In the Rockies today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Forest Service unveiled its forest management rule on Thursday that focuses on watershed and wildlife protection.
The rule will be published on Feb. 3 in the Federal Register, and Agriculture Secretary will then have 30 days to select the final version.
In Alberta, Environment Minister Diana McQueen said she believed Canada and the province would have a monitoring system up and running in oilsands country by the spring of this year.
And Canadian Environment Minister Peter Kent said that he again declined to implement an emergency plan to protect caribou herds because some herds were gaining ground, thus guaranteeing the survival of the species.
Sunday morning at 7, Yellowstone Public Radio will broadcast Mountain West Voices.
This week Clay Scott talks with Hungarian sculptor and long-time Montana resident Joseph Baraz.
Baraz discusses his art; his relationship to place; and the many ways an artist can define home.
If you miss the broadcast on Sunday morning, you can listen online via the Mountain West Voices website.
Rockies today
Protection of wetlands, wildlife focus of USFS's proposed management policy
On Thursday, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell unveiled the new forest planning rule that will guide management of some 193 million acres of federal lands.
Missoulian; Jan. 27
President Obama, Colorado governor agree on hydraulic fracturing
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, a petroleum geologist by trade, supports the use of hydraulic fracturing, a drilling method that uses water, sand and chemicals to break open rock formations to release gas and oil resources, and he also supports the requirement that companies disclose what chemicals they use in the process, a stance that staffers said reflects one held by President Obama.
Durango Herald; Jan. 27
Federal lawmakers' enthusiasm for clean-energy subsidies wanes
At his campaign stops earlier this week in Nevada and Colorado, President Obama outlined his proposed energy plan that called for tax credits for renewable energy projects, but in Congress enthusiasm for those incentives is decreasing.
New York Times; Jan. 27
Alberta official: Oilsands monitoring system will be in place soon
Alberta Environment Minister Diana McQueen said that she is working with federal Environment Minister Peter Kent on a plan to get a monitoring system up and running in Alberta's oilsands country, and that the system should be operational by spring.
Calgary Herald; Jan. 27
Utah official: SEC probe of investor won't change nuclear-plant decision
In its application for water rights to build a 3,000-megawatt nuclear power plant near the Green River in Utah, Blue Dog Holdings named LeadDog Capital as the source of $30 million in financing, but the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is alleging the New York-based hedge fund is scamming its investors, a fact that the Utah state engineer said doesn't change the validity of the decision to approve the transfer of the water rights to Blue Dog Holdings.
Salt Lake Tribune; Jan. 27
Hundreds attend meeting to protest Albert logging project
At a meeting Thursday night in Bragg Creek, hundreds of people packed into a community center to protest Spray Lake Sawmills' contract with Alberta to log nearly 1,730 acres of forest near the popular Kananaskis recreation area.
Calgary Herald; Jan. 26
Debate on expansion of Utah strip coal mine near Bryce Canyon heats up
The Bureau of Land Management received 210,000 comments on Thursday opposing Alton Coal's application to expand its coal strip mine on an additional 3,581 acres of federal land containing an estimated 49 million tons of recoverable coal.
Deseret News; Jan. 27
Canada again declines to implement emergency plan to protect caribou
Environment Minister Peter Kent said Wednesday that he again declined to put an emergency plan into place to protect caribou, because the health of some herds in Canada had improved, thus there's no fear that the species will disappear entirely, even though some experts predict the species will be gone from Alberta within a generation if immediate measures aren't taken.
CBC News (Canadian Press); Jan. 25
Opinion
Nation's push for natural gas comes with a downside
If there is bipartisan agreement on any issue in the United States these days, it's the role natural gas can play in the nation's energy picture, but caution must be taken to ensure development of such resources don't harm others such as water, and leaders must not lose sight of a goal for a diversified energy plan.
Christian Science Monitor; Jan. 27
Beyond the region
Panel on nuclear waste urges taking decision for repository local
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future, appointed two years ago to find options for storing nuclear waste after Yucca Mountain in Nevada was withdrawn from consideration, recommended that the search for a new national repository begin at the local level and that a new agency be created to handle nuclear waste, taking that responsibility out of the Energy Department.
New York Times; Jan. 27
Colorado company gets $275M federal grant for Oregon biofuel refinery
ZeaChem, a Colorado-based company, announced it had received a $275-million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help build a biofuel refinery in Boardman to process poplar trees from Oregon, corn stalks and wheat straw into biofuel.
Portland Oregonian; Jan. 26
President Obama urges companies to use more natural gas to run vehicles
At a stop in Nevada this week, President Obama called the United States the "Saudi Arabia of natural gas" and urged companies to use the fuel to run vehicles to help ease the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
Los Angeles Times; Jan. 27
Nevada casino mogul donates $10M to Newt Gingrich's presidential bid
Sheldon Adelson, who is the eighth-richest person in the United States, is the CEO Of the Las Vegas Sands Corp., has made two $5 million contributions to Winning Our Future, the political action committee backing Republican Newt Gingrich's run for president.
Indian Country Today; Jan. 27
Washington state biologist: 'The Grey' wrongly portrays wolves as man-eaters
Liam Neeson's movie "The Grey" released this weekend, provides Hollywood's usual treatment of wolves as man-eaters, a portrayal Gary Wiles, a wildlife biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said runs counter to reality, with just 2 deaths in North America attributed to wolves in the past sixty years.
Spokane Spokesman-Review; Jan. 27
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