Montana's local food movement: The Montana Food System Council works to advance the growth of a sustainable and self-reliant food system for the Big Sky State
May 28, 2009
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Fact & Fiction sponsors a review of "One Square Inch of Silence, co-written by Gordon Hempton and John Grossmann.
May 22, 2009
June 3-5: Natural Resource Law Center's 30th annual summer conference: Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry, Boulder, Colo. Read a preview.
June 11-13: Greater Yellowstone Coalition's 26th Annual Meeting and Rendezvous: From Parks to Prairies, Jackson Lake Lodge, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
June 14-16: Western Governors' Association Annual Meeting, Park City, Utah
June 17-18: NewWest.net and Boise State University present "Planning in the West," Boise, Idaho
Vilsack takes reins on federal roadless areas
U.S. Department of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced Thursday that over the next year he would decide the fate of any projects proposed on federal roadless lands, except in Idaho, where that state's roadless plan is in place.
Washington Post; 05/29/2009
- Idaho says its roadless plan could be template for the nation
U.S. Sen. Jim Risch said that Idaho's roadless plan that took effect in October, and which came together in the seven months Risch served as governor of Idaho, could provide a road map for similar plans in other states.
Idaho Statesman; 05/29/2009
- Colorado officials say work will continue on roadless plan
Colorado has been working on a management plan for its 4.4-million acres of federal roadless forest lands for two years, and state officials said Thursday's announcement that development on the nation's 50-million acres of federal roadless lands would be put on hold for a year unless approved by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack won't stall work on the state's plan.
Denver Post; 05/29/2009
Wyoming county officials get up to speed on wind power
About a dozen Natrona County officials took a tour of Rocky Mountain Power's wind energy site north of Glenrock on Tuesday to give them a better understanding of the industry as they work on zoning and bonding requirements of future such projects in their Wyoming county.
Casper Star-Tribune; 05/27/2009
Idaho's top water official to retire June 30
Dave Tuthill, the director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, announced that he will leave that post on June 30, and take a job in the private sector.
Twin Falls Times-News; 05/27/2009
Federal foreclosure funds sit unused in Utah
Utah has yet to use any of its initial $19.6 million in federal aid designed to help communities with an abundance of foreclosed and abandoned homes, and some housing advocates fear the state's inability to get the money out the door could preclude it from receiving additional funds.
Salt Lake Tribune; 05/28/2009
Another group joins protest of nuclear plant in Utah
On Tuesday, Las Vegas-based Center for Biological Diversity filed an official protest with the Utah State Engineer's Office over a proposed nuclear-power plant in Utah's Emery County, bolstering concerns raised by similar groups over the proposed diversion of nearly 30,000 acre-feet of Green River water for the plant and the effect it would have on endangered fish and rare plants.
Deseret News; 05/28/2009
Subdivision residents press Colorado county on drilling rules
Residents of subdivisions in La Plata County want the Colorado county to impose more stringent regulations on drilling on parcels less than 10 acres in size, but county officials said the rules in place provide enough protection and more stringent attempts would likely be overturned by state rules and lead to less protection for homeowners.
Durango Herald; 05/29/2009
HUD secretary promises $250 million for tribal housing
The head of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced that the U.S. will dedicate $250 million of federal stimulus money to housing grants for Native Americans and Alaskans after touring the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation Wednesday.
RezNet; 05/27/2009
U.S. high court declines to hear Montana tribe's housing case
Residents of housing on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana that sued to make a tribal agency accountable for mold in those houses won't have their case heard by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Great Falls Tribune; 05/29/2009
Crow tribal members arrested in N.M. on fraud charges
Ted Hogan and two other Crow tribal members, along with a fourth man, were arrested last week in New Mexico, and charged with a series of crimes including securities fraud; Hogan has been promoting mineral development on Crow tribal lands in Montana.
Billings Gazette; 05/27/2009
Sage grouse may alter wind-energy projects in the West
Debate on the effect oil and gas development has had on sage grouse populations in the West may soon transfer over to wind-energy projects in Oregon and other states.
Portland Oregonian; 05/23/2009
Groups sue USFWS to expand lynx habitat
Four conservation groups filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Montana against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, alleging that the federal agency failed to consider climate change when it designated habitat critical to the survival of the Canada lynx in six Western states.
Missoulian; 05/28/2009
Colorado asks DOI to review oil-shale work before issuing new leases
The public comment period on a second round of oil-shale leases in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah ended Thursday, and Colorado asked that the Department of Interior complete a review of research and development work that has been done on existing leases before issuing more, and 16 conservation groups filed protests against a second round of leases.
