In the Rockies today, as the national average price of gasoline shoots through the $4-a-gallon mark, the New York Times reports, not surprisingly, that rural residents of the Intermountain West are hit hardest by high fuel prices.
A graphic that accompanies the Times article shows that residents of rural Wyoming and New Mexico are spending between 10 and 16 percent of their take-home pay on fuel for their vehicles.
Residents in large swaths of Montana, Colorado and Idaho are spending between 8 and 10 percent of their take-home pay on fuel.
Also in the news, a 30-year dispute over Gunnison River flows through Colorado's Black Canyon appears to be settled, and the trial on the lawsuit filed by Elouise Cobell 12 years ago disputing the federal government's management of Indian trust accounts begins in a Washington D.C. federal court today.
Rockies today
Rising gas prices hit rural residents of N.M., Wyoming the hardest
Nationwide, U.S. residents spend an average of 4 percent of their take-home income on fuel for their vehicles, but in rural parts of the nation, including parts of Wyoming and New Mexico, residents are spending as much as 16 percent of their take-home pay on gasoline and diesel for their cars and trucks. Has a graphic.
New York Times; June 9
National average price of gas pierces $4 a gallon
The national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline broke through the $4-a-gallon mark on Sunday.
MarketWatch; June 9
Billionaires at work pulling oil from Bakken formation in N.D., Montana
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that there are about 4.3 billion barrels of recoverable oil trapped in the Oreo-cookie-like Bakken formation that underlies the prairies of North Dakota, Montana and southern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and with new technology available, there are companies already at work pulling the light, sweet crude from the ground, including Phillip Anschutz, the founder of Qwest Communications.
Edmonton Journal; June 9
Federal trial in Cobell Indian trust management case begins today
Elouise Cobell, a Montana landowner and the lead plaintiff in the 144-month-old lawsuit against the Interior Department over management of lands and money held in trust for Native Americans, said the start of today's trial is the first step on the final leg of the pursuit of justice.
Missoulian; June 9
U.S., Colorado reach deal on Gunnison River water rights
The three-decade battle on Gunnison River water flows through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in western Colorado appears to have been settled, although the agreement reached Friday between the U.S. and Colorado, and conservation groups and water users, must still be approved by the Colorado water court.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP); June 7
Rey says he'll explain USFS, Plum Creek road deals in Montana
U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey said after talking with county officials in Oregon and with officials from the National Association of Counties, he's now ready to discuss the details of his talks with Plum Creek Timber Co. about road easements on U.S. Forest Service lands in Montana.
Missoulian; June 9
Parks Canada report blames humans for grizzly bear decline in Banff
For the first time, Parks Canada took a look at grizzly bear deaths and the causes of those deaths in Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Kootenay, Waterton, Mount Revelstoke and Glacier national parks between 1990 and 2007 as a whole, and said that Canadian Pacific Railway through Banff and the Canadian National Railway in Jasper were the largest killers of grizzly bears.
Calgary Herald; June 8
Opinion
SNWA's plan for Snake Valley aquifer endangers fresh water supplies
Southern Nevada Water Authority's plan to pump up to 16 million gallons of water a year from the Snake Valley which underlies Nevada's Great Basin National Park along the Nevada-Utah border puts that fragile ecosystem at risk, since the aquifer not only provides precious water to sensitive wildlife and fragile habitat, but also holds a polluted aquifer beneath the salt desert at bay.
Deseret News; June 9
Colorado communities deserve more time to consider water project
The massive draft environmental impact statement on the proposed Northern Integrated Supply Project in Colorado indicates that the project could reduce the flow of the Cache la Poudre River by 71 percent, and that finding alone provide enough food for thought for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to extend the public comment period to Oct. 28.
Denver Post; June 7
Beyond the region
Oil prices dip slightly after wild week's end surge
Oil prices hit a new record high on Friday, trading at $139 a barrel, but fell to $137.12 in early trading Monday morning.
New York Times; June 9
Drought pushes California to invoke development water law
The California Legislature passed a law in 2001 that required developers to prove they had a 20-year supply of water for new developments, a law that hasn't been used until now that drought has caused a statewide shortage of water.
New York Times; June 7
Accord clears the way for new Washington state gold mine
Miners are at work cutting tunnels and shafts into the Buckhorn Mountain in north-central Washington state for what will be the state's first gold mine to open in more than a decade, includes a timeline for the Crown Jewel mine.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP); June 9
In depth
U.S. Senate kills 'important' climate-change legislation
The Great Climate Change Debate lasted three and a half days last week in the U.S. Senate, where legislation that would have imposed a cap on greenhouse gases was shelved on a procedural vote.
New York Times; June 7
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Climate-change debate shows majority of U.S. Senate favor caps
Although the climate-change legislation debated in the U.S. Senate last week didn't make much headway, it was the first time a majority of the Senate indicated they approved of a cap-and-trade system to limit greenhouse gases. Another look.
Christian Science Monitor; June 9
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