NEWS ROUNDUP

Forest Service Decides To Keep Jobs In-House Of 969 full-time positions studied for possible takeover by private contractors, all but 47 were determined to be performed better and more cheaply by the agency, Tom Mills, the Forest Service's deputy chief for business operations, said last week. The agency also demonstrated that it should retain 946 positions at the 18 Job Corps vocational training centers it helps operate, Mills said. The agency has 34,700 employees. "We overwhelmingly retained them in-house," Mills said. "Our costs were better than the comparable contract costs." The Forest Service's job studies took place over nine months and are part of the administration's government-wide push to determine if hundreds of thousands of jobs done by federal employees could be more efficiently performed by private contractors. Bush says forcing civil servants to compete for jobs considered "commercial" in nature promotes cost cutting and saves taxpayers money, even if the jobs remain within agencies...Group to sue over firefighting Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics will file suit against the U.S. Forest Service this week, demanding that the agency formally and publicly evaluate the environmental and social effects of wildland firefighting. "Too many firefighters die each year in a fruitless and self-defeating war against fire," said Andy Stahl, executive director of the Oregon-based group of 12,000 former and current Forest Service employees and agency watchdogs. The first-ever lawsuit challenging the Forest Service's firefighting mission and practices, the complaint will be filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Missoula - because, Stahl said, "Missoula is the nerve center of a huge fire industrial complex." "The Forest Service has never, not once in its history, weighed the pros and cons of firefighting," said Marc Fink, the Western Environmental Law Center attorney representing FSEE in the lawsuit...Light being shed on fens In California mountain ranges, verdant ecosystems called fens are finally getting some respect. In Yosemite Valley, an earthmover this month finished scraping away tons of river sand spread over a fen in the 1920s to create a 1-acre parking lot. And in Lassen Volcanic National Park, water flow diverted decades ago is being restored to a 90-acre fen. In June, the U.S. Forest Service launched its first survey of fens in the state's national forests. And the more scientists such as Forest Service regional botanist Anne Bradley learn about these peat-forming wetlands, the more amazed they are at their prevalence. "It's new terrain for scientists and not much is known about the distribution and character of fens in California," said Bradley. "We're getting an education ourselves." Bradley anticipates that researchers will ultimately discover hundreds of new fens in California. She said the newly identified fens mapped so far range in size from "a few hundred feet to a large part of a wet meadow." Fen, a name derived from the Old English word "fenn," meaning a flat, marshy area, connotes images of the English countryside, where fens cover vast areas. But they're also not uncommon in the United States east of the Rockies. Fenway Park in Boston is named for a large wetland -- now mostly drained -- that was once called the Back Bay Fen...Column: We need a sensible approach to fighting wildfires Up here, the really large wildfires tend of late to run in six-year cycles, as they have perhaps across the millennia, whereas the political cycles rage every two years. Cycle by cycle, we make slow gains in educating the public about fire -- in separating fear-mongering myth from scientific reality -- though in election cycles, the truth often backslides. This year, the Bush administration's so-called "Healthy Forest Initiative" (H.R.1904, known in the Senate as the "Senate Logging Bill"), was a document born of the times. It is most dangerous and untruthful on two major points: First, it focuses on increasing logging of the national forests in the remote backcountry, far from the human communities supposedly at risk. The Forest Service's own studies show that fire prevention is most effective within 200 feet of a dwelling. Second, the bill proposes to take away the public's democratic right to participate effectively in the decision-making process of how our national forests are managed, and it also intrudes on the federal court system by directing the judiciary to rule in favor of the timber industry... Money for Kenai trail sent south The dream of the Alaska Mountain and Wilderness Huts Association for 30 miles of new backcountry trail connecting four shelters on the Kenai Peninsula appears to have gone up in the smoke of Western forest fires this summer. Alaska officials with the U.S. Forest Service say the entire $500,000 that U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican, earmarked for construction of new trail and the huts in the Paradise Valley area of the Chugach National Forest near Seward went south to help pay for firefighting. Volunteers who have spent five futile years trying to create a hut-to-hut hiking