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In the Rockies today, a wild fire season creates push for changes in land-use and zoning rules in the West, and a wildland fire that ran uphill into Boise has that Idaho city considering some changes.
California's extreme wildfire season has lawmakers fired up to change land-use policies and create new ways to pay for firefighting, and similar efforts are under way at the federal level.
In the wake of Monday's fatal fire in Boise, which began as a wildland fire that stormed uphill into the southeast region of the Idaho city, officials are contemplating extending a ban on wood roofs in place in the Foothills to more neighborhoods.
Also in the Rockies today, and in our In-depth section, more coverage of the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
Today, in Headwaters News' "On the Bookshelf," we provide a review of Stephen Trimble's "Bargaining for Eden: The Fight for the Last Open Spaces in America."
Trimble chronicles the land deal that transformed Utah's Snowbasin into an Olympic venue, and his personal foray into land development in that state as well.
Rockies today
Democrats unanimously nominate Obama as presidential candidate
At the Democratic National Convention in Denver Wednesday night, delegates unanimously nominated Illinois Sen. Barack Obama to be the 44th president of the United States.
New York Times; Aug. 28
Xcel's deal with New York will disclose global warming risk
New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo subpoenaed five companies last September to determine if their efforts to build new coal-fired power plants presented risks they were not disclosing to investors, like future regulations of greenhouse gas emissions, and on Wednesday, Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy agreed to make such disclosures to its investors, a move Cuomo hopes will lead to similar agreements with Peabody Energy, AES Corporation, Dominion and Dynegy.
New York Times; Aug. 28
As costs rise, federal, state governments rethink firefighting policies
The rising cost of fighting wildfires is most evident in California, where the state has already spent $285 million this fiscal year fighting fires, including $13 million in one day, long before the fall-winter season has arrived, and lawmakers are considering new incentives to local governments for adopting model land-use regulations designed to reduce the risk of wildfire in the wildland-urban interface.
Christian Science Monitor; Aug. 28
Boise officials consider extending wood-roof ban to all neighborhoods
After this week's fatal fire in Boise that killed a woman, destroyed 10 homes and damaged 19 others, officials of the Idaho city are considering extending a ban on cedar-shake roofs passed in 1996 for the Foothills to other neighborhoods.
Idaho Statesman; Aug. 28
Opinion
BLM's revised plan for Wyoming lands shows agency listens
After a torrent of criticism over its proposed management plan for Wyoming's Pinedale region, the Bureau of Land Management put 440,000 acres off-limits to energy development, a nearly threefold increase from the original plan and a laudable response to public input, but the federal agency could have done more to protect the area's air and water quality.
Casper Star-Tribune; Aug. 28
Arizona's plan to fight invasive species a good start
Arizona's plan to fight invasive species, such as the crayfish, quagga mussels and buffelgrass, to name a few, is a little light on the solution side, which comes as no surprise given the state's dire financial situation, but time is of the essence in a battle to keep the invasive species from establishing a firmer foothold in the state.
Arizona Republic; Aug. 28
Beyond the region
Alaska's Sen. Stevens wins GOP primary
Sen. Ted Stevens, who has been indicted for not reporting gifts from an oil company, won 63 percent of the vote in a seven-way primary vote Tuesday in Alaska, pitting the longest-serving Republican in the U.S. Senate against Democrat Mark Begich, the popular mayor of Anchorage in November.
New York Times; Aug. 28
Jump in orders for U.S. durable goods surprises economists
The 1.3 increase in orders for U.S. durable goods in July matched June's, surprising Wall Street, but economists cautioned that a rebound in the value of the U.S. dollar and a weakening global market could put an end to the export boom later this year.
Salt Lake Tribune; Aug. 28
In depth
Obama shares his plan with Montana veterans on Wednesday
On his way to the Democratic National Convention in Colorado, presidential nominee Barack Obama stopped in Montana Wednesday, where he laid out his proposals for veterans care before an audience of about 200 invited guests.
Billings Gazette; Aug. 28
N.M. governor's DNC speech bumped to Thursday night
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's scheduled speech at the Democratic National Convention Wednesday night was bumped to Thursday night right before Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama is scheduled to speak.
Santa Fe New Mexican; Aug. 28
Wyoming governor stays true to form at DNC
Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal has an approval rating of 81 percent, one of the highest in the nation, but he declined a speaking role at the Democratic National Convention this week in Denver, opting instead to maintain his usual low profile and meeting instead with his state's delegates and representatives of Wyoming businesses that are sponsoring events.
Casper Star-Tribune; Aug. 28
In DNC speech, Nevada senator depicts McCain as a 'snake-oil salesman'
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is one of the Democratic Party's most powerful leaders, but the Nevada senator's speech at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night evoked little response despite vehement attacks on John McCain, the Republican Party's presumptive presidential candidate, and other GOP leaders.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; Aug. 28
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Romney attacks Democrats in Nevada speech
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney was in Nevada on Wednesday to campaign for former rival John McCain, where he attacked Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's health care plan, and the foreign policy qualifications of vice presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden.
Las Vegas Sun; Aug. 28
Nader plans press conference today in Wyoming
Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader will speak today at 12:30 p.m. at Wyoming's state Capitol in Cheyenne where he will discuss critical issues that candidates of the nation's two primary parties aren't addressing.
Billings Gazette; Aug. 28
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| "Nature always bats last. We need to rethink our strategies and let forests be forests."
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Power company sues Utah county over coal-plant initiative
Hundreds of sockeye salmon make 900-mile swim to central Idaho
BLM buys 17,000 acres of land in W. Nevada
Utah company earns a spot on EPA's Superfund list
USFWS expresses conditional support for Colorado whitewater park
Utah to join nuclear compact as defendant in EnergySolutions suit
Marijuana bust in Utah sets records
Homeowners around Montana lake ask county for zoning help
N.M. bear pulls a Yogi, runs off with picnic basket
Grupo Mexico subsidiary files competing Asarco reorganization plan
Utah lawmakers urged to stay the course on illegal immigration bill
Lack of transmission capacity tangles Idaho's push for wind power
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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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Sept. 8-11: The U.S. Geological Survey's Third Interagency Conference on Research in the Watersheds, Estes Park, Colo. Read a preview.
Sept. 11-12:Public Land Foundation's annual meeting: "Sustaining the Ecological, Economic and Social Vitality of the Public Lands," Park City, Utah. Read a preview.
Sept. 15-17: Headwaters Summit: Re-visioning how we use water in a changing climate, Missoula, Mont. Read a preview.
Sept. 22-24: The 32nd Annual Public Land Law Conference, "A Federal Lands Agenda for the 21st Century," Missoula, Mont. Read a preview.
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Headwaters
News is a project of the Center
for the Rocky Mountain West at the University
of Montana. |
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