NEWS ROUNDUP

Blackfoot land deal announced Hoping to maintain their traditional way of life, upper Blackfoot Valley landowners on Thursday announced an agreement to buy 40,780 acres of Plum Creek Timber Co. land, with an option on 47,933 acres more. If both sales eventually close, the Blackfoot Challenge will buy all of Plum Creek's midelevation timberland between Clearwater Junction and Rogers Pass, north and south of Highway 200. Purchase of the land, residents said, is the only way they know to preserve the upper Blackfoot's heritage of ranching, forestry, public access and wildlife habitat...ONRC announces its ideas for tribal lands The federal government should use private lands - instead of Forest Service lands - to re-establish a reservation for the Klamath Indian Tribes, according to a proposal put forward Wednesday by the Oregon Natural Resources Council. The proposal calls for the government to purchase lands or, when necessary, use eminent domain to acquire private lands within the boundary of the reservation as it existed in 1954, when the Klamath Tribes were terminated. Homes and up to 40 acres of adjoining would be exempt from government acquisition...Species Exemption 'Bad Precedent' Pending federal legislation to exempt water imported into New Mexico from being used to satisfy the federal Endangered Species Act would set a bad precedent, environmentalists in Washington, D.C., and New Mexico say. Both the U.S. Senate and House have passed language that would exempt water from the federal San Juan-Chama diversion project from the Endangered Species Act. In addition, the language proposed by New Mexico's congressional delegation would specify that a study issued this spring by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is legally sufficient and can't be challenged in court. The study concluded that portions of the designated habitat of the endangered Rio Grande silvery minnow could run dry. All members of New Mexico's congressional delegation except Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., have endorsed the proposals. Rather than being free-standing legislation that would be subject to independent vote and debate in Congress, the ESA language is included as a rider in both the House and Senate versions of the energy bills. Differences between the two versions of the legislation is scheduled to be resolved in conference in coming weeks...Fire destroys Hells Canyon recreation field office An early morning fire destroyed the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area field office at Riggins Wednesday. Manager Earl Baumgarten says the building -- a doublewide trailer -- is a total loss. But he says there's still hope that many of the agency's records and documents could be saved... Energy project celebrated It might fit in the back of a pickup. But don't be fooled by its size. The BioMax 50 may have applications as big as its appetite. If properly fed - it'll devour about a ton of wood chips per day - the biomass generator will help reduce built-up forest fuels while producing energy. When finished, the machine will be connected to the power grid and will become the first such generator to be tested in the United States...Private firms won't get jobs in federal forests The U.S. Forest Service will not tap the private sector for some basic maintenance jobs at forests throughout California. Those who oppose the "competitive outsourcing" by the Bush administration call this week's announcement a partial victory, though many other jobs are still up for consideration...Truce maintained in federal 'war in the woods' Controversy continues to stir around the Northwest Forest Plan, developed in the early days of the Clinton administration. The plan has evolved since it was approved 11 years ago, but the purpose remains the same: to protect all forest species while getting logging operations moving again. Protections have been put in place, but logging remains in a holding pattern. Until the plan was adopted, courts had blocked dozens of timber sales because of procedural and legal failures by the U.S. Forest Service...Saving fish may endanger farmers' control of water The politicians, farmers and businessmen who control Idaho's water have avoided a legal confrontation with the Endangered Species Act over the fate of Pacific salmon for more than a decade. Those water barons compromised, cajoled and bullied to keep Idaho in control of water stored behind federal dams in reservoirs on the Snake, Boise and Payette rivers. Now Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo is shuttling between water users and environmentalists to stave off a lawsuit that recent court decisions suggest would wrest control from Idaho and divert water away from farms, cities and industry to increase flows to help salmon. He has until Sunday, the deadline set by salmon advocates, to convince them to withdraw or alter their proposed lawsuit. Complicating his effort are secret court-ordered talks between water users, the Nez Perce Tribe and state and federal officials that address many of the same water issues... Renzi's father said he didn't push son to introduce rider regarding fort The father of U.S. Rep. Rick Renzi, R-Ariz., said he never asked his son to introduce an amendment to a House Defense Authorization bill to remove this Southern Arizona Army post from any responsibility for water use off the installation. The Renzi rider, as the amendment is called, has stirred up some environmentalists who say the amendment will mean the San Pedro River will be harmed, if not killed, if the rider is adopted...GAO report faults endangered species program The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service program for designating critical habitat for endangered species is in disarray because of tangled litigation that is devouring the agency's funding, the General Accounting Office reports. As a consequence, Fish and Wildlife priorities, such as listing new endangered species, are being delayed, says the GAO, Congress' investigative arm. "The GAO report states basically what we have been saying for years," said Mitch Snow, the Fish and Wildlife chief of media services. "We would like to have funds available for doing other things besides critical habitat."