Senator John Thune today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has allocated an additional 33,500 acres to South Dakota for the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This announcement is part of a 300,000 acre nationwide general CRP sign up. CRP, which was reauthorized in the 2008 Farm Bill, provides... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today applauded the announcement that the U.S. Department of Agriculture expects to commit $2 million to the Black Hills National Forest to fight the effects of the pine beetle infestation. Last year, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced he would be reallocating $40 million to fight the... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today highlighted a letter sent by agricultural groups in South Dakota and across the nation expressing support for a Senate resolution of disapproval under the terms of the Congressional Review Act to be offered by Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The resolution formally states the Senate’s disapproval of... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune yesterday joined a number of his Western colleagues in both the Senate and the House of Representatives in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) urging them not to advance the Clean Water Restoration Act (S.... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune made the following statement in response to the endangerment finding issued today by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that classifies for the first time carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions as pollutants under the Clean Air Act: “This decision lays the groundwork for EPA to undercut... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune applauded today’s announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the agency has determined the black-tailed prairie dog does not require designation as a threatened or endangered species. “Anyone who lives or ranches on the grasslands of South Dakota can see that prairie dogs are thriving,... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune last week sent a letter along with seven other Senators to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack urging him to commit additional resources to the Rocky Mountain Region of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to fight the widespread bark beetle infestation. The Rocky Mountain Region has 17 national forests... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune sent a letter today to Tom Tidwell, Chief of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), requesting that Forest Service extend the original comment period for the Nebraska National Forest and Grasslands Draft Environmental Impact Statement for designation of a motorized travel access system for an additional 45 days.... Continue Reading
Earlier today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the names of participants and the findings of the peer review process related to the EPA’s controversial indirect land use models within the new Renewable Fuels Standard regulations. “I am deeply discouraged by what seems to be yet another slant against ethanol... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today announced that several of his South Dakota funding priorities were included in the Fiscal Year 2010 Senate Energy and Water Appropriations bill, which was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee earlier today. “South Dakota communities rely on water systems to deliver a clean and reliable drinking... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today commented on a memo compiled by the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which warns of the negative economic consequences of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) recently released “endangerment finding,” which would pave the way for the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions under the... Continue Reading
Senator John Thune today criticized an announcement from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson that could result in the implementation of new regulations on carbon dioxide and methane gases, including the creation of a “cow tax.” EPA’s proposed endangerment findings could result in further regulation of carbon dioxide and... Continue Reading
