NEWS ROUNDUP

NOTE: Click on the highlighted areas in orange to go to the article, study, report, etc.

Copters Halted as Fire Began Helicopter pilots with the San Diego Sheriff's Department wanted to conduct aerial water drops on the Cedar fire shortly after it was ignited Saturday but were prohibited from doing so by the U.S. Forest Service, sheriff's officials said Thursday. One sheriff's helicopter was flying back to an air base to pick up a "Bambi bucket" capable of dropping 100 gallons of water when the pilot was ordered to stay away from the fire, said Chris Saunders, a Sheriff's Department spokesman. Another sheriff's pilot said in an interview with The Times that he believed the fire could have been extinguished if an air assault was launched when the pilots volunteered to help and the fire was still relatively small. But an official with the U.S. Forest Service, which had initial jurisdiction over the blaze, said the Sheriff's Department's request to make water drops was denied out of concerns for the pilots' safety and the belief that the drops would have done little good. "We found out a long time ago that helicopters with little buckets are not effective in fighting brush fires like this," said Rich Hawkins, fire chief with the U.S. Forest Service. "No little helicopter with its little bucket would have done much good."...U.S. Rejected Davis on Aid to Clear Trees The Bush administration took six months to evaluate Gov. Gray Davis' emergency request last spring for $430 million to clear dead trees from fire-prone areas of Southern California. The request was finally denied Oct. 24, only hours before wildfires roared out of control in what has become the largest fire disaster in California history. Rep. Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs), a leader in the effort to get federal assistance for fire prevention, questioned Thursday why the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not rule sooner. "FEMA's decision was wrong," Bono said. "The timing couldn't have been worse.... We knew this disaster was going to happen with certainty. It was only a matter of when, and we were trying to beat the clock with removing the dead trees." If Davis had received the denial earlier, Bono said, he would have had time to wage an appeal. FEMA spokesman Chad Kolton said the agency denied Davis' request for an emergency declaration because California was already receiving more than $40 million from the departments of Agriculture and Interior to deal with a bark beetle infestation that has damaged thousands of acres of forest in the San Bernardino Mountains...Could Russian 'waterbomber' save California? Congressmen say feds resisting massive jet that will douse wildfires A massive Russian jet capable of releasing more than 10,000 gallons of water in a single dump could help solve California's wildfire crisis, but the federal government continues to resist it, asserts two U.S. congressmen. Reps. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Casey Weldon, R-Penn., said at a news conference yesterday the Russian government repeatedly has offered the Ilyushin-76 'Waterbomber' - reportedly capable of dousing a fire the size of 10 football fields -to the U.S. Forest Service for its use but has been rebuffed each time. Rohrabacher spokesman Aaron Lewis told WorldNetDaily the federal government's response amid wildfires that have killed 18, consumed more than 718,000 acres and destroyed more than 2,400 homes is the same as it has been for the past decade...Forest Service proposes aerial spraying for weeds A proposal to weed out noxious and invasive plants infiltrating the Helena National Forest includes aerial and ground spraying of herbicides, as well as enlisting the aid of goats, sheep and insects. Only about 2 percent of the 975,000 acres that make up the Helena National Forest currently are infested with noxious weeds, including Dalmatian toadflax, common toadflax, knapweed, leafy spurge, ox-eye daisy and sulfur cinquefoil. However, forest officials are concerned that with a 14 percent estimated annual rate of spread, it won't be long before weed infestations go beyond the 22,668 acres they currently cover onto another 319,700 susceptible acres...Native Fish in Arizona River in Peril Native fish in the Gila River basin are on the brink of extinction and little is being done to help save them, according to a study by a team of biologists. Written by scientists from federal agencies, Arizona State University, the University of Arizona and the Nature Conservancy, the 20-page report said that Arizona's native fish population is under siege. "Arizona is on a path to have all of its native fish go extinct unless state and federal agencies start doing -- rather than just talking about -- their jobs," said Leon Fager, a longtime endangered-species biologist for the U.S. Forest Service. The study of a dozen threatened or endangered warm-water fish in the Gila River basin found that half of the species no longer exist in wild populations...Agencies call off wolf investigation Federal officials have halted an investigation into the possible death of a wolf on the national forest west of Augusta after a forensic lab determined the wolf's collar mostly likely was pulled off by another wolf. On Aug. 9, federal