In the Rockies today, the BLM releases its list of energy leases to be auctioned off on Colorado's Roan Plateau, Montana reports another case of brucellosis, and the EPA says a decision on a Four Corners' coal-fired power plant will be made by the end of July.
The fight over energy development on the Roan Plateau has been raging since 2002, but Monday, the Bureau of Land Management released its list of energy leases to be auctioned off on Aug. 14 that includes more than 55,000 acres atop the Colorado plateau.
In Montana, where several head of cattle tested positive for brucellosis last May, the discovery of another case last week in the Paradise Valley automatically suspends the state's brucellosis-free status.
And in the Four Corners' region, where construction on the coal-fired Desert Rock power plant has been stalled for four years, the Environmental Protection Agency said it will issue its decision on the plant's application for a Prevention of Significant Deterioration air permit the plant needs in order to operate by the end of July.
Rockies today
BLM releases plan to auction energy leases on Colorado's Roan Plateau
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management announced Monday that it would sell energy leases on 55,186 acres of Colorado's Roan Plateau at its Aug. 14 auction.
Denver Post; June 10
Forest managers in NW Montana may expand 'let-it-burn' policy
Foresters in the Flathead National Forest in northwest Montana said that if conditions and locations are right, they may allow naturally ignited wildfires in the North Fork Flathead drainage above Columbia Falls, the Swan Range near Bigfork and the Mission Mountains burn this year to restore forest health and to remove decades of fuel.
Missoulian; June 10
Appeals court ruling breathes new life into Nevada-USFS road dispute
A dispute between a Nevada county and the U.S. Forest Service over who owns the South Canyon Road got new life from a federal appeals court ruling that said two environmental groups were wrongly denied a seat at the negotiation table earlier this decade, and vacates an agreement reached in 2001 and implemented in 2006.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP); June 10
Montana will lose brucellosis-free status after heifer tests positive
Montana officials said the state won't officially lose its brucellosis-free status until the order is published in the Federal Register, but once that occurs, livestock producers in the state will incur additional expenses and possibly lose sales, and if additional animals in the Paradise Valley herd where the heifer tested positive for the disease also test positive, that rancher may have to destroy the entire herd.
Montana Standard; June 10
Poll: Most B.C. residents want end to grizzly bear hunts
Seven years after British Columbia reinstated trophy hunts for grizzly bears, a new poll set to be released today found that 73 percent of those surveyed want an end to such hunts, and an overwhelming majority said they supported investing in efforts to preserve habitat and provide people with opportunities to learn more about grizzly bears.
Toronto Globe and Mail; June 10
EPA promises decision on Desert Rock plant permit by July's end
A lack of an air permit from the federal Environmental Protection Agency has stalled the construction of the coal-fired Desert Rock power plant planned near Farmington, N.M., for four years, but the EPA has promised to make a decision on the pending permit application by July 31.
Farmington Daily-Times; June 10
Montana suggests 75-wolf limit on hunting season
A 75-wolf quota during Montana's wolf hunting season will be one of the agenda items at the Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission meeting Thursday in Helena.
Helena Independent Record; June 10
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Wyoming takes a wait-and-see stance on wolf hunt
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department continues its efforts to craft wolf hunting regulations, even though the effort may be all for naught if a federal district court judge imposes an injunction to block planned hunts in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 10
Opinion
Westerners certainly don't act like water's a precious resource
For all the rhetoric expounded about the West's dwindling water resources, Western states and the folks who live and work in those states certainly don't govern and act as though their water supplies are drying up.
NewWest.net; June 10
Passing the NPS Centennial Initiative a win-win for Congress
House Democrats need to get over their fear that they'll do something that the outgoing president can celebrate, and pass the National Park Service Centennial Initiative that would allow the agency to raise $1 billion in private money between now and 2016, match that money with $1 billion in federal funds over and above current allocations for the park system, and use the money to address vital needs of our national park system.
New York Times; June 10
Living in rural West creates a huge carbon footprint
No matter how environmentally conscious you try to be, if you live a long way from where you work, go to school or shop, the driving from where you live to where you need to be really piles on the carbon output.
High Country News; June 10
Idaho cities need to push transit options
The success of commuter rail systems in Denver and Salt Lake City could be repeated in Idaho's Treasure Valley, where higher gasoline prices have fueled a 58 percent increase in residents' use of Valley Regional Transit since October, and the state Legislature could ease the way by allowing local governments the authority to raise sales taxes to help fund transit projects.
Idaho Statesman; June 10
Beyond the region
Weather dampens predictions for crop harvests in the U.S.
As the world's needs for corn, soybeans, wheat and rice increases, America's farmers had planned to expand their plantings, but this year's seemingly unending rainfall has left many acres too soggy to plant.
New York Times; June 10
President orders all federal contractors to use E-Verify
Under an order issued by President Bush on Monday, all companies doing business with the federal government must verify new employees' status using E-Verify, a federal online database operated by the Department of Homeland Security in conjunction with Social Security designed to give employers the ability to quickly check an employee's status.
Los Angeles Times; June 10
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