In the Rockies today, wolves, water and energy development on the Roan Plateau are in the news.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso submitted legislation that would create a federal grants program, similar to state programs designed to compensate ranchers for livestock killed by wolves and grizzly bears.
The Gray Wolf Livestock Mitigation Act would also help pay for fences, guard dogs and other measures to keep predators at bay.
Barrasso and Montana Sen. Jon Tester teamed up to press the Bureau of Reclamation to address the backlog of water projects in Wyoming, Montana and other western states.
A BuRec official acknowledged the agency's system is in dire need of restoration, the money just isn't there.
And in Colorado, three federal lawmakers are proposing legislation to phase in energy development on the Roan Plateau.
Also in the Rockies today, how the "amenity economy" has changed the landscape in Montana, and a Montana landowner's effort to create a "conservation subdivision."
Rockies today
Montana, Wyoming senators press BuRec on water systems
At an Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing on Thursday, Robert Johnson, commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, said that it would take about $3.2 billion to rehabilitate his agency's assets across the West, with the St. Mary Diversion & Conveyance Works in north-central Montana a good example where a lack of funding has stalled efforts to fix a system in dire need of repair.
Casper Star-Tribune; April 18
Colorado senator, congressmen push for Roan Plateau protections
Legislation proposed by Colorado U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and U.S. Reps. Mark Udall and John Salazar would require that energy development on the state's Roan Plateau be done in phases and would expand lands designated as critical habitat.
Denver Rocky Mountain News; April 18
Wyoming senator sponsors bill to pay ranchers for cows killed by wolves
U.S. Sen. John Barrasso's Gray Wolf Livestock Mitigation Act would create a federal grant program to match state programs in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming to compensate farmers and ranchers for livestock killed by wolves and grizzly bears, and to help cover the costs of fencing, guard dogs and other protections to ward off the predators.
Casper Star-Tribune; April 18
N.M. governor vows to protect Gila River
The Gila River is New Mexico's only major river without any major water-development project, and on Thursday, Gov. Bill Richardson vowed to keep it that way and said he would consider proposing statutory protections for the river to block water diversion projects currently under consideration.
Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); April 18
Schweitzer: Montana land deal a start on bison solution
Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer and Yellowstone National Park Superintendent Suzanne Lewis announced the state's 30-year purchase of grazing rights on the Royal Teton Ranch just north of the park on Thursday, and while the costly deal won't impact many bison, federal and state officials said it's a start.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; April 18
Hundreds attend heated Utah hearing on Ruby Pipeline
The proposed $2-billion, natural-gas Ruby Pipeline would traverse 680 miles between Wyoming's Opal Hub, across northern Utah and Nevada into Oregon, and public hearings on the project in Wyoming and Nevada elicited just a handful of comments, but nearly 200 people attended the public hearing in Utah and most spoke out against the project.
Salt Lake Tribune; April 18
Amenity economy is hard at work in Montana
The economy in western Montana has evolved from agriculture and extractive industries, to a service economy, that not only includes the much-maligned fast food restaurant and motel jobs, but also the expertise of engineers, architects, accountants and fishing guides. Another in a series.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; April 18
Montana landowner rounds up the rich in conservation subdivision
Roger Lang's plan for his model conservation subdivision on the Sun Ranch in Montana's Madison Valley is to allow 10 carefully selected homesites on the property, using conservation easements to prohibit any further development on the land and providing recreational access to the lands for homeowners, and if the Sun Ranch Settlement succeeds, he hopes to replicate the concept on more ranches in the future. Another in a series.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; April 18
Opinion
Idahoans can, and must, find middle ground on wolf management
Now that Idaho has the reins on wolf management, the state wildlife agency must balance what needs to be done to maintain a healthy wolf population while not exacting too great a toll on the wild game that sustain the wolves nor upon the farmers and ranchers in the state, and Idahoans can do their part by making a few adaptations needed to live with wolves.
Idaho Mountain Express (Sun Valley); April 18
Wasting disease, not brucellosis, real crisis for Wyoming game
Brucellosis is a political myth used to keep cattle grazing on the ranges of Wyoming, forcing elk into feedgrounds where the concentration of animals helps increase the risk of chronic wasting disease, a truly disastrous disease that is always fatal to elk and deer, and one that lingers in the soil, contaminating feedgrounds fro years.
New York Times; April 18
Beyond the region
Enviro groups, mining co. reach accord on Washington state gold mine
The original plan to pull the estimated one million ounces of gold out of Buckhorn Mountain in Washington state involved the creation of a huge open-pit mine, which was successfully protested by groups and residents, and now that Kinross Gold Corp. has agreed to spend an additional $4 million to monitor water, underground mining is expected to begin later this year.
Spokesman-Review (Spokane); April 18
USDA official tells House lawmakers no new meat inspectors needed
Members of a U.S. House subcommittee were angered by the testimony of Richard Raymond, undersecretary for food safety at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, who said the agency's hiring of 194 food inspectors in 2007 would adequately address concerns raised by video showing mistreatment of cows at a California slaughterhouse, and that video monitoring of slaughterhouses was too costly and wasn't needed.
Los Angeles Times; April 18
Report: In the grand scheme of things, U.S. housing bust not a big deal
A new report by Goldman Sachs said that the current dive in the U.S. housing market is the worst the nation has seen since the Great Depression, on an international scale it's pretty much just a garden variety downturn, and nothing like the "Big Five" crashes in the 1980s where housing prices in the Nederlands fell 50 percent, Finland's fell 49 percent and Japan 44 percent, and slumps in Sweden and Spain caused great economic damage.
National Post (Toronto); April 18
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