In the Rockies today, the Obama administration puts on hold all regulation changes proposed by the Bush administration that have not yet been published in the Federal Register.
The new administration has also requested that agencies wait 60 days to implement new changes that have been published and to reopen public comment periods on those changes.
That means the decision to remove federal protection from wolves in Montana, Idaho and the Great Lakes region is on hold, as is the Bureau of Land Management's plan to expand commercial development of oil shale resources in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming.
Also on hold is a change to the Endangered Species Act that would have allowed agencies to forgo an independent evaluation of the impact projects may have on endangered species.
Rockies today
Obama administration suspends wolf-deslisting decision
The Obama administration put all eleventh-hour regulations by the Bush administration that had not yet been published in the Federal Register on hold for a legal and policy review, including the decision to take wolves in Idaho and Montana and the Great Lakes region off the endangered species list; expansion of a plan to develop oil shale resources in Utah, Colorado and Wyoming; and another that would change the Endangered Species Act.
NewWest.net; Jan. 22
9th Circuit Court decision on Montana logging project 'bittersweet'
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Helena National Forest's plan to address wildfire concerns on near Clancy and Unionville southwest of Helena put in place in 2003 was a bittersweet victory for Helena District Ranger Duane Harp, who said pine-bark beetle infestations have killed about 90 percent of the trees on 1,400 acres and that the plan which prescribed thinning live trees now only applies to about 100 acres.
Helena Independent Record; Jan. 22
BLM cites public concerns, pulls Colorado leases off auction
Bureau of Land Management officials announced they are pulling most of the energy parcels set to be auctioned on Feb. 12 off the auction block, and said that were deferring sale of the leases due to public concerns about them, which are on 16,400 acres of land in Colorado's LaPlata County in an area where little energy work has been done.
Durango Herald; Jan. 22
As river level drops, Alberta asks oilsands operators to use less
For the first time since Alberta Environment's water management framework for the Athabasca River was implemented in 2007, Canadian Natural Resources Limited, Suncor, Syncrude and Shell Albian Sands were asked to take less water from that river for their oil sands operations.
Edmonton Journal; Jan. 22
New Arizona governor promises quick action on budget woes
Arizona's Secretary of State Jan Brewer was sworn in as the state's new governor on Wednesday, and she promised her new administration would shrink government and quickly address the state's projected $1.6-billion budget shortfall.
Arizona Republic; Jan. 22
Groups ask DOI appeals board to block Nevada coal-fired plant
Nevada congressman Dean Heller asked Gov. Jim Gibbons to push along the proposed 1,590-megawatt White Pine Energy Station near Ely, but groups opposed to the coal-fired plant have asked the U.S. Department of Interior's Board of Land Appeals to reject rights-of-way for the plant granted by the Bureau of Land Management.
Deseret News (AP); Jan. 22
BYU scientist authors report tying lower air pollution, longer life
Epidemiologist C. Arden Pope III of Brigham Young University is the lead author of a study published today that found reductions in air pollution in 51 metropolitan areas in the 1980s and 1990s resulted on average in a five-month increase in life expectancy.
Los Angeles Times; Jan. 22
Opinion
Air-quality efforts needed year-round in Utah
The haze is back, as are the suggestions of how to deal with Utah's frequent bad-air days: car pool, drive less, don't fire up your wood-burning stove, but if residents only do those things when the air is bad, air quality will only get worse.
Salt Lake Tribune; Jan. 22
U.S. House should follow Senate's lead on public-lands bill
The Omnibus Public Lands bill has been thoroughly debated and aired, and will protect some of the nation's most wild places, including 315,000 acres in Colorado, and the U.S. House should act quickly to pass the bill and get it on President Obama's desk.
Denver Post; Jan. 22
Beyond the region
PepsiCo calculates carbon footprint of orange juice
PepsiCo, which owns the Tropicana brand of orange juice, hired experts to calculate the carbon footprint of a half-gallon container of the juice who came up with 3.75 pounds of carbon dioxide, mostly from the nitrogen fertilizer needed for the trees.
New York Times; Jan. 22
New study says seasons are arriving earlier
New research from the University of California at Berkeley and Harvard University found that the hottest and coldest days of the year, which normally occur 30 days after the summer and winter solstices, respectively, are occurring 1.7 days earlier.
Toronto Globe and Mail; Jan. 22
U. of Washington study finds Antarctica is warming, too
A team of University of Washington scientists found that temperatures in Antarctica have increased over the past five decades, which means that all seven continents are warming.
Seattle Times; Jan. 22
Paper mill, laboratory team up on Wash. carbon-storage project
Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland are boring holes in land owned by Boise Inc. near Wallula in Washington state they hope to use as a test case to sequester carbon emissions from Boise Inc.'s paper and pulp mill.
Tri-City Herald; Jan. 22
In depth
Unemployment in Washington state hit 7.1 percent in December
Washington state experienced its largest one-month increase in unemployment in December in more than three decades, rising from 6.3 percent in November to 7.1 percent.
Seattle Times; Jan. 22
Microsoft cuts 5,000 jobs
Microsoft Corp. announced that it would eliminate 5,000 jobs, with 1,400 cuts to be made today.
Spokane Spokesman-Review; Jan. 22
Intel to close 5 plants in 2009, one in Oregon
California-based Intel is Oregon's largest for-profit employer, and the company's decision to shut down its computer chip factory in Hillsboro could idle up to 1,000 workers this year.
Portland Oregonian; Jan. 22
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