Building a living: Missoula's homebuilding industry shows signs of life as developers seek new markets, products
June 25, 2009
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Keeping Safe: On Montana's Blackfeet Reservation, the Po'ka Ranch looks beyond bars and walls to help troubled youth.
June 18, 2009
Fact & Fiction sponsors a review of Doug Scott's "Our Wilderness: America's common ground"
June 17, 2009
July 19-22: The Teton Conservation District and BioCycle magazine host "Organic Waste Diversion in the Rockies," Jackson, Wyo. Read a preview.
NV Energy pulls application for Nevada coal-fired power plant
NV Energy formally withdrew its application for a coal-fired power plant near Ely, Nevada.
Reno Gazette-Journal (AP); 06/23/2009
Utah senator: U.S. must build 100 nuclear power plants
Utah U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett, as well as Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander, Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky and Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky, all spoke in favor of nuclear energy during a hearing of an ad hoc panel put together by the Utah Republican, who said the nation should double the number of nuclear energy plants it has by 2030.
Salt Lake Tribune; 06/23/2009
Utah will appeal foreign nuclear waste ruling
Although the paperwork has not yet been filed, Utah officials said they intend to appeal a federal district court decision that said the Northwest Interstate Compact on Low-level Radioactive Waste had no authority over EnergySolutions' Tooele County disposal site, a decision that clears the way for the company to import nuclear waste from Italy.
Salt Lake Tribune; 06/23/2009
Colorado will build renewable-energy institute in Boulder
The University of Colorado Board of Regents voted Monday to build an institute on its Boulder campus to work with the federal National Renewable Energy Laboratory on solar, wind and renewable-energy projects.
Denver Post; 06/23/2009
Oregon bank files lawsuit against Tamarack golf course
Pacific Continental Bank of Eugene has filed a lawsuit that the owner of the Osprey Meadows golf course at Tamarack Resort in Idaho defaulted on a $3.5 million loan from the Oregon bank.
Idaho Statesman (AP); 06/20/2009
Bank sues Utah city, alleging role in subdivision's failure
Zions First National Bank, which loaned $45 million to SunCrest, a 3,600-acre development in Draper, has sued the Utah city, alleging that its actions, or inactions, led to the development's failure and bankruptcy.
Salt Lake Tribune; 06/26/2009
Coal mine issue an economic one for Hopi Tribe
The current Hopi Tribal Council supports the Office of Surface Mining's permit that allows the Black Mesa Mine Complex to expand onto Hopi lands in Arizona, and the Hopi Tribe Office of the General Counsel wants to intervene in a legal challenge of the OSM permit, citing concerns that a disruption of coal mining could cause economic harm to the Hopi Tribe and its members.
Indian Country Today; 06/23/2009
N.M. casino, resort misses bond payment
The recession has had a considerable impact on Buffalo Thunder, a casino and resort complex opened by the Pueblo of Pojoaque north of Santa Fe, N.M., last August, and now the pueblo is working with the holder of the $245-million bond to restructure its payment plan.
Santa Fe New Mexican; 06/24/2009
Another Navajo Code Talker dies
Matthew Martin, who was part of the elite team of Navajo Marines who transmitted sensitive military information using their native language during World War II, died Saturday in Crownpoint, N.M., at the age of 84.
Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); 06/25/2009
USDA awards $500K grant for Navajo Nation solar-power project
American Indian-owned Sacred Power won a $500,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to provide solar power to 25 homes in a remote area of the Navajo Nation that currently do not have electricity.
Farmington Daily-Times; 06/26/2009
BLM auctions Utah leases, then suspends them
Conservation groups protested every parcel the Bureau of Land Management auctioned at its quarterly energy lease sale in Utah on Tuesday, effectively putting the leases on hold until the protests are resolved.
Denver Post (AP); 06/24/2009
Foundation works to gain local support for NLCS lands
When President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act in March, the National Landscape Conservation System became law, protecting 850 areas that cover 26 million acres, but most of the areas aren't well known, and the National Conservation System Foundation is working to establish local groups to help raise awareness of those lands.
Concierge.com (Conde Nast Traveler); 06/25/2009
Colorado wildlife officials find 10 lynx kittens this year
Colorado's lynx re-introduction program is finally starting to see some success, and state biologists say that they found 10 kittens, which may indicate that the lynx 10-year population cycle may have started its upswing.
Aspen Times; 06/25/2009
National parks ordered to come up with emissions plan
The National Park Service and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have launched a Climate Friendly Parks, a team effort to help national parks address climate change by measuring the amount of carbon emissions and coming up with a plan to limit those emissions as well as to educate park visitors on what they can do.
