In the Rockies today, water and oil are in the news.

In New Mexico, Carlsbad failed in its effort to buy a small city, and the 460-acre feet of potable water that came with White's City.

The 366-acre town that lies astride the only route to Carlsbad Caverns National Park was auctioned off on Monday, and an unnamed buyer picked up the town and its water rights for $1.55 million.

Last week, a New Mexico state court ruled that the state's law that gives homeowners an automatic right to drill a well for their home is in direct conflict with the state's constitution that gives the first users of water the highest priority water rights.

And in Idaho, where the state is just starting to document who owns what water rights in the northern region of the state, a series of public meetings are scheduled next week to get residents up to speed on the process.

And on the oil side of the news, Alberta's oilsands are the site of a buying frenzy as flush multinational oil companies are racing to snap up high-quality reserves.

Rockies today

Unnamed buyer snaps up N.M. city, water rights
Carlsbad's mayor had hoped to buy White's City, the 366-acre town that lies astride the only road in and out of New Mexico's Carlsbad Caverns National Park, for its water rights, but the New Mexico city's mayor got outbid by an as-yet unnamed buyer, who purchased the city and the water rights for $1.55 million at an auction Monday. You may have to view an ad to read this article.
Albuquerque Journal; July 15
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Black-footed ferrets in S.D., Wyo. face twin threats
An unusually wet spring has brought plague into the prairie dog town in Conasta Basin in South Dakota with a vengeance, nearly wiping out the prairie dogs and the black-footed ferrets for which the rodents are their main food source, and efforts to poison prairie dogs on private lands are also threatening the ferrets, of which there are thought to be only about 1,000 living in the wild.
New York Times; July 15
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Nation governors settle for call to extend solar, wind tax credits
The nation's governors were unable to come up with a cohesive plan on energy or climate change, but at the end of the four-day National Governors Association annual meeting this week, the group did decide to sign off on a letter to Washington D.C. requesting that federal tax credits for solar and wind power projects be extended for five years.
Salt Lake Tribune; July 15
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N.M. court closes loophole in water law regarding domestic wells
A loophole in New Mexico's 1950's water law required the state Engineer's office to allow homeowners to drill wells for their homes without checking to see what a new well would do to the water rights of more senior water rights holders, but a state district court decision issued last Friday closed that loophole. You may have to view an ad to read this article.
Albuquerque Journal; July 12
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Water officials plan series of meetings in N. Idaho counties
As part of the state's effort to sort out who owns what water rights in Northern Idaho, water officials plan seven public meetings in Kootenai, Benewah and Shoshone counties next week to inform residents about the process.
Spokane Spokesman-Review; July 15
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Multinational oil companies shop Alberta oilsands
Cash-rich oil producers are snapping up Alberta oilsands and natural-gas rich areas of British Columbia.
Edmonton Journal; July 15
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Idaho governor's road show opens to a packed house in Caldwell
In the first of six public meetings Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter has planned across the state to discuss transportation projects and how to pay for them, dozens of people packed the meeting room at The College of Idaho in Caldwell to share their ideas.
Idaho Statesman; July 15
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Opinion

Competition, lack of amenities to blame for drop in national park visits
The areas around national parks in California and other western states have seen a population boom over the past few decades, and at the same time visitor numbers to the West's national parks are dropping, making it appear that while folks want the parks in their back yards, they don't necessarily want them on their vacation itineraries.
TheEconomist.com; July 15
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Beyond the region

Investigation: Weyerhauser's logging practices tied to Wash. mudslides
After a wild December storm triggered more than 730 mudslides in one Washington state basin, the Seattle Times investigated, and found a disproportionate number of those slides occurred on slopes that had been clear-cut by Weyerhauser.
Seattle Times; July 14
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• Torrential rains trigger mudslide, destroy California trout hatchery
  Heavy rains on Saturday created a mudslide on a slope burned last year by wildfire, destroying the Mt. Whitney Fish Hatchery, California's second-oldest hatchery and 25 homes in an area about 170 miles north of Los Angeles.
  Los Angeles Times; July 15
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