Congressional Research Service Reports - 436 Matching Results

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Marine Dead Zones: Understanding the Problem

Description: Very low levels of dissolved oxygen (hypoxia) in bottom-water "dead zones" are natural phenomena, but can be intensified by certain human activities. The largest hypoxic area affecting the United States is in the northern Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River, but there are others as well.
Date: November 23, 1998
Creator: Dandelski, John R. & Buck, Eugene H.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Appropriations for FY1999: Energy and Water Development

Description: This report is a guide to one of the 13 regular appropriations bills that Congress passes each year. It is designed to supplement the information provided by the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Energy and Water Development Appropriations. It summarizes the current legislative status on the bill, its scope, major issues, funding levels, and related legislative activity. The report lists the key CRS staff relevant to the issues covered and related CRS products.
Date: October 27, 1998
Creator: Humphries, Marc & Behrens, Carl
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Department of Energy's Tritium Production Program

Description: Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen used to enhance the explosive yield of every thermonuclear weapon. Tritium has a radioactive decay rate of 5.5% per year and has not been produced in this country for weapons purposes since 1988.
Date: September 10, 1998
Creator: Rowberg, Richard E. & Lau, Clifford
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Chip Mill Industry in the South

Description: Chip mills turn trees into chips for paper, particle-boards, and exports. While the federal government does not collect data on a chip mill industry, chip production in the South has apparently been expanding. The timber supply appears sufficient to allow some increased harvests, but could be depleted by continued industrial expansion. The federal government does not directly regulate timber cutting but could become engaged if requirements of the Clean Water and Endangered Species Acts were tri… more
Date: June 10, 1998
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Endangered Species Act Amendments: An Analysis of S. 1180 and H.R. 2351

Description: Because of wide-spread interest in possible amendments to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), CRS has received numerous requests for an analysis and critique of S.1180 and H.R. 2351. This report analyzes those bills. HR. 2351 was introduced on July 31, 1997 and S. 1180 on September 16, 1997. Each bill is discussed under various topic headings. The Senate bill will be described first, since it has been reported.
Date: March 2, 1998
Creator: Baldwin, Pamela & Corn, M. Lynne
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Endangered Species List Revisions: A Summary of Delisting and Downlisting

Description: This report outlines the process and reasons for delisting or downlisting, and summarizes the 27 species delisted due to extinction, recovery, or data revision, and the 22 species that have been downlisted from endangered to threatened status due to stabilized or improving populations.
Date: January 5, 1998
Creator: Noecker, Robert J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Biosphere Reserves: Fact Sheet

Description: Since 1972, the United States has participated in the Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB), coordinated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). This report presents a background on the criteria for Biosphere Reserves, designation process and the policy implications of designation/recognition.
Date: October 3, 1997
Creator: Fletcher, Susan R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Wetland Mitigation Banking: Status and Prospects

Description: Wetland protection is controversial because the federal government regulates activities on private lands and because the natural values at some of these regulated sites are being debated. This controversy pits property owners and development interests against environmentalists and others who seek to protect the remaining wetlands. Mitigation banking, which allows a person to degrade a wetland at one site if a wetland at another site is improved, has been identified as a potential answer to this… more
Date: September 12, 1997
Creator: Zinn, Jeffrey A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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African Elephant Issues: CITES and CAMPFIRE

Description: The conservation of African elephants has been controversial recently on two fronts: the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES, to which the United States is a party), and a Zimbabwean program for sustainable development called CAMPFIRE, which is partially funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Two controversies have sprung up recently about the African elephant. One is the changing status of this species under the Convention on International T… more
Date: August 5, 1997
Creator: Corn, M. Lynne & Fletcher, Susan R.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Wildlife Restoration Projects Fund

Description: Since 1937, a cooperative program between the federal and state governments has existed for wildlife restoration. This program provides federal grants-in-aid to state agencies for conservation through land and water management for wild birds and mammals. While up to 8% of the collected revenues from excise taxes dedicated to the program may be retained by the federal government for administration, all remaining funds are apportioned to the states and territories for use either in wildlife resto… more
Date: May 2, 1997
Creator: Talley, Louis Alan
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Abandoned Mine Land Fund: Grants Distribution and Issues