opportunity in the 49th state are frustrated...Ouray volunteers patrol a former land of the fee The southwestern Colorado county had an option that made dumping fee demo easier: volunteers. Opponents of the fee-demo program banded together and formed the Yankee Boy Regional Conservation Association, and offered to patrol and protect Yankee Boy and the Canyon Creek area adjacent to it. Ouray became the first county to substitute citizen volunteers for a fee-demo staff of federal workers. By many accounts, the program has worked well, doing for less than $5,000 what the U.S. Forest Service planned to budget more than $30,000 for this summer...Damage prompts trail closure in Bitterroot Forest Increasing damage along a trail in the Bitterroot National Forest near Hamilton has prompted officials to close it to all motorized use, the agency said. Sleeping Child Trail No. 105 is in an area about four miles east of Little Sleeping Child Road. Bitterroot Forest Supervisor Dave Bull signed an emergency closure order because of "rapidly expanding resource damage." Increased motorized use the past two years has widened and eroded the trail, and damaged streamside areas, officials said. "The trail had been open to motorcycles only, but the damage is being caused by ATVs and motorcycles," a news release said...Tourists try Icelandic whale steaks "We had the smoked puffin and whale sashimi. Good choice," says a North American tourist. "How many people do you know who can say they've eaten puffin and whale?" When Iceland resumed whaling after a 14-year break in August, environmentalists warned tourists to shun the country. But some tourists really don't mind that the North Atlantic nation offering popular whale-watching tours also serves the massive sea mammal on a plate... Tiny robots in the trees Tiny mobile robots zipping through the wilderness on cables could monitor endangered species discreetly and analyze environmental chemistry linked to global climate. Although people tend to mention the "Big Brother" aspect of the robots' surveillance work, Hamilton said, "I don't think any of the animals I study (would) care. The whole point of this is to not disturb animals. It's a lot more intrusive to catch an animal and tie a band to it than to monitor it without its knowledge - which these robots allow us to do."...Primate expert calls Bush's environmental record "terrifying" Primatologist Jane Goodall criticized President Bush's environmental policies Sunday, charging the White House with leading an "onslaught" against the Endangered Species Act that could lead to more African animals being killed or captured for profit... The Copycat of Last Resort Everybody knows that cats don't really have nine lives. But in Dr. Betsy Dresser's New Orleans laboratory that may soon change. Dresser and her staff have managed to clone an endangered African wildcat named "Jazz" using techniques never before demonstrated on a wild carnivore. The feat, scheduled to be announced this week, has implications beyond the obscure animal, which is endangered in parts of Africa. Dresser, Director of the Audubon Center for Research of Endangered Species and a biologist at the University of New Orleans, believes she and her colleagues have come up with a method of last resort to rescue mammals on the brink of extinction. "If a species goes extinct," she says, "this might be a way to bring it back."...Expert says Alaska mauling was result of irresponsibility The leading expert on grizzly bear recovery in the northern Rockies says a bear mauling in Alaska a week ago was prompted by irresponsible behavior, and could cause big setbacks for grizzlies everywhere. Experts say Treadwell was long ago warned he should stop playing with wild bears, because it was dangerous for both him and the bears. He didn't stop, and other filmmakers began to mimic him, documenting their own up-close encounters with grizzlies in Alaska and in Glacier and Yellowstone national parks. Bear biologists said Treadwell didn't need to die, not if he would have followed standard rules for staying out of the way of wild bears... Protecting Rattlesnakes The Nature Conservancy of Washington and the Bureau of Land Management want to protect the unique places in the Mid-Columbia where hundreds of snakes congregate to survive the winter. And the scientists believe the key to protecting these sites is by identifying their locations and why the snakes choose them. "These hibernation sites are really important," said Lisa Hallock, a snake scientist for the state Department of Natural Resources. "If we lose the sites, then we lose the snakes."... Rockies' natural gas fuels land-use clash The Rocky Mountains' rising stature as an energy star is fueling increased tension between producers and environmentalists over natural-gas drilling. Land-use conflicts are nothing new in the West, but analysts see a troubling correlation between surging demand for the Rockies' natural gas and acrimony over access to gas-rich public lands...Drilling applications soaring for W. Slope A remarkable number of natural gas wells are being proposed on Western Slope land, say government officials.
