In the Rockies today, protection of petroglyphs, climate change in Colorado, and Yellowstone's new wireless plan.
A federal and state agency have nominated some ancient sites within Utah's Nine Mile Canyon for protection under the Register of Historic Places, a move that critics said doesn't go far enough as the entire canyon should be put on the list.
A new report out this week chronicles the effect of climate change in Colorado, with predictions of higher temperatures and dwindling water supplies.
And in Yellowstone National Park, a plan to put up a new tower to improve wireless communication also includes the possibility of future backcountry webcams.
Rockies today
BLM endorses listing of sites in Utah's Nine Mile Canyon as historic
On Monday, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the Utah Historic Preservation Office said that they would nominate ancient rock art, granaries and other Anasazi and Fremont antiquities in Nine Mile Canyon to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but members of the Utah Rock Art Research Association said they would have preferred the entire canyon be listed.
Salt Lake Tribune; Oct. 7
Dip in natural gas prices worries Alberta producers
The price of crude oil fell to $87.81 Monday, but it was the drop in North American natural-gas prices to about $6 that concerned Alberta, as it gets about 65 percent of its royalty income from natural gas.
Edmonton Journal; Oct. 7
Geothermal companies tout their steam at Nevada conference
At an international conference in Reno on Monday, experts said conditions are ripe for geothermal energy to climb out of the back seat of the renewable-energy bus and take the wheel from wind and solar power.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer (AP); Oct. 7
El Paso expedites process to build natural gas pipeline from Wyoming west
Officials of Texas-based El Paso Corp. said the planned 680-mile natural gas pipeline that will run from Wyoming's Opal Hub to Malin, Ore., will be the first pipeline to carry natural gas produced in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico west to market, as all other existing pipelines head east.
Elko Daily Free Press; Oct. 7
Report chronicles effect of climate change on Colorado
A report on the Colorado Water Conservation Board's commissioned study of the effect of climate change on the state was released Monday, and will help drive discussions at a three-day conference in Denver designed to help water officials and governments deal with dwindling water supplies.
Denver Rocky Mountain News; Oct. 7
Alberta-based refining company puts Montana expansion on hold
Calgary-based Connacher Oil and Gas, which bought the Montana Refining Co. in Great Falls in 2006, announced Monday that it was putting its planned expansion of the Montana refinery on hold, and said the high cost of heavy oil, along with few financing options forced the decision to put the project on hold.
Great Falls Tribune; Oct. 7
Critics pan wireless plan for Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park officials said the new Yellowstone Park Wireless Communications Plan will provide visitors with the technology they've come to expect and said that planners did put language in the plan that would allow backcountry webcams if such future projects are deemed worthwhile.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; Oct. 7
Opinion
Consolidate Idaho's transportation districts to help funding woes
Fuel tax revenues provide 70 percent of the funds for fixing Idaho's state highways, and with people driving less, there's less money to go around, and the state should consider consolidating highway districts as a way to make what little money there is go further.
Twin Falls Times-News; Oct. 7
Scofflaw ATV riders create more animosity in Montana
There have been changes made to travel plans in national forests in Montana so some off-road vehicle riders may find gates across roads that were once open to them, but destroying the gates, kelly humps, fences and gates will only stir up animosity toward all motorized vehicle users and could ultimately result in less access for all.
Great Falls Tribune; Oct. 7
Beyond the region
Interior Dept., conservation groups reach accord on polar bear habitat
To settle a lawsuit filed by three conservation groups, the Interior Department agreed to designate an area in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska's coast as critical polar bear habitat by June 30, 2010.
Los Angeles Times (AP); Oct. 7
With Machinists' strike in fifth week, Boeing stocks plummet
Boeing shares hit a four-year low on Monday, and with no end in sight to the five-week-old Machinists union strike, Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney warned employees that the aerospace giant could soon be in the same boat as the nation's auto industry if it changed its position on some union demands, such as job security.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer; Oct. 7
Jurors hear tapes of Alaska senator discussing corruption investigation
In the jury trial of Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens, the jury heard recordings of conversations between Stevens and his longtime friend, Bill Allen, the government's principal witness in the case against Stevens for failing to report $250,000 in gifts and home improvements done by Allen on a cabin.
Los Angeles Times; Oct. 7
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