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A region that makes sense
A review of the 2006 State of the Rockies Report Card provides a path to a more unified West.
Read the column
and send us your comments.
Replenishing Land & People
For 25 years, a biologist has worked to restore southwest rangelands,
and cultivated landowners in the process..
Read the column and send us your comments.
Partisan wrangling stalls Senate immigration legislation
Senate leaders reached a compromise on immigration legislation that would put a majority of the 11 million illegal immigrants in the country on a path to citizenship, but late-night wrangling over amendments delayed a vote on the final legislation until this morning, and then Democrats killed it, and some fear the issue will unravel during Congress' two-week break.
New York Times; 04/07/2006
The border patrol is becoming the next big agency
As the U.S. employs more people and technology to patrol and close the border with Mexico, illegal immigrants are becoming more sophisticated and clever, and in turn the border patrol is increasingly large and unwieldy.
Christian Science Monitor; 04/05/2006
Volunteers once again take up patrols on Arizona border
A year after the first watch-and-report effort, volunteers in the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps kicked off a month-long campaign to deter illegal border crossers along Arizona's border with Mexico, and organizers said similar efforts would be launched in Texas, New Mexico and California, and in some states along the U.S.-Canadian border.
Washington Post (AP); 04/02/2006
Study warns Colorado county will lose 1110,000 acres of ag land
The Environment Colorado Research and Policy Center estimates that Mesa County will lose tens of thousands of acres of farmland over the next 16 years, about 35 percent of its agricultural land, because of urban sprawl.
Grand Junction Sentinel; 04/06/2006
Montana town reaps millions from resort tax
Over the past decade, Whitefish's 2 percent resort tax has raised $10.4 million from taxing lodging facilities, restaurants, bars and luxury retail items, and put that money to use to repair streets, build trails and provide residents of the Montana town $2.5 million in property tax relief.
Kalispell Daily Inter Lake; 04/02/2006
Aurora OKs plan to end water war with Denver
The Aurora City Council approved a plan that will allow the Colorado city to buy water from Denver if it needs it, and if Denver has any to spare, putting an end to a decades-long dispute between the two cities.
Denver Rocky Mountain News; 04/04/2006
Legendary skier who lived in Montana and Wyoming dies
Doug Coombs, the legendary big mountain skier who pioneered extreme skiing and who lived in Bozeman and Jackson Hole, died at the age of 48 skiing with a Colorado man in France.
Jackson Hole News & Guide; 04/05/2006
Montana tribal members trapped in substandard housing
A group of residents in the 153-home Glacier Homes housing built by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Montana's Blackfeet Nation have sued HUD and the tribe over the substandard housing and improper building materials, which they say have caused myriad health problems.
Missoula Independent; 04/07/2006
Idaho lawmakers reject plan for Indian education coordinators
Tribal leaders were supportive of an effort to allocate state money for two Indian education coordinators, but the movement lost steam as the leaders fought for the economic survival of their tribes.
Indian Country Today; 04/05/2006
Montana tribal college modifies its forestry program
The Salish Kootenai College in Montana was the first tribal college to offer a four-year accredited degree in forestry, and now college officials are working to develop a modified program for current tribal or Bureau of Indian Affairs forestry employees who could earn the degree while continuing to work.
Char-Koosta News; 04/07/2006
Kempthorne should stand with Idahoans on federal land sale
Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne is prudent not to show his hand on how he feels about a plan to sell federal lands to pay for rural schools before his nomination as Interior Secretary is confirmed by the Senate, but he would do well to listen to the likes of Sen. Larry Craig, Rep. Mike Simpson and the Idaho Legislature who all oppose the idea.
Idaho Statesman; 04/02/2006
Montana senator's bill would fund rural schools, curb tax scofflaws
Legislation proposed by Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., would providing funding for rural schools without selling federal lands by withholding a percentage of government contracts for taxes, which apparently usually go unpaid, so the bill's a win for public lands, public schools and the tax-paying public.
