|
|
|
|
|
In the Rockies today, a new report details species at risk in British Columbia.
The report, due to be released Wednesday by the provincial government, is a collaborative effort between the B.C. government and several conservations groups.
The study found 43 percent of the province's species, primarily reptiles, turtles, fish, frogs and plants, are in danger of disappearing.
"Taking Nature's Pulse," contains no recommendations, but is meant to provide a foundation upon which future policies could be created.
Also in the Rockies today, hundreds of United Airlines and Frontier Airlines employees in Colorado will lose their jobs, as those airlines scale back operations to cut costs.
Rockies today
Report details at-risk species, wild areas in British Columbia
"Taking Nature's Pulse," a 300-plus page report due to be released Wednesday, says that 43 percent of the plant and animal species found in British Columbia are at risk, and that large swaths of the province from Okanagan grasslands to forests on eastern Vancouver Island are in "big trouble."
Vancouver Sun; July 8
Yellowstone fires of '88 changed landscape of the park
After the destructive wildfires in 1988, some experts predicted a grim future for Yellowstone National Park, but in one particularly devastated area, the regrowth outpaced that in other, lesser-hit regions of the park. Another in a series about the blazes of 1988.
Billings Gazette; July 8
United, Frontier announce job cuts
United Airlines officials said they'll eliminate 150 jobs in Denver over the next two weeks, and Frontier Airlines executives said they'll begin eliminating 456 jobs in September.
Denver Post; July 8
McCain focuses on the economy in Colorado town-hall meeting
Hundreds of supporters of Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain attended a town-hall meeting Monday in Denver, to hear McCain's economic plan, which included balancing the national budget by 2013 and vetoing every piece of legislation that contains wasteful spending.
Denver Post; July 8
SNWA wants Utah counties out of Nevada pipeline negotiations
Southern Nevada Water Authority officials said 15 applicants, including Utah's Salt Lake and Utah counties, have failed to meet the requirements to be included in negotiations over a proposed pipeline to ship groundwater from areas on the Nevada-Utah border south to Las Vegas; the Nevada state engineer is expected to rule on SNWA's request at a hearing next week in Carson City.
Deseret News; July 8
Noise pollution invades national parks
The U.S. National Park Service said Nevada's Great Basin, the Big Hole National Battlefield in Montana, and the North Cascades in Washington state are some of the quietest parks among the nation's flagship parks, but noise is a problem at most parks, most notably Grand Canyon with its numerous helicopter overflights, and Yellowstone, with its snowmobile access in the wintertime.
USA Today; July 7
Growth in Asian population outpaces Hispanics in Nevada, Arizona
Asian-Americans are fleeing the spiraling home prices, inadequate schools, traffic gridlock and persistent crime that have sent millions of other California residents packing, and have headed to Las Vegas and Phoenix.
USA Today; July 8
Opinion
Revision of Clean Air Act a frontal attack on Colorado national park
The top-down effort to rewrite the Clean Air Act as it applies to areas around national parks is either a direct effort to smooth the way for the Desert Rock Power plant proposed in the Four Corners region, or an attack on the foundation of the very Act itself, but for whatever the reason, it's wrong and should not succeed.
Durango Herald; July 8
Utah national parks already have an air-quality problem
If a federal proposal to relax air quality standards around national parks comes to fruition, the already hazy air in Utah's Capitol Reef and Canyonlands national parks will only get worse, and the Environmental Protection Agency should do its job and not allow air-quality regulations to be softened.
Salt Lake Tribune; July 8
Montana environmentalists not pleased with logging alternative
Environmental groups in Montana and other western states pushed loggers and timber companies out of business by demanding protections for species large and small, but now that Plum Creek Timber Co. is planning to sell off some of its land in Montana and clear the way for large homes in the woods, those groups are beginning to think loggers made better neighbors than out-of-state wealthy, part-time residents.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; July 8
Beyond the region
S.Ct. decision muddies EPA enforcement of Clean Water Act
A 2006 Supreme Court decision on the Army Corps of Engineers' regulatory role in the federal Clean Water Act and a subsequent Environmental Protection Agency memo on enforcing such actions has led to the EPA deciding not to pursue potential Clean Water Act violations in hundreds of cases due to "jurisdictional uncertainty."
