi, also known as Asian sea bass, for American restaurants. Fish food flies into a pond Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a Mainstream USA fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Read More Fish food flies into a pond Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a Mainstream USA fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Mainstream sees it as a sustainable alternative to ocean-caught seafood. They say chefs and conscious consumers like that the food has a shorter distance to travel, eliminating some of the pollution that comes from massive ships that move products around the world. And they and some aquaculture experts argue it’s efficient to use the water twice, since the nutrient-rich leftovers can irrigate crops like Bermuda grass sold for livestock feed. “We’re in the business of water,” said Matt Mangan, head of Australia-based Mainstream’s American business. “We want to be here in 20 years’, 30 years’ time.” Related Stories Agritopia planned community near Phoenix mixes farm and neighborhood Big offense and big hearts fuel Murray State Racers as their improbable CWS run is about to begin Trump moves to merge wildland firefighting into single force, despite ex-officials warning of chaos But some experts question whether growing fish on a large scale in an arid region can work without high environmental costs. Matt Mangan, president of Mainstream USA, prepares to feed juvenile barramundi fish Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Read More Matt Mangan, president of Mainstream USA, prepares to feed juvenile barramundi fish Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Juvenile barramundi fish sit in a net Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a Mainstream USA fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Juvenile barramundi fish sit in a net Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a Mainstream USA fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Matt Mangan, president of Mainstream USA, feeds juvenile barramundi fish Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Matt Mangan, president of Mainstream USA, feeds juvenile barramundi fish Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Juvenile barramundi thrash in a pond after being fed Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a Mainstream USA fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Read More Juvenile barramundi thrash in a pond after being fed Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a Mainstream USA fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More That question comes down to what people collectively decide is a good use of water. In Arizona, some places manage water more aggressively than others. But the whole state is dealing with the impacts of climate change, which is making the region drier and water only more precious. The farm uses groundwater, not Colorado River water. It’s a nonrenewable resource, and like mining, different people and industries have different philosophies about whether it should be extracted. “As long as groundwater is treated as an open resource in these rural parts of Arizona, they’re susceptible to new industries coming in and using the groundwater for that industry,” said Sarah Porter, director of the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute. Some scientists believe aquaculture can play a role in protecting wild ocean ecosystems from overfishing. And it might play at least a small role in smoothing any supply problems that result from the Trump administration’s tariffs on imports from dozens of countries, including those that send the U.S. about 80% of its seafood, per the United States Department of Agriculture. A two-for-one deal? Groundwater fills artificial ponds for barramundi Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a Mainstream USA fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Read More Groundwater fills artificial ponds for barramundi Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a Mainstream USA fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More In the greenhouses at University of Arizona professor Kevin Fitzsimmons’ lab in Tucson, tilapia circle idly in tanks that filter down into tubs full of mussels and floating patches of collard greens and lettuce. Fitzsimmons mentored the student who started the tilapia farm eventually bought by Mainstream about three years ago where they now raise barramundi. “I don’t think desert agriculture is going away,” he said. “Obviously, we want to do it as water-efficient as possible.” But not everyone agrees it’s possible. “Artificial ponds in the desert are stupid,” said Jay Famiglietti, a professor at ASU and director of science for the Arizona Water Innovation Initiative. He worried about heavy water losses to evaporation. Mangan says that evaporation hasn’t been an issue so much as the loss of heat in the wintertime. That has required pumping more water since its warmth when it arrives at the surface helps keep the barramundi cozy. But Mangan says they’ve been improving pond design to retain heat better and have found, after the last year of research and development, that they can cut their water requirement by about half as a result. Plus, he argues, the water coming out of the fish ponds is “essentially liquid fertilizer,” and though it’s slightly salty, they use it for crops that can tolerate it, like Bermuda grass dairy cows can eat. But that’s supporting the cattle industry, which contributes more than its share of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions, Famiglietti said. “Doing two suboptimal things doesn’t make it better,” he said. Defining a ‘reasonable’ use of groundwater, a finite resource Artificial ponds for farmed fish operate near crop fields Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a Mainstream USA fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Read More Artificial