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In the Rockies today, Yellowstone bison, endangered rivers and energy development on public lands are in the news.
Montana officials are expected to announce today a deal that will give bison a migration corridor between Yellowstone National Park and Gallatin National Forest.
The owner of the Royal Teton Ranch has reportedly sold the state its grazing rights on 7,000 acres of land that are now cattle free.
The Cache la Poudre River in Colorado has made its first appearance on the American Rivers' annual list of the nation's most endangered rivers.
New reservoirs proposed for the Colorado river propelled the river to the No. 3 spot on the annual Top 10 list, which also included the Gila River in New Mexico as the seventh most endangered.
And finally, a coalition of hunting, fishing and wildlife groups are campaigning for responsible energy development on public lands, and issued a 10-point "Sportsmen's Bill of Rights" on Wednesday.
In our In-depth section, a roundup of articles on the wildfires in Colorado that killed three firefighters, including an air-tanker pilot from Montana.
Rockies today
Rey says he'll come to Montana to discuss Plum Creek, USFS talks
U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey said discussions between the U.S. Forest Service and Plum Creek about road easements were merely discussions to clarify decades-old forest road easements, but after Montana officials expressed concern that they weren't included, Rey said he'd be coming to Montana to meet with state land managers and other county officials to detail the results of those discussions.
Missoulian; April 17
Grazing deal between rancher, Montana will give bison room to roam
Owners of the Royal Teton Ranch have sold their grazing rights to the state of Montana that will allow bison that wander out of Yellowstone National Park room to roam.
Billings Gazette (AP); April 17
Hunters, anglers team up to lobby for responsible energy development
A coalition of hunting, fishing and wildlife groups have formed the Sportsmen United for Responsible Energy Development, which released its 10-point Sportsmen's Bill of Rights, which demands continued access to public lands, giving hunters and anglers a say in energy development on public lands, and management of those lands to benefit multiple use.
Billings Gazette; April 17
Subdivisions crowd out agriculture in Montana's Gallatin County
Between 1997 and 2002, nearly 80,000 acres of farmland in Montana's Gallatin County were taken out of production to clear the way for housing developments, and one Montana rancher who sold his property in that county said he was glad to have the water disputes and congested roads in the county where he ranched for more than five decades in his rearview mirror. Another in a series about change in the Gallatin County
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; April 17
Colorado river makes its first appearance on 'most endangered' list
American Rivers' 2008 list of the nation's most endangered rivers contained northern Colorado's Cache la Poudre River, the first time the river has made the list.
Denver Post; April 17
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American Rivers says N.M. river nation's seventh most endangered
American Rivers released its annual list of the nation's most endangered rivers, ranking the Catawba-Wateree River which flows between North and South Carolina as the nation's most endangered; Oregon's Rogue River was second; Colorado's Cache la Poudre River was third; and New Mexico's Gila River seventh.
Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); April 17
Alberta reports weakest energy lease auction in a decade
Despite record oil prices, companies nominated just 20,000 hectares of energy leases in Alberta's twice-monthly auction on Wednesday, the lowest amount since 1998, when oil prices were $10 a barrel.
Calgary Herald; April 17
Opinion
Federal restrictions on lobbying should extend to lawmakers' staffers
While Montana Sen. Max Baucus' voting record supports his statement that his former staffers who have become lobbyists haven't influenced his vote on some far-reaching legislation, the report that some of those former staffers are earning millions of dollars a year now as lobbyists does help undermine public confidence in their elected officials, and Congress should make former staffers wait a while before becoming lobbyists.
Missoulian; April 17
Navajo Nation must act quickly to resolve internet debacle
The Navajo Nation is a country unto itself within the United States, with many of its residents living without running water, power and other amenities most Americans take for granted, and OnSat Network Communications Inc.'s termination of internet access to Chapter houses where students use the network to get school assignments and turn their work in is short-changing those students, and tribal officials must do what it takes to restore access, and then figure out what went wrong and fix that.
Farmington Daily Times; April 17
Beyond the region
Drop in U.S. supplies sends oil prices to another record high
Oil prices shot through the record set yesterday at 5:35 EDT this morning, trading at $115.54 a barrel, and by 5:58 a.m. was trading at $115.24.
Toronto Financial Post; April 17
Critics call president's greenhouse gas emissions plan 'irrelevant'
President Bush said Wednesday that the nation was on track to meet the 2002 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 18 percent relative to economic growth by 2012, and announced a new goal of stopping an increase of greenhouse gas emissions by 2025, and challenged other countries, including China and India, to meet that goal as well, and said the goal would be met by advancing technology rather than heavy-handed legislation, a dig at the Democratic-controlled Senate which is considering legislation that caps emissions.
New York Times; April 17
NASA chief continues dogged fight on climate change
James Hansen, the head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, has been in the trenches arguing that nations and individuals must take action to curb greenhouse gas emissions, and his latest target is Houghton Mifflin for a textbook Hansen said contained gross errors about climate change.
Christian Science Monitor; April 17
In depth
Colorado wildfire kills 2 firefighters, consumes 24 homes
Firefighters were able to contain the Ordway wildfire in Colorado Wednesday evening, but not before two firefighters died and the fire had burned 8,900 acres, or about 14 square miles, destroyed 24 homes, including eight within the city limits of Ordway.
Denver Post; April 17
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Heavy snow lends a hand in Colorado wildfire fight
Firefighters are expected to have the 9,000-acre wildfire near the Fort Carson Army Base in Colorado contained by today, aided in part by heavy snow that began falling Wednesday afternoon; a Montana man piloting a single-engine air tanker died Tuesday when his airplane crashed during firefighting operations.
Denver Post; April 17
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Air-tanker pilot killed in Colorado wildfire was Montana man
The pilot of the single-engine air-tanker who died Tuesday while fighting a wildfire near the Fort Carson Army Base in Colorado had lived in Montana since 2001.
Great Falls Tribune; April 17
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Colorado wildfire near Carbondale 100 percent contained
High winds that preceded a cold front in Colorado played a part in the spread of a 1,000-acre wildfire near Carbondale, but the snow and rain that followed also played a part in aiding firefighters corralling the blaze.
Aspen Times; April 17
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