"US Moves To Block Mining Near Yellowstone"

"BILLINGS, Mont. — U.S. officials plan to block new mining claims outside Yellowstone National Park as the Obama administration races in its last days to keep industry out of pristine and environmentally sensitive areas.

Mining claims on 30,000 acres north of the nation's first national park would be prohibited for at least two years while a long-term ban is considered.

Details were obtained by The Associated Press in advance of Monday's formal announcement by Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

Interior officials last week blocked new oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean and cancelled 25 oil and gas leases in western Colorado and 15 in northwestern Montana.

Republicans and industry representatives have criticized the administration's eleventh-hour actions to limit development and promised to seek their reversal once Obama leaves office."

Matthew Brown reports for the Associated Press November 21, 2016.