In the Rockies today, fighting wildfires, the battle against brucellosis, and another Colorado River water fight.
The Los Angeles Times is doing a series on the escalating costs of fighting wildfires.
The first in the series focuses on how past fire management decisions and new development in the wildland-urban interface have helped drive costs higher.
The second article in the series takes a look at how politics play a part in pushing the costs every skyward.
"CNN drops," firefighters' vernacular for aerial water and retardant drops that do very little to fight the fire but do provide good publicity is cited as such a political maneuver.
In Wyoming, where a rancher is resisting federal pressure to slaughter his herd after 20 or more head were found to have brucellosis, Gov. Dave Freudenthal is resisting signing onto a pact between his state, Idaho, Montana and the federal government meant to address the disease.
And finally, as flows in the Colorado River decline, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is going after well owners in Nevada, Arizona and California whose wells are tapping into the river's water.
Rockies today
Drought, wildland-urban development drive wildfire costs skyward
Wildfires in California and the Rocky Mountain West are blackening ever more of the landscape, and with more development in the wildland-urban interface, the cost of fighting those wildfires has increased dramatically as well. First in a series.
Los Angeles Times; July 29
U.S. BuRec goes after wells that tap into Colorado River
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation estimates that nearly 5 billion gallons of Colorado River water is siphoned away each year by wells drilled too close to the river, and the agency has put well owners in Arizona, Nevada and California to obtain a legal right to the water or face loss of use of the water.
Arizona Republic; July 29
Report: Global-warming shrinking West's cold-water fish habitat
A new report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Montana Trout Unlimited said higher temperatures and more drought are shrinking cold-water fish habitat in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah, and having a detrimental effect on the region's $1-billion recreational fishing industry.
Billings Gazette; July 29
Wyoming rancher's decision not to slaughter herd 'lesser of two evils'
The Daniel-area rancher who had 20 head of cattle test positive for brucellosis lives within a four-county area of Wyoming known as a special brucellosis "surveillance" area, and cattle ranchers there already have to conduct the extra tests that will be required if the state loses its brucellosis-free status, and if he slaughters his herd as the federal government is pressuring him to do so, he'll wipe out decades of selective breeding.
Casper Star-Tribune; July 29
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Western states' pact on brucellosis management in limbo
Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer has signed off on a regional pact designed to address brucellosis, but Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal won't as he said it invites the federal government into a state wildlife issue; Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter referred questions to the state veterinarian, and a U.S. Department of Agriculture official said the agency has the latest version of the agreement but hasn't decided whether to sign it.
Casper Star-Tribune (AP); July 29
USFS opens public comment period on Colorado roadless plan
The U.S. Forest Service will hold a series of open houses in Colorado over the next month to gather public comment on how the state's 4.4 million acres of federal roadless forest lands should be managed.
Durango Herald; July 29
Opinion
Best protection for Utah's Nine Mile Canyon is a new road
The dust kicked up by energy rigs traveling to and from natural gas fields tapped by Bill Barret Corp. in Utah's Nine Mile Canyon, and the magnesium chloride used to suppress the dust, pose a real threat to the treasure trove of petroglyphs that line the canyon's walls, and instead of trying a less harsh dust suppressant, the energy company should just build a new road to those gas fields that avoids the canyon altogether.
Salt Lake Tribune; July 29
Nation's fuel situation could drive expansion of passenger rail service
Jim Robbins makes the trek from his home in Montana to Washington D.C. by rail to see the state of passenger train service in the nation and to learn why the United States lags so far behind other nations in this form of mass transit. A perspective.
Conde Nast Traveler; July 29
Beyond the region
Bush administration to leave successor with $482-billion budget deficit
The Bush administration's projection of a $482-billion budget deficit that the new administration will have to deal with does not include the full cost of the wars in Iran and Afghanistan, or the $50 billion another economic stimulus package would cost the nation, nor does it take into account any decline in tax revenues.
New York Times; July 29
As Americans drive less, federal gas tax revenue plummets
U.S. citizens drove a lot less in May than predicted, the seventh consecutive month such a decrease was reported, and as mileage drops, federal fuel tax revenues decreases as well, putting the Highway Trust Fund used to build and repair roads on the road to depletion.
New York Times; July 29
Newspaper names buyers of degrees from Wash. diploma mill
The Spokane Spokesman Review obtained a list of people who obtained bogus degrees from a Washington state diploma mill that includes 135 individuals with ties to the military and 17 employed by government agencies including NASA employee Timothy Francis Gorman and U.S. Department of Health oncology expert Frank S. Govern.
Spokane Spokesman Review; July 29
Branson christens 'Mother Ship' of commercial space travel
About 100 people have already paid the $200,000 to get a seat on board Virgin Galactic's yet-to-be-realized commercial space flights, but on Monday they got a look at "Eve," the aircraft that will deliver the six-passenger capsule into space.
Washington Post; July 29
In depth
Montana wildfire grows to 5,800 acres, approaches ski area
The Cascade Fire has burned 5,800 acres in Montana since it ignited Saturday, and officials at the Red Lodge Ski Resort turned on its snowmaking equipment to hold off the fire, which is burning just two miles away.
Billings Gazette; July 29
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Montana wildfire nears tipping point
The Harley Creek wildfire grew by just 20 acres on Monday, but fire officials said the 167-acre wildfire is now just a little more than two miles away from a Montana small town, and the next 24 hours will determine whether fire strategy will have to change.
Great Falls Tribune; July 29
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Band of eight stomp out Montana grass fire
Eight unnamed citizens battled a grass fire driven by gusty winds, 90-degree temperatures and waist-high fuel along Interstate-15 in Montana, using water bottles, a single broom and a garden sledge and their feet.
Great Falls Tribune; July 29
USFS allows Wyoming wildfire to burn through beetle-killed timber
The Gunbarrel Fire in Wyoming's North Absaroka Wilderness is being allowed to burn through rugged terrain containing large swaths of beetle-killed timber.
Casper Star-Tribune; July 29
Rugged terrain a factor for crews fighting Utah wildfire
A wildfire believed to be ignited by a fire at a closed restaurant near Bridal Veil Falls in Utah has burned about 246 acres.
Salt Lake Tribune; July 29
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