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 "forest" ...
-
Poison in the Water
“Poison in the Water” is a WNCN investigation that exposes how state government failed to warn families that the water they were drinking could be killing them. Through six weeks of research and digging through hundreds of FOIA documents, WNCN uncovered the source of the contamination in a Wake Forest, N.C. community and revealed state regulators ignored their own evidence of the danger. “Poison in the Water” held the powerful accountable and sparked calls for state legislative change. As a result, national groundwater advocate, Erin Brockovich, visited the Wake Forest families.
Tags: water safety; government; water contamination; groundwater
-
Investigating the Fire
After three people were killed in a fire set by the Colorado State Forest Service, KMGH-TV uncovered governmental mistakes and communication failures that killed people and destroyed homes. Our coverage spurred legislative change that will ultimately help the victims of the Lower North Fork Fire (LNFF) rebuild their lives and protect future fire victims. The LNFF was started in March 2012 by a state forest service prescribed burn that went out of control, killing three people and destroying more than 20 homes. KMGH-TV's six-week investigation uncovered multiple government failures that turned a supposedly controlled burn into an uncontrolled wildfire. Despite heading into a busy ratings period, KMGH-TV dedicated two reporters -- Amanda Kost and Marshall Zelinger -- full-time to investigate the fire. The station produced more than two dozen investigative reports over 40 days. On top of the daily reports, KMGH-TV produced a 30-minute special of original content in six days. Our investigations sparked a legislative inquiry into the fire and prompted Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper to sign a law lifting liability limits that protected the state agency responsible for the blaze. Lawmakers, fire victims and community residents all agreed that without KMGH-TV's extensive investigation of government failures and mistakes, the families of people who died and people who lost homes would never be adequately compensated for their losses. Our investigation forced the state to reevaluate how it sets future prescribed burns to make sure the fires are safer for the community.
-
What Trinity Toll Road Backers Didn't Tell Us
In 2007, Dallas voters rendered a judgement on the largest public works project in city history, casting ballots in a referendum that had become a surprisingly close, all-in-battle between grassroots activists and the Dallas business and cultural establishment. The question- should the city's multi-billion plan to transform Dallas' long-neglected riverfront into a massive series of parks, forests, white-water rapids, and other natural wonders be built, as planned, with a $2 billion high-speed toll road running right through it?
Tags: Dallas; 2007; Toll Road; Grassroots Activist
-
"Drinking at Duke"
In this two-part series, Sanette Tanaka examines the alcohol policy and drinking culture at Duke University. The reporter reveals differences in drinking policies between private and public universities, as well as examines the effectiveness of the "new associate dean," who has implemented an "education-based harm-reduction model" in an effort to curb "binge drinking among students."
Tags: alcohol; binge drinking; Tom Szigethy; Stanford; Harvard; Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research; UNC; Wake Forest; National College Health Assessment
-
"Amazon Crude"
More than 15 years ago, Ecuadorean residents sued Texaco for contaminating the Amazon Rain Forest with crude oil. The "oil waste pits" built by Texaco, now owned by Chevron, continue to leak toxins into the "region's waterways." According to an agreement between the company and the Ecuadorean government, Chevron is to cleanup 40 percent of the mess; however, the company "admitted" there is no record of all the contaminated sites.
Tags: Ecuador; Chevron; Texaco; Amazon; oil spill; toxic waste; rainforest; environmental; Petroecuador
-
The Station Fire
Los Angeles County's largest fire in history, the Station fire, was made worse by the U.S. Forest Service's attempt to minimize costs and scale back measures to fight it.
Tags: fire; conflagration; Los Angeles County; U.S. Forest Service; blaze; fight; death; miscalculation; internal review;
-
Plundering the Amazon
In "Plundering the Amazon," the reporters expose illegal land destruction of the Brazilian rain forest by well-known companies such as Alcoa and Cargill. These companies are destroying land without federal permits and in "violation of Brazilian law."
Tags: Alcoa; Cargill; rain forest; rainforest; Brazil; Brazilian; JBS SA; global warming; environmental; jungle
-
The Pineros Men of the Pines
This series of stories uncovered the extensive mistreatment and abuse of Latino workers who plant and thin federal and private forests. Like immigrant farm workers before them, the pineros had largely toiled in obscurity with scant recognition of their existence. This entry is the online version of a newspaper series, story # 22280.
Tags: pine workers; labor shortages; federal guest worker program; labor; U.S. Forest Service; Healthy Forests Initiative; forestry; CAR; FOIA
-
The Pineros: Men of the Pines
This investigation documents the abuses of the Pineros, migrant pine workers working legally in this country under a federal guest worker program. After nine months of investigation with more than 150 interviews, and thousands of pages of FOIA documents, the Sacramento Bee unveils how these workers have been the victims of employer exploitation.
Tags: pine workers; labor shortages; federal guest worker program; U.S. Forest Service; Healthy Forests Initiative; forestry; CAR; FOIA
-
Losing Ground
The Express-News found that an obscure Texas law involving "vested rights" was allowing developers to do clear-cuts on forested lands and watersheds in defiance of city codes. These practices endanger the sometimes fragile environment of the scenic Texas hill country.
Tags: environmental impact; real estate; developers; land use; property rights