Environmental groups have asked the U.S. government to seize hundreds of jailed militant rancher Cliven Bundy's cattle, saying unregulated grazing of his herd on public lands in Nevada threatens habitat for federally protected desert tortoises.

The request from nine organizations in a letter sent on Monday to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has the potential to increase tensions in the debate over federal control over vast areas in the West.

Yesterday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack shared the first results of USDA's Building Blocks for Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry, one year after he unveiled the plan. Designed to help farmers, ranchers, and forestland owners respond to and help mitigate climate change, Vilsack announced a new $72.3 million investment to boost carbon storage in healthy soils during a speech on climate at the Center for America Progress in Washington, DC.

And from the crop sector, Washington State's now accounts for over 77 percent of the hops gown in the USA.

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