Will our children thank us? The Colorado College State of the Rockies 2009 Symposium and Report Card looks ahead 50 years
June 11, 2009
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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, Part II posted June 5, Part III posted June 9
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 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
July 19-22: The Teton Conservation District and BioCycle magazine host "Organic Waste Diversion in the Rockies," Jackson, Wyo. Read a preview.
Obama nominates Nevada man to head up BLM
President Obama nominated Bob Abbey, who helped complete a wilderness inventory for former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt a decade ago, to serve as the head of the Bureau of Land Management.
Salt Lake Tribune; 06/10/2009
Nominee for USDA undersecretary withdraws from consideration
Homer Lee Wilkes, the Mississippi man nominated by President Obama to serve as undersecretary of Agriculture in charge of the Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, withdrew his name from consideration on Monday, citing personal reasons.
NewWest.net; 06/08/2009
- Enviro groups say Coloradan a candidate for USDA undersecretary
Environmental groups said Harris Sherman, the director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, is apparently being considered by President Obama for the post of U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary in charge of the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and cited Sherman's role in drafting Colorado's roadless plan as a reason for their opposition.
Durango Herald; 06/12/2009
Proposed Idaho nuclear plant secures licensing funds
Idaho-based Alternate Energy Holdings Inc., which has proposed building a 1,600-megawatt nuclear power plant in Idaho, announced Friday that it had secured funds for the $70 million required to license land and water rights and to obtain a federal license for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the plant.
Twin Falls Times-News; 06/10/2009
Wyoming-California n-gas pipeline project raises concerns in Utah
As part of the Kern River Gas Transmission Company's 1,680-mile Wyoming-to-California pipeline project, a 28-mile expansion project is planned in Utah's Davis County, but one route puts the pipeline under open space in Salt Lake City and the other route lies under a major north-south road in Bountiful and North Salt Lake.
Salt Lake Tribune; 06/09/2009
'Methane fingerprinting' injects science in Wyo.-Mont. CBM dispute
Fresh off the lab desks at the University of Wyoming, "methane fingerprinting" allows scientists to trace coal-bed methane in water supplies back to its original source, and early tests indicate that coalbed methane development in Wyoming has no measurable effect on Montana's water in the Powder and Tongue Rivers.
Missoulian (AP); 06/08/2009
Nevada's high-school graduation rate lowest in nation
Education Week's annual "Diplomas Count" report ranks Nevada 50th in the nation for its 47.3 percent high-school graduation rate, although for the 2005-2006 school year on which Education Week based its most recent report, Nevada's statistics indicated that the state's high-school graduation rate was 67 percent.
Las Vegas Review Journal; 06/10/2009
Idaho, federal officials consider rebuilding Teton Dam
The state of Idaho and the Federal Bureau of Reclamation announced that they are close to signing a deal to study water storage options in southern Idaho, which may include rebuilding the Teton Dam, which collapsed in 1976.
Idaho State Journal (AP); 06/11/2009
Blixseths trade dueling documents in Montana bankruptcy
Edra Blixseth filed her plan to reorganize her debts in federal bankruptcy court in Montana late last week to urge the judge to allow her to return her bankruptcy to a Chapter 11 proceeding rather than a Chapter 7, which would require much of her assets to be sold, but her ex-husband, and co-founder of the Yellowstone Club, filed a document rejecting his ex-wife's reorganization plan and tossing in some mud of his own.
NewWest.net; 06/12/2009
U.S. high court declines to hear Arizona tribes' Snowbowl case
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of five Arizona tribes of a lower-court decision that will allow Arizona Snowbowl to use wastewater to make snow on the San Francisco Peaks, an area the tribes hold sacred.
Arizona Daily Sun; 06/09/2009
Salazar announces arrest of 23 in looting of Four Corners sites
At a press conference Wednesday in Salt Lake City, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced that 23 people had been arrested in an ongoing investigation of looting of ancient sites in the Four Corners region, with most of those arrested living in Utah, some in Colorado and one living in New Mexico.
Salt Lake Tribune; 06/11/2009
N.M. votes to protect Mount Taylor
Mount Taylor in western New Mexico was nominated by five tribes for listing on the State Register of Cultural Properties, and on Friday the state Cultural Properties Review Committee voted unanimously to list the mountain.
Denver Post (AP); 06/06/2009
N.M. DEQ releases final draft of plan to work with tribes
The New Mexico Department of Environmental Quality released the final draft of a plan that lays out how the state agency will work with the 22 American Indian tribes in the state.
Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); 06/11/2009
N.M. tribe gets $2.5M in federal stimulus funds for biomass plant
The Southern New Mexico's Mescalero Apache tribe will receive $2.5 million in federal stimulus funds to build a wood pellet production plant and a 6-megawatt power plant to power the sawmill.
Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); 06/12/2009
University of Idaho scientist under investigation for bighorn research
The University of Idaho is investigating whether the head of its veterinary teaching and research center withheld a 1994 study that indicates bighorn sheep can contract diseases from domestic sheep, a contentious issue in a state that has struggled to decide if it should allow domestic sheep grazing on bighorn range land.
