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In the Rockies today, the continuing battle against brucellosis in the Greater Yellowstone Area heats up.
Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer took the U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary to task for the U.S. Forest Service's decision to reauthorize permits for five elk feedgrounds in Wyoming.
Schweitzer criticized the agency for its lack of acknowledgment that the feeding program provides breeding ground for brucellosis which threatens the cattle industry in his state as well as Wyoming and Idaho.
The governor's argument got some solid support from a national laboratory's finding that the DNA of brucellosis in a cattle herd near Pray was similar to that found in elk and bison, and since no bison were in contact with that Montana herd, elk appear to be the source of the disease in that outbreak.
And in our In-depth section, just as seven Western states and four Canadian provinces released their regional plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, a couple of other reports predict dire consequences of climate change on Nevada's water supply and Colorado's winter-sports industry.
Rockies today
Federal report says DNA links Montana brucellosis to elk
A report issued Thursday by the National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Iowa said the strain of brucellosis found in a cow in Montana was similar to strains found in bison and elk, but according to Montana officials, the cow had no contact with bison leaving elk as the culprit.
Casper Star-Tribune (AP); July 25
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Montana governor says Wyoming feedgrounds breed brucellosis
In a July 18 letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer, Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer criticized the U.S. Forest Service's decision to renew Wyoming's permits for five elk feedgrounds, a decision Schweitzer said ignores the feedgrounds' role in the transmission of brucellosis.
Jackson Hole Daily; July 25
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Seven more cows in Wyoming herd test positive for brucellosis
Wyoming state Veterinarian Walt Cook said Thursday that seven more cows in the Daniel herd tested positive for brucellosis, bringing the total number of the 650-head herd to test positive to 36.
Billings Gazette; July 25
Judge sets limits on grazing, hay production on CRP lands
A federal judge ruled Thursday that farmers and ranchers who received approval by July 8 to participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's "Critical Feed Program," or have spent $4,500 or more on the expectation they would be able to either graze cattle or hay lands set aside in the federal Conservation Reserve Program, will be able to go forward with their plans for the set-aside lands.
Seattle Times; July 25
White House weighed in on Wyoming, NPS Sylvan Pass fight
According to officials familiar with the dispute between the National Park Service and the state of Wyoming over keeping Sylvan Pass open in the winter, the White House intervened to keep the pass open.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP); July 25
N.M. state engineer appeals court ruling on domestic water wells
The appeal filed by the Office of State Engineer will put a New Mexico District Court ruling that would have rewrote the rules for drilling home water wells in the state. You may have to view an ad to read this article.
Albuquerque Journal; July 25
Report pegs cost of Colorado-Wyoming commuter rail at $1M per mile
Bob Briggs of the Colorado-based nonprofit group Front Range Commuter Rail said he was encouraged by a Wyoming report that said it would cost between $1 million and $1.5 million per mile to upgrade existing railroad tracks between Casper, Wyo., and Fort Collins, Colo., to support passenger rail service, as Briggs said he thought it would cost more than that.
Casper Star-Tribune; July 25
Nature Conservancy Canada buys German duke's B.C. refuge
The 550-square-mile estate of the Duke of Wuerttemberg, purchased by the Nature Conservancy of Canada, is one of the most biodiverse areas in the country, containing stands of old-growth forests, subalpine meadows, the shoreline of Kootenay Lake and a thriving herd of mountain caribou.
Vancouver Sun; July 25
Opinion
U.S., Idaho need agencies to direct where energy projects are built
The nation's political and business sectors appear to be willing to allow energy projects to crop up wherever and whenever the market seems to support them, and in Idaho that means wherever an approving county commission can be found, but energy projects have long-term and profound effects and the nation and Idaho need specific, expert bodies to make siting decisions.
Idaho Mountain Express (Sun Valley); July 25
Congress should follow governors' lead on renewable energy
Forty-eight of the nation's governors, which hardly represent a unified front on any issue, have found common ground in their support of an extension of federal tax credits for renewable energy projects, and if this diverse group can reach a consensus, surely Congress can do the same.