ponds for farmed fish operate near crop fields Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a Mainstream USA fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More Purple flowers sprout alongside paddle wheels. Fish bones crunch underfoot. The faint odor of brackish water and ammonia catches in the breeze. Without groundwater, none of it would be possible. Some farmers in Arizona rely on water from the Colorado River, but many others use well water to irrigate crops like alfalfa for the dairy industry or the lettuce, cucumbers and melons shipped nationwide year-round. Arizona has seven areas around the state where groundwater is rigorously managed. Dateland doesn’t fall into one of those, so the only rule that really governs it is a law saying if you land own there, you can pump a “reasonable” amount of groundwater, said Rhett Larson, who teaches water law at ASU. What might be considered “reasonable” depends from crop to crop, and there’s really no precedent for aquaculture, an industry that hasn’t yet spread commercially statewide. Using numbers provided by Mainstream, Porter calculated that the fish farm would demand a “very large amount” of water, on par with a big ranch or potentially even more than some suburbs of Phoenix. And she noted that although the water use is being maximized by using it twice, it’s still depleting the aquifer. When the company scoped out Arizona to expand, Mangan said they didn’t see nearly the same kinds of regulations as back in Australia. As part of its growth strategy, Mainstream is also hoping to work with other farmers in the area so more can use nutrient-rich fish pond wastewater to produce hay. They say a few have expressed interest. An alternative to wild-caught fish Kevin Fitzsimmons holds a farmed tilapia Sunday, April 20, 2025, at a research lab in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Read More Kevin Fitzsimmons holds a farmed tilapia Sunday, April 20, 2025, at a research lab in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More The seafood industry needs to reduce its reliance on catching small wild fish to feed bigger farmed ones that humans eat, said Pallab Sarker, an assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who studies sustainability in the aquaculture industry. He said seabirds and mammals rely on small species like anchovies and mackerel commonly used in fish meal. “We should not rely on ocean fish to grow fish for aquaculture to meet the demand for humans,” Sarker said. Mainstream gets its fish feed from two suppliers, Skretting and Star Milling, but Mangan and Mohring said they didn’t know for certain where those suppliers got their base ingredients from. Fitzsimmons, of the University of Arizona, also pointed out that between pollution, overfishing and oceanfront development for recreation, the commercial fishing industry had already been facing problems. He doesn’t think that Trump’s moves this spring to open up marine protected areas for commercial fishing will improve that situation the way aquaculture could. “We can’t keep hunting and gathering from the ocean,” Fitzsimmons said. An adult barramundi reaches for food Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a Mainstream USA fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Read More An adult barramundi reaches for food Saturday, April 19, 2025, at a Mainstream USA fish farm in Dateland, Ariz. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel) Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Print Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More ___ Follow Melina Walling on X @MelinaWalling and Bluesky @melinawalling.bsky.social. Follow Joshua A. Bickel on Instagram, Bluesky and X @joshuabickel. Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram @ahammergram. ___ The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A former worker who leaked information about plans by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to build golf courses and hotels in Florida state parks has filed a whistleblower lawsuit. James Gaddis alleges that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection retaliated against him for sharing details of the proposals, which caused bipartisan outrage and sparked protests. Ultimately the plans were scuttled. A spokesperson for the department declined to comment, saying the agency does not do so with pending litigation. Gaddis, who was a consultant in DEP’s Office of Park Planning, says he was directed to draw up “secret maps” to build golf courses, hotels and pickleball courts in nine parks. Park staffers were ordered not to talk to any colleagues about the proposals, which in Gaddis’ view amounted to destroying “globally significant” environments. The experience felt like “mapping out a future crime scene,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed in Leon County. Gaddis copied documents onto a flash drive and shared it with an unnamed intermediary, the lawsuit says, and the next day the Tampa Bay Times wrote about the plans. Related Stories Lawsuit challenges new restrictions to getting measures on Florida's election ballot Judge largely denies request to block restrictions on getting measures on Florida’s ballot David Jolly, Trump critic and ex-GOP congressman, to run for Florida governor as a Democrat Gaddis says he was called into a meeting by a supervisor and asked if he shared the documents, which he admitted to. He was put on administrative leave and later fired, and the suit says that amounted to disparate treatment and retaliation. The complaint seeks damages of at least $100,000. The Republican-dominated state Legislature has since passed a bill banning development in state parks, and DeSantis signed it into law. Gaddis started an online fundraiser to help cover expenses, with an initial goal of $10,000. As of June 11, it had brought in more than $258,000. ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.