Idaho Statesman (AP); 06/11/2009
Another group challenges decision to delist wolves in Idaho
The Greater Yellowstone Coalition has joined more than a dozen conservation groups filing lawsuits challenging the removal of gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act, though the Coalition's lawsuit is independent from the others and states that the wolf population simply isn't big or stable enough to justify delisting in Montana or Idaho.
Jackson Hole Daily; 06/11/2009
USFS to use pesticide to fight pine beetles in Montana's forests
The U.S. Forest Service will use Carbaryl, a common agricultural pesticide to try to stop the spread of pine-beetle infestations in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Lewis and Clark and Gallatin national forests, despite the fact that the pesticide can be harmful to fish, aquatic insects and some birds.
Helena Independent Record (AP); 06/10/2009
Idaho elk farmer kills grizzly bear
The owner of an elk farm in Idaho, who shot a federally-protected grizzly after the bear killed a mature bull elk on his property, said he thought the bear was a black bear.
Spokane Spokesman Review; 06/12/2009
There is no need for federal 'fracking' legislation
Colorado U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette's proposed bill to regulate hydraulic fracturing--a drilling method that uses a combination of high pressure and chemicals to crack open reserves of natural gas deep underground--is simply not needed and U.S. Rep. John Salazar, whose Colorado congressional district is home to drilling operations where the process is used, should take a firm stance against the measure.
Grand Junction Sentinel; 06/08/2009
NREPA Montana's best shot at wilderness
Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg has it all wrong about the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act, the bill that would protect 24 million acres in Montana, Idaho, northwestern Wyoming, eastern Oregon, and eastern Washington as wilderness: 96 percent of Montanans aren't against the bill; the lands protected under the act were federalized more than 100 years ago by President Teddy Roosevelt, and the first drafts of the bill were written by a Montanan, not a New Yorker. A guest column by Paul Richards.
Headwaters News; 06/09/2009
Idaho's bighorn sheep law proves link between bad science, bad law
Had the 2009 Idaho Legislature had University of Idaho research results from 1994 in hand that clearly provided a link from pneumonia that killed a wild bighorn sheep to the domestic sheep that the ram had contact, perhaps they would not have passed a law that requires the state wildlife agency to come up with a plan to relocate or kill bighorn sheep that wander on to domestic sheep grazing allotments on federal lands.
Idaho Statesman; 06/10/2009
Colorado's new rules on drilling not to blame for slowdown
The news that BP was shutting down one of its two drilling rigs operating in La Plata County was met with the usual complaint that Colorado's new rules on drilling operations was forcing the industry out of the state, but lower natural-gas prices, reduced demand caused by the economic slowdown, and the recent discovery of enormous deposits of natural gas around the country are to blame, not the new regulations.
Durango Herald; 06/12/2009
Nevada Mining Ass'n asks state to wait on mercury controls
The Nevada Mining Association asked the state for a "timeout" on new mercury regulations until the federal Environmental Protection Agency makes a decision on whether it will regulate such emissions, although the association opposes federal regulation.
Las Vegas Sun; 06/09/2009
Bills to ban 'fracking' introduced in U.S. Senate, House
The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act, the FRAC Act, that was introduced in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House on Tuesday, would amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to give the Environmental Protection Agency authority over the drilling process that involves injecting a stew of chemicals under high pressure into the ground to break into natural gas and oil reserves.
ProPublica.com; 06/10/2009
- 'Fracking' legislation has all eyes on Wyoming
Proposed federal "fracking" legislation that would place the practice of hydraulic fracturing under federal regulation may give Wyoming residents another chance to ensure groundwater remains free of toxic chemicals, after the Wyoming state legislature recently voted to keep the law that allows the practice to go largely unchecked.
Casper Star Tribune; 06/12/2009
Secret' hold on Interior solicitor's nomination frustrates N.M. senator
New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said the secret hold put on the nomination of Hilary Tompkins to be Interior solicitor by an unnamed Republican senator unfairly holds Tompkins responsible for actions she had not control over, and Bingaman asked that the hold be removed.
Indian Country Today; 06/09/2009
Utah congressman, others roll out GOP energy legislation
Utah U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop and other House Republicans released their version of national energy legislation that calls for a hundred new nuclear power plants and the fast-tracking of oil-shale development in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.
Salt Lake Tribune; 06/11/2009
Montana
Montana legislator explains why fire-prevention bills failed
Fears over defining wildland-urban interface and its possible implications on zoning killed fire bills during 2009 Legislature, leaving Montana again without fire prevention guidelines.
Billings Gazette; 06/10/2009
Nevada
Nevada legislature session favored miners, power companies
An analysis of laws that did, and didn't pass, during the Nevada Legislature's session finds mining interests successfully staved off an attempt to raise taxes on that industry, while utility companies won important concessions.
