Since our founding in 1984, the Competitive Enterprise Institute has sought to reform and reduce environmental regulation of land, shrink the federal estate, and unlock federal lands for private ownership.
Featured Posts
Study
Permitting Reform for a Freer and More Prosperous Nation
Contents Special Advisors The Importance of Permitting Reform Part 1: 11 Principles for Permitting Reform Part 2: Statute-by-Statute Analysis for Permitting…
Blog
A new Endangered Species Act final rule removes improper interpretation of “harm”
On July 14, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published an important final rule in the…
Blog
Legislators should increase entrance fees to fund national parks
On August 4, 2020, the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA) was signed into law. Among other things, the law funnels up to 50…
Search Posts
News Release
Bipartisan Majority of U.S. Senate Rejects Biden Administration Overreach on Waters of the US Rule
The U.S. Senate passed a resolution under the Congressional Review Act rejecting the Biden Administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. The rule…
Wall Street Journal
Save the Carbon-Consuming Whales
The Wall Street Journal cites Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on the lobster industry: Ben Lieberman of the Competitive Enterprise Institute …
Comment
Coalition Comments on Proposed Determination to Prohibit Disposal Sites in Pebble Deposit Area
Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, 60 Plus Association, Heritage Action for America, Freedom Works, Project 21, Reaching America, American Lands Council,…
News Release
Biden Cancels Oil Lease Auctions
With gas prices way up, the Biden administration has just canceled significant oil and gas lease sales pending before the Department of the Interior.
Inside Sources
Wind Energy Company Sentenced for Killing Endangered Eagles — Without a Permit
Inside Sources cites Director of the Center for Energy and the Environment Myron Ebell on the negative effects of the wind energy on birds:…
News Release
New CEI Paper Highlights Facts about Plastics in the Ocean an Offers Workable Solutions to the Problem
WASHINGTON – In a new paper released today, Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) senior fellow Angela Logomasini, PhD argues legislation pending before…
Study
Ban Overboard: Exploring Solutions to Ocean Pollution
Heartbreaking photos and videos of wildlife harmed by plastics litter have rightly raised public concerns about plastics in the ocean. In response, state and…
Inside Sources
If You Care about Wildlife, Oppose Plastics Bans
Ask an environmentalist how to stop plastics litter and ocean pollution and you’ll likely get a litany of proposed regulations and bans on plastic…
News Release
New CEI Paper Highlights the Risks Banning Plastics Poses to Humanity
WASHINGTON – In a new paper released today, Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) senior fellow Angela Logomasini, PhD argues destroying the U.S. plastics…
Breitbart
‘Eco-Imperialists’ Preventing Forest Management Lead to Wildfires, Not Climate Change
Breitbart cites Director of the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on current U.S. wildfires: “The basic problem with our…
Fox News
How Federal Regulation, not Climate Change, Explains California’s Wildfire Crisis: Experts
Fox News cites Director for the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on California’s wildfire crisis: “The problem is not…
Blog
Deep Dive on Plastics: CEI Launches Series on Benefits to Mankind and Wildlife
Members of Congress have introduced several proposals to regulate plastics, which as I noted here and here, could basically destroy the U.S.
Blog
Some Good News on Forest Management
After a grueling deliberative process, the Senate passed the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill on Tuesday. Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has threatened…
Blog
Better Forest Management Needs a New Approach
The rampant wildfires in the west continue to exacerbate and conditions are likely to get worse before they get better. More than 4…
Blog
Private Forest Management Can Help Prevent Wildfires
When California Governor Gavin Newsom took office in 2019 he vowed to commit a stronger strategy to combat the wildfires ravaging California, declaring their…
Blog
How Private Property Can Protect Rivers From Pollution
Many prominent environmental activists, such as teen media star Greta Thunberg and former Vice President Al Gore, raise various environmental concerns from climate…
News Release
CEI Opposes Haaland Confirmation Based on House Record Hostile to Property Rights and Resource Development on Federal Lands
WASHINGTON, DC – President Biden’s nominee to be Secretary of the Interior Representative Deb Haaland (D-NM) answered questions before a Senate committee ahead of…
News Release
Trump Administration Denies Alaska Pebble Mine Permit, Denying Economic Opportunity to the State and the Nation
The Trump administration, via the Army Corps of Engineers, today denied a permit to the Pebble Mine in Alaska, to the great detriment of…
The Press of Atlantic City
Man-made Policies, Not Man-Made Climate Change, Fueling Wildfires, Says Myron Ebell
The catastrophic wildfires raging up and down the West Coast should force a radical reversal of 30 years of disastrous government policies. Instead,…
Blog
Thirteen Years and Counting: Idaho Case Illustrates How Regulatory Enforcement Can Go Awry
In 2007, Mike and Chantell Sackett broke ground on a lot near scenic Priest Lake, Idaho, where they planned to build their dream home. It…
Blog
A Discussion on Saving Bluebirds through Private Conservation, and a Tribute to Andy Thompson
The following interview of CEI Senior Fellow R.J. Smith was inspired with the encouragement of former CEI staff member Andy Thompson, who passed away recently.