Grand Junction Sentinel; 05/29/2009
Colorado national forest's travel plan halves roads open to ATVs
The White River National Forest is taking public comments on its updated travel plan for the 2-million acre forest in Colorado, and with the preferred option reducing the miles of travel routes available to off-road vehicles from 1,883 miles to 993 miles, the plan has stirred up the debate between motorized travel groups and other groups.
Grand Junction Sentinel; 05/25/2009
Annual count finds moose numbers down 44 percent in Wyoming
Wyoming Game and Fish's annual count of big game animals found that moose, mule deer and bighorn sheep numbers were below department objectives, although antelope numbers were above the agency's goals.
Jackson Hole News & Guide; 05/27/2009
Utah ranching family protects 2,800 acres near Park City
The family of early Utah ranchers Charles J. and Erma S. Richins announced Tuesday that they had put a conservation easement on 2,800 acres of land in Summit County about 25 miles north of Park City.
Salt Lake Tribune; 05/28/2009
Federal judge orders new study on Glen Canyon Dam releases
On Wednesday, a federal district judge in Denver found that a decision made last year by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that found irregular releases from Glen Canyon Dam into the Grand Canyon did not violate the Endangered Species Act, and gave the federal agency until November to review how such releases affected the endangered humpback chub, and to come up with a new schedule for such releases if the fish is adversely impacted by them.
Los Angeles Times; 05/28/2009
Obama's selection for USDA undersecretary an unusual one
President Obama's nominee for U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary that oversees the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service is Homer Wilkes, who has been with the NRCS for 28 years, and hails from Mississippi, breaking the tradition of selecting a Westerner for the position, and disappointing those who wanted an environmental crusader.
NewWest.net; 05/21/2009
New rule allowing loaded guns in national park a mistake
President Barack Obama signed credit-card legislation into law on Friday, and the rider that changed the rule on guns in national parks went along for the ride, but this new ill-advised rule isn't needed and addressed a problem that didn't exist.
Denver Post; 05/25/2009
- 'MasterBlaster' bill will charge the course of future gun legislation
President Obama's signature of the credit-card reform bill that carried a policy change on guns in national parks along with it probably won't have much of an effect on visitors' experiences in those national parks, but it will have a telling influence on future gun bills. A column by Bill Schneider.
NewWest.net; 05/28/2009
Hikers should pay fair share of rescue costs
Fees paid by boaters, hunters, anglers and ATV riders partially fund the money given by Utah to counties to help pay for search-and-rescue operations, yet hikers who get into trouble in the backcountry generally outnumber other outdoor recreationists who may need the same service, and Utah should come up with a system to make hikers pay at least a little toward the search-and-rescue fund.
Salt Lake Tribune; 05/27/2009
There are better ways to pay for health-care reform than alcohol tax
The Senate Finance Committee's plan to tax beer, wine and hard liquor to fund health care reform is just plain silly, and the chairman of that committee, Montana's own Max Baucus, ought to take a hard look at the billions of dollars that could be saved if waste, outrageous billing practices and the abuse of nonprofit status were first addressed.
Helena Independent Record; 05/27/2009
On Nevada trip, Obama touts state's solar, geothermal projects
President Barack Obama visited Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada on Tuesday, and lauded the base's solar-power project, the largest of its kind in the Western Hemisphere that provides about 25 percent of the electricity needed on the base, and announced federal programs to replicate Nevada's solar and geothermal development in cities and communities across the nation.
Washington Post; 05/28/2009
- Biden outlines 'green jobs' plan at speech in Denver
At a speech Tuesday at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Vice President Joe Biden told a crowd of about 200 community members and local Democratic leaders how the Obama administration would spent $550 million to train residents of public housing projects in "green-collar" jobs, such as weatherizing homes to make them more energy efficient.
Denver Post; 05/27/2009
Tester's meeting on Amtrak route draws a crowd in Montana
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester hosted a town hall meeting in Bozeman Tuesday on the feasibility of restoring passenger service along a southern route in Montana that Amtrak discontinued 30 years ago.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; 05/27/2009
Montanans again press Baucus aide over single-payer health bill
U.S. Sen. Max Baucus' chief-of-staff Jon Selib met with Montanans in Anaconda on Wednesday, where audience members again asked why Congress is not considering national, public health insurance for everyone as an option to overhaul the nation's healthcare system, and Selib again repeated what he's been saying at nearly every meeting he's held: a single-payer bill will not make it through the U.S. Senate.
