In the Rockies today, Montana Sen. Jon Tester takes the debate on his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act back to Montana.
Tester was in Bozeman on Monday, where he heard from timber industry representatives, wilderness advocates and motorized recreation groups about how they believed his bill would affect them.
Also in the news, a wave of renewable-energy projects are sweeping across Western states, where public lands and wind, solar and geothermal resources are in abundance.
And in Wyoming and Montana, where fire season made a late, wild appearance, fire managers are anxiously awaiting what they hope will be a fire-ending weather event this week.
In Headwaters News' On the Bookshelf, we offer Barbara Theroux's review of Ellen Wohl's "Of Rocks and Rivers: Seeking a sense of place in the American West."
Wohl looks at changes in the West's rivers and landscapes and how natural and manmade forces are creating those changes.
Rockies today
Renewable-energy rush sweeps across Western states
The rush is on to develop wind, solar and geothermal projects across the Rocky Mountain West, where wide expanses of public lands and renewable-energy resources abound.
Casper Star-Tribune (AP); Sept. 29
Tester takes debate on Forest Jobs bill directly to Montanans
U.S. Sen. Jon Tester is back in Montana, where he held a public hearing Monday in Bozeman on his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, where he heard concerns from motorized recreation groups about loss of access and from wilderness advocates who said the bill accommodates other interests too much.
Montana Standard; Sept. 29
Restoration plan announced for Colorado area burned in 2002
Officials representing the U.S. Forest Service, the National Forest Foundation and Vail Resorts unveiled a $4-million plan restore the area burned by the 2002 Hayman Fire in Colorado before the 10-year anniversary of the state's largest wildfire.
Aspen Times; Sept. 29
Wyoming firefighters hope Mother Nature lends a hand
Hot, dry weather brought fire season to Wyoming a little late this year, and firefighters hope that predicted wet, cold weather will help tame wildfires in Grand Teton and Yellowstone national parks, as well as in the Bridger-Teton National Forest.
Casper Star-Tribune; Sept. 29
Wet weather can't come soon enough for Montana firefighters
The Kootenai Creek wildfire in Montana's Bitterroot Valley grew by 200 acres on Monday, and crews have the 5,820-acre wildfire just 10 percent contained.
Ravalli Republic; Sept. 29
American Indian farmers hopeful for USDA settlement of bias case
A class-action lawsuit filed by American Indian farmers against the U.S. Department of Agriculture claiming bias against them is making its way through federal court in Washington, D.C., and farmers are hopeful that a settlement similar to the one made by the federal department with African-American farmers may be in the works.
Washington Post; Sept. 29
Opinion
All Utahns have a stake in Snake Valley water fight
The deal in the works for Utah and Nevada to share unallocated water in the Snake Valley on the Beehive State's western border won't take effect for ten years, a time-distance scenario that may make Utahns on the Wasatch Front unconcerned about the agreement, but there are concerns that pulling groundwater from the desert valley will put more dust in the air along the Wasatch Front--and everyone should take the time to share their views with Gov. Gary Herbert about the pact.
Salt Lake Tribune; Sept. 29
Extending fiscal deadline a better option for N.M. preserve
New Mexico Sens. Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall are contemplating legislation to turn the Valles Caldera National Preserve into a national park as it's becoming increasingly apparent the 89,000-acre preserve won't meet its congressional deadline of 2015 to become financially self-sufficient, but the nation can't really afford another national park and a better solution may be to simply move the self-sufficiency deadline, and Bingaman's status in the Senate puts him in a perfect position to do just that.
Santa Fe New Mexican; Sept. 29
Beyond the region
Technology dumps more dairy cows into the mix
The nation's dairies are in crisis, and farmers have sent 230,000 cows to slaughter this year already to cull herds and cut production, but waiting on the wings are a crop of heifers that were created using technology that allowed farmers to breed for gender, and industry leaders are concerned that the new flood of heifers will come into production about the time the industry starts to recover, sending it slipping downward again.
New York Times; Sept. 29
California residents want USFS decision on Station Fire investigated
Residents who lost their homes to the Station Fire in California last month are calling for an investigation into the U.S. Forest Service's decision not to launch an initial attack on the California wildfire that burned more than 160,000 acres and dozens of homes, and resulted in the death of two firefighters who were killed when their vehicle plunged off a mountain road.
Los Angeles Times; Sept. 29
B.C. discounts study that cull effort resulted in 'monster wolves'
A new study done by researchers from the University of Sweden, the Smithsonian Institution and the Raincoast Conservation Foundation recently published in the journal Conservation Genetics said that efforts by the British Columbia government to cull wolves from Vancouver Island forced remaining wolves to mate with dogs, resulting in hybrid "monster wolves," a finding the B.C. government dismissed as "not one that represents the current status of grey wolves in B.C."
Vancouver Sun; Sept. 29
U.S. high court takes up case of cross in Mohave Desert
A 6 1/2-foot white cross erected in California's Mohave Desert to honor the dead who fought in World War I is now covered by a plywood box, awaiting the outcome of a U.S. Supreme Court case that challenged the cross as an unconstitutional display of government favoring one religion over another.
Washington Post; Sept. 29
In depth
Utah officials: New poverty numbers don't show the whole picture
The U.S. Census released its 2008 American Community Survey that showed poverty on the rise in the United States, with New Mexico reporting the highest rate of poverty in the Rocky Mountain West; Montana and Arizona fell into the next highest category; and Idaho, Nevada and Colorado reported poverty rates of 11 to 12.9 percent; Wyoming and Utah ranked in the lowest category with 11 percent or less of their residents living in poverty.
Salt Lake Tribune; Sept. 29
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Census study: Greeley has highest poverty rate in Colorado
According to a new U.S. Census study, 21.7 percent of Greeley residents lived below the poverty level in 2008, the highest rate in Colorado, and only 1.9 percent of the residents in the Highland Ranch area were poor.
Denver Post; Sept. 29
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Nevada ranks 33rd in nation for children living in poverty
In a survey released by the U.S. Census today on poverty levels in the nation, Nevada ranked 33rd in the nation in the percentage of children under the age of 18 living below poverty level in 2008; New Mexico ranked fifth.
Reno Gazette-Journal; Sept. 29
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