In the Rockies today,
President Bush's call to speed up oil-shale development in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado as part of the nation's push for more domestic energy generated a range of responses in those states.
In Utah, U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon who recently sponsored legislation to ease commercial oil-shale production, as well as U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, applauded the president's remarks.
Colorado's U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar and Gov. Bill Ritter, as well as Wyoming's Gov. Dave Freudenthal were much more skeptical about the plan, and said it would be years before the technology existed to commercially produce oil from the rocky shale in an economically feasible manner.
Rockies today
President Bush presses for oil-shale development in 3 Western states
At a press conference on Wednesday, President Bush urged an end to the moratorium on commercial development of oil shale in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, and while one developer says he has a method to pull the oil from the rocky shale, Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar said technology is years away from producing oil from the shale in an economically feasible manner.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 19
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Wyoming governor skeptical about Bush's oil-shale claims
After President Bush said commercial oil-shale development could now be done economically, Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal said that he believed the president should actually be pushing for more money for research in oil-shale development. Another look.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 19
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Colorado governor: Oil-shale technology largely untested
President Bush's call to ramp up domestic energy production by pressing forward on oil-shale development in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming, ending a 27-year ban on offshore drilling, and opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling spurred protests from Democratic leaders, including Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter. Another look.
Denver Post; June 19
Rising fuel costs, lack of personnel amp up anxiety about wildfires
On Wednesday, an official of the union that represents federal firefighters told Congress that nearly a third of the federal fire engines in California could not be put on the fire lines because there are no qualified firefighters to staff them.
New York Times; June 19
Group sues federal government over drilling in Wyoming
The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, a nonprofit coalition of hunting, fishing and other organizations, filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Interior Department and the Bureau of Land Management for failing to take steps to protect the environment as promised when allowing energy development on Wyoming's Pinedale Anticline.
Los Angeles Times; June 19
Alberta says grizzly bear recovery team no longer needed
Alberta Sustainable Resource Development informed the 15 members of the grizzly bear recovery team that they were no longer needed now that the province has accepted a comprehensive plan for recovery of the bears, but some team members were surprised by the decision and said that the plan contemplated the team would be responsible for monitoring and updating the plan.
Edmonton Journal; June 19
Wyoming ranchers say brucellosis vaccine is wearing off
RB51 has been the federally sanctioned vaccination to ward off brucellosis in livestock, but Wyoming ranchers said unlike Strain 19, the vaccination that RB51 replaced, RB51's effectiveness appears to decrease over time.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 19
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Montana quashes rumors tying brucellosis to Mexico
Montana livestock officials and the owner of the cow recently found to have brucellosis laid to rest rumors that the disease was brought into the state by exotic Mexican cattle, a rumor tied to the fact that all the cows that have been diagnosed with brucellosis in Montana were either a Mexican-associated breed of cattle called Corriente or had come into contact with Corriente cattle.
Missoulian; June 19
Opinion
Brucellosis blame game rife with myths
The news that Montana will lose its brucellosis-free status unleashed a volley of finger-pointing and misinformation, but rather than feeding fears with rumors and myths, the state should act quickly to dispel the rumors and find a way to get beyond the rhetoric and work together to find a way to live with the disease at a level tolerable for all species. A guest column by Nadia White.
Missoulian; June 18
Arizona lawmakers could take the lead in immigration reform
Legislation that would create a temporary guest-worker program in Arizona that could serve as a pilot program for the remainder of the United States could come up for a vote next week in the Legislature, and given the labor needs of Arizona's businesses, lawmakers should push this program through.
Arizona Republic; June 19
Beyond the region
Oregon lawmakers propose legislation for more wilderness areas
Under legislation submitted by four U.S. House members from Oregon, that state would gain thousands of acres of wilderness areas and hundreds of miles of waterways would be designated as wild and scenic.
Portland Oregonian; June 19
Rey: Ending recreation fees could shutter thousands of sites
On Thursday, U.S. Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey told members of two House Natural Resources subcommittees that if Montana Sen. Max Baucus' bill to rollback recreational fees for hiking, camping and other uses on federal lands, federal agencies may be forced to shutdown thousands of sites and transfer another 2,000 to private concessionaires to operate.
Great Falls Tribune; June 19
McCain says nation needs dozens of new nuclear power plants
Arizona Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party's presumptive presidential nominee, has long been a proponent of nuclear power, and at a town-hall style meeting on Wednesday in Missouri, McCain said the nation needs 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030.
New York Times; June 19
In depth
Utah identifies 632 communities at high risk of wildfire
The Utah Department of Natural Resources has evaluated communities' fire risk since 2000, and this year the state found 632 communities at high risk, a small increase from the last evaluation due in part to more homes being built in high-risk areas.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 19
Colorado town puts communitywide fire protection plan in place
Allenspark, a Colorado town near Rocky Mountain National Park, has developed a communitywide fire protection plan and town officials have told the 150 or so residents they should participate or plan on being last on the list to get help.
Denver Post; June 19
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