In the Rockies today, forest-management in Montana and wind-generated power in Wyoming, Utah and Montana are in the news.
Montana Sen. Jon Tester released 21 changes to his Forest Jobs and Recreation Act, including a provision that would limit the bill's reach to just national forests in the Big Sky State.
In Wyoming, the state has released proposed rules for wind power projects on state lands, and the use of eminent domain to create pathways for transmission line projects may be put on hold for a year in the Cowboy State.
In Montana, two companies have teamed up to build a series of "connector" lines for wind power projects in Canada, North Dakota and Montana to feed that power to out-of-state markets and fill in the gaps in supply with hydropower from a two-reservoir project proposed in central Montana.
In Utah, a company proposes to keep power production level from solar- and wind-power projects by creating caverns in an underground salt deposit and storing compressed air to drive turbines to create electricity when the sun isn't shining or when the wind isn't blowing.
