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In the Rockies today, new rules are in place for folks crossing the U.S. border into Canada and Mexico.
While air travelers to the United States from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean have had to comply with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative since 2007, land and sea travelers didn't have to until today.
The new rules means adults will have to have WHTI-compliant documents--a passport or passport cards--to cross the border as of today, although the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials said they'll be flexible on the documentation for at least the first few months.
Also in the news, a new study in southwestern Wyoming will explore the effect carbon sequestration has on soils and a Massachusetts company says it will use breakthrough technology to tap into oil-shale resources on private land in Colorado.
Rockies today
Wyoming study explores effect of CO2 storage on soils
The U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Land Management and the University of Wyoming have teamed up to study the effect of carbon sequestration on soils in the sagebrush ecosystems of southwest Wyoming.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 1
Company plans oil-shale project on private land in Colorado
General Synfuels International, a subsidiary of Massachusetts-based Earth Search Sciences Inc., said it has obtained access to 500 acres of private land in western Colorado's Piceance Basin, and that it plans to use breakthrough technology to tap into an estimated 700 million barrels of oil or oil equivalents in oil-shale resources under that land.
Grand Junction Sentinel; May 31
New rules for travel between U.S., Canada, Mexico in effect today
As of June 1, travelers who cross the border from the United States into Canada or Mexico, are required to have either a passport or Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative-compliant documents, although citizens under the age of 18 can still cross with just a birth certificate and U.S. border agents said they'll be flexible for the first few months on travel document requirements.
Great Falls Tribune; June 1
Montana governor fights Oregon's request for more water
Montana Gov. Brian Schweitzer says the 2008 Biological Opinion for the Columbia River Power System provides sound science for flows of water from Montana to downstream interests, but Oregon and the National Wildlife Federation continue to seek higher flows than set by the 2008 accord, and now Schweitzer is asking the Obama administration to throw its support behind the 2008 "BiOp".
Kalispell Daily Inter Lake; June 1
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Idaho senator: All options in salmon-dam debate are on the table
At a meeting Friday of the Northwest Energy Coalition in Boise, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo said that in order for the debate about salmon and the effect hydroelectric dams have on the species to be resolved, all options must be on the table, including breaching -- or not breaching -- those dams.
Idaho Statesman; June 1
Wyoming county again 1st in nation for highest per capita income
Estimates released last month by the Bureau of Economic Analysis ranked Wyoming's Teton County first in the nation again for per capita income in 2007; Colorado's Pitkin County ranked fourth; and Blaine County, Idaho ranked 19th.
Salt Lake Tribune (AP); May 30
Colorado's new rules make rainwater harvesting legal
Colorado recently passed a law to allow certain homeowners to collect precipitation that falls on their roofs, but some (especially those downstream) call that stealing, and fear the trend of rainwater harvesting will proliferate as the resource becomes more scarce.
NPR; June 1
Opinion
Utah's limit on selenium in Great Salt Lake too high
High concentrations of selenium are toxic to wildlife and if allowed to build up in water will poison an entire ecosystem, and Utah's adoption of a 12.5 parts-per-million standard for the Great Salt Lake and other bodies of water in the state puts the lake and other waterways at risk.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 1
Risch, Rey led the way on Idaho's roadless plan
Former undersecretary of Agriculture Mark Rey came up with the idea that states should be given the opportunity to create their own plan for managing federal roadless forest lands and then-Idaho Gov. Jim Risch took that message to heart and came up with a plan for the state, a plan that now could lead the way for other states.
Idaho Statesman; June 1
Time to rethink carbon offsets
The British Web site CheatNeutral.com parodies carbon offsets as ineffectual, but one Cornell University economist disagrees, saying carbon offsets coupled with the Obama administration's call for a cap-and-trade system will do more to mitigate climate change than cap-and-trade alone.
New York Times; June 1
Beyond the Region
Obama, EPA disappoint environmentalists on mountaintop mining
Environmentalists hoped the election of President Obama would end the destructive practice of mountaintop mining, but in recent weeks the administration has stepped aside to allow two dozen such mining projects to go forward.
Los Angeles Times; June 1
Federal stimulus funds spur hiring at Hanford site in Washington
The Department of Energy received $1.96 billion in federal stimulus funds to retain or hire 4,000 workers at its Hanford nuclear complex in Washington state, and 400 new workers will be selected in the first round of hiring.
Tri-City Herald; June 1
Groups petition EPA to ban lead weights from wheels
The federal government has taken a strong stance against the use of lead in everything from gasoline to paint, but the EPA has ignored the lead weights used to balance car tires, and a coalition of a dozen environmental groups and scientists are trying to change that.
San Francisco Chronicle; June 1
In depth
Climate-change legislation faces tough road in U.S. House
While a House committee's approval of Rep. Henry Waxman's climate change bill was touted as a huge success among environmentalists earlier this month, the legislation must still make its way through eight congressional committees before reaching the House floor.
San Francisco Chronicle; June 1
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Montana co-ops track climate-change legislation in Congress
There is much debate about the cost of climate-change legislation currently before Congress that contains a cap-and-trade system on carbon emissions, and Montana cooperatives that provide electricity--most of which is generated by coal--to 250,000 homes and businesses are watching the debate closely.
Billings Gazette; June 1
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Firm to release carbon-tracking software for businesses
A Silicon Valley firm will release software today to help business owners measure greenhouse gas emissions in anticipation of a carbon tax; and the software, named Hara, is already used by the Coca-Cola Company to track and reduce the carbon emissions from its 1,000 facilities worldwide.
New York Times; June 1
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| "We will approach June 1 with common sense. We're not going to punish the uninformed, and we do not plan to refuse entry to any returning U.S. citizens."
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Montana Fish, Wildlife restructure opens 3 high-level posts
Idaho gubernatorial candidate files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Cities, counties scramble to get federal grants for going 'green'
Group asks EPA to wade into Wyoming CBM water fight
Race is on to kill sick bighorn in Idaho
Nevada Legislature overrides several Gibbons' vetoes
Cheesemaker provides bright spot in Idaho county's economy
Southern Ute Tribe wants control of Colorado health center
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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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June 3-5: Natural Resource Law Center's 30th annual summer conference: Western Water Law, Policy and Management: Ripples, Currents, and New Channels for Inquiry, Boulder, Colo. Read a preview.
June 11-13: Greater Yellowstone Coalition's 26th Annual Meeting and Rendezvous: From Parks to Prairies, Jackson Lake Lodge, Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
June 14-16: Western Governors' Association Annual Meeting, Park City, Utah
June 17-18: NewWest.net and Boise State University present "Planning in the West," Boise, Idaho
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Headwaters
News is a program of the Center
for the Rocky Mountain West at the University
of Montana. |
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