Letters
Coalition Letter to the Senate Opposing the LWCF Title in S. 3422
Dear Senators: The undersigned organizations and individuals write to express and explain our opposition to legislation that would mandate massive increases in funding for federal…
Blog
The Man Who Fed the World, And the Film that Condemned Him for It
The first indication that PBS’s new documentary on agronomist Norman Borlaug will not be overly laudatory is its title. Anti-hunger activist Leon Hesser called his…
Blog
Luddites, not Almond Milk, Pose Biggest Risk to Honeybees
A recent story in the Guardian alleges that almond growers are somehow uniquely responsible for substantial losses of honeybee hives, and that may eventually lead…
Blog
Department of Justice Wrong to Block Sabre Acquisition of Farelogix
On January 27th, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) will attempt to block travel technology company Sabre Corporation from purchasing communications protocol innovator Farelogix, Inc. This will be the…
Blog
Lawmakers’ Fatal Conceit on Recycling Should Be Trashed
“The more things change, the more they stay the same” is a wise observation, and it’s particularly true in politics. I’ve been following solid waste…
The Daily Signal
Western Lawmakers Prepare Bills to Modernize Endangered Species Act
The Daily Signal cites Director of the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on the Endangered Species Act: Myron Ebell, director of the…
News Release
WOTUS Rule Repeal Great News for Rural Americans
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced the repeal of the Obama administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. EPA is expected to announce…
News Release
CEI Applauds EPA Decision to Withdraw Preemptive Veto of Pebble Mine Project
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it intends to withdraw the Obama Administration's preemptive rejection of the Pebble Mine project in Alaska and…
News Release
House Should Reject Bill to Remove Land and Water Conservation Fund from Appropriations Process
The House Natural Resources committee is scheduled to markup H.R. 3195 on Wednesday, June 19. The bill would turn the Land and Water Conservation Fund…
News Release
House Members Should Vote No on Amendment to Block Pebble Mine Project
The House of Representatives is expected to vote as early as tomorrow on the Huffman Amendment to H.R. 2740 (amendment 63 to Division E of…
Comment
Letter to EPA Administrator Wheeler on Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment
Letter in PDF March 20, 2019 Andrew Wheeler Administrator United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Re: Request for…
Blog
Appalachian Trail Should Not Block New Energy Development
The Department of Justice is pushing back against a federal court decision that could jeopardize the future availability and affordability of natural gas across America’s…
Stateline
Logging, Money Battles Delay Wildfire Prevention Work
Pew Trusts cited Distinguished Fellow RJ Smith on U.S. Forest Service funding: Some conservative experts disagree that funding is a major problem for federal…
Products
Free to Prosper: Private and Public Lands
View the full chapter on private and public lands here Private property and secure property rights are essential conditions of freedom and prosperity. Contrary…
Blog
Supreme Court Ruling Puts Important Limits on Federal Authority under Endangered Species Act
On November 27, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously, in Weyerhaeuser v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, that there are limits to how far the federal…
Blog
CEI Challenges Federal Rejection of Alaska’s Pebble Mine
Most job-creating projects don’t require government subsidies―the only thing private sector builders need is less federal red tape getting in their way. A good case…
Blog
Environmental Groups Petition EPA to Prevent Damage from Renewable Fuel Standard
EarthJustice, the National Wildlife Federation, and other environmental pressure groups have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to better police the land use requirements in…
Blog
How to Articulate a Free-Market Vision for the Future
The Competitive Enterprise Institute views most market failure rationales for government intervention as wrong, overstated, or unproven (or all of the above). The Competitive Enterprise Institute…
Comment
CEI Comments on Revision of the Regulations for Listing Species and Designating Critical Habitat
The Endangered Species Act has proven bad for wildlife because it is bad for people. The Act’s legislative language as passed by Congress is largely…
Comment
CEI Comments on ESA Proposed Revisions of the Regulations for Prohibitions to Threatened Wildlife and Plants
The Endangered Species Act has proven bad for wildlife because it is bad for people. The Act’s legislative language as passed by Congress is largely…
Blog
Energy Dominance: Department of Interior Breaks Previous Records for Oil and Gas Lease Sales
“In a testament to the Trump Administration's America First Energy Plan, the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) third-quarter oil and gas lease sale in New…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Opposing Environmental Protection Agency Veto Power over Development Projects
In 2013, organizations from coast-to-coast called on then-U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy to reject an unprecedented decision on Pebble Mine and warned…
Blog
Reform Federal Process for Environmental Permits
The Trump administration has initiated several steps to streamline the federal permitting process for major projects, including resource extraction and infrastructure. In particular, it has focused…
Blog
Reform Endangered Species Act to Contain Costs
The Endangered Species Act (ESA), passed in 1973, has had several decades to accumulate a record of costs and benefits. Despite bureaucrats and activists…
Blog
Claim that 99% of Species Are Saved by ESA Not Supported by Data
An urgent fundraising appeal from The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) “Global Policy Lead[er]” warns of congressional and administration efforts to change—and from the perspective of many—improve…
The Hill
Wildlife has little to show for staggering cost of Endangered Species Act
The Department of the Interior recently proposed significant changes to the rules implementing the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). As welcome as these…
Blog
Four Reasons the Endangered Species Act Desperately Needs Reform
The Department of Interior recently announced proposed revisions to enforcement of the Endangered Species Act (ESA). These revisions are designed to lessen the regulatory…
Los Angeles Times
Threatened Species Could Lose Habitat Protections Under Department of the Interior Proposal
The Los Angeles Times cited CEI’s Rob Gordon on the Endangered Species Act. Rob Gordon, a spokesman for the free market think tank Competitive…
News Release
CEI Praises Dept of Interior’s Proposed Changes to Endangered Species Act Regulations
This week, the Department of Interior announced proposed revisions to portions of the regulations that implement sections of the Endangered Species Act.