Seattle Times (AP); 06/24/2009
Coalition petitions U.N. to protect Glacier, Waterton Lakes Parks
The failure of the Canadian government to honor U.N. conservation obligations and the threat posed by mining proposals in Glacier National Park and its northern neighbor, Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada, have prompted a group of Montana conservationists to petition the United Nations World Heritage Committee for more help.
Missoulian; 06/22/2009
Wyoming elk refuge makes top 10 most 'imperiled'
The conservation group, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility named the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming one of the top ten most imperiled refuges in the nation.
Jackson Hole Daily; 06/20/2009
Montana forester: Beetle-killed trees at risk of 'barnburner' wildfire
The acreage of beetle-killed trees could double this year in Montana, and that may provide vast amounts of fuel for wildfires, a Montana state forester said in Helena Monday.
Missoulian; 06/23/2009
USDA, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana reach brucellosis accord
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its tentative proposal to scrap its existing brucellosis rules that would impose less stringent restrictions across the nation but impose tighter rules for areas around Yellowstone National Park, the last area in the nation where the disease persists in wild elk and bison.
Casper Star-Tribune (AP); 06/25/2009
USFWS, Western Watersheds agree to new grouse deadline
In a lawsuit filed by Western Watersheds Project over the lack of federal protection for sage grouse, the Idaho-based group and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to extend the deadline for the federal agency to make a decision on whether greater sage grouse should be listed as endangered until February of 2010.
Twin Falls Times-News; 06/26/2009
Colorado should stick to its guns on roadless plan
Colorado is one of two states that have developed a plan for its federal roadless areas, and state officials should press to get the one created by local stakeholders implemented rather than wait for the Obama administration to roll out its own.
Denver Post; 06/21/2009
Wyoming will benefit from NRC's decision on uranium mining
While the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision to require a more thorough, site-specific review of in-situ uranium mining projects could slow work in Wyoming, in the long run the extra analysis could make the uranium mines less susceptible to legal challenges, which come with their own set of delays.
Casper Star-Tribune; 06/24/2009
Supreme Court decision a toxic interpretation of Clean Water Act
The U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 decision Monday to allow a gold mining company to dump toxic waste into a lake in Alaska is a narrow, unreasonable interpretation of the law and exposes a loophole in the Clean Water Act that Congress should immediately close.
Las Vegas Sun; 06/25/2009
Designating national park lands as wilderness a political ploy
There are 110 million acres of designated wilderness in the United States, 65 million acres, or 59 percent, of those lands are in national parks where they were already off-limits to most activity prohibited by a wilderness designation, and now there is an effort under way to protect 93 percent of Glacier National Park in Montana as wilderness, a move that will give politicians the right to crow about adding more wilderness but will do little to actually change the status quo.
NewWest.net; 06/24/2009
Farm lobby at the helm of Waxman-Markey bill
Look closely at the American Clean Energy and Security Act before Congress today and you'll see that the biggest players in shaping climate change legislation aren't extractive corporations, but the powerful farm lobby, which has turned a pro-environmental bill into a pro-agribusiness bill by including carbon offset exceptions and stripping a provision that would require the EPA to study climate impacts of biofuel.
Los Angeles Times; 06/26/2009
Montana, Idaho senators team up on bill to expand RECA
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, along with Montana's two Democratic senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, are sponsoring legislation to expand the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act to include all of Idaho and Montana; the federal law already provides compensation to residents of Arizona, Nevada and Utah who lived downwind of the Nevada Test Site on the 1950s and 1960s, when nuclear weapons were tested above ground.
Idaho Statesman; 06/25/2009
Alabama-based WildLaw hires Mark Rey as lobbyist
WildLaw, an Alabama-based nonprofit environmental law firm and conservation organization, hired former U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey as a lobbyist to work on forest restoration issues and increasing funding for land acquisition in the South via the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Forest Legacy program.
Clark Fork Chronicle; 06/24/2009
Obama's environmental decisions baffle supporters
Rather than swoop in and rollback policy decisions made by the outgoing Bush administration, President Barack Obama is allowing some environmental lawsuits play out in the courts, a strategy his administration said will lead to better long-term policies, but environmental groups aren't quite sure what to make of this strategy in cases involving mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants, management of federal roadless forest lands and energy development on Colorado's Roan Plateau.
Los Angeles Times; 06/21/2009
GOP senators from Utah, Wyoming Idaho form new Western Caucus
Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett of Utah, along with Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso and Idaho Sen. Jim Risch announced the formation of a new Western caucus on Wednesday, with the stated mission of relaxing government's grip on the West's natural resources and land.
Salt Lake Tribune; 06/25/2009
Idaho senator, congressman oppose Clean Water Act changes
Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo said legislation currently before the U.S. Senate to change wording in the Clean Water Act to replace "navigable waters" with "waters of the United States," is nothing less than a monumental government land grab, and he, along with Idaho U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, oppose the bill.
Twin Falls Times-News; 06/25/2009
Arizona
Arizona Senate passes bill restricting abortions
The Arizona Senate voted 16-12 on Tuesday to impose a 24-hour waiting period for abortions and increasing penalties for controversial late-term "partial birth" abortions.
Arizona Republic; 06/24/2009
Arizona panel votes to require students prove citizenship
The Arizona State Senate Committee on Education Accountability and Reform voted to require public schools to ask parents to provide citizen documentation for children, and though an ACLU lawyer says the move violates federal law, proponents of the bill say even though the Supreme Court ruled that schools may not refuse students who cannot prove they are legal residents, the Court has made no judgment on simply asking, as long as no one is turned away.
Arizona Daily Sun; 06/25/2009
Home sales up in Ariz., Nevada cities, down in Idaho, Montana
Two reports issued Tuesday indicate that home sales in the Western United States were up 9 percent in May, with Phoenix and Las Vegas among the four Western cities that reported an increase in home sales, while sales were down in Denver; Seattle; Portland, Ore., Albuquerque, N.M.; Boise, Idaho; and Billings, Mont.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; 06/24/2009
Air Force's opposition stalls Nevada solar-power project
SolarReserve's proposed $700-million solar thermal power plant that would cover two square miles near the Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada was supposed to be the California company's showcase plant for heat-transfer technology developed for space rockets by United Technologies, but the Air Force's opposition has stalled the project.
Washington Post; 06/22/2009
FERC issues draft EIS on Wyoming's Ruby Pipeline project
The release of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's draft environmental impact statement for the proposed Ruby Pipeline, which will carry natural gas from Wyoming's Opal Hub across Utah, Nevada and Oregon to West Coast markets, is an important step in the approval process.
Casper Star-Tribune; 06/23/2009
China-based solar company to open U.S. headquarters in Arizona
China-based Aide Solar selected Tempe to be its U.S. base, and will open a 6,300-square-foot warehouse and corporate headquarters on Monday in the Arizona city.
Arizona Republic; 06/20/2009
BLM puts Wyoming methane development plan up for comment
A proposed coal-bed methane development in northeast Wyoming is one step closer to getting the go-ahead after the Bureau of Land Management determined that it would not cause significant environmental impacts, but opponents worry the development may hurt the area's elk herd.
Casper Star Tribune (AP); 06/23/2009
Wyoming unemployment hits 10-year high
Wyoming's unemployment rate for May hit 5 percent, the highest reported since June of 1999.
Casper Star-Tribune; 06/25/2009
Report: Infrastructure for wind-generated energy will boost price 20 percent
According to a new report from the Pew Center for Climate Change, building the infrastructure and transmission lines needed to provide the proposed 15 percent of the nation's electricity from wind-generated power would raise the cost of such power by 20 percent, making the electricity more expensive than that generated by natural gas but competitive to coal-generated or nuclear power if legislation requiring carbon capture and storage is passed.
Los Angeles Times; 06/24/2009
Climate change bill contains Northwest wood-fired power provision
U.S. Rep. Brian Baird from Washington is proud of the state's small stamp on the 1,200-page climate change bill before Congress today — a paragraph that says one of the nation's most valuable untapped energy resources lies in the the scraps of wood and sawdust left over by logging operations, more fondly referred to as "biomass."
The Oregonian; 06/26/2009
Logging project in Oregon forest carves a path to the future
The forests of Oregon and Washington have often been termed "ground zero" in the clash between logging and species, but 15 years after the 1994 Northwest Forest Plan cut logging by 80 percent and set aside large swaths of regionals forests for habitat, chain saws are again at work in Oregon's Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest creating what forest managers hope is a healthier forest in the future.
Seattle Times (AP); 06/22/2009
Health Canada withheld sanitizer hand gel from First Nations towns
During a Canadian Senate hearing on Health Canada's response to flu-ravaged First Nation towns, public health officials confirmed that they debated at length whether alcohol-based hand sanitizer should be made available to residents in those towns, citing fear that residents with addiction problems might ingest the gel.
Toronto Globe and Mail; 06/24/2009
Gold prices climb to above $945 an ounce
Gold prices hit a two-week high on Friday, trading at $945.80 in early trading in London, the highest level since mid-June.
Globe Investor (Reuters); 06/26/2009
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