Description: The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA, P.L. 95-87), enacted in 1977, established reclamation standards for all coal surface mining operations, and for the surface effects of underground mining. It also established the Abandoned Mine Land (AML) program to promote the reclamation of sites mined and abandoned prior to the enactment of SMCRA. To finance reclamation of abandoned mine sites, the legislation established fees on coal production. These collections are divided into federa… more
Date: March 26, 1997
Creator: Bamberger, Robert L.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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The Federal Helium Program: The Reaction Over an Inert Gas

Description: The CRS report describes the battle with natural gas companies on helium gas, being wasted, and released into the environment. Incentives were put in place for natural gas companies sell this helium to the government and for it to be stored in a government facility. Consequently, this also brought up controversy for why funding is being used to store a surplus of helium. Congress would debate on whether government involvement was the best option and a consensus was reached to fund the National … more
Date: October 9, 1996
Creator: Mielke, James E
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Amtrak and Energy Conservation in Intercity Passenger Transportation

Description: A rationale for federal financial support to Amtrak has been that rail service conserves energy, compared to other forms of intercity passenger transportation. The numbers presented in this report suggest that the rationale might not be valid with regard to some alternative modes of transportation, and the report discusses some public policy implications that could follow from that conclusion.
Date: September 3, 1996
Creator: Thompson, Stephen J.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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New World Gold Mine and Yellowstone National Park

Description: Crown Butte Mines, Inc. wants to develop its New World gold mine deposit located near Yellowstone National Park. The proposed mine is located almost entirely on private property about 3 miles east of the northeast corner of Yellowstone National Park and next to the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness area. The New World Mine Project would mine an estimated 1,800 tons of gold/silver/copper ore per day (500,000 tons annually), valued at an estimated $800 million over a 10-15 year period. The project wo… more
Date: August 27, 1996
Creator: Humphries, Marc
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Softwood Lumber Imports: The 1996 U.S.-Canada Agreement

Description: Many U.S. lumber producers have complained that subsidies to Canadian lumber producers give them an unfair advantage in supplying the U.S. market. The dispute has evolved through various forums over the past 15 years. Recent negotiations led to an agreement on May 28 to reduce Canadian lumber exports with a tariff rate quota (i.e., a tariff on imports above the quota) probably by about 9% from record 1995 levels, leading to expectations of trade harmony (at least on this issue) for the next 5 y… more
Date: June 13, 1996
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Forest Fires and Forest Health

Description: Interest in fuel management, to reduce fire control costs and damages, has been renewed with the numerous, destructive wildfires spread across the West during the summers of 1988 and 1994.
Date: June 7, 1996
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Salvage Timber Sales and Forest Health

Description: Interest in salvaging timber has increased markedly since extensive forest fires in 1994. The focus is to use the dead and dying timber before it goes to waste and to increase the supply of Federal timber available to the wood products industry. Supporters also note that salvage sales are one tool that can be used to improve forest health. Critics counter that some dead and dying trees are necessary for healthy ecosystems, and that salvage sales are costly to the U.S. Treasury and to the enviro… more
Date: June 7, 1996
Creator: Gorte, Ross W.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Grazing Fees: An Overview

Description: This report briefly discusses charging fees for grazing private livestock on federal lands, which is a long-standing but contentious practice. Generally, livestock producers who use federal lands want to keep fees low, while conservation groups and others believe fees should be raised to approximate "fair market value."
Date: May 21, 1996
Creator: Cody, Betsy A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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An Introduction to Major Natural Resource Issues in the 104th Congress

Description: This report introduces natural resource issues that the 104th Congress is likely to consider during the second session or is already considering through authorizations, appropriations, and/or oversight. Many were considered, but not resolved, by earlier Congresses
Date: January 30, 1996
Creator: Library of Congress. Environment and Natural Resources Policy Division.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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Survey of Grazing Programs in Western States

Description: This report sets out in chart form a survey of grazing programs on state-owned lands in 16 western states. It presents information on acreage, numbers of permits or leases, and fees for state grazing programs. It also contains information on state policies relating to various features such as non-use, range improvements, and subleasing. The Report is based on telephone interviews with state grazing program officials.
Date: January 30, 1996
Creator: Baldwin, Pamela & Cody, Betsy A.
Item Type: Refine your search to only Report
Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
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