This October, the United States and Russia agreed to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding stewardship of the Bering Strait region. The two international superpowers hope to create an International Park connecting the Beringia National Park in Chukotka, Russia, with the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve and the Cape Krusenstern National Monument on Alaska’s Seward Peninsula.

The House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a mining oversight hearing on June 13, 2013. The hearing focused on mining fees and royalties, the withdrawal of certain lands from new mining claims, and Good Samaritan legislation for the cleanup of abandoned mine lands (AMLs).

The USGS released the first-ever assessment of the geologic carbon sequestration storage capacity of the United States. The new estimate, 3000 metric gigatons of storage, is based on USGS assessments of the nation’s technically accessible storage resources, and is based on peer-reviewed methodology.

On July 11, 2013, the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held an oversight hearing to discuss the future of helium production in the U.S. The subcommittee heard testimony regarding the current and future U.S. demand for helium, the Federal Helium Reserve, and permitting for helium production.

On May 7, 2013, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held a hearing to discuss the proposed Helium Stewardship Act of 2013 (S. 783) which was introduced on April 23, 2013 by Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

During the hearing, Wyden, Murkowski, and the witnesses emphasized the urgent need to address the impending early closure of the Federal Helium Reserve in October 2013, which would cut off 42 percent of the domestic and 35 percent of the global helium supply.

The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) released a report titled “Leveraging Natural Gas to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions”. This report examines the implications of expanded natural gas use in the economy, and recommends plans of action to maximize the climate benefits of natural gas.

The House of Representatives passed the National Strategic and Critical Mineral Production Act, in a 246-178 vote. If enacted, the bill will expedite government review of gold, silver, copper, and uranium mining on federal land. Supporters of the bill suggest the bill will help create jobs by reducing waiting periods for new mining projects, which can linger up to 10 years; opponents suggest that it would weaken environmental protections.

House lawmakers must wait to consider legislation that intends to streamline hardrock mine permitting on federal lands. Introduced by Representative Mark Amodei (R-NV) in February, the National Strategic and Critical Minerals Act of 2013 (H.R. 761) hopes to increase domestic production of critical and strategic minerals on federal lands by setting  permitting and litigation time limits on proposed mining projects, and establishing a lead permitting agency to increase efficiency.

On May 23, 2013 the United States Forest Service (USFS) proposed a rule under the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-011) that would clarify regulations for the management and protection of paleontological recourses on Forest Service lands.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that the comment period for the proposed rule to amend the BLM's commercial oil shale regulations has been reopened for 30 days. This rule would amend certain environmental protection requirements and issues about the royalty system for shale oil resources.