In the Rockies today, conflicts between coal and water and water and natural gas; grizzly bears in Montana; and development are in the news.
In Arizona, coal-fired power plants are under pressure to reduce emissions, but opponents of new federal air-quality rules said the new rules could shut down those plants, and the coal mines on tribal lands that provide much-needed development.
The Navajo Generating Station also provides cheap power to the Central Arizona Project, which uses the electricity to pump Colorado River water uphill to Phoenix and Tucson.
In Colorado, the water conflict involves natural gas drilling.
In Huerfano County in Southern Colorado, natural-gas operations are being blamed for befouling water wells and the Idaho-based company operating in the county wants to create a hydraulic barrier to prevent methane from migrating into those wells.
As grizzly bears in Montana move from the Rocky Mountain Front into the plains, human-bear conflicts are on the rise, and state and federal officials have come up with 33 recommendations to reduce those conflicts.
And finally, development in the Rocky Mountain West is back in the news, with a Utah city claiming its sustainable planning providing the fuel for growth in the southern Salt Lake Valley.
Rockies today
Coal-fired power divides Navajo Nation
Joe Shirley Jr., president of the Navajo Nation, supports coal-fired power projects on tribal lands, while environmental groups fight against them, charging they violate the tribe's environment, heritage and religion. Part of a series.
Arizona Republic; Nov. 2
Water issues flood into coal-fired power debate in Arizona
New air-pollution controls proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency for the Navajo Generating Station in Arizona have ramped up the debate on coal-fired power on the Hopi and Navajo reservations where most of the coal for the plant is mined, and how those pollution controls will affect the cost of pumping water from the Colorado River to Phoenix and Tucson, since the generating station provide most of the electricity for the Central Arizona Project Canal. Part of a series.
Arizona Republic; Nov. 2
Idaho company wants to solve Colorado methane leak with water
Idaho-based Petroglyph Energy, Inc. has suspended natural-gas drilling operations in Colorado's Huerfano County until it can solve the problem of methane entering drinking water wells, and has proposed creating a hydraulic barrier to do that.
Denver Post (AP); Nov. 2
Environmental groups warn of increased risk to Upper Colo. River
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' draft environmental study on Denver Water's proposal to draw more water out of the Fraser River and across the Continental Divide in Colorado drew warnings from Colorado Trout Unlimited and other conservation groups about the project that they say will push the Fraser River "to the brink of collapse."
Aspen Times; Nov. 2
Grizzlies' return to Montana's prairies brings mixed response
Not everyone is excited about the grizzly bear's return to its historic range on Montana's prairies, since those prairies now teem with domestic livestock and not bison as they did when the big bruins formerly lived on the range.
Great Falls Tribune; Nov. 1
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October was a tough month for grizzly bears in Montana
Eight grizzly bears were killed in October in Montana, considerably higher than the 5.3 10-year average of bears killed during that month, and state and federal officials have put together 33 recommendations to reduce human-grizzly bear conflicts.
Missoulian; Nov. 1
Utah community says planning underlies its success
South Jordan has become the new anchor of the south end of Salt Lake Valley in Utah, and while other Utah cities have seen development lurch to a stop and sales-tax revenues plummet, this community continues to thrive, and city officials said the community's development plan is the reason for its success.
Deseret News; Nov. 2
Opinion
Congress should pass Montana's Forest Jobs and Recreation Act
Montana U.S. Sen. Jon Tester's Forest Jobs and Recreation Act may not be perfect and may not embody everything all Montanans want in a wilderness bill, but it's the best chance the state has to preserve more than 600,000 acres as wilderness and protect the state's timber industry, and Congress should move this legislation along.
Missoulian; Nov. 2
Nevada judge's water decision an abuse of power
Nevada Senior Judge Norman Robison's decision that State Engineer Tracy Taylor over-reached his authority when he issued a 2008 decision to allow Southern Nevada Water Authority to proceed with a pipeline project from Lincoln County to Las Vegas is an abuse of judiciary power -- pure and simple -- and must be appealed.
Las Vegas Review-Journal; Nov. 2
Utahns must fight hard to keep water from nuclear power project
Water is an increasingly scarce resource in Utah and allocating some of that resource to a proposed nuclear power plant in Green River is pure madness.
Salt Lake Tribune; Nov. 2
Beyond the region
Carbon sequestration projects ignore coal
Policy-makers and engineers say the stream of carbon-dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants isn't as pure as CO2 emissions from oil refineries, chemical plants, cement factories and ethanol plants, making those emissions more cost-effective targets for cap-and-trade credits.
New York Times; Oct. 31
Washington state's solar project may be one of world's largest
The solar-power project proposed for 580 acres of cleared timber lands near Cle Elum in Washington state may be one of the world's largest, with 400,000 photovoltaic panels that would provide enough power for 45,000 homes.
Yakima Herald-Republic; Nov. 2
California national park center of debate on commerce, conservation
The Drakes Bay Oyster Company predates the Point Reyes National Seashore becoming a national park, and is fighting a decision by the National Park Service not to renew its lease that expires in 2012 because federal law requires the area be returned to wilderness by limiting commercial activity.
New York Times; Nov. 1
Senate Democrats offer nuclear provision to save climate bill
Senate legislation to address climate change will get a committee hearing on Tuesday, and Democrats are expected to offer amendments speeding up approval of nuclear power plants in order to win support of key Republicans.
Washington Post; Nov. 2
Medical marijuana replaces logging in California town's economy
The hardscrabble Northern California town of Hayfork has turned to growing medical marijuana to support its former logging-town economy, and Trinity County, in which Hayfork is located, has earned the moniker "pot paradise" by High Times magazine.
Los Angeles Times; Nov. 2
CIT's bankruptcy threatens retail sector
CIT Group Inc.'s decision to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection threatens the retail sector at a time when thousands of small and mid-sized businesses need financing from the lending giant the most.
Salt Lake Tribune (AP); Nov. 2
In depth
Arizona city experiences 'mini-boom'
Gilbert has issued 1,000 building permits for new homes so far this year, nearly double the amount the Arizona city anticipated.
Arizona Republic; Nov. 2
Colorado development plan has Happy Canyon residents unhappy
Residents of Douglas County communities are protesting the annexation and rezoning of The Canyons development by the Castle Pines North City Council because it clears the way for an additional 2,500 new homes in the Colorado county, after the developer had promised those communities that construction would be limited to 1,500 new homes.
Denver Post; Nov. 2
Idaho ski town gives initial approval to housing development
The Ketchum Planning and Zoning Commission's decision last Thursday to annex a 138-acre parcel of land at the base of River Run is the first step in the process of approving Sun Valley Co.'s plan to build a hotel, condominium and housing complex on the land in the Idaho town.
Twin Falls Times-News; Nov. 2
Another Wyoming city has the news jobs, no housing issue
Torrington, where the newest prison in Wyoming is set to open, is the latest city in the Cowboy State to experience an influx of new residents following jobs who can't find housing.
Casper Star-Tribune; Nov. 2
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