Jimmy Tobias

Midwest

Freelance Writer at Freelance

Investigative reporter for @thenation, @GuardianUS, and more. FOIA fan, formerly @forestservice. DM/email for Signal. Tips: [email protected]

Articles

Loyalists, Lobbyists and Industry Insiders - the New Political Appointees at the Interior Department

4 weeks ago | open.substack.com | Jimmy Tobias

As the Trump administration purges non–partisan civil servants from federal bureaucracies across Washington, it is simultaneously filling those agencies with MAGA loyalists, revolving-door lobbyists and industry insiders. At least that’s the story at the Interior Department, the massive federal agency that oversees our national parks and historic battlefields, manages the Endangered Species Act, administers vast energy resources and more.
Trump Fired Park Rangers - But Not the Ones Who Tend to the White House

1 month ago | theintercept.com | Jimmy Tobias

This story was originally published in Public Domain. As the Trump administration fired hundreds of probationary Park Service employees in February, it spared a special subset from the purge — it exempted from the mass firings National Park Service staffers that help manage the White House and President’s Park.
Park Service Employees at White House Were Exempted from Mass Firings

1 month ago | publicdomain.media | Jimmy Tobias

As the Trump administration fired hundreds of probationary Park Service employees in February, it spared a special subset from the purge — it exempted from the mass firings National Park Service staffers that help manage the White House and President’s Park. Records viewed by Public Domain show that at least three NPS probationary employees at the White House, including park guides, received exemptions from the mass firings specifically on the grounds that they worked at the White House.
DOGE Tightens Its Grip at the Interior Department

1 month ago | open.substack.com | Jimmy Tobias

A young biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service who was fired not long after he and his pregnant wife moved halfway across the country to work for the agency. A Navy veteran who landed her dream job as a park ranger, only to have the offer rescinded days before she was scheduled to start in the role. Probationary employees across the Interior Department eliminated on the false pretext that they were poor performers, no matter how glowing their achievements or important their jobs.
Trump’s BLM Nominee Said There is Too Much Federal Land. Will She Seek to Sell It Off?

1 month ago | publicdomain.media | Jimmy Tobias

When rancher Ammon Bundy and his armed posse stormed into Oregon’s Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in January 2016 in a failed attempt to seize public land for themselves, Kathleen Sgamma, then the vice president of the Western Energy Alliance, issued a brief condemnation.
DOGE's Man at DOI

1 month ago | chrisdangelo.substack.com | Jimmy Tobias

A week after Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Department of Government Efficiency sent operatives to northern California to push for one of the President’s longstanding priorities — increased water delivery to agriculture interests in the state. The DOGE team was there to meet with the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages a vast system of dams, canals and pumps that move water out of the Sacramento River and ship it south to grow almonds, vegetables and other products.
DOGE's Man at DOI

1 month ago | publicdomain.media | Jimmy Tobias

A week after Donald Trump’s inauguration, the Department of Government Efficiency sent operatives to northern California to push for one of the President’s longstanding priorities — increased water delivery to agriculture interests in the state. The DOGE team was there to meet with the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages a vast system of dams, canals and pumps that move water out of the Sacramento River and ship it south to grow almonds, vegetables and other products.
If Trump Wins the Election, US Parks and Wildlife will Face a New Age of Mining

Sep 28, 2024 | rsn.org | Adam Federman |Jimmy Tobias

Intense heat in the north, epic rains in Miami, fires in New Mexico and California. Trump plans for ‘energy dominance’, removing protection from mining and drilling on public landsThis article was produced in partnership with the non-profit newsroom Type Investigations, with support from the Wayne Barrett Project. Imagine, for a moment, oil and gas infrastructure carving up Alaska’s far northern tundra, a refuge for migrating caribou and polar bears.
If Trump wins the election, US parks and wildlife will face a new age of mining

Sep 27, 2024 | theguardian.com | Adam Federman |Jimmy Tobias

Caribou in the Arctic national wildlife refuge in 2017. Photograph: The Asahi Shimbun via Getty ImagesThis article was produced in partnership with the non-profit newsroom Type Investigations, with support from the Wayne Barrett Project. Imagine, for a moment, oil and gas infrastructure carving up Alaska’s far northern tundra, a refuge for migrating caribou and polar bears.
At the NIH, a Scandal Grows Around an Official’s Evasion of Public Records Law

May 28, 2024 | thenation.com | Jimmy Tobias

Dear reader,I hope you enjoyed the article you just read. It’s just one of the many deeply reported and boundary-pushing stories we publish every day at The Nation. In a time of continued erosion of our fundamental rights and urgent global struggles for peace, independent journalism is now more vital than ever. As a Nation reader, you are likely an engaged progressive who is passionate about bold ideas. I know I can count on you to help sustain our mission-driven journalism.