In the Rockies today, the focus is on federal court decisions in cases involving Western states.
A federal magistrate is recommending a gun rights case backed by Montana, Idaho, Utah and Wyoming, as well as a handful of other states, be dismissed.
The lawsuit asserts states should have control over guns and ammunition manufactured, sold and kept within states' borders.
In Utah, a federal judge said companies and counties that filed suit against the Interior Department and the Bureau of Land Management over 77 canceled energy leases filed their objections too late and tossed the lawsuit.
Even though the decision went the federal government's way, the judge had some pretty strong words for Interior Secretary Salazar over his handling of the disputed leases.
Also in Utah, an agreement in an ongoing lawsuit over ownership of roads that lie within national monuments gave Kane County responsibility for the Skutumpah Road, which runs through the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
The litigation will continue as authority over 14 other such roads remains in question.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that construction can continue on El Paso Corp.'s Ruby Pipeline, a 680-mile natural gas pipeline that will run between Wyoming and Oregon.
The court denied a request for a temporary injunction to halt the construction filed by The Center for Biological Diversity, which has a lawsuit on file challenging the pipeline.
Rockies today
Montana, Colorado and Idaho team up on climate, wildfire study
Researchers from universities in Colorado and Idaho and from the Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Research Station in Montana announced Wednesday a five-year, $3.85-million study on how changes in climate are affecting wildfires.
Helena Independent Record (AP); Sept. 2
Federal magistrate: States' gun rights lawsuits should be dismissed
U.S. Federal Magistrate Jeremiah Lynch recommended Tuesday that a lawsuit filed by gun advocates and backed by Montana, Utah, Alabama, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming and West Virginia that guns and ammunition made in those states and kept within their borders are not subject to federal control should be dismissed.
Great Falls Tribune (AP); Sept. 2
Stipulation gives Utah county control over road in national monument
In a federal quiet title lawsuit over control of 15 roads in Utah, the federal government stipulated that 27 miles of the 33-mile Skutumpah Road, a back road leading to Cannonville that is within the boundaries of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, should be maintained and controlled by Kane County.
Deseret News; Sept. 2
Federal appeals court denies injunction request to halt Ruby Pipeline
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected on Tuesday The Center for Biological Diversity's request for a temporary injunction to halt construction of the Ruby Pipeline, which will carry natural gas from Wyoming to Oregon.
Elko Daily Free Press; Sept. 2
EPA warns residents of Wyoming community not to drink well water
After getting unsatisfactory responses from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and EnCana Oil & Gas USA, the company that operates oil and gas wells interspersed throughout their community, about their complaints that energy operations were contaminating their water, Pavillion-area residents went to the federal Environmental Protection Agency with their concerns, and this week the EPA told residents not to drink or use water from at least 20 wells in the area.
Casper Star-Tribune; Sept. 2
Federal judge tosses Utah lease case
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that the companies and counties that objected to the withdrawal of 77 Bureau of Land Management leases in Utah after they were auctioned off filed their objections too late, and dismissed their case.
Salt Lake Tribune; Sept. 2
Study: Yellowstone elk still have measurable effect on aspen stands
A new study published in the journal Ecology done by the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Montana and Humboldt State University said that elk are still having a considerable impact on aspen stands in Yellowstone National Park despite the reintroduction of wolves, which some research said would move elk along and help aspen trees regenerate.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; Sept. 2
Alberta premier orders study of Athabasca River toxins
After a University of Alberta study of the Athabasca River near Alberta's oilsands operations found high levels of contaminants, while an industry study did not, Premier Ed Stelmach said he would have scientists sit down and study the data and prepare a report for him.
Edmonton Journal; Sept. 2
Opinion
Nation needs to think big on renewable energy development
Tapping into our nation's resources of renewable energy needs the same political leadership and funding that it took to build the nation's interstate highway system, and Congress should endorse a plan to link and fund research centers in the West that are already at work on renewable-energy projects.
Las Vegas Sun; Sept. 2
Ranchers will still be compensated for livestock killed by wolves
Defenders of Wildlife's decision to end its program that compensated farmers and ranchers for livestock killed by wolves was made because there is now a program in place funded by the federal government and states that makes the DOW program redundant. A guest editorial by Rodger Schlickeisen, president of Defenders of Wildlife in Washington, D.C.
Idaho Statesman; Sept. 2
Gas, oil development knocks on Montana valley's door
Energy companies are exploring Montana's Paradise Valley for oil and gas resources, and before wells spring up every 20 acres, residents should ask themselves if the economic gain is worth the environmental cost. A column by Andrea Peacock, a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News.
Missoula Independent ; Sept. 2
Beyond the region
USDA: New rules for genetically modified sugar beets on the horizon
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday that new interim rules for genetically modified sugar beets, banned by a federal court earlier this summer because of insufficient review of their environmental impact, would be issued by the end of this year.
New York Times; Sept. 2
Report: Number of illegal immigrants in U.S. down 8 percent
The Pew Hispanic Center issued a new report that said the number of people illegally entering the United States fell nearly two-thirds between 2005 and 2009, dropping the number of undocumented residents from 12 million in 2007 to 11.1 million in 2009.
Washington Post; Sept. 2
In wake of Oregon's Measure 49, no boom in rural housing
Three years after Measure 49 was passed by Oregon voters to allow rural landowners the opportunity to build one to three homes on their land, only a handful of homes have been built, due in part to the complexity of the process, the fact that counties interpret the law differently and possibly the national recession.
Portland Oregonian; Sept. 1
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