Montana Standard; 05/28/2009
- Tribe questions Montana senator's healthcare plan
Staff of Montana Sen. Max Baucus have been holding listening sessions on healthcare reform across the state this week, and on Thursday Kevin Howlett director of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' Health and Human Services Department, asked Richard Litsey, counsel and senior adviser on Indian affairs for the Senate Finance Committee Baucus chairs, why the plan largely ignored Native Americans.
Missoulian; 05/29/2009
Nevada
Nevada governor vetoes registration fee for off-road vehicles
Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons said he vetoed legislation that would have required all all-terrain vehicles and other off-road vehicles to be licensed because he did not want to impose a fee on an activity that Nevadans had previously enjoyed for free.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; 05/27/2009
Nevada 'green jobs' initiative progresses
Nevada State Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford's "green jobs" initiative, which would allow the state to use federal stimulus money to train a new green collar workforce through state employment programs passed in committee Wednesday.
Las Vegas Sun; 05/28/2009
Nevada budget hangs on Assembly's veto-override vote
On Thursday, Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons vetoed the state's $6.9 billion budget--and the $781 million in tax increases needed to pay for it, and the Nevada Senate immediately responded with a vote overriding the governor's veto; and the Assembly is expected to vote on an override bill on Friday morning.
Reno Gazette-Journal; 05/29/2009
Canadian company to go forward on Alberta oilsands project
A recent study indicated that 13 oilsands projects in Alberta have been put on hold as costs billowed and profits fell with the price of oil, but on Monday, Canadian Imperial Oil Ltd. announced it was moving forward with its $8-billion Kearl surface mining operation northeast of Fort McMurray.
Calgary Herald; 05/26/2009
Alt-tax fuel loophole boosts Montana paper company
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., as well as other paper companies in the United States, discovered that they could tap an alternative-fuel tax credit by adding diesel to the pulping byproduct "black liquor," which is burned at Smurfit-Stone's plant in Montana and elsewhere, giving the company a $543-million tax credit.
Missoula Independent; 05/28/2009
Home sales up in the West
In 13 western states and in cities throughout Montana, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Washington, low prices on foreclosed homes have driven home sales up 16 percent from May, while nationally sales only increased slightly, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.
Arizona Daily Sun (AP); 05/28/2009
- Report: Nevada first in nation in mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures
New data from the Mortgage Bankers Association indicate that one in eight Nevada homeowners are having trouble paying their mortgages, with the state ranking first in mortgage delinquencies and first in foreclosures started in the first quarter.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; 05/29/2009
Rebound in copper prices puts Montana mine on surer footing
Revett Minerals Inc. officials let the federally mandated 60-day closure notice at its Troy Mine in Montana expire this month, as copper and silver prices climbed to a level that ensured the mine will continue to operate at least until the end of the year.
Missoulian; 05/27/2009
Court: Harbinger can join bidding for Asarco
A U.S. bankruptcy court in Texas has ruled that Harbinger Capital Partners may bid against two other companies vying to purchase the bankrupt Asarco LLC copper-mining company.
Reuters; 05/26/2009
USGS: Arctic contains vast amounts of undiscovered oil, natural gas
Canada and its northern arctic neighbors may contain 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its natural gas, the U.S. Geological Survey says in a new report.
Los Angeles Times; 05/29/2009
Interactive climate change website launched
Climate experts launched the website
ClimateWizard.org that shows how climate change could affect regions and cities throughout the world, and it's being touted as the first of its kind toprovide vast amounts of climate information for public consumption.
Seattle Times; 05/29/2009
Across the U.S., renewable energy has many definitions
Quotas for renewable energy have been established by 28 states, and state lawmakers have been inundated with requests to include a wide range of technologies other than just solar, wind and geothermal power as renewable, such as in Nevada, where used tires are classified as a renewable fuel, provided they're microwaved first to break down their chemical structure.
New York Times; 05/24/2009
PacificNorthwest laboratory tracks salmon's swim to the ocean
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will use data collected from acoustic tags implanted by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers biologists in juvenile salmon to track the fish from John Day Dam on the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean to gain a better understanding of why some fish survive the journey and others don't.
Tri-City Herald; 05/27/2009
Northwest company keeps plastic ag containers out of landfills
The Ag Container Recycling Council, a consortium of chemical manufacturers, including Bayer CropScience, DuPont Crop Protection and Dow AgroSciences, has been operating a program since 1992 to recycle plastic pesticide containers, and Northwest Ag Plastics runs the program in much of the Pacific Northwest.
Yakima Herald-Republic; 05/28/2009
California town takes drastic steps toward water conservation
California, like much of the Rocky Mountain West is in its third year of drought, and cities there are taking drastic steps to limit water usage by enacting stringent limits and and shutting off water to anyone who exceeds them.
NPR; 05/26/2009
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