researchers discovered that the wolf's collar was emitting a mortality signal - a radio signal that is broadcast if the animal wearing the collar does not move for a certain period of time. Wilderness rangers later recovered the collar but found no wolf body in the area near the Prairie Reef Lookout Station on the Lewis and Clark National Forest...Forest tightens rules for off-roaders The Ashley National Forest has banned ATVs from straying off designated roads and trails in the last part of northern Utah forest that was open to "cross-country travel." Ashley Supervisor George Weldon issued an order earlier this month that bans motorized cross-country travel in the Vernal Ranger District, which includes the eastern part of the forest north of Vernal and south of Flaming Gorge. The restrictions -- which the forest may try to make permanent when it revises its master plan next year -- are needed "to halt the unacceptable impacts to natural resources on the forest," Weldon said...Senate Votes for a Measure to Thin Trees Prodded by the wildfires raging across California, the Senate voted overwhelmingly on Thursday in favor of President Bush's plan to allow the thinning of trees on as much as 20 million acres of federal land. The vote, 80 to 14, came after a day of intense debate on the measure, which the administration contends would reduce the risk of catastrophic forest fires. The bill, a bipartisan compromise, now goes into conference with the House, which has already passed similar legislation. The White House has said it supports both bills...San Francisco Endorses European Chemical Reforms San Francisco's Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 on Oct. 28 to adopt a resolution supporting a proposed European Union law to control hazardous chemicals. "San Francisco recently became the first city in the nation to adopt the Precautionary Principle as a guidepost for city policy," according to San Francisco Supervisor Jake McGoldrick. "Now by supporting REACH we can take another step forward in protecting our communities from toxics chemicals." The European initiative, called REACH (Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals), would shift the burden of proving the health and environmental safety onto companies that manufacture, use and import most major industrial chemicals...Conservationists call for basin-wide analysis of impacts to Columbia and Snake River salmon The federal government must examine federal dam operations and freshwater habitat in one comprehensive evaluation when determining how it will protect Columbia and Snake river salmon and steelhead listed under the Endangered Species Act, conservation organizations and fishing businesses asserted in a legal brief filed today in federal district court in Oregon. The brief asks the judge to clarify his earlier decision that the federal government had improperly defined the so-called "action" and "action area" for its plan -- i.e., the activities that would be undertaken to protect salmon from the effects of the federal dam system and the area affected by these efforts...Editorial: Designation will stifle ag, growth If we're not careful, we could be preserving ourselves into extinction. We're talking about a proposal to list the California tiger salamander as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. This slimy 8-inch-long critter is perilously close to threatening agriculture and development in the Central Valley. Estimates place the critters on 1.1 million acres, which we think hardly makes them threatened. Let's face it, that's an area that's almost 1 1/3 times the size of Rhode Island, home to over 1 million people. As we all are well aware, ag is big business in Stanislaus County - in fact, it's a $1.37 billion industry. If the designation goes through, as much as one-third of the county's land, must of which is used for farming, could be affected...NPRC takes methane fears to BLM A conservation group protesting a decision by the Bureau of Land Management to allow coalbed methane drilling in southeastern Montana showed up unexpectedly at the state office Wednesday to meet with the director even though the meeting had been canceled the day before. As BLM staffers scrambled to find chairs for more than 20 members of the Northern Plains Resource Council, State Director Marty Ott welcomed the group in a conference room. He listened for about an hour as NPRC members politely vented their frustration with the process and aired concerns about coalbed methane development. "We feel it's the law (that) you need to take public comment," said Mark Fix, a Tongue River rancher and chair of NPRC's coalbed methane task force. Ray Muggli, another Tongue River rancher, said producers along the river drainage are being made the scapegoats for development. "Coalbed methane will never be taken care of in our lifetime," he said. "Soil is not a renewable resource." Damage from coalbed methane water "will be permanent in the valley" and will destroy production on clay soils, he said. Drilling for methane gas requires pumping to the surface large quantities of groundwater, releasing the gas held in coal seams. In Montana, the groundwater from methane drilling tends to run high in sodium, which can damage plants and soils... Environmentalists: BLM catering