Son Volt performing “Highways and Cigarettes” from their album “The Search”:

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Minnesota is the last state east of the Mississippi to have such a large block of relatively undisturbed forest — and this remarkable natural gem has never been more endangered than it is right now due to forest fragmentation.

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Although the practice seems naughty, it’s all nice and legal because of an obsolete federal law. And although the House of Representatives recently passed legislation to close the loopholes, the metal mining industry’s allies in the Senate might block the long-overdue reforms.

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So we bought repellent for a quick trip to view the swamp and its wildlife there last winter. But on a perfect day spent kayaking through the mangroves of Big Cypress National Preserve, we didn’t even bother applying it.

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Filed on behalf of the state of Wyoming on Thursday in U.S. District Court in Cheyenne, the petition asks the court to set aside portions of the plan that address daily limits on snowmobiles, management of Sylvan Pass and requirements for commercial snowmobile guides.

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“I can tell you if you put this mine in you will put me out of business,” said Sidney Spencer, a fourth-generation rancher from the San Rafael Valley who raises organic grass-fed beef. “It’s inexplicable to me that it might possibly be OK, even under serious consideration, to allow something like this to be at the headwaters of the Santa Cruz River.”

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The full extent of the damage is still being assessed but just removing trees that fell over forest roads could take weeks or months, officials said.

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WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is trying to hide its mismanagement of federal lands by using new permit requirements and fees to limit filming and photography in national parks, forests and wildlife refuges, the chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee said Wednesday.