Three energy companies - Williams Production, EnCana Oil and Gas and KLT - have applied for 261 drilling permits at 34 locations over the next two years on Bureau of Land Management property in Garfield County. The companies have already asked for permission to drill 71 other wells from BLM land onto private land at Hunter Mesa and Grass Mesa, BLM associate field manager Steve Bennett said...Editorial: The Snowmobile Quagmire In mid-December the snowmobiling season is scheduled to open in Yellowstone National Park - another winter of health risks for park workers and visitors, pollution haze over the west entrance and Old Faithful, the din of a fleet of noisy machines in an otherwise silent park and daily harassment of winter-stressed animals. By siding with the snowmobile industry and overturning a Clinton-era plan to phase out snowmobiles, the Bush administration would continue a practice that violates the conclusions of its own Environmental Protection Agency, the better judgment of many National Park Service employees, the public will and common sense. In its own small way, the snowmobile issue demonstrates once again that when it comes to public lands the administration is always willing to sacrifice public good for private interest...Supporters fly in food and supplies for Pilgrims: Pilots reach family locked in dispute with National Park Service Friends and political supporters are flying winter supplies this weekend to the remote Wrangell Mountain cabin of the Pilgrim family, who have been blocked by the National Park Service from hauling supplies over an old mining-era road that the family had reopened with a bulldozer. Food and clothing for the 17-member family are at the top of the list for volunteer pilots flying to the high valley home, 14 overland miles from the settlement of McCarthy. The property lies in the heart of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. "The response has been overwhelming here in the valley," said Lee Adler of Glennallen, who flew the first two loads Wednesday, landing his two-seat Citabria on the family's prospecting-era gravel airstrip. "There's a lot of stuff waiting on both sides of the river and even more in Glennallen." ...Also see Winter supplies head to Alaska family feuding with Park... Animas-La Plata meeting anything but calm In interviews, several participants in the meeting said some bureau officials had seemed to blame the Ute Mountain Ute tribe, which had prepared the earlier cost estimates through a contractor. Tribal officials felt wrongly accused. Non-Indian partners worried that the increased costs would be passed to them and to local water users under terms of their written agreements with the bureau. It seemed that the decades-old, carefully nurtured, ever-so-delicate alliance of American Indians, farmers and local officials advocating A-LP was in danger of coming apart... Attendees: Litigation anything but calm Many of the people who attended a closed-door meeting in August to discuss the Animas-La Plata Project went to find out why construction costs had increased so dramatically. Few thought they were there to discuss potential litigation the cited reason for closing the meeting to the public. In interviews with The Durango Herald, many of the 44 people who attended the meeting Aug. 14 at Sky Ute Casino said they didn't go to discuss specific or pending litigation. Under state law, state boards like the Animas-La Plata Water Conservancy District board must meet in public, although they may close their meetings to receive legal advice from a lawyer on pending or imminent court actions... US energy bill thin on conservation, critics say The bill, the first overhaul of U.S. energy policy in a decade, aims to offer billions of dollars in incentives for oil companies, electric utilities, coal plants and nuclear plant owners to boost production or generate more megawatts. But while the Republican-written bill is generous in giving industry help to produce more energy, it gives U.S. consumers few reasons to conserve, critics say. To the Republican writers of the bill, the solution to the growing U.S. energy shortage is to make it easier for oil and gas companies to drill more. They would accomplish this by opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, easing permitting requirements on Western federal lands, and ordering an inventory of energy reserves in protected offshore areas along the East Coast...Column: We shouldn't let drying aquifers destroy Utah agriculture Utah's state