... Fish and Wildlife study shows economic benefits of wildlife refuges People living near the nation's 542 wildlife refuges also gain from the protected wildlife habitat, according to a government study that touts the economic benefits of the refuge system. The study by the Fish and Wildlife Service finds 35.5 million people visited the nation's 542 refuges in 2002, up 42 percent from 24.9 million visitors in 1995, bringing a huge boost in spending and jobs to communities located just outside the refuges...Judge lets convicted pilot keep plane used in hunt The Harding County pilot convicted last month of illegal aerial hunting will not have to forfeit the airplane and shotgun he used in the hunt, U.S. Magistrate Judge Marshall P. Young decided Thursday. Young rejected arguments by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carolyn Royce that pilot Jerry Janvrin should forfeit his 1946 Piper airplane valued at $15,000 to $20,000, as well as a Benelli shotgun valued at about $900. Jurors found Janvrin guilty Sept. 18 of one count of illegal aerial hunting and acquitted him on another charge. The prosecution said he was trespassing on private land in September of 2002 when he killed a coyote from his airplane...Talks continue over land, water swap A high-level Interior Department official spent three days in the Klamath Basin last week, meeting with various parties to discuss water supplies for the Klamath Basin and restoration of reservation lands for the Klamath Tribes. But his visit isn't a sign that any deals are being made, officials said. Bill Bettenberg, director of the Interior Department's office of policy analysis, said he was in the Basin to give updates on negotiations with the Klamath Tribes and run through scenarios of different water management options for the Klamath Reclamation Project. "I didn't come with any proposals," he said...Nature Conservancy, Plum Creek strike deal LINCOLN and Plum Creek Timber Co. announced plans on Thursday to sell almost 41,000 acres scattered throughout the Blackfoot River Valley for $30 million to The Nature Conservancy. In addition, the conservation organization has an option to purchase an additional 47,900 acres in the area within the next few years for approximately $38 million, bringing the total land deal to 88,700 acres for $68 million an and average of $766 per acre. The non-profit Nature Conservancy plans to resell the large parcels to public and private entities, with the promise that the vast majority of the land would not be subdivided and turned into million dollar ranchettes...Secretary Norton Appoints Chad Calvert Deputy Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management Calvert will assist Assistant Secretary for Lands and Minerals Management Rebecca Watson in management oversight and policy direction for the Bureau of Land Management, Minerals Management Service and the Office of Surface Mining. "Chad Calvert has rapidly earned a reputation as an individual who immerses himself in a myriad of projects and with positive results," Secretary Norton said. "His experience in dealing with Congress, coupled with his positive outreach experience, increases his value to our team." Calvert was a member of the Bush-Cheney transition team, where he worked on Interior policy and coordinated outreach with external groups. He also assisted in preparing the Secretary for her Senate confirmation hearings and has worked with each of the presidential appointees at Interior to get them through their confirmations...Possible changes to NPR-A stir debate A swath of land in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska sought by oil and gas developers is called critical to wildlife by conservationists. Speakers addressed both issues Wednesday at a public meeting designed to aid the Bureau of Land Management as it rethinks 1998 regulations of the 4.6 million acre northeast NPR-A. About 600,000 northernmost acres--with reportedly high potential for oil and gas deposits--is off-limits to leasing, though that could change if BLM changes its 5-year-old regulations... Fish plan would cause big county expense Santa Barbara County would have to pay $12 million in reconstruction costs if it is required to make habitat improvements at Lake Cachuma for the benefit of endangered steelhead trout in the Santa Ynez River. A recent biological opinion has resulted in a proposal to raise the maximum level of Lake Cachuma by 3 feet to provide more water that can be released into the river for the fish, as well as for South County water users. Raising the lake level would also flood county facilities -- including picnic and camping sites, Mohawk Road, a water intake facility, a water treatment plant, a marina, a launch ramp, trails, two sewer lift stations, and the UCSB crew area. Rebuilding these facilities would cost $12 million. The proposal to raise the lake comes from the Federal Bureau of Reclamation and the Lake Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board -- consisting of five South County water agencies -- which are responsible for maintenance and operations of Lake Cachuma's water supply facilities...Trinity settlement pitch: End of fight or bogus science? Northern Californians working to get back some Trinity River water are unconvinced that a proposal by Central Valley irrigators would be best for salmon and river communities. On Tuesday, the Westlands Water District, which has sued to block restoration of the river, pitched the settlement proposal to Trinity County supervisors and this newspaper. It aims to pare down water allowed down the river under the restoration plan, in order to boost supplies to the Central Valley Project where Westlands and other districts get their water. The suit is now in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals after a Fresno U.S. District Court judge ordered the federal restoration plan reworked. The Hoopa Valley Tribe -- which has intervened on the part of the U.S. Interior Department -- is the key player that would have to agree to the proposal. Westlands will not meet with the tribe until next week...New definition of waste sets precedent in Western water policy For most of the year, several of the nation's