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Fact & Fiction and the Bookstore at the University of Montana offer a review of Martin Nie's Governance of Western Public Lands:
Mapping Its Present and Future"
April 25: NewWest.net's "Designing the New West" conference scheduled in April in Bozeman, Mont. Read a preview.
USFWS proposes expansion of critical habitat for lynx in 6 states
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Thursday that it now wants to designate 42,753 square miles in Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Washington, Minnesota and Maine as critical habitat for the threatened Canada lynx, more than 20 times the 1,841 square miles in three states the agency designated as critical habitat for the species in 2006.
Billings Gazette; 02/29/2008
- Group pushes for lynx protection in New Mexico too
Santa Fe-based group WildEarth Guardians said that since 1999, when 200 Canada lynx were reintroduced into Colorado, more than 60 have wandered south into New Mexico, 14 of which have died, and the group is joining the call for endangered species protection to be extended to the lynx in New Mexico. You may have to view an ad to read this article.
Albuquerque Journal; 02/25/2008
USFWS announces new sage grouse review
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Tuesday that it will take another look at its 2005 decision to not list the sage grouse as an endangered species, and said agency researchers will immediately begin gathering the latest data on the species' numbers and habitat.
Casper Star-Tribune (AP); 02/27/2008
Federal agency will conduct new, 2-year study on prairie dogs
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed onto an out-of-court settlement with environmental groups that requires the federal agency to conduct a 2-year study of white-tailed prairie dogs to see if the species needs federal protection.
Denver Post; 02/27/2008
Interior Department says it will review ban on guns in parks
On Friday, Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne announced that his department will review gun laws on lands under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service, and draw up new rules by April 30 for public comment, a move supported by 50 senators, including those from Wyoming and Montana, but opposed by park rangers, retirees and conservation groups.
Missoulian; 02/26/2008
If wolf recovery is the issue, then it's time to celebrate
Twenty years ago, wildlife conservationists began work to get wolves reintroduced into the Yellowstone ecosystem, now the wolves are back, the states are prepared to manage them, and it's time to leave wolves and the people who live with them alone. A guest column for NewWest.net by Whitney Tilt, a former director of conservation for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.
NewWest.net; 02/26/2008
- Groups file notice of intent to sue over decision to delist wolves
Eleven groups, including the Sierra Club and the U.S. Humane Society, filed a notice of intent to sue the Department of Interior over its decision to remove the gray wolf in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming from the federal endangered species list.
Casper Star-Tribune (AP); 02/28/2008
Montana counties tackle streamside setback issues
Ravalli, Flathead and Missoula counties are all working on regulations on development along waterways in their Montana counties, while other counties in the state have put such regulations in place. A good roundup of what's happening on this issue. NewWest.net; 02/28/2008
N.M. county suspends oil, gas operations in Galisteo Basin for 1 year
Santa Fe County Commissioners imposed a one-year moratorium on oil and gas development in their New Mexico county to give the county time to develop regulations on such operations.
Santa Fe New Mexican; 02/27/2008
EnergySolutions' plan to import n-waste from Italy to Utah under fire
EnergySolutions officials said just 8 percent of the 20,000 tons of low-level nuclear waste from Italy would actually be stored at its facility in Utah, as most of the material would be recycled or incinerated in Tennessee, but critics of the proposal said the plan creates a precedent that could turn the U.S. into the world's dumping ground for radioactive waste.
Christian Science Monitor; 02/28/2008
Hundreds attend Utah public hearing on Nevada coal-fired power plant
Most of the nearly 300 people who attended a public hearing in St. George about a proposed coal-fired power plant 32 miles away in Nevada were there to show their opposition to the project, including the mayor of the Utah town and the mayor of Mesquite, the town in Nevada closest to the plant.
Salt Lake Tribune; 02/28/2008
Montana county residents want to know how zoning will affect land values
As Ravalli County officials continue their efforts to create a countywide zoning plan, landowners in the Montana county want to know how such regulations will effect land values and property taxes. Another in the Ravalli Republic's series on the planning effort.
Ravalli Republic; 02/29/2008
Western tribes exercise their water claims
The U.S. Supreme Court gave tribes the primary rights to water that flowed across their lands in 1908, but until recently 19 tribes in the West did not exercise those rights, but this year tribes in Nevada, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico and California are close to securing those claims.
USA Today; 02/26/2008
U.S. Senate approves Indian Health Care Improvement Act
Legislation passed by the U.S. Senate authorizes $35 billion for Indian health care programs over the next decade, and while Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., called the bill's passage an important first step in addressing a crisis in American Indian health care, Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn said the bill didn't go nearly far enough and labeled the bill "morally bankrupt." You may have to view an ad to read this article.
Albuquerque Journal (AP); 02/27/2008
Montana state lawmakers seek federal fix for toxic Blackfeet homes
Nearly 200 homes on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana infected with toxic mold have been the subject of a lengthy lawsuit about who is responsible for fixing the problem, and on Thursday, American Indian Montana state lawmakers asked the state's congressional delegation to press the federal government to fix the problem.