Arizona Republic; July 25
Assistance to pay heat bills is 'must-pass' legislation for Congress
Congress should interrupt its partisan, election-year mud-wrestling for a brief moment to do something, and that something should be to pass a measure that doubles the existing Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program which will be sorely needed this year.
New York Times; July 25
Beyond the region
Sockeye salmon numbers in Columbia River highest since 1955
The number of sockeye salmon swimming upstream in the Columbia River is the highest since the last major dam was built on the river, and no one seems to be able to explain just why.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP); July 25
States lack funding to address critical bridge problem
After a bridge collapse in Minnesota killed 13 people a year ago, states launched aggressive bridge inspection campaigns to identify those that needed critical repairs and, in at least 16 states, some bridges were closed, but the states lack the funding to address all the problems, such as in Colorado, where 125 bridges were found to need replaced or major repairs which would cost $1.4 billion, while funding for such work fell from $32 million in 2007 to $18 million in 2009.
USA Today; July 25
Washington state Farm Bureau drafts guest-worker plan
Washington state farmers and producers said the national H2A guest worker program is expensive, difficult to navigate and fails to supply them with a reliable source of workers, and the state Farm Bureau has prepared a proposal for a guest-worker pilot program it hopes the state legislature will endorse next year.
Tri-City Herald; July 25
Workers begin to remove key building on Washington nuclear complex
The K East Basin, the building that surrounds a leaky pool built to hold spent fuel from nuclear reactors on the Hanford Nuclear Complex in Washington state, is being dismantled by workers who expect to finish the project next July.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP); July 25
Federal grand jury subpoenas records of 3 mortgage companies
Countrywide Financial Corp., New Century Financial Corp. and IndyMac Bancorp Inc. were all served with subpoenas requiring them to provide information to a federal grand jury investigation on whether fraud or other crimes may have contributed to the national mortgage crisis.
Salt Lake Tribune (AP); July 25
NASA scientists unlock Northern Lights mystery
Scientists used data from five NASA satellites that record magnetic and electrical activity around the planet to discover that the wavelike movement of the Northern Lights is caused by magnetic reconnection, when magnetic field lines stretched by solar winds suddenly snap into a new shape, much like a rubber band that has been stretched too far.
Washington Post; July 25
In depth
Western states launch regional cap-and-trade emissions plan
The Western Climate Initiative rolled out Wednesday by seven western states and four Canadian provinces proposes to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the region by 2020 to a level that is 15 percent lower than in 2005.
Christian Science Monitor; July 25
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Report details climate change's melting effects on Colorado resorts
A report issued Wednesday by the Center for Integrative Environmental Research at the University of Maryland said that, by 2085, Colorado's snow season could be 30 days shorter and that the state's snowline will be 328 feet higher, to 1,312 feet, putting the state's ski industry and its attendant real estate market at risk.
Vail Daily News; July 25
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Report: Climate change poses serious threat to Nevada's water supply
A report released this week by the National Conference of State Legislatures and Center for Integrative Environmental Research said that climate change could cause a profound drought in Nevada which will have a serious effect on the state's water supplies, affecting growth and tourism which will impact state revenue.
Reno Gazette-Journal; July 25
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Reports: Crandall Canyon mine in Utah designed to fail
Idaho laboratory gets mission to find way to reuse spent nuclear fuel
NCSL: Nevada's economic problems among nation's worst
Judge's wolf decision based on need for genetic diversity
Polygamy focus of U.S. Senate panel hearing today
Montana relocates grizzly bear, Yellowstone officers kill black bear
RealtyTrac: 1 in every 171 U.S. households in some stage of foreclosure
Pricing gap between old, new energy narrows
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Exclusively
on Headwaters:
NewVoices/NewWest:
Culture
Clash: Can the federal No Child Left Behind Act coexist with Montana's
Indian Education for All?
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Regional Conferences
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BLM public meetings on geothermal energy development:
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.
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Headwaters
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