In the Rockies today, wolves, water and roads are in the news.
On the first day possible, a coalition of environmental and animal-rights groups have sued to reinstate federal protection of gray wolves in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.
Citing concerns about the killing of 37 wolves since those states assumed management of the species on March 28, the groups are asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to again take the reins on wolf management.
In the Southwest United States, water is the issue of the day and the topic of a new documentary currently being filmed.
Narrated by actress Jane Seymour, "The American Southwest: Are We Running Dry?" explores how drought has affected living conditions and exacted an economic toll on Navajo and Hopi lands.
And in Montana, where U.S. Forest Service and Plum Creek Timber Co. officials have been working on road easements, U.S. Department of Agriculture Mark Rey met with local officials to talk about those discussions and just what they mean for Montana.
Plum Creek owns about 1.2 million acres of Montana, and development of those lands could have a considerable impact on counties in the Big Sky State.
Rey said he empathized with the counties' situation, but also said the federal government is following the letter of the law on road easements.
Rockies today
As promised, groups sue to reinstate federal protection of wolves
A coalition of 12 animal-rights and environmental groups filed a lawsuit in federal court in Montana seeking an injunction to halt wolf hunts and to return the species in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming to federal management under the Endangered Species Act.
NewWest.net; April 29
Rey, Montana counties' officials agree to disagree on road issue
U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey said he negotiated the best deal possible with Plum Creek Timber Co. on U.S. Forest Service road easements, but the county officials in Montana with whom Rey met with on Montana said they'd prefer to look at the paperwork and determine that for themselves.
NewWest.net; April 29
Montana lawmakers hold first meeting on fire policy
The Montana Fire Suppression Interim Committee held its first public forum in Hamilton, in the heart of the Bitterroot National Forest, which the U.S. Forest Service considers its most threatened forest due to wildland-urban development, and lawmakers, forest officials, representatives from environmental and policy groups, as well as residents traded opinions about the committee's draft report on reducing wildfires in the state, while addressing the growing number of homes built in harm's way.
Missoulian; April 29
Documentary explores water situation in Southwest United States
Actress Jane Seymour is lending her voice to narrate a documentary about dwindling water supplies in the Southwest United States and the economic toll the lack of water is taking on the region.
Farmington Daily-Times; April 29
Utah transit officials pleased by rush of commuters on SLC-Ogden route
FrontRunner commuter trains between Salt Lake City and Ogden will continue to offer free rides until Thursday, when the Utah Transit Authority begins to charge for the trip, but UTA officials said the 30,000 riders that took the trains on Monday was a good sign.
Salt Lake Tribune; April 29
Clinton says she's up for another Montana debate, Obama mulls offer
The publisher of the Clark Fork Chronicle, a weekly newspaper in western Montana, invited Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama to a Lincoln-Douglas debate in Missoula in mid-May, an invitation Clinton immediately accepted.
Missoulian; April 29
SME votes Montana co-op out of coal-fired plant venture
Officials of the Billings-based Yellowstone Valley Electric Cooperative have been expressing concerns about the increasing cost of building the Highwood Generating Station, a proposed 250-megawatt coal-fired power plant near Great Falls, and the board of the Southern Montana Electric Generation and Transmission Cooperative voted to release Yellowstone Valley from the partnership.
Great Falls Tribune; April 29
Opinion
N.M. environmental agency to be commended air-pollution action
The job of policing the environment in New Mexico can be a tough one, but Environmental Secretary Ron Curry and his staff deserve applause for their efforts to keep the state's water, land and air clean, and the department's $60 million settlement with Duke Energy, now known as DCP Midstream, over air pollution is testament to their resolve.
Santa Fe New Mexican; April 29
The cost to fix Colorado's roads is only going to go up
Although the legislation pushed forward by the Colorado Senate Transportation Committee on Monday is woefully inadequate to address all that needs to be done on Colorado's highways and byways, it's still a step forward.
Denver Post; April 29
Beyond the region
Projects to remove CO2 emissions far too expensive to be implemented
Some policy experts said that while it is possible to create technological solutions to greenhouse gas emissions, such solutions are impossibly expensive and the hope for such a solution allows nations and their residents to delay making the hard sacrifices necessary to control such emissions.
Los Angeles Times; April 29
Washington senator presses White House on lumber settlement funds
The Bush administration settled its trade dispute with Canada over lumber exports by paying back $5 billion of tariffs that accumulated during the five-year dispute, and in exchange the Canadian government paid the U.S. $1 billion, and now Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell is leading a Senate investigation into just where that $1 billion went.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer; April 29
Washington State University mulls cutting forestry program
There are currently only 20 students pursuing a forestry degree at Washington State University, where officials are considering axing the program as part of the university's general reform to cut less-popular programs.
Twin Falls Times-News; April 29
U.S. food companies struggle to find wheat
As farmers in the Midwest plant corn and soybeans rather than wheat, the price of flour doubles and takes the price of bread and bagels along for the ride.
Washington Post; April 29
In depth
Traffic jams Western cities, states
Fast-growing cities in the Western United States, such as Boise, Denver and Salt Lake City, can't build highways fast enough or big enough to accommodate traffic flows, and with the price of construction materials nearly doubling over the past year, now they can't afford to build them either.
NewWest.net (The New West Magazine); April 29
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Domenici submits funding requests for 3 road projects in New Mexico
U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici took advantage of his seat on the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee to submit funding proposals for the fiscal year 2009 for three roads projects in New Mexico's San Juan County.
Farmington Daily-Times; April 29
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