biggest, richest, and most politically influential water agencies have been squabbling over the best way to divide California's share of the Colorado River - the lifeblood of the Southwest. A conclusion of sorts came last month when the state approved legislation needed to carry out key components of a tortuously negotiated deal, which involves a transfer of water from inland farmers to coastal cities, although litigation and last-minute disagreements still could derail the pact. The loud and divisive rhetoric of conflict overshadowed a subtle but important development that occurred during the summer, at the height of the confrontation. Although it would appear superficially to be a matter of mere semantics, it is potentially the most far-reaching aspect of the entire debate...Trust turns to rust: Western Slope's ties to the Front Range corroding over water When it comes to water, western Colorado hasn't trusted blossoming Front Range cities since the 1930s. So when Gov. Bill Owens asks voters from Meeker to Cortez to "trust" that there's something good in Referendum A for western Colorado, he's paddling upstream against decades of doubt. Referendum A would create $2 billion in state-backed bonds for large, undisclosed water projects. For many folks on the west side of the Continental Divide - the source of most of Colorado's water - Referendum A translates as another water grab... Eleven cities' water allocations reduced Eleven cities that depend on shrinking Lake Meredith for their water are having their allotments cut by millions of gallons, but most say they will still have enough to meet their demands. The Canadian River Municipal Water Authority voted Wednesday to reduce the amounts by 5 percent...Supreme Court urged to protect states environmental authority The Supreme Court was urged Wednesday to keep the federal government from second-guessing state environmental decisions. The justices are considering whether the Environmental Protection Agency went too far by overruling Alaska regulators' decision to let the operators of a zinc and lead mine use less costly anti-pollution technology for power generation. The Clean Air Act allows state officials to make some decisions involving their own facilities...Activists worry over eco-terror A time bomb planted near a controversial water bottling plant last month has the state's environmental community racing to distance itself from the sabotage. The bomb was found Sept. 22 at an unmanned pumping station of Nestle Waters' Ice Mountain water bottling plant near Big Rapids. Police disarmed it, and the FBI is investigating. It is the latest in a string of attacks nationwide this year claimed by the radical Earth Liberation Front... Area Water District Management Adapts to Drought Conditions The current drought has taught the Elephant Butte Irrigation District management a great deal, especially in water conservation and how to adapt to drought conditions. But EBID Board of Directors chairman Gary Arnold also said that he is impressed how well the farmers and district managed its limited water allotment this year. "We pretty much hit it on the nose as far as using our allocation," Arnold said. "We used it all except couple hundred acre-feet. That showed that our hydrologists knew how to figure out how to use the water so that we could spread out what little water we had over several months." During the past irrigation season, the United Stages Bureau of Reclamation allotted only 354,000 acre-feet of water to EBID, or 34 percent of the normal quota. The EBID board decided that it could only supply eight inches of irrigation water, far below the two to three acre-feet it allows when it has a good snow pack runoff...Lake Powell: Half empty or half full? Much reduced from its historic high-water level, the question can be posed: Is Lake Powell half empty or half full? And the answer depends upon whom you ask. Those who live and work near the huge reservoir straddling the Utah/Arizona border worry that the outside world's perception, at least, is that the half-empty desert lake — a tourist magnet — is drying up, like many much-shallower reservoirs in the drought-stricken West. "Some people think we're just a mud puddle," says Bob Seney, vice president of operations for Lake Powell Resorts and Marinas, a concessionaire. The low-water stigma and the stagnant economy are both to blame for business that's down 15 percent to 20 percent for his company, he said... Groups try ecologically sound ranching model Can the tiny leopard frog live alongside a 1,500-pound bull? Will the western tiger swallowtail butterfly prosper sharing the same habitat as a cow? A partnership between Bently Agrowdynamics of Minden and The Nature Conservancy at the 788-acre River Fork Ranch on Carson Valley's west side hopes to demonstrate that a viable cattle operation can coexist with environmental protection and restoration of the property's fish, bird and wildlife habitat...High beef prices no comfort to ranchers with small herds Recent rising beef prices are bitter-sweet for the Valley's ranchers, who survived the drought by selling off the bulk of their herds last year. "Everyone sold when the prices were low," said Randy Rusk, past president of the Custer County Stockgrowers. "There was not enough feed so they sold the weaners, then the calves, then the cows."...Rodeo doctor wins medical society award Dr. Charles Rush Jr.'s birthday is not until Saturday, but he celebrated a little early Thursday night with more than 260 friends at a ceremony where he received the Tarrant County Medical Society's most prestigious award. Rush, a Hurst allergist and longtime doctor to rodeo cowboys, was recognized with the 2003 Gold-Headed Cane award for his years of service. As Rush donned his black cowboy hat, the crowd gave him an ovation, one of many during the night...Have bull; can't travel Rodeo bulls are left pawing the ground in Canada this year, at a time when they would usually be headed south for the bright lights of the American rodeo circuit. Ever since the US border has been closed to cattle because of the BSE scare, absolutely no live cattle have been moving into the States. Rodeo bull breeders are losing money, and are uncertain about the future...