Helena Independent Record; 04/04/2006
Guest Column
Trust is the backbone of our Republic
The Unabomber and the Freemen, both of whom made their stand here in Montana, rebelled against what they thought was an erosion of the public trust, but it was that trust in our Republic that helped us move beyond them, and that's worth remembering today. A column by Pat Williams, a Senior Fellow at the Center for the Rocky Mountain West, of which Headwaters News is a project.
Pat Williams, Center for the Rocky Mountain West; 04/05/2006
Western senators see speedy confirmation of Kempthorne
Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo and New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman said they anticipated Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's nomination to be Interior Secretary would sail through the Senate, although at least two Democratic senators promised to hold up the confirmation process if their states' issues weren't addressed to their satisfaction.
Idaho Statesman; 04/06/2006
Forest Service OKs roads to controversial development in Colorado
Opponents to the Village at Wolf Creek demanded an investigation into the Forest Service's decision to allow the construction of two access roads to the Colorado development, but an agency official said the law requires allowing access to private inholdings.
Denver Post; 04/04/2006
- Former USFS official disputes analysis of Colorado road plan
Ed Ryberg is the first Forest Service insider to confirm documentary evidence that a deputy to Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey involved himself in Texas billionaire developer Billy Joe "Red" McCombs' push to gain access roads to the controversial Village at Wolf Creek planned in Colorado.
Denver Post; 04/06/2006
Colorado governor signs bill to curb use of eminent domain
A bill signed into law in Colorado prohibits private companies from using eminent domain to condemn land for projects.
Denver Rocky Mountain News; 04/03/2006
Colorado lawmakers craft compromise on recreational water
Compromise legislation that bars Colorado recreational water users from asking water courts for permission to allow nighttime events didn't make recreational users happy but said they're willing to live with it, although the compromises faces an uphill battle if, and when, it reaches the Senate.
Denver Post; 04/06/2006
Wind energy firm will lease state land in New Mexico
WindForce officials and New Mexico's State Commissioner of Public Lands signed a deal to lease 640 acres of state land in Colfax County to the company to build a wind farm.
Santa Fe New Mexican; 04/05/2006
Inventor says his he can triple the value of Montana's coal
A Kentucky inventor and his company have created a way to remove the moisture for low grade but plentiful Powder River coal and have tested the process on a small scale in Wyoming, but are now ready to take the process to a larger plant in Montana.
Billings Gazette; 04/05/2006
Decision may restore flows to troubled Oregon river
The Klamath River straddling the Oregon-California border has for years been one of the nation's most thoroughly fouled rivers, where diversion dams for irrigation have caused low flows that allowed fish-killing bacteria and algae to thrive, but a recent federal court decision has opened up the possibility that the dams could be removed.
Washington Post; 04/02/2006
Feds say they'll go it alone on spotted owl recovery
Industry officials said they were concerned about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to tackle the creation of a recovery plan for the spotted owl in Oregon, California and Washington because the federal agency had a poor track record for meeting deadlines.
Houston Chronicle (AP); 04/04/2006
Colorado a haven for political advocacy groups
So-called "527" political advocacy groups were created to circumvent political campaign contribution limits and are now changing the election landscapes for both parties, and Colorado has become a hot spot for such groups with 15, many of which are working on the November elections.
Stateline.org; 04/04/2006
Federal agency ranks Utah last in per-capita student spending
New U.S. Census Bureau figures showed Utah was 51st in the nation in per-pupil school spending; the Beehive State spends $5,008 for each student and Idaho, which ranked 50th, spends $6,028; highest in the nation was New Jersey at $12,981 per student.
Salt Lake Tribune; 04/04/2006
Ten percent of Utah students fail part of graduation test
The Utah Basic Skills Competency Test will, for the first time this year, affect how and whether Utah seniors graduate high school, and one in 10 students has failed a part of that test, and some say the test is too hard while others believe the pressure to pass might be too high, but supporters say the test is a good skills indicator.
Salt Lake Tribune; 04/05/2006
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