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
News Release
Pumping the brakes on permitting reform in Michigan: CEI report
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute released a new report on Michigan’s recent history of environmental permitting policies. “Michigan has undergone several attempts in recent…
Study
Pumping the Brakes on Reform
This report examines Michigan’s recent permitting reforms, highlighting how some productive efforts to enhance accountability and efficiency have largely stalled. While the state took steps…
Blog
Pressure brought to bear to delist ‘threatened’ grizzlies
On February 5th, Reps. Harriet Hageman (R-WY), Russ Fulcher (R-ID), Ryan Zinke (R-MT), and Troy Downing (R-MT) sent a letter to President…
Search Posts
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 changes…
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.
News Release
CEI Applauds President Trump’s Pardon of Dwight and Steve Hammond
Today, President Trump announced the pardon of Dwight and Steve Hammond, two ranchers from Eastern Oregon who were prosecuted under the Antiterrorism Act of 1996…
Blog
Reforming ‘Waters of the United States’ Critical for Economic Growth
The Waters of the United States rule vastly expanded government control over land in America and is one of the prime examples of the…
Comment
Testimony of Myron Ebell on The Enhancing State Management of Federal Lands and Waters Act
View Full Document as PDF Chairman Gosar, Ranking Member Lowenthal, and members of the Committee: Thank you for inviting me to testify today…
4-traders
More than 50 Members, Stakeholders Call on Admin to Scrap Obama Mineral Withdrawals
4-traders cited the work of the Competitive Enterprise Institute in pressing reviews of Obama-era mineral withdrawals which were implemented without due consideration for the local…
The Hill
‘Drill, Baby, Drill’ Is Back in Trump Era
The Department of the Interior on Jan. 4 released the draft of an Outer Continental Shelf oil and natural gas leasing plan that would dramatically…
Blog
Department of Interior Announces Ambitious New Offshore Oil Plan
Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has announced an ambitious new oil and gas leasing plan for the federal Outer Continental Shelf.
The Daily Caller
With the Stroke of a Pen, Trump Claims Victory in the Decades-Long Battle Over ANWR
The Daily Caller covers the ANWR provision of the tax reform bill. President Donald Trump signed tax reform legislation that also ends the battle…
Blog
A Banner Year for Deregulation on Energy, Climate, and Environment
2017 has been a banner year for advancing free market policies across the board on energy, climate, and environmental issues.
Blog
President Trump Should Defend Federal Land Use and End Abuse of Antiquities Act
Misuse of the Antiquities Act by radical environmental pressure groups and compliant presidents circumvents the constitutional authority of Congress…
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Supporting Review of National Monuments Under the Antiquities Act
View Full Document as PDF Dear Mr. President, As leaders of grassroots, legal, and public policy organizations throughout the United States, we…
Blog
Former U.K. Environment Secretary Owen Paterson Outlines the Environmental Benefits of Brexit
On October 4, 2017, Owen Paterson MP, who until 2014 was the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, visited…
Blog
Common Sense Trumps Absurd Bottled Water Ban
Cheers to the Trump Administration for taking this common sense stand on bottled water in national parks.
Blog
New Film ‘Food Evolution’ Confronts Confusion on GMO Crops
Genetic modification of food crops is a valuable scientific process that has already helped feed countless millions of people around the world and provided breathtaking humanitarian…
Blog
Smart Move to Repeal Department of Interior ‘Valuation Rule’ on Minerals
The repeal ensures that coal leasing and sales can continue while the agency develops and adopts a new rule informed by public comment.
News Release
CEI Supports Reducing Federal Lands for National Monuments, Returning Lands to Private Ownership
Myron Ebell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute's Center for Energy and Environment, responded to the Interior Department’s assessment of the use of federal land as…
Blog
NYT Pesticide Exposé Only Exposes Foolish Reporting
EPA decision not to ban chlorpyrifos was based on sound science.
Blog
Environmental Activists Continue to ‘Bee’ Wrong about Honeybee Health Challenges
Lawmakers need to start ignoring the environmentalist hype and let bee keepers continue to resolve environmental health challenges.
Blog
New Study Shows Minimal Pesticide Impact on Bees
95 percent of the time there were no detectable levels of neonics in hives or pollen from. This indicates a very minimal exposures, which should…
News Release
CEI Praises EPA Decision to Repeal Disastrous Waters of the U.S. Rule
This week the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) moved to repeal the Obama administration’s Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule. This rule expanded federal oversight…
Blog
Trump Issues Executive Order on ‘America-First Offshore Energy Strategy’
President Trump issued an executive order on Friday directing the Departments of Interior and Commerce to “encourage energy innovation, exploration, and production” in U.S. offshore areas including…
Staff & Scholars
Daren Bakst
Director of the Center for Energy and Environment and Senior Fellow
- Energy and Environment
- Lands and Wildlife
- Property Rights
Angela Logomasini
Adjunct Fellow
- Chemical Risk
- Consumer Freedom
- Energy and Environment
Patricia Patnode
Research Fellow
- Banking and Finance
- Consumer Freedom
- Deregulation