engineer, who oversees the state Division of Water Rights, has indicated that several basin aquifers in Utah are greatly over-appropriated, some exceeding their safe yield by 240 percent. Overdrawn aquifers can deteriorate water quality by increasing salt concentrations, and can also result in subsidence or compaction of the air spaces the water used to occupy. So even if the aquifer is recharged in the future, it will have lost a good deal of its capacity to hold water. The state engineer has suggested alternatives to reduce the excessive draw on our aquifers. However, the solutions clearly must involve cutting back the water pumped from the aquifers, which will have a tremendous negative economic impact on the agricultural industry. State law is clear. Those who had the water first should have the right to it before those who came later -- the prior appropriation doctrine. However, many farmers question why agriculture should bear the multi-million-dollar brunt of this mistake... Producers pushing for slaughter of sheep Australian livestock producers have increased their efforts to keep the sheep stranded on board the Cormo Express from returning to Australia. The National Farmers Federation, the Cattle Council, the Sheepmeat Council and WoolProducers have united in a bid to convince the Federal Government to slaughter the 50,000 sheep at sea if no country comes forward to take them. But the Government is standing firm that slaughter at sea is the least preferred option...Editorial: Mad cow threat merits strong measures The Bush administration is considering new measures to ensure the safety of American beef, including ending the recycling of cow parts for animal feed and testing cattle that fall ill and die on the farm. These are major changes with potentially large costs for stockgrowers and perhaps consumers. But such steps may also be what ensure ongoing prosperity for the entire beef industry. The case favoring these measures can be summed up in three words: "mad cow disease." It's a weird, ultimately fatal brain disorder in cattle feared because of its potential to infect humans who eat meat products from afflicted animals. The human form of the disease is known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. A related disorder, chronic wasting disease, has infected deer and elk on game farms and also in some wild populations, but its potential to infect humans has never been established...Bill Shoemaker, Hall of Fame Jockey, Dies at 72 Bill Shoemaker, the 4-foot-11, 98-pound dynamo who was among horse racing's most renowned figures and who rode the winners of 11 Triple Crown races, died yesterday at his home in San Marino, Calif. He was 72. Shoemaker died in his sleep, Paddy Gallagher, his assistant in his years as a trainer, told The Associated Press. From his premature birth on a small cotton farm in Texas in 1931 to his tour of 14 racetracks in 8 countries in 1989 before his retirement as a jockey, Bill Shoemaker led a life laced with glory. But he was paralyzed in an auto accident on April 8, 1991, when he was 59, and spent the rest of his life training horses from his electric wheelchair, a feisty and sad figure perhaps, but still a racing legend from his home base at Santa Anita to Belmont Park...Something fishy about ancients' shift to meat About 6 000 years ago, people living in what is now Britain, stopped eating fish and shifted to cattle, sheep, pigs and goats in an abrupt and mysterious transformation that may offer new insights into the complex reasons why ancient peoples periodically changed their way of life...Search begins for mouse-breeding site Where in the heck do you build a mousery? The question had some folks shaking their heads Friday after Gov. Bill Owens suggested publicly that the state should begin breeding mice - the Preble's meadow jumping mouse, to be exact...French Cowboy Impresses Peers With Riding Five years ago Yvan Jayne stepped off a plane from France as a skinny exchange student who dreamed of becoming a cowboy - something he quickly shared with his host family. Since then a transformation has taken place and Jayne has become a professional rider with a slew of awards, including a new buckle he won over the weekend, to go along with his boots and hats. "We're just riders in France," Jayne, 21, said as he prepared for the final day of competition Saturday at the Sam Houston State University Regional Rodeo where he won the All-Around competition after impressing crowds with his bareback and saddle bronc riding...