Washington Post; July 8
Land-use agreement on California condor habitat draws criticism
Colleagues of the environmentalists who brokered a deal with developers to preserve 240,000 acres of California wilderness in the Tehachapi Mountains, about 60 miles north of Los Angeles, are attacking the deal that keeps 90 percent of the Tejon Ranch Co.'s property undeveloped in exchange for allowing a massive development on the remaining 10 percent of the land, which critics said contain critical habitat for condors.
Los Angeles Times; July 7
Starbucks stock flirts with 5-year low
Analysts said the continued drop in Starbucks stock prices was surprising, given the company's announcement last week that it was closing 600 of its stores in the United States.
Seattle Times; July 8
Alaska governor pitches plan for in-state natural-gas pipeline
On Monday, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin proposed building a natural gas pipeline between Cook Inlet, near Anchorage, to the state's interior region and Fairbanks - the state's second largest city, and said the in-state pipeline would not affect plans for a proposed 1,175-mile pipeline which would carry North Slope natural gas south to Canada and U.S. markets.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP); July 8
National Park Service reaches out to more diverse population
As the population of the United States becomes more diverse, the National Park Service is struggling to reach African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanics.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP); July 7
In depth
Crews surround 2 California wildfires, brace for wicked weather
Wildfire crews made gains on the Basin Complex Fire burning near Big Sur and the Gap Fire burning near Goleta on Monday, but forecasts for single-digit humidity and triple-digit heat for the next couple of days have firefighters concerned about keeping those California fires within containment lines.
Los Angeles Times; July 8
|
|
|
|
|
| "We spend an awful lot of time and effort on these people. And frankly, the taxpayers deserve better."
|
|
Train derailment dumps coal into Montana river
Despite state, federal efforts, Nevada lake continues to recede
Arizona governor signs 17 final bills into law
USFS, Montana wildlife agency, nonprofit team up on loon research
Montana legislative panel sets hearing on carbon sequestration
Another B.C. pulp mill shuts down for good
Utah county's commission passes coal-plant issue on to voters
After Wyoming fracas, USFS considers ban on Rainbow events
Utah GOP congressional nominee keeps pummeling his party
Workers unearth ancient remains in Nevada
|
|
Exclusively
on Headwaters:
NewVoices/NewWest:
Culture
Clash: Can the federal No Child Left Behind Act coexist with Montana's
Indian Education for All?
|
|
|
Regional Conferences
|
BLM public meetings on geothermal energy development:
July 14: Reno, Nevada; Washoe County Library - Spanish Springs Branch, 7100 Pyramid Highway
July 15: Salt Lake City, Utah; Salt Lake City Library, 210 East 400 South
July 16: Tucson, Ariz.; Pima County Public Library, Dusenberry River Branch, 5605 E. River Road
July 17: Cheyenne, Wyo.; Laramie County Library, Willow Room, 200 Pioneer Avenue
July 21: Boise, Idaho; Boise Public Library, 715 South Capitol Boulevard
July 22: Albuquerque, N.M., University of New Mexico, Conference Center, Room C, 1634 University N.E.
July 23: Helena, Mont.; Lewis and Clark Main Library, 120 S. Last Chance Gulch
July 24: Denver, Colo.; PPA Event Center, 2105 Decatur Street
July 28: Seattle, Wash.; Seattle Public Library, University Branch, 5009 Roosevelt Way, N.E.
July 29: Portland, Ore.; Multnomah County Library, Central Branch, 801 SW 10th Avenue
Sept. 8-11: The U.S. Geological Survey's Third Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds, Estes Park, Colo. Read a preview.
|
|
 |
|
| |
 |
|
 |
|
Headwaters
News is a project of the Center
for the Rocky Mountain West at the University
of Montana. |
|