to oil The Bureau of Land Management has abandoned its role as a multi-use agency overseeing public lands and is catering to one of the richest businesses in the world, environmentalists said at a rally Wednesday. Members of Western Colorado Congress, a grass-roots environmental organization, rallied outside a day-long workshop involving the Colorado Oil and Gas Association and federal agencies at the Adam's Mark Hotel. The controversial workshop, focused on streamlining the application for permit to drill (APD) process, gained attention when environmental groups learned its invitation was sent out on BLM letterhead. The partnership between the oil and gas lobbying association and a federal agency bothered some constituents. "Landowners did not receive invitations," said Peggy Utesch. "Ranchers who hold grazing permits for federal lands weren't invited to share their concerns about increased gas drilling on federal lands...Utah to claim 20 roads The state has thrown down a glove in its fight over dirt roads. But environmentalists won't likely pick a fight. At least not this time. Gov. Mike Leavitt Wednesday unveiled a list of 20 roads crisscrossing federal land on which the state intends to seek ownership. "These roads are indisputably roads," Leavitt said. "Every single road being submitted existed before 1976, can be traveled by car or truck and is not in a national park, wilderness area, wilderness study area or fish and wildlife refuge." Leavitt's catalogue of roads is the first volley in what is expected to be a litany of future fights over tens of thousands of dirt roads across federal lands - so-called "R.S. 2477" roads, in reference to an old mining statute that allowed states and counties to claim rights of way across federal lands. The law was repealed in 1976, but any road in place prior to that time would still qualify as a local right of way under the old law...Bush Administration Attacks Clean Water Safeguards, Sets Dangerous Precedent With Proposed Oregon Rule, Groups Say The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) proposed "Oregon Rule," which would pave the way for federal dams to evade their Clean Water Act obligations, is a trial balloon for a broad national policy that would have devastating consequences for river ecosystems across the country, conservationists warned today. The proposed Oregon Rule would allow federal agencies to petition the EPA to weaken water quality standards that are needed to maintain river conditions that support healthy and thriving fish populations. Right now, many federal dams impair water quality to the point that fish populations are decreased and sliding toward extinction. If a federal dam operator petitions EPA, the Oregon Rule would require EPA to initiate a process to change standards to suit the dam -- even if lower standards would prevent restoration of healthy fish populations...Stuff of dreams goes up in smoke at movie ranch Some 50 years of film and television history went up in smoke this weekend when fire ripped across the 7,000-acre Big Sky Movie Ranch north of Simi Valley. Only ashen timbers, charred metal and thousands of memories remain of old sets scattered around the hillsides that have been home to countless productions, from "Gunsmoke" to "Fear Factor." For ranch managers and filming coordinators Don and Debra Early, who live on the property, the loss is deeply personal. While the main house they lived in was spared, the fire destroyed fences, barns and perhaps as many as 40 of their cattle, which remain missing. The Earlys still were tallying the damage Thursday, but they expect it to exceed $1 million...FDA says food from cloned animals safe to eat Milk and meat from cloned animals are safe to eat, the Food and Drug Administration has tentatively concluded, a finding that could eventually clear the way for such products to reach supermarket shelves and for cloning to be widely used to breed livestock. The agency's conclusions are being released today in advance of a public meeting on the issue Tuesday in Rockville, Md. Agency officials said that after receiving public comments, they hope by late next spring to outline their views on how, if at all, cloning would be regulated, including whether food from cloned animals should be labeled. But if the preliminary conclusion stands, labeling would not be needed and there would be little regulation, said Stephen Sundlof, director of the agency's Center for Veterinary Medicine...Brain disease reversed in mice By using genetic trickery, a group of British scientists has reversed a type of fatal brain disease, a finding that has implications for a family of deadly neurological disorders in people, cattle and deer. Researchers using laboratory mice say they were able to halt and actually reverse the disease process caused by an infectious agent known as a prion, according to their paper published Thursday in the journal Science. Prions are rogue proteins that attack the brain and are believed to be the cause of a family of diseases that includes Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in people, mad cow disease and chronic wasting disease in deer. People also can be infected with the human version of mad cow disease, called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease...