In the Rockies today, the federal government and endangered species, wildfire policies and coal-to-fuel proposals are at the top of the page.
The Washington Post examines endangered species decisions made during the current Bush administration in light of a lawsuit filed last week that sought the blanket protection of 681 Western species.
The U.S. Forest Service's continued use of fire retardant is the basis for a planned lawsuit by the Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics, which will seek a court order limiting the use of the retardant and reworking federal firefighting policy to let some wildfires burn.
And, the U.S. Air Force's plan to fuel half its fleet of aircraft with synthetic fuel by 2016 is the driving force of the USAF's proposal for a coal-to-fuels plant on its Malmstrom base in Montana.
The Air Force hopes its political heft and promise to buy all the fuel produced at the Montana facility will make the project attractive to private developers.
Bids for the project are due in May.
Rockies today
Lawsuit presses Bush administration on 681 species of plants, animals
Bush administration officials concede that more than 280 species should be on the federal endangered species list but said that the onslaught of lawsuits has hindered efforts to proceed with the listing process, and Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dale Hall told Congress last month that his agency will make listing decisions on 71 species by October, and another 21 species a year later.
Washington Post; March 24
Groups: Yellowstone bison need room to roam
A record 1,195 bison in Yellowstone National Park have been killed by hunters or shipped to slaughter for wandering out of the park in search of food this winter, raising some concern about the effect about the removal of a quarter of the park's bison will have on the genetic quality of the herd, and prompting questions on just why Congress hasn't appropriated any funding to obtain land on the border of the park in Montana that would allow the bison to leave the park unmolested.
New York TImes; March 24
Air Force hopes to lift support for coal-to-fuel with Montana project
Air Force officials are asking for bids to build a coal-to-fuel plant at its Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana and promises to use all the fuel produced at the plant, but opponents of the plan said the facility will emit double the amount of greenhouse gases conventional refineries do.
Salt Lake Tribune (AP); March 24
Group changes its focus on wildfire to limit USFS use of retardant
Oregon-based Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics intends to sue the U.S. Forest Service to limit the use of fire retardant because of the effect it has on fish and native plant species, and wants the agency to let wildfires burn unless communities are threatened.
Missoulian; March 23
Proposed dam on Colorado river divides Fort Collins
A dam on the Cache la Poudre River proposed by the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District and 15 cities who have purchased interests in the project's future water would create a reservoir larger than the popular Horsetooth Reservoir and fill the taps of 40,000 new Front Range homes, but opponents of the project said it will destroy the already strangled Cache la Poudre River.
Denver Post; March 23
Expansion of Great Salt Lake mines prompts court fight
A coalition of hunting, airboating and environmental organizations have filed lawsuits in state district court and the Utah Supreme Court to halt the expansion of Great Salt Lake Minerals' operations in the Great Salt Lake.
Salt Lake Tribune; March 24
Cities' efforts to provide free wireless internet service falter
At least 13 major cities, including Tempe, Ariz., and Portland, Ore., that had planned to provide free or low-cost wireless internet service to all of their residents have been left hanging by internet service providers who are withdrawing from such projects
New York Times; March 24
Opinion
California man says he'll run for Idaho's open U.S. Senate seat
Hal Styles hasn't made the move from his home in Southern California to Idaho yet, but he's planning to do so "sometime soon," to run for the Republican Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate seat left open by Sen. Larry Craig's decision not to run again.
NewWest.net; March 24
Beyond the region
Bush administration revises effort to wean businesses off illegal labor
The Bush administration's "no-match" policy that would have warned businesses that employees on their payroll were using suspect Social Security numbers and required those businesses to resolve the matter or fire the employees was put on hold by a federal judge last September, but on Friday a revised plan was rolled out and if the changes satisfy the courts, employers could begin receiving such notice as early as June.
Washington Post; March 22
Shelters overwhelmed by horses after slaughterhouses closed
Animal activists and horse advocates said there is no reason homes cannot be found for unwanted horses, but horse breeders and rescuers said shelters cannot handle all the unwanted horses, warned that more horses will be abandoned on public lands and said a better option would be to supervise the slaughter of the animals to ensure it was done humanely.
USA Today; March 24
In depth
Report details Kennecott's quiet effort to fix mining waste impoundment
Two decades ago, Kennecott Mining Co. discovered that a mining tailings impoundment dam that held back billions of gallons of soupy mine waste could be susceptible to an earthquake, and company officials quietly began a 30-year effort to stabilize the holding pond and covertly buying homes in a neighborhood most at risk should the dam burst. Part of a series.
Salt Lake Tribune; March 24
Utah homeowners say Kennecott should have warned of risk
Residents of the homes that Kennecott purchased in the early 1990s and then put back on the market in 1995 said that if the mining company had come clean about the risks of living in the shadow of the company's tailings impoundment, they would have looked elsewhere for a home. Part of a series.
Salt Lake Tribune; March 24
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