In the Rockies today, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar rolled out a plan to expedite solar-energy projects on Bureau of Land Management lands on Monday.
The plan will create 24 Solar Energy Study Areas on 670,000 acres of BLM land in six western states, with about half the acreage in California.
Two installations in Nevada are in line to be the first built under the new plan, with as many as 11 others under construction in Arizona, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and California by the end of 2010.
Also in the news, Montana wildlife agents are tracking a grizzly bear sighted near Fort Benton in Choteau County, the first such sighting in that area of the state in 60 years.
Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials want to trap and relocate the bear before it gets into trouble.
Rockies today
Salazar signs order to fast-track solar-energy projects
On Monday, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed an order expediting environmental reviews for solar-energy projects on more than 1,000 square miles of public land, about half of which is in California.
Los Angeles Times; June 30
Nevada projects could be first under Interior's solar-energy plan
On Monday in Las Vegas, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar rolled out a plan to create 24 Solar Energy Study Areas on 670,000 acres of Bureau of Land Management land in Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and California, over the next two years, and cited two projects in Nevada as the first that could be built under the new program.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; June 30
Federal solar-study plan includes 21,000 acres in Colorado
Colorado's San Luis Valley is included in the Interior Department's Solar Energy Study Areas."
Denver Post; June 30
Two areas in Utah part of federal solar-energy study
Among the two dozen areas identified by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar Monday for study as potential solar-energy sites are Milford Flats South in Utah's Beaver County and the Escalante Valley in Iron County.
Deseret News; June 30
Montana FWP agents on the hunt for grizzly bear near Fort Benton
A grizzly bear has been spotted about 100 miles from the Rocky Mountain Front in Montana near Fort Benton, and state wildlife agents are hunting for the bear to trap it and relocate it before it gets into trouble.
Great Falls Tribune; June 30
Rocky Mountain Power takes Utah town to court over power line
After the Willard City Council voted to deny final approval of Rocky Mountain Power's 135-mile-long transmission line that will run from southeastern Idaho to just west of Salt Lake City International Airport, the utility filed a lawsuit in Utah state district court asking that the court prohibit the city from delaying the project.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 30
Eurasian milfoil invades two Montana reservoirs
Not too long ago, Montana and Wyoming were the only states in the union that didn't have Eurasian milfoil, a fast-spreading aquatic plant, in any waters in the state, but the invasive weed hitched a ride on a boat and is now clogging the water in Noxon and Cabinet Gorge reservoirs in western Montana, and state officials are working hard to keep the weed out of other bodies of water in Montana.
Missoulian; June 30
Opinion
U.S. president needs to take audacious steps to fix health care
If President Barack Obama wants to truly reform the United States' health care system, he should attack the first two enormous distortions that make health care so expensive: the tax deduction allowed for employer-provided health-care benefits and the for-fee basis upon which most doctors in America work.
The Economist.com; June 30
Western Caucus should boost bipartisan membership
There's a place for the newly formed Western Caucus in the U.S. Senate, but the thus-far Republican-only group should reach across the aisle to other western lawmakers like Montana U.S. Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus and New Mexico Sen. Jeff Bingaman and should refocus its mission from an opposition agenda to a proactive list of things it wants to accomplish.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 28
Beyond the Region
EPA waiver allows California to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency overturned a Bush administration decision on Monday and issued California a waiver that allows the state to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks.
Los Angeles Times; June 30
Tim Hortons move to Canada signals concern about U.S. taxes
Tim Hortons announced Monday that it would move its headquarters from Delaware to Canada for tax purposes, a move that other U.S. corporations, concerned about the tax implications of a trillion-dollar deficit, proposed health-care reform and a promised crackdown on corporations that invest overseas, may make as well.
Vancouver Sun (Reuters); June 30
Energy bill passed by U.S. House raises concerns in Canada
Under the Waxman-Markey legislation passed by the U.S. House, Canadian oilsands and U.S. refineries that process the bitumen would face much higher costs, and could result in higher tariffs on a range of other energy-intensive products from chemicals to cement that Canadian companies ship south to U.S. markets.
Toronto Globe and Mail; June 30
States hold electronic industry responsible for recycling
Manufacturers of computers, televisions and other electronics are dealing with a patchwork of regulations on recycling outdated electronics passed by states since 2004, including Washington state where collection points have taken in 15 million pounds of electronic waste just since January.
New York Times; June 30
USFWS returns gray wolves in Great Lakes region to endangered list
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday that it erred when it did not hold a public comment period before taking gray wolves in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin off the federal endangered-species list and again put the species in the western Great Lakes area under federal protection; the decision does not affect the decision on wolves in Idaho and Montana as a public comment period was held in those states.
New York Times (AP); June 30
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