In the Rockies today, a Colorado man is reportedly under consideration for the U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary for natural resources and environment.
Environmental groups say Harris Sherman, who is director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, would be a bad choice for the post, which oversees the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Sherman's work on Colorado's proposed roadless plan is the focal point of the environmental groups' opposition to him.
Colorado's proposal, as currently drafted, provides less protection for roadless areas than the 2001 federal roadless policy, and environmental groups said Sherman is responsible for exemptions that open areas up to mining and logging.
Those groups have asked Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to delay any action on Colorado's roadless plan until the federal government proposes its policy on backcountry forests.
In Headwaters News' A Look Ahead today, we offer a preview of the Organic Waste Diversion conference scheduled July 19-22 in Jackson, Wyo.
Hosted by the Teton Conservation District and Biocycle magazine, the conference will address the challenges of handling organic waste in the colder Rocky Mountain climate, as well as addressing the challenges of recycling and other waste handling in remote areas.
Rockies today
Enviro groups say Coloradan a candidate for USDA undersecretary
Environmental groups said Harris Sherman, the director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, is apparently being considered by President Obama for the post of U.S. Department of Agriculture undersecretary in charge of the U.S. Forest Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, and cited Sherman's role in drafting Colorado's roadless plan as a reason for their opposition.
Durango Herald; June 12
Interior report blames Bush administration for Utah lease dust-up
A report issued Thursday by the Interior Department said that the Bush administration did not follow protocol when putting leases near national park lands up for auction in Utah in December, and said that 30 of the lease parcels could be re-auctioned.
Los Angeles Times; June 12
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BLM lease report met with jeers, cheers in Utah
Environmental groups said the Interior Department's report released Thursday shored up their arguments that some of the 77 lease parcels auctioned off by the Bureau of Land Management should never have been auctioned at all, but Utah Rep. Rob Bishop called the report "crap," and said it merely proved that Interior Deputy Secretary David Hayes, who wrote the report, simply didn't listen when he was in Utah last month to hear what Utahns had to say about the canceled leases.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 12
'Fracking' legislation has all eyes on Wyoming
Proposed federal "fracking" legislation that would place the practice of hydraulic fracturing under federal regulation may give Wyoming residents another chance to ensure groundwater remains free of toxic chemicals, after the Wyoming state legislature recently voted to keep the law that allows the practice to go largely unchecked.
Casper Star Tribune; June 12
Idaho elk farmer kills grizzly bear
The owner of an elk farm in Idaho, who shot a federally-protected grizzly after the bear killed a mature bull elk on his property, said he thought the bear was a black bear.
Spokane Spokesman Review; June 12
N.J. company says N.M. solar plant will be largest in nation
New Jersey-based NRG Energy announced plans Thursday to build a 92-megawatt solar thermal plant on 450 acres of private land near the Santa Teresa port of entry in far southern New Mexico near El Paso, Texas, which will generate enough power for 74,000 homes.
Santa Fe New Mexican (AP); June 12
Exxon, TransCanada invite BP, Conoco to join Alaska pipeline plan
On Thursday, Exxon Mobil and TransCanada announced they would partner up on 1,700-mile pipeline to ship natural gas from Alaska's Prudhoe Bay south to a pipeline hub in Alberta, and the two companies invited BP and ConocoPhillips to abandon their competing pipeline project and team up with them on theirs.
New York Times; June 12
Opinion
Guest column:
Congress will take the easy way out on health-care reform
Congress was wrong to summarily shut out the concept of a single-payer health-care system because the proposal had little chance of passing, because such testimony offered in support of the system may have made any legislation passed to overhaul the current health-care system. A guest column by Pat Williams, who served nine terms as Montana's congressman.
Pat Williams; June 12
Colorado's new rules on drilling not to blame for slowdown
The news that BP was shutting down one of its two drilling rigs operating in La Plata County was met with the usual complaint that Colorado's new rules on drilling operations was forcing the industry out of the state, but lower natural-gas prices, reduced demand caused by the economic slowdown, and the recent discovery of enormous deposits of natural gas around the country are to blame, not the new regulations.
Durango Herald; June 12
Beyond the Region
BPA's 'green' power effort raises demands that dams come down
Bonneville Power Administration is leading the effort to embrace renewable energy, quadrupling the amount of wind-generated power on its transmission system in the last three years, a fact that environmental groups have latched onto in their effort to get the agency to remove four hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake River in Washington State that have helped decimate wild salmon runs on that river.
New York Times; June 12
White House personnel to help update EPA chemical database
The Integrated Risk Information System, a directory of toxic substances that provides regulators, industries and the public information on dangers posed by certain chemicals, is long overdue for an update, but the Obama administration's announcement that "White House officials" help with the process, has some groups concerned that politics, not science, could sway some decisions.
Los Angeles Times; June 12
U. of Alberta researchers find reindeer, caribou numbers down
Two University of Alberta researchers studied 58 major caribou and reindeer herds around the globe and found that the number of animals were on the decline in 34 of those herds, no data was available for 16 herds and eight were increasing in number.
Edmonton Journal; June 12
Federal agencies team up on mountaintop-mining regulation
The Obama administration announced Thursday that the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Interior Department, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers had agreed to more rigorous environmental and legal review of mountaintop mining projects, disappointing some environmental groups who had hoped the practice would be banned altogether.
New York Times; June 12
Hanford workers excavate radioactive wasp nests
In an area of the Hanford nuclear complex in Washington state reclaimed in 2003, workers are excavating nests built by mud dauber wasps that are contaminated by radioactive isotopes, such as cesium and cobalt.
Nevada Appeal (AP); June 12
Water spat caps effort to revive Oregon ghost town
The two dozen or so residents of Shaniko were pleased nearly a decade ago when history buff and wealthy art collector Robert B. Pamplin Jr. arrived in the Oregon ghost town and bought up some of the buildings with plans to renovate, restore and revive the town, but when he drilled a well and got more water than anyone had ever seen and asked the town to allow some development to house workers, the town demanded to know all the details, and Pamplin capped the well and put his properties up for sale.
New York Times; June 12
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