The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "fish and wildlife" ...
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Mercury Menace
The author documented widespread mercury contamination in the town of McIntosh, AL. Most of the very public contamination had apparently escaped the attention of the EPA during Superfund investigations between 1984 and 2005. The reporter showed that mercury levels in creeks and rivers would rank among the highest mercury-contaminated areas of the U.S.
Tags: FOIA; contamination; Mercury; McIntosh; Superfund; E.P.A; Fish and Wildlife Service; Alabama Department of Environmental Management; Olin Corp.; Ciba Corp.
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Florida Follies
Sarah Lesher produced three articles during her internship at The Miami Herald in which she exposed the disconnect between the local government and the environment. In the first two, she reports on an issue of arsenic in private wells and in the second she exposes the growing problem of panthers in populated areas.
Tags: endangered species; fish and wildlife conservation commission; habitat; health; arsenic; water; well; department of health; safety
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Invaded Waters
Foreign fish and other creatures have invaded the Great Lakes and are killing off native lake life. This investigation found most of these creatures arrived by ship from Europe or Asia and that many of these ships are not inspected as they should be before being allowed passage. Biologists believe these new species will soon dominate the lakes' ecology. Some of these changes may pose risks to humans. Most fishermen have been negatively affected. 'Flying' fish have also proved dangerous.
Tags: great lake; fish; wildlife; ecology; biology; water; coast guard; goby; environmental protection agency
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Rescuing the River
A Journal News investigative series reports on the Environmental Protection Agency's $460-million plan "to perform the largest environmental dredging project in the nation's history on a 40-mile section of the Upper Hudson River." The river was contaminated with PCBs, deadly chemicals that have been dumped in the water by General Electric for decades. The toxins destroyed fishing and tainted a Mohawk reservation. The stories question the cost and effectiveness of the dredging plan, which "might not remove PCBs from the river but it would destroy marshes...." The investigation documents the GE high-dollar lobbying and advertising efforts in favor of the argument that "the river will clean itself."
Tags: environment; FOI requests; rivers; Congress; legislature; Sen. Hillary Clinton; hazardous waste; Hudson River Superfund; National Academy of Sciences; lobbyists; public health; contamination; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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Ground zero
Amicus examines how drilling and other activities of oil companies in Alaska have disturbed the people Nuiqsut, an Inupiat Eskimo village an Alaska's North Slope. "Big oil offered a village of Inupiat Eskimos jobs and economic boom. All it asked for in return was their way of life," the magazine reports. The story reveals that the environmental problems in Alaska include water quality changes, air pollution, land use conflicts, oil spills, increased traffic and noise, and disturbance to fish and wildlife species. The latter has forced Eskimos to give up some of their traditional food. For example, a huge arctic caribou's herd has moved away from the oil development area, and a bottom fish - an Eskimos' delicacy - now has elevated levels of toxics.
Tags: Alaska Wilderness League; Arctic Refuge; Trustees for Alaska; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Alaska Whaling Commission; drilling; politics; President Bush
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Toxics on the Hudson
Multinational Monitor sheds light on the new development in a case dealing with the General Electric (GE) corporation's responsibility for polluting the Hudson River with oily compounds known as polychlorinated byphenyls. The story focuses on a proposal by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to GE for cleaning up the river at the cost of $460 million, and examines the company's concern that the cleanup plan may not work at all. The article reports on some of the health hazards posed by PCB contamination, and reveals that, as early as the 1930s, GE executives knew about health problems in workers exposed to the poisonous substance.
Tags: rivers; contamination; Environmental Protection Agency; Jack Welch; wildlife; PCB; science; Monsanto; fish; carcinogenicity; legislature; Pittsfield; Massachusetts; Rome; Georgia
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Clear Progress
Audubon looks at the positive results from the Clean Water Act passed in 1972. The report finds that the landmark law has "spurred an unprecedented cleanup of the nation's waters," and tells the success stories of several big rivers' cleanup. The article reveals also that much remains to be done and points to an Environmental Protection Agency report showing that "forty percent of the nation's surveyed rivers, lakes and estuaries are too polluted for basic uses."
Tags: environment; rivers; lakes; drinking-level quality; contamination; pollution; Potomac; French Broad River; the Great Lakes; the Connecticut River; the Boise River; the Mississippi River; Fish and Wildlife Service; wetlands
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Liquid Assets: A Water-Policy Critic Tries Going Corporate To Tap New Market
The Wall Street Journal reports on the emerging of a private market "to acquire, store and ship huge quantities of water across the arid region" of Sausalito, California. The story examines the new corporate role of author Marc Reisner, who has become a player in the fledgeling water business. The article looks at factors that can potentially contribute to drought in the West, and examines the industry expectations for agreements, mergers and acquisitions among the largest water companies. The reporter also sheds light on the environmentalists' standpoint and finds that some are opposed, but many welcome a private water market, since it is expected "to bring new efficiencies to the arena, making more water available fro fish and wildlife."
Tags: agriculture; farming; drought; U.S. Filter; Vivendi; subsidies; politics; Vidler Water Co.; environment; wildlife; "Cadillac Desert"; Sierra Club
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Huge Land Swap Proposed
The Spokesman-Review's "series breaks the story of how a land broker was secretly planning to trade 2 million acres of public land in Idaho - national forests and BLM land - to logging, mining and ranching interests. It shows how federal land managers, such as the BLM, were kept in the dark, and explores the background of the company pushing the trades. Finally, the series shows how the land broker purposefully deceived the public about the value of an earlier land trade - that it holds up as one of its finest accomplishments - and made millions of dollars at public expense..."