In the Rockies today, mining and tourism collide in some of Colorado's most picturesque mountain towns and the slowdown in the housing market puts the bite on a New Urbanist community in Nevada.
As demand for gold and other metals drives prices up, mining is gearing up in Colorado.
In Cripple Creek, city officials are fighting a proposal to expand an existing gold mine that would carve into a wooded ridgeline about 1,200 feet from the town and remove 42 acres of aspen trees.
In Crested Butte, residents and officials continue their fight against a molybdenum mine on Red Lady, an important destination for skiers and tourists.
But in Leadville, residents are enthusiastic about the return of molybdenum mining to their mountain burg.
In Nevada, homeowners who bought new homes in Inspirada, a master planned community offering homes, schools and jobs within walking distance, are wondering where their neighbors are.
About 200 homes in the first phase of what was to be a 13,500-home community in Henderson have been sold, but some of those are still unoccupied and commercial enterprises have yet to open their doors.
As temperatures rise and rain falls in the Rocky Mountain West, rivers rise, and in our In-depth section, we provide a roundup of high-water warnings.
Rockies today
Economy, culture collide over proposed Navajo Nation power plant
A proposal to build yet another coal-fired power plant on the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners region has pitted economic interests against environmental and cultural concerns.
Deseret News (AP); May 21
Proposed gold mine expansion divides Colorado town
Cripple Creek officials admit they have no authority to oppose a mining company's plan to expand its gold mining operations above the Colorado town, but they vowed to fight the plan anyway.
Denver Post; May 21
Couple on the trail of secretive wolverines in Montana
A husband-and-wife team, Betsy Robinson and Steve Gehman, are two of the nation's top independent researchers on wolverines who spend their time trekking around Montana on the trail of one of the animal kingdom's most elusive animals.
Christian Science Monitor; May 21
U.S. House panel debates storing Italian nuclear waste in Utah
At a hearing of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality on Tuesday, the head of EnergySolutions said the amount of Italian nuclear waste the company wants to store in its Utah facility is "just a pinch" in the facility's overall capacity, but Utah Rep. Jim Matheson and others want to exclude foreign importation of such waste for storage in the United States.
Salt Lake Tribune; May 21
Montana wildlife officials capture grizzly bear near Wolf Creek
A young, male grizzly bear that had been killing chickens and ducks at rural residences near Wolf Creek was captured by Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks personnel, who said finding the bear so far south of established grizzly territory in northwest Montana is a sign that population of bears is growing.
Great Falls Tribune; May 21
Lack of regulations puts ancient forest in B.C. at risk of logging
There are probably only six ancient stands of cedar groves in British Columbia's Rocky Mountain Trench, and conservation groups are pressuring the B.C. government to put protections in place for those groves to keep them from being logged.
Vancouver Sun; May 21
Market woes stall sales in Nevada 'New Urbanism' community
Inspirada was conceived as a planned community designed to be a city within a city in Henderson, but sales of homes in the New Urbanism community in Nevada have stalled, and promised retail development hasn't occurred yet.
Las Vegas Sun; May 21
Opinion
Kane County needs to end its quixotic fight on roads in Utah monument
Enough is enough -- Kane County commissioners need to accept the fact that the Utah county has no claim to roads and trails in Utah's Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and take down the 39 signs county personnel illegally posted on those roads, and close the door on the taxpayer-funded lawsuit.
Salt Lake Tribune; May 21
Flood warnings underscore need for streamside setbacks in Montana
Ravalli County officials have set back the deadline for streamside setbacks until Oct. 1, and given the high water seen in area streams and rivers, perhaps a spring surrounded by sandbags will make residents of that Montana county and others, more aware of the need to build homes farther away from waterways.
Missoulian; May 19
Simpson's move on Idaho wilderness bill a crap shoot
U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson has spent years crafting his Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act, carefully balancing environmental and economic interests, and his recent amendments to the bill could upset the fragile compromise he's worked so hard to create.