Helena Independent Record; 02/29/2008
Navajo Nation creates its own Superfund law
Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. must still sign legislation passed by the tribal council that creates a tribal Superfund law, allowing the tribe to establish rules on cleaning up contaminated sites on their land.
Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); 02/27/2008
N.M. governor orders troops to block access to Apache bingo parlor
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said the federal government's inaction forced him to block public access to an Apache-built bingo parlor in the southern part of the state, and said the bingo parlor violates a 2002 agreement with the Oklahoma-based tribe that received the N.M. land in exchange for its promise not to use the land for gambling.
Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); 02/28/2008
Wyoming lawmakers need to write that $20M check to GE
Wyoming has coal, lots of coal, and to keep the state's economy rumbling along it needs to find a way to turn that coal into power in a way that meets states' stricter greenhouse-gas emissions rules, and the state's partnership with General Electric to build a clean-coal research facility in the state is a step in the right direction, and one that the Legislature should take immediately.
Casper Star-Tribune; 02/25/2008
Idaho's record on corporate tax incentives is a poor one
The Idaho Legislature is considering legislation to give a French company a package of tax breaks to entice it to build a $2-billion uranium enrichment plant in the eastern part of the state, but a look back at recent incentive packages given to Micron and Albertsons should tell lawmakers that such incentives don't always pan out.
Idaho Statesman; 02/28/2008
Wyoming counties deserve authority over large-lot subdivisions
County governments in Wyoming need to deal with the impact that 40-acre ranchette developments have on roads, schools and public services, and those local officials deserve the authority to regulate land developments up to 140 acres that Senate File 11 would give them.
Casper Star-Tribune; 02/29/2008
Montana senators' effort on guns in national parks misguided
Montana's U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, along with Wyoming's Sens. Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, and Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo are among the 51 senators urging the Interior Department to revamp its policy about loaded guns in national parks, but the only thing wrong with the current policy which allows gun owners to transport unloaded, stored guns in parks, is that 2008 is an election year.
Billings Gazette; 02/29/2008
Senate passes Tester's bill to study southern Amtrak route in Montana
Tacked onto the Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2007 is legislation that would require Amtrak to take another look at reinstating a southern route through Montana, but the amendment's future is uncertain as the measure moves on to the U.S. House.
Billings Gazette; 02/24/2008
Presidential hopeful takes potshots at Montana grizzly bear study
Arizona Sen. John McCain has long been critical of the grizzly bear study in and around Glacier National Park in Montana that uses DNA to track the bears' movements, and recently he's been making jokes about the study as he campaigns for president.
Hungry Horse News; 02/21/2008
Arizona governor urges Renzi to resign
Gov. Janet Napolitano said Arizonans represented by U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi deserve a fulltime congressman, and said the Republican representative's fight against a 35-count federal indictment will be too distracting, and said Renzi should resign.
Arizona Republic; 02/28/2008
Officials disagree on how well virtual border fence in Arizona is working
Officials with Homeland Security are confident that a 28-mile of virtual fence along the Arizona-Mexico border is meeting the standards promised by the Boeing Company, but an official from the Government Accountability Office disputes that fact, as does the Pennsylvania congressman who chairs the House Homeland Security Management, Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee.
New York Times; 02/29/2008
Colorado's federal lawmakers submit bills to speed up Leadville efforts
Members of Colorado's congressional delegations submitted legislation in both the U.S. House and Senate to direct the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to immediately begin pumping toxic water trapped behind debris in a mine tunnel above Leadville, and to clarify the federal agency's authority to conduct such operations.
Denver Rocky Mountain News; 02/29/2008
Colorado lawmakers say prescription fix not working as planned
The Denver Post's analysis of Colorado Cares Rx, a new state prescription plan for low-income patients, found that prescriptions obtained through RxOutreach, the nonprofit branch of Missouri-based mail-order pharmacy Express Scripts Inc., cost more than they do through retail outlets such as K-Mart and Costco.
Denver Post; 02/29/2008
Colorado Senate panel OKs defensible-space tax break for homeowners
The Colorado Senate Finance Committee approved legislation that would allow homeowners to deduct half the cost of efforts to clear defensible space around their homes to mitigate wildfire risks from their taxable income; the bill now moves to the Senate Appropriations Committee for consideration.
Durango Herald; 02/29/2008
Idaho Senate panel approves $20-million aquifer plan
The Idaho House has already approved a bill that would allocate $20 million to study, monitor and develop management plans for 10 aquifers in the state, and on Wednesday the Senate Resources and Environment Committee unanimously approved the bill.
Twin Falls Times-News (AP); 02/28/2008
GOP House leaders introduce 3 bills to raise revenue for Idaho roads
The day after Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter submitted his proposals on raising revenue to improve roads, Republican House leaders submitted three of their own that included shifting $22 million in sales tax revenue from tires, batteries and car accessories to highway funding and putting limits on bonds for "Connecting Idaho" projects, and requiring legislative approval for such projects.
