In the Rockies today, Idaho celebrates its new wilderness area, work begins on a new Idaho-Utah transmission line, and a Montana group hopes tourists will show their appreciation for the Big Sky vistas by opening their wallets.
A diverse group showed up Tuesday to celebrate Idaho'snewest expanse of wilderness and to talk about the next stage of the agreement that led to the designation: the Bureau of Land Management's agreed upon land swaps, sales and private sales to give ranchers their part of the bargain and the private money needed to seal the deals.
In Idaho and Utah, Rocky Mountain Power announced it has begun building its 135-mile transmission line between Downey, Idaho and Salt Lake City, with construction of the "Populus to Terminal" project scheduled to be completed by 2010.
And in Montana, a new coalition of travel businesses and nonprofit land trusts, as well as the state's tourism department are launching a fundraising campaign aimed at tourists, asking them to support efforts to preserve the open vistas and wildlife habitat that draw them to the Big Sky State.
Rockies today
Idaho senator joins celebration of Owyhee wilderness
It was a diverse, happy bunch on Tuesday that crowded into the Boise photography gallery of Mark Lisk, whose stunning photographs of the Owyhee Canyonlands provided a perfect backdrop for a celebration of the protection of 517,000 acres of that area of Idaho as wilderness, a celebration whose attendees included U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo.
Idaho Statesman; April 15
Utility begins work on Idaho-Salt Lake City transmission line
PacifiCorp, the Oregon-based utility that does business as Rocky Mountain Power and Pacific Power, has begun construction on the $600-million, 135-mile transmission line project between Downey, Idaho, and Salt Lake City, which is part of a massive $6-billion, 2,000-mile project that will eventually cross parts of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and possibly Colorado by 2014.
Salt Lake Tribune; April 15
Tight economy may aid plans to expand Colorado ski resort
Efforts to expand Crested Butte Mountain Resort's ski area have failed for three decades, but the failing national economy that has pinched employment in and around the Colorado ski resort may have weakened the resolve of those who have fought the expansion.
High Country News; April 15
Utah board told depleted uranium already disposed of in state
Utah Rep. Jim Matheson has been fighting the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision classifying depleted uranium as Class A hazardous waste, the least-dangerous low-level radioactive waste, a classification he said would allow the waste to be stored at EnergySolutions' Tooele County landfill, but on Tuesday, the Utah Radiation Control Board found out that the landfill has already accepted 49 tons of depleted uranium for disposal since it opened a couple of decades ago.
Salt Lake Tribune; April 15
Montana senators say Mint bill will help Stillwater palladium mine
A bill sponsored by Montana Sen. Max Baucus that will allow the U.S. Mint to produce palladium versions of Saint-Gaudens' ultra-high-relief bullion coins passed on April 14, and palladium from the Stillwater Mine in Montana could be used to create those coins.
Platinum Today; April 15
Group targets tourists to raise money for Montana open space
Travel businesses, nonprofit land trusts and the state's Travel Montana promotional department formed Travelers for Open Land to tap the wallets of tourists, who have said the Big Sky State's open vistas, wildlife viewing and open waterways brought them to the state, to help finance conservation easements to protect those natural amenities.
Missoulian; April 15
Study: Drastic drop in revenues smacks Western states
An analysis of state budgets done by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government found that the collapse of the housing market was felt most acutely in Nevada, Arizona and California, where the housing boom had been the hottest, although the 10 states that performed the best in the last three months of 2008 were all West of the Mississippi, and were led by the energy-producing states of Alaska and Wyoming.
New York Times; April 15
Opinion
Wyoming's fight with feds on wolves will be protracted, expensive
On May 4, Idaho and Montana will be handed the responsibility of managing wolves in their states, but Wyoming will not because that state refuses to adopt a management plan that the federal government will accept, and shortly thereafter, lawsuits will be filed, and another expensive run through the courts will be undertaken.
Casper Star-Tribune; April 15
Montana stream-access law ends decade of disputes
The Montana Legislature crafted a good resolution to a decade-long dispute over the public's right to access waterways from county bridges and roads, a measure Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed into law this week.
Billings Gazette; April 15
Montana lawmakers need to listen to voters on insuring kids
Every county in Montana approved the Healthy Montana Kids Initiative, I-155, the voter-passed initiative approved in November by 70 percent of the voters, so why is it lawmakers have yet to fund this measure?
Great Falls Tribune; April 15
Beyond the Region
Arizona, Texas lead nation in gun sales to Mexican drug cartels
When President Obama visits Mexico this week, one of the issues on the table will be the flow of weapons across the border to drug cartels as federal agents say 90 percent of the 12,000 rifles and pistols seized from drug cartel members in Mexico last year came from the U.S., most purchased in Arizona and Texas.
New York Times; April 15
Palin: Alaska lives with climate change, touts cleaner n-gas
Departing from her past stance on climate change, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Tuesday that her state was living with the effects of global warming and urged faster development of natural gas resources as a cleaner alternative to oil and coal.
Los Angeles Times; April 15
University of Washington ups job cuts to 1,000
University of Washington President Mark Emmert told a roomful of faculty, staff and students on Tuesday afternoon that, regardless of what happens at the Legislature, the university will have to cut up to 1,000 jobs by May 1, due to budget restrictions.
SeattlePI.com; April 15
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