Twin Falls Times-News; May 21
Beyond the region
At UN meeting, botanists, biologists issue warning on new biofuel crops
At a United Nations meeting in Germany, scientists from the Global Invasive Species Program, the Nature Conservancy and the International Union for Conservation of Nature warned that new crops under consideration for biofuels need more study because a review of those new crops found a number of invasive species that could escape farms and wreak havoc.
New York Times; May 21
USDA announces plan to ban slaughter of 'downer' cows
Under current U.S. Department of Agriculture rules, a veterinarian can examine an animal that is unable to walk into the "knock box" at a slaughter house and grant an exception to the ban on slaughtering animals that cannot walk on their own into the facility, but on Tuesday, the head of the U.S.D.A. announced that a new rule that could take effect within months that removes that exception, meaning no animal unable to walk on its own will be allowed into the food chain.
Washington Post; May 21
In the West, housing prices in far-flung suburbs fall the most
According to at least one report, as the price of gasoline rose above $2 a gallon and beyond, housing prices in areas far away from urban cores, such as Snoqualmie, well outside Seattle in Washington state, and Riverside and San Bernardino, distant from Los Angeles, fell more than housing in urban cores.
Christian Science Monitor; May 21
Groups sue Interior Dept. to expand polar bear decision
The Center for Biological Diversity/, Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council have amended their lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Interior on polar-bear protection to address Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne's decision to list the bear as threatened instead of endangered and to propose a rule that allowed energy operations in Alaska in polar bear habitat be governed by the Marine Mammal Protection Act rather than the Endangered Species Act.
Los Angeles Times (AP); May 21
More than half Oregon's registered voters cast ballots on Tuesday
Oregon election officials said more than 1 million voters cast their votes in Tuesday's primary election, and Democrats reported a record 68 percent of the state's 867,000 registered Democrats cast their votes, beating a previous record set in 1976 when Idaho Sen. Frank Church and Georgia's Jimmy Carter battled for the party's presidential nomination.
Portland Oregonian; May 21
Hanford Challenge, Yakama Nation help fund dust study in Wash. state
A graduate student at Massachusetts' Worcester Polytechnic Institute is collecting dust samples in Washington state's Mid-Columbia region as part of a study to track off-site contamination from the Department of Energy's Hanford nuclear complex.
Tri-City Herald; May 21
Oil spurts to another record
The price of oil drove past $130 a barrel early Wednesday in Asia, driven higher by supply concerns and a weakening U.S. dollar.
Toronto Globe and Mail (AP); May 21
In depth
Floodwaters move into Montana's West Glacier
The Middle Fork of the Flathead River was more than a food above the Montana river's 10-foot flood stage Monday afternoon, threatening 10 homes in the West Glacier area.
Kalispell Daily Inter Lake; May 20
Montana county issues call for sandbags along Yellowstone River
The Yellowstone River near Livingston is running above flood stage, prompting Park County Disaster and Emergency Services to issue emergency warnings for residences near the river in that area of Montana.
Billings Gazette; May 21
National Guard helps Wyoming community stave off river
National Guard troops were in Baggs, helping fill sandbags and build a diversion dike to help keep the Little Snake River out of the Wyoming community.
Casper Star-Tribune; May 21
Flood warnings issued for Colorado counties
Water levels in the Gunnison and Colorado rivers in Colorado are rising fast, and officials in Mesa and Grand counties are preparing for flood stage levels in those rivers by the end of the week.
Grand Junction Sentinel; May 21
Boise River at flood stage twice Tuesday night
Idaho officials said no major flooding was reported as flows in the Boise River surpassed the 7,000 cubic feet per second flood stage level overnight Tuesday night; water levels were reported at 6,853 cfs Wednesday morning.
Idaho Statesman; May 21
Isolated flooding reported in parts of Idaho, Washington state
Heavy rains fell in Eastern Washington and Western Idaho on Tuesday, and officials of those states said more flood warnings may be on the way; flood warnings continue on the Kettle, Methow, Moyie, Okanogan, Clearwater and Coeur d'Alene rivers and the St. Joseph River was running 5 feet above flood stage near St. Maries in Idaho.
Idaho Statesman (AP); May 21
|