Reno Gazette-Journal; 06/08/2009
Nevada governor vetoes a record 48 bills this session
Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons said his record 48 vetoes was caused by the Legislature's passage of so many bad bills.
Reno Gazette-Journal; 06/10/2009
Owners say Mohave Generating Station in Nevada will be razed
Southern California Edison and other owners of the shuttered coal-fired Mohave Generating Station said the Nevada plant will be torn down, putting to rest concerns that it would once again be fired up.
Arizona Republic; 06/11/2009
N.J. company says N.M. solar plant will be largest in nation
New Jersey-based NRG Energy announced plans Thursday to build a 92-megawatt solar thermal plant on 450 acres of private land near the Santa Teresa port of entry in far southern New Mexico near El Paso, Texas, which will generate enough power for 74,000 homes.
Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); 06/12/2009
Rio Tinto dumps deal with Chinese firm
On Friday, Rio Tinto PLC, the owner of Kennecott Utah Copper, scrapped its $19.5 billion deal with Chinese company Chinalco, and said it would instead sell shares to raise $15.2 billion.
Salt Lake Tribune (AP); 06/05/2009
Bankruptcy court OKs Asarco's $1.1B environmental settlement
Arizona copper mining giant Asarco got the go-ahead from a federal bankruptcy judge to settle $8.6 billion in environmental claims with a number of federal and state agencies for $1.1 billion, an important step for the company to emerge from bankruptcy.
Arizona Republic; 06/08/2009
Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. in Montana announces closure
Montana's Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. announced Friday that it plans to shutter its doors permanently in August and lay off the plant's 90 workers, after the slumping economy sent the price of aluminum to historic lows.
Missoulian; 06/05/2009
Simplot calls off planned layoffs in Idaho after court's ruling
After a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted an order prohibiting the expansion of the Smoky Canyon mine in Idaho, J.R. Simplot Co. officials rescinded layoff orders that would have idled 36 workers at the mine and 78 workers at a fertilizer plant near Pocatello.
Idaho Statesman; 06/08/2009
USDA awards 4 Colorado counties funds for biomass projects
Grand, Fremont, El Paso and Boulder counties will each get $250,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to convert dead and dying trees into energy.
Denver Post; 06/11/2009
Exxon, TransCanada invite BP, Conoco to join Alaska pipeline plan
On Thursday, Exxon Mobil and TransCanada announced they would partner up on 1,700-mile pipeline to ship natural gas from Alaska's Prudhoe Bay south to a pipeline hub in Alberta, and the two companies invited BP and ConocoPhillips to abandon their competing pipeline project and team up with them on theirs.
New York Times; 06/12/2009
BPA's 'green' power effort raises demands that dams come down
Bonneville Power Administration is leading the effort to embrace renewable energy, quadrupling the amount of wind-generated power on its transmission system in the last three years, a fact that environmental groups have latched onto in their effort to get the agency to remove four hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake River in Washington State that have helped decimate wild salmon runs on that river.
New York Times; 06/12/2009
Biofuels go boom to bust in Oregon, Washington in 2 years
The biofuels boom began in August 2007 in Washington and Oregon with Imperium Renewables' 100 million-gallon-a-year biodiesel plant near Grays Harbor, Wash., followed by Pacific Ethanol's 40 million-gallon corn ethanol plant in Boardman, Ore., a month later, and then Cascade Grain opened its Oregon plant near Clatskanie in June last year, but now Cascade Grain's plant is closed, as is Imperium's and Pacific Ethanol is in bankruptcy, with only enough operating cash through the end of this month.
Portland Oregonian; 06/08/2009
Homes in S. California selling for less now than in 1989
In some areas of Southern California, the real estate market appears to have time traveled back a couple of decades, with homes selling for less now than they did in 1989.
Los Angeles Times; 06/10/2009
Montana, Colorado study says wildfire approach needs an overhaul
A new study conducted by the University of Montana, University of Colorado and Colorado State University recommends that the National Fire Plan be reworked to focus wildfire fighting efforts on areas near homes and in other key ecosystems.
Idaho Statesman (AP); 06/09/2009
Report details the history of oil-shale debate in 3 Western states
A new online report issued by the Center for the American West at the University of Colorado at Boulder provides a history of oil-shale in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah and examines the future of the oil-shale industry in those states.
Grand Junction Sentinel; 06/11/2009
Clean-energy study ranks West the best in job growth
A study released Wednesday by The Pew Charitable Trusts that hand-counted the number of actual jobs in each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia found that the clean-energy sector--clean energy, energy efficiency, environmentally-friendly production, conservation and pollution mitigation and training and support--added more jobs between 1998 and 2007 than any other sector of the economy, with Idaho first in the nation in the increase of such jobs.
NewWest.net; 06/11/2009
Interior report blames Bush administration for Utah lease dust-up
A report issued Thursday by the Interior Department said that the Bush administration did not follow protocol when putting leases near national park lands up for auction in Utah in December, and said that 30 of the lease parcels could be re-auctioned.
Los Angeles Times; 06/12/2009
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