In the Rockies today, the economy is front and center.
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. announced Monday that it would close its linerboard plant in Frenchtown, putting 417 workers in Western Montana out of work by the end of the year.
The plant's closure will have a significant impact on Missoula County, as the mill was the second-largest taxpayer in that county.
Local fuel-reduction efforts on forests, as well as local sawmills will also be affected, as they will no longer have that market for waste wood and material.
Moving onto a more regional economic outlook, a report issued today by the Brookings Institution and the University of Nevada Las Vegas examines how six Intermountain West states have been affected by the national recession.
The cities in those states that experienced the highest amount of growth over the past decade, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Boise, were hit hardest by the economic downturn, while cities such as Denver, Albuquerque and Salt Lake City, whose economies were more diversified, fared better.
Rockies today
Report follows recession's effect on Intermountain West cities
Brookings Mountain West, a partnership between the Brookings Institution and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, released a report today that examines the effect of the housing crash and the recession on cities in the Rocky Mountains region, with Phoenix, Las Vegas and Boise taking the hardest hits, while Denver, Salt Lake City and Albuquerque have weathered the storm better.
USA Today; Dec. 15
Smurfit-Stone to close Montana plant on Dec. 31
On Monday morning, Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. announced its linerboard plant in Frenchtown would close the end of the month, putting 417 people in Montana out of work.
Missoulian ; Dec. 15
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Montana plant's closure hits timber industry hard
Smurfit-Stone Container Corp.'s linerboard plant in Frenchtown purchased wood chips and leftover material from sawmills and small-diameter "junk wood" from independent logging contractors, but the Montana plant, which is scheduled to close permanently Dec. 31, is now refusing the material.
Missoulian ; Dec. 15
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Bitterroot logging projects affected by Montana mill's closing
Most of the logs cut on a fuel-reduction project in the East Fork of the Bitterroot were headed for Smurfit-Stone Container Corp., but with Smurfit's announcement Monday that its Montana plant was closing the end of this month, project leaders are uncertain what they'll do with the timber.
Ravalli Republic ; Dec. 15
Yellowstone wolf coordinator: 'Good times are over'
Doug Smith, the coordinator of the reintroduction efforts and leader of the Yellowstone Wolf Project, said the wolf population in Yellowstone National Park is declining, due in part to mange and parvovirus, but also to more competition for elk, which are the wolves' primary food source and which are also less abundant.
USA Today; Dec. 15
Nevada's famed Mustang Ranch part of Truckee River project
The Nature Conservancy's ambitious plan to put the meander back into the Truckee River in Nevada wanders through the Mustang Ranch.
New York Times ; Dec. 15
BLM OKs wild horse roundup in Nevada, but litigation pending
The Bureau of Land Management approved on Monday the roundup and removal of 2,500 wild horses on the range in Nevada near Reno later this month, however a federal judge in Washington D.C. will hear arguments on Wednesday in a lawsuit filed to block the roundup.
Casper Star-Tribune (AP); Dec. 15
Opinion
Wolf reintroduction in N.M., Ariz. poised for success
Despite the political growling and the non-ending gavel pounding of federal lawsuits, the wolf reintroduction effort in Arizona and New Mexico is padding toward success, and will get there if federal wildlife officials honor their commitment to the species.
Arizona Republic; Dec. 15
Beyond the region
Exxon's buy of XTO energy reflects new interest in natural gas
Over the past few years, XTO Energy quietly acquired an impressive portfolio of natural gas fields and became the nation's second largest producer of natural gas, igniting interest from the world's largest publicly traded oil and gas company, Exxon Mobil, which announced Monday it was buying XTO Energy for $31 billion, the largest such oil and gas deal in four years.
New York Times ; Dec. 15
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Analysts: Exxon, XTO Energy first of many such deals to come
Analysts said the $31-billion deal announced by Exxon Mobil on Monday to acquire XTO Energy is a signal that the world's largest energy companies are ready to deal, and predictions are that Calgary-based EnCana Corp., as well as U.S.-based Devon Energy Corp. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. may be potential targets.
Toronto Financial Post ; Dec. 15
Oregon's unemployment rate remains at 11.1 percent
The number of job losses in November in Oregon hit 4,600, and the state's unemployment rate remained essentially flat at 11.1 percent, still higher than the nation's 10 percent level, and International Paper Co.'s mill in Millersburg closes tomorrow, putting another 270 people in the state out of work.
Portland Oregonian ; Dec. 15
In depth
Report: Recession 'whiplashed' Rocky Mountain West states
The MountainMonitor, a joint effort between Brookings' Metropolitan Policy Program and the University of Nevada Las Vegas, examined economic conditions in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, and found that the growth-dependent states were hit hardest in the nation by the current recession.
Denver Post ; Dec. 15
Study: Boise one of three 'trouble spots' in West's economy
A report released today by the Brookings Institution and the University of Nevada Las Vegas said that the housing surge and subsequent bust in Idaho's Treasure Valley is the reason that the Boise metropolitan area that includes Ada, Canyon, Boise, Gem and Owyhee counties is one of three regions in the Rocky Mountain West that are the slowest in economy recovery.
Idaho Statesman ; Dec. 15
Report: Recession hammered growth-dependent cities the hardest
The report released today by the Brookings Institution and the University of Nevada Las Vegas on the 10 major metro areas in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah, as well as smaller cities in those states, found that Boise, Las Vegas and Phoenix, all of which rode the growth boom, were among the most financially troubled in the nation.
Las Vegas Sun ; Dec. 15
Salt Lake City's low unemployment rate brightens economic outlook
A new study by the Brookings Institution and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas indicated that Utah has done fairly well during the current recession.
Salt Lake Tribune; Dec. 15
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