In the Rockies today, federal agencies spar over energy leases in Utah and the U.S. Forest Service releases its analysis of Colorado's roadless plan.
National Park Service officials said they weren't given the customary amount of time to comment on the Bureau of Land Management's energy development plans in Utah.
The Bureau of Land Management recently added tracts of land near Arches National Park and Dinosaur National Monument and within eyeshot of Canyonlands National Park to its list released earlier this fall of energy leases set to be auctioned off Dec. 19.
Park Service officials asked the Utah BLM director to pull the recently added parcels, but she refused.
To the north, the U.S. Forest Service has completed its analysis of the plan to manage Colorado's 4.1 million acres of federal roadless lands.
The analysis found heightened risk to wildlife and fish in dozens of roadless areas across the state, but agency officials said they doubted development would be allowed in areas where such heightened risk was found.
Editor's Note: Headwaters News will not publish on Veteran's Day, Tuesday, Nov. 11.
Rockies today
Park Service questions BLM's change in process in Utah plans
The Bureau of Land Management shared its original lease proposals for tracts of Utah with the National Park Service earlier this fall, but the maps the BLM released on Election Day contained additional tracts close to Arches National Park and Dinosaur National Monument and within eyeshot of Canyonlands National Park, and Park Service officials said the agency wasn't given its usual opportunity to comment on the BLM's plans.
New York Times; Nov. 8
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Obama adviser says Utah energy leases on list to be addressed
On Fox News Sunday, John Podesta, co-chairman of President-elect Obama's transition team, addressed several policies put in place by the Bush administration that Obama would act quickly to address, including the Bureau of Land Management's leasing of energy parcels in some of Utah's most sensitive areas.
Salt Lake Tribune; Nov. 10
USFS analysis of Colorado roadless plan lays out areas of risk
According to the U.S. Forest Service's draft environmental impact statement on the proposed management plan for Colorado's 4.1 million acres of federal roadless lands, the plan puts wildlife at higher risk in 118 of the 345 roadless areas in the state, and natural fisheries in 44 areas could also be put at higher risk.
Denver Post; Nov. 10
Montana bear managers lament role as top takers of bruins
In the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem, most grizzly bears killed over the past decade died at the hands of bear managers, who were forced to remove the bruins because they were raiding food or killing livestock.
Great Falls Tribune; Nov. 9
Western leaders say Obama well-versed in public land, coal issues
Wyoming is the nation's top producer of coal and about half of the land in the state are under the control of the U.S. government, making the policies of the next administration of great concern in the Cowboy State, and are watching to see who President-elect Barack Obama selects for the secretaries of agriculture and interior.
Casper Star-Tribune; Nov. 10
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Wyoming's coal industry urges slow, careful pace on regulation
The campaigns of both President-elect Barack Obama and Arizona Sen. John McCain contained a plank on cap-and-trade regulation of greenhouse gas emissions and both promised support of renewable energy and clean-coal technology, positions that Wyoming's coal industry supports as long as a measured approach is taken.
Casper Star-Tribune; Nov. 10
Montana luxury homes on the market at discount rates
Prices for lakefront mansions and mountaintop lodges in Montana have dropped 20 to 30 percent to prices last seen in early 2000.
Missoulian; Nov. 10
Opponents of Nevada nuclear-waste repository see opening
Critics of the federal government's effort to create a national nuclear waste repository in Nevada's Yucca Mountain are hoping President-elect Barack Obama makes good on a campaign promise to scuttle the project.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; Nov. 10
Opinion
Park Service's winter plan for Yellowstone simply inadequate
The National Park Service should set the daily limit of snowmobiles allowed in Yellowstone National Park at 720 until a final winter-use plan is in place.
Casper Star-Tribune; Nov. 9
Idaho may not be able to afford aquifer-management plans
The plan to manage the Eastern Snake Aquifer in Idaho came with a $100 million price tag and underlying assumptions that development won't price farmers out of the water market and that the state will continue to see normal moisture levels over the next two decades, assumptions that may not prove to be true and the current economic situation calls the price of the project into question.
Twin Falls Times-News; Nov. 10
GAO report faults leaseholders in lack of domestic energy production
Republicans targeted congressional Democrats this past election season for hindering domestic energy production, but the Government Accountability Office's report released last week said American oil and gas companies let many of their leases expire over the last decade without developing them.
Las Vegas Sun; Nov. 10
Beyond the region
Infrastructure projects may pave the way to better U.S. economy
President-elect Barack Obama supports public projects on the nation's roads, sewers, schools and airports as part of an effort to stimulate the nation's economy.
Los Angeles Times; Nov. 9
Opponents of Alaska road fear it will be a route to energy development
The 800 or so residents of King Cove, along with the head of the Aleutians East Borough, the regional government in northeastern Alaska, are pushing for a land route from the rural town to the nearest hospital, which would require a road through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, but opponents said the only way the route makes sense is to use the route for future oil and gas development.
Washington Post; Nov. 9
Report: Nation's energy grid needs update to handle solar, wind energy
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the entity authorized by the federal government to ensure the nation's power grid provides smooth, uninterrupted electrical service, will release a report today that says unless needed updates are made to the nation's electrical grid, mandates passed by states requiring a certain percentage of power be produced by renewable resources could cause interruptions in service.
New York Times; Nov. 10
Oregon plant may tap Willamette River for bottled water
Coca-Cola Bottling of Oregon plans to expand its Wilsonville plant to bottle filtered Willamette River water for its Dasani brand.
Portland Oregonian; Nov. 9
Treasury Sec'y told WaMu CEO to sell before Seattle-thrift failed
A new report said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Kerry Killinger, the CEO of the now failed Washington Mutual, in July that he should have sold WaMu to JPMorgan Chase in May when the offer was first made, and Paulson urged Killinger to sell the Seattle-thrift in July before it was too late.
Seattle Times; Nov. 9
Gay-rights advocates urge boycott of Utah after California vote
After a ban on gay marriage passed in California, gay-rights advocates and others are urging a boycott on the Sundance Film Festival and vacationing in Utah as a payback for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its aggressive campaign to get the ban passed.
Washington Post; Nov. 10
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Thousands protest in Utah on Friday on LDS' role in gay-marriage ban
More than 3,000 people marched in downtown Salt Lake City on Friday past The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints temple and church headquarters to protest the church's support of an initiative passed by California voters to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Salt Lake Tribune; Nov. 8
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