In the Rockies today, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar wrapped up his trip to Montana with a visit to Glacier National Park.
Secretary Salazar was in Montana Monday to speak at a water forum, and water was again on the agenda on Tuesday, where he spoke about the importance of taking a watershed-wide approach to protect water quality in the iconic park.
The Flathead River, which forms the western boundary of the park, originates in British Columbia in an area of great interest to coal and gold miners, as well as coalbed methane gas producers.
Also in the news, the Jackson Hole News & Guide wraps up its series on pine-bark beetles with an article on how the U.S. Forest Service is tackling the infestation; a new report said the price of protecting homes in the wildland-urban interface from wildfires will increase; and the regional power authority for Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, in its latest update on its power plan, says conservation efforts can meet 85 percent of the region's new power demands over the next two decades.
Rockies today
Interior Secretary takes a tour of Glacier National Park in Montana
Montana Sen. Max Baucus said Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has a better understanding of Montana's fight against coalbed methane development, coal and gold mining in the headwaters of the Flathead River in British Columbia after dipping his hands in the Montana river during a tour of Glacier National Park.
Missoulian; Aug. 12
Study: Protecting Montana homes from wildfires will cost more
A new study by Headwaters Economics indicated that the cost of protecting homes in the wildland-urban interface in Montana and other western states will increase dramatically, driven higher by the combination of higher temperatures and more development in the urban fringe.
Missoulian; Aug. 12
USFS's response to beetle infestation varies on location
The U.S. Forest Service in Wyoming, as well as other western states where pine bark beetles are munching through millions of acres of trees, is taking a multipronged approach to the infestation: letting nature take its course in areas away from homes and campgrounds, applying carbaryl or verbenone patches in areas near campgrounds, cabins and roads, and selling timber off affected areas, but the combination of the bugs and blister rust may wipe out whitebark pines in the woods. The last in a series.
Jackson Hole News & Guide; Aug. 12
Northwest power council: Conservation key to meeting demand
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council, which drafts a new regional power plan for Idaho, Montana, Washington and Oregon every five years, is working on the next update that relies heavily on conservation to meet new demands for power over the next two decades.
Seattle Times (AP); Aug. 12
Idaho tribe, Oregon file suit over federal salmon plan
The state of Oregon, the Nez Perce Tribe of Idaho and environmental groups said the Obama administration has shut them out of negotiations on running hydroelectric dams in the Columbia Basin and aiding salmon recovery, and on Tuesday, they went to federal court to ask for a status conference on the issue.
Portland Oregonian; Aug. 12
Future of uranium mining in Colorado lies with markets, lawsuits
With a key contract on uranium imports set to expire in four years, companies are gearing up to reopen uranium mines in Colorado and other western states, but there are still a number of uncertainties about such efforts, including the fluctuating price of uranium and lawsuits against reopening the mines. Another in a series of articles about uranium mining in Colorado.
Durango Herald; Aug. 12
Opinion
New air tankers for the USFS need no further justification
Congress already has reams of statistics, graphs and data proving that air tankers provide the best, first line of attack on wildland fires, so asking for more such information while the U.S. Forest Service's fleet continues to age and deplete is a ridiculous example of being penny wise and pound foolish.
Idaho Mountain Express (Sun Valley); Aug. 12
Current health-care legislation has its own obesity problem
Wyoming Sen. Mike Enzi called a provision of the 1,000-page draft of health care legislation that earmarks $10 billion annually for such things as farmers' markets, sidewalks and grocery stores in under-served areas "an $80 billion slush fund for additional pork-barrel projects," a moniker that fits the bill perfectly.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; Aug. 12
Beyond the region
Documents show Rove's role in U.S. attorneys' dismissals
Recently produced documents from the White House show that Karl Rove and other senior aides in the Bush White House were more actively involved in the 2006 firings of several U.S. attorneys than previously admitted.
New York Times; Aug. 12
Washington, Oregon governors endorse new Hanford plan
Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a new tentative cleanup plan -- and timeline for completing the work -- for the Hanford nuclear complex in Washington state that earned the endorsement of both Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire and Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski; public comment on the new plan will be taken Sept. 24 through Nov. 9.
Portland Oregonian; Aug. 12
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