In the Rockies today, management plans for salmon and Montana's Rocky Mountain Front are in the news.
On Tuesday, the Obama administration issued its plan for managing 13 species of salmon in western Montana, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, that draws heavily on the plan put in place by the Bush administration.
The earlier plan was found wanting by U.S. District Judge James Redden, and now former Oregon State University oceanographer Jane Lubchenco, now undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, must convince Redden that the new plan will protect salmon.
In Montana, a group that has been working on a management plan for the Rocky Mountain Front for three years, is expected to unveil the proposal today.
The Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front's "Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act" would designate another 86,000 acres of wilderness to three existing wilderness areas in the Helena and Lewis and Clark National Forests.
Also in the news, preliminary review of the U.S. Forest Service's aerial surveys of forests in Montana indicates that beetle infestations have spread to another 250,000 acres in the state; and Colorado and Montana school districts are buying into the local food movement.
Rockies today
Obama salmon plan renews dam-removal option
On Tuesday, the Obama administration largely endorsed the salmon recovery plan put in place by the preceding administration that calls for improved river habitat for the fish throughout Oregon, Washington, Montana and Idaho, including safe passage around dams on those rivers, although the Obama plan renews the option of removing dams should the species decline further.
Portland Oregonian; Sept. 16
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Former Oregon researcher takes lead on salmon argument
Jane Lubchenco, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, has the task of convincing U.S. District Court Judge James Redden that changes proposed by the Obama administration to the preceding administration's salmon plan will improve survival of 13 species of threatened and endangered salmon.
Idaho Statesman; Sept. 16
USFS survey tracks spread of beetle-infestation in Montana
Aerial surveys of Montana's forests this summer indicate that bark beetles have expanded their reach in the Big Sky State to nearly two million acres, up from 1.75 million acres reported last year.
Ravalli Republic; Sept. 16
Group to roll out proposal for Montana's Rocky Mountain Front today
The Coalition to Protect the Rocky Mountain Front will hold a telephone conference today to release its Rocky Mountain Front Heritage Act, a grassroots proposal to protect that area of Montana.
Great Falls Tribune; Sept. 16
Adobe Systems bids $1.8B for Utah's largest high-tech company
Omniture Inc. of Orem is Utah's largest high-tech company, and if Adobe Systems, Inc.'s $1.8-billion bid is accepted, the company will become a new sector of Adobe but will remain headquartered in Utah.
Salt Lake Tribune; Sept. 16
Montana company helps Missoula students eat local food
Montana Food Products works with local producers to process carrots and zucchini and beef, as well as some locally produced sauces, for use in school lunches at Missoula County Public Schools.
Missoulian; Sept. 16
Colorado school district buys 5,500 pounds of locally grown beef
Durango School District 9-R will buy 1,500 pounds of beef from the James Ranch this fall, and nearly 4,000 pounds from the Fox Fire Farms later in the school year, greatly expanding the Colorado school district's program launched in 2008 to buy locally produced beef.
Durango Herald; Sept. 16
Opinion
Idaho must carry lessons learned on tech industry into the future
Idaho's love affair with high-tech business has been a volatile, decades-long relationship, and as yet another company wooed by tax incentives walks away from the Gem State, officials there should remember the next time a suitor comes calling that there's no such thing as a sure thing in the tech industry and tax incentives should be measured carefully.
Twin Falls Times-News; Sept. 16
Beyond the region
Obama administration rolls out new emissions, mileage standards
On Tuesday, the Obama administration released proposed nationwide limits on greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and fuel-efficiency standards for cars and light trucks to be implemented by 2016.
New York Times; Sept. 16
In depth
Sale of wolf tags in Idaho, Montana net each state $167K
Only 40 of the 8,796 licenses to hunt wolves in Montana went to out-of-staters, who had to pay $350 for their licenses, $331 more than Montana residents; and in Idaho, where 14,500 tags have been sold thus far, residents paid $11.50 for their tags.
Missoulian; Sept. 16
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