Twin Falls Times-News; 02/28/2008
N.M. governor signs property-tax break bill into law
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed several bills passed by the Legislature into law on Thursday, including one that expands eligibility for a property-tax break and another that extends the deadline for companies to qualify for a state tax credit for creating high-paying jobs.
Albuquerque Journal (AP); 02/29/2008
Governor, Utah lawmakers reach accord on interstate pacts
Even though the House and Senate approved by veto-proof margins legislation that would have required legislative approval of any interstate agreement that involved $50,000 or more of state funds, legislative leaders and Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. reached a deal that he would keep lawmakers in the loop about such agreements and they would allow the legislation to die on a veto.
Salt Lake Tribune; 02/29/2008
Debate on Wyoming CO2 sequestration bill centers on property rights
The Wyoming Senate Judiciary Committee's debate on two House bills designed to create a legal framework for the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide centered on property rights, and whether surface landowners should be allowed to sell the porous underground structures needed to store the greenhouse gas, and retain the surface rights to the land.
Casper Star-Tribune; 02/26/2008
Effort to regulate coalbed methane water dies in Wyoming Senate
Some members of the Wyoming Senate said stiff opposition from the energy industry helped kill a measure that would have allowed more state regulation of water discharged during coalbed methane operations.
Casper Star-Tribune (AP); 02/26/2008
Wyoming Senate advances bill to impose a tax on helium production
Helium is the only mineral commodity in Wyoming that is not taxed, but legislation approved by the Senate Revenue Committee on Thursday would change that by imposing a 6 percent severance tax on helium extracted from the ground.
Casper Star-Tribune (AP); 02/29/2008
Utah's worker-bee economy begins to slow
Utah has the youngest population in the nation by far, and a surge of 20-somethings entering the job and housing market put the state over the top in job creation between November 2006, and November, 2007, but now the state is seeing job growth stall, housing starting to slump, and without a large number of retirees with disposal income, such as Idaho and Montana have, the state's economy is slowing.
New York Times; 02/24/2008
Spanish company set to build Montana's largest wind farm
Naturener, the Spain-based developer of what will be Montana's largest wind farm, said construction on the McCormick wind farm 85 miles north of Great Falls will begin this spring and will produce 210 megawatts of electricity after the first two phases of the project are built, but could produce more if transmission line capacity in the area expands.
Great Falls Tribune; 02/24/2008
Sales-tax dependent cities in Arizona fall on hard times
Already reeling from the effect of the nationwide mortgage credit crisis, Arizona and its cities and communities are dealing with a second economic punch: plummeting sales-tax revenues.
Christian Science Monitor; 02/25/2008
Report: Investment in Alberta oilsands projects will near $20B in 2008
Statistics Canada reports that investments in Alberta oilsands projects will reach $19.7 billion this year, up from the $16 billion invested in 2007, and triple the $6.4 billion invested in 2004.
Edmonton Journal; 02/28/2008
Company surveying sites around Denver airport for solar-research facility
SolarTAC, a spinoff of the newly established Colorado Renewable Energy Collaboratory, a joint effort between Colorado's major academic and research institutions, is evaluating sites around Denver International Airport for a major solar energy research center.
Denver Rocky Mountain News; 02/28/2008
Canada reports 12th case of mad cow disease
A six-year-old dairy cow on an Alberta farm is Canada's 12th confirmed case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a finding that has raised questions about the efficacy of Canada's 1997 ban on feed containing cattle or other ruminant parts.
Edmonton Journal; 02/27/2008
California sues USFS over roadless plan
California filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service on Thursday over the federal agency's plan to open up half a million acres of roadless lands in four of the state's largest national forests to road construction and oil drilling.
Los Angeles Times; 02/29/2008
Texas fast becoming the nation's epicenter for wind power
Even the legendary Texas oil man Boone Pickens is getting into wind power, turning former oil fields into wind farms and Texas into the nation's capital of wind power.
New York Times; 02/23/2008
EPA considers exempting factory farms from emission reporting
Since the 1980s, factory farms have been required to report large emissions of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide from animal manure to the Environmental Protection Agency, but the federal agency is considering dropping that requirement, saying no one uses the reports anyway, even though the reports have been cited in lawsuits brought by communities against large farms.
Washington Post; 02/26/2008
Flooded Alaska village sues companies, citing climate change
Rising sea water is forcing the residents of the Alaska Native coastal village of Kivalina to relocate, and on Tuesday, those residents filed a lawsuit in federal district court in California against 5 oil companies, 14 electric utilities and Peabody Energy, the nation's largest coal company, charging that those companies' operations contributed to the Arctic climate change that is forcing the residents to move.
New York Times; 02/27/2008
More distressed homeowners just walk away from troubled mortgages
Economists and industry analysts say Americans' attitude about home ownership and foreclosure have changed, with more homeowners willing to just walk away from homes threatened by foreclosure, and one company in California will help them do so for just $995.
New York Times; 02/29/2008
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