NEWS ROUNDUP

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Two Forest Service Firefighters Plead Guilty to Pot Charges Two U.S. Forest Service firefighters have pleaded guilty to marijuana charges that could land them in prison for 20 years. Ricardo Romero Jr., 25, of Rio Rico entered his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute marijuana yesterday in U.S. District Court before Magistrate Glenda Edmonds, according to Harriet Bernick, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix. Cesar Ricardo Amaya, 22, of Nogales pleaded guilty to the same charge last month...Outdoor food rules unwelcome Attempts by the U.S. Forest Service to impose stricter rules aimed at keeping food away from bears in northwestern Wyoming's national forests may seem harmless. But when the government and grizzly bears are involved, folks in conservative Fremont County get suspicious. The county, on the southern edge of grizzly country, is considering suing the Forest Service over the proposed food storage order, which has sparked resentment among lawmakers and residents who aren't fond of grizzlies to begin with -- and who feel the government already regulates too much of their lives. "No one has spoken against using good backcountry ethics," County Commission Chairman Doug Thompson said. "We just don't like the Forest Service stuffing these orders down our throats." ...Computer model shows potential for turning fire fuel to energy Environmentalists, foresters and timber companies agree the brush and small trees choking vulnerable forests must go. But what to do with it? The prevailing wisdom generally has been "that small trees are almost like toxic waste -- there's no use for it," said Jeremy Fried, a research forester at U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station in Portland, Ore. But that smaller material and the branches of larger trees thinned from the forest can be used as biomass to fuel electric generating plants...Environmentalists question logging as fire-safety practice "This is a giant loophole for allowing timber companies to log forests," said Jody Frediani, a forestry specialist with the Sierra Club Ventana Chapter. She says her visits to the Sierra Nevada and Big Sur, which are largely federally owned, will be marred by the sight of logged forests...Feds to pay for damage from the Cascade II fire The federal government will pay for all rehabilitation costs associated with the Cascade II fire, easing the fears of Wasatch County officials who thought they might get stuck with a huge bill. "We're happy," said Mike Davis, Wasatch County manager. Skip Nelson of Natural Resource Conservation Services has been working on a fair way to cover the costs since September when the Forest Service lost control of a prescribed 600-acre burn that ultimately consumed nearly 8,000 acres...Firefighting costs, contracts questioned Private companies have always helped fight fires, but the massive industry specializing in it has only developed over the last five to 10 years, bringing with it some criticism over ballooning budgets and outsourced work. "It's growing for several reasons," said Bruce McDowell, a project director for the National Academy of Public Administration in Washington, D.C. "The number of fires that are large and severe has gone up," he said, in part because of effective firefighting techniques that have stopped the natural process of burning and created an abundance of dead and dried-up trees in the forests...Environment caught in firestorm Fire is as much a part of nature as the trees and shrubs it consumes ---- and crucial for maintaining a healthy environment. But officials and scientists say the October firestorm burned so hot and wide all over Southern California that it threatens to block the return of forest, wipe out islands of habitat essential for rare animals' survival and trigger the flow of mountains of toxic-metal-laced mud into rivers, reservoirs and the Pacific Ocean. In San Diego County, state officials are especially anxious because the Cedar fire torched what is believed to be the world's only grove of Cuyamaca cypress trees...Column: Will the Real Ron Wyden Please Stand Up? One has to go to Wyden's other Number One Senate PAC ranking -- Big Timber! Yep. That's right. Sen. Ron Wyden hauled in more money from Timber PACs than any other Senator this election season. In fact, he hauled in more timber bucks than any other US politician, save one, George W. Bush. Now Bush will now sign into law what Wyden, himself, proudly calls the "Wyden/Feinstein Forest Compromise," when the environmental establishment, lapdogs of the Democratic Party, persists in calling it Bush's so-called "Healthy Forests Initiative." For Big Timber, Ron Wyden clearly has stood up. Perhaps Bush will hand him a souvenir pen after he signs the logging bill into law...Possible role of radio problems in Cedar fire under scrutiny Mismatched radio systems left U.S. Forest Service crews unable to talk to their counterparts in other fire agencies. Some firefighters resorted to palm-size Family Radio Service devices that sell for as little as $25 apiece after the failure of their regular radios, which cost thousands of dollars each. At times, supervisors had to leave their crews in trucks parked in the field and drive back to their base camp to get instructions because they couldn't reach anyone by radio. Some out-of-town "strike teams" that were supposed to have radios "cloned" to enable them to talk to commanders never got them...Trust buries donations deep in conservation The Trust for Public Lands is a private, nonprofit corporation that works to protect land for use by people as parks, gardens or open space. TPL helps communities identify land for preservation, partners with state and federal bodies to garner the funds to buy lands, and oversees the actual land transaction. And it does not hold onto the land it buys, but sells it immediately to a public agency, which maintains the protected space. The trust partners with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the U.S. Forest Service, state parks and state forest service agencies, as well as county governments and community groups. The organization's total assets for 2003 were $337 million...Lynx fate 'hangs in balance' Eight conservation groups are accusing the U.S. Forest Service of dragging its feet on promises to protect the lynx in Colorado. Despite the birth of 16 kittens this year, the majority of lynx habitat on federal lands remains unprotected, according to the Center for Native Ecosystems, Sinapu and other groups. "More than three years ago, the Forest Service promised it would map lynx habitat and linkages between habitats, but that has only been done in a couple of situations," said Erin Robertson, staff biologist for Center for Native Ecosystems...Water use, salmon talks fail to avert lawsuit After two months of negotiations, Sen. Mike Crapo might no longer be willing to mitigate the water rights of salmon and farmers, said spokesman Lindsay Nothern. Three environmental groups told Crapo's chief of staff John Hoehne Friday they wouldn't hold off litigation attempts to ensure salmon receive at least 427,000 acre-feet of water next year, said Pat Ford, of Save our Wild Salmon Coalition. Crapo wanted the groups to hold off on lawsuits until after June. "This action has moved us into a litigation mode from a talking mode," said Nothern...One group says it won't sue A key Idaho environmental group has refused to cooperate with other conservation organizations planning to sue to force farmers to give up their water rights so there's more water for salmon. Conservation groups announced Friday they wouldn't rule out lawsuits to recover Idaho's wild salmon and steelhead, but notably absent from the decision was the Idaho Conservation League...Bison grazing in Grand Canyon park raise concerns Officials at the park, which includes more land than just the Canyon, are concerned about what the non-native bison are doing to the area's delicate ecosystem and rare native animals. The bison trample vegetation, defecate in ponds, pollute springs and create wallows, said Elaine Leslie, a wildlife biologist at the Grand Canyon. Some of the soil they tread on has also begun to erode, putting trees and plants at risk. Consequently, park officials have been meeting with the state to discuss how to remove the bison, which the state owns and maintains on land outside the park... GOVERNOR: LOCAL PLANNING BEST FOR SAGE GROUSE MANAGEMENT A local planning process is a better fit for managing Wyoming's sage grouse populations than the Bureau of Land Management's broad approach, Gov. Dave Freudenthal told the federal agency this week. The sage grouse conservation plan approved by the Wyoming Game and Fish Commission about five months ago is tailor-made for the state, Freudenthal said. The BLM's sage grouse habitant conservation strategy is, by contrast, less comprehensive and neglects significant details about Wyoming's sagebrush ecosystem. "I believe the local conservation planning process is a better approach for the state of Wyoming, rather than overly relying on a one-size-fits-all approach for all BLM lands," the governor wrote to BLM Director Kathleen Clarke and the group working on developing the BLM's sage grouse plan, now in draft form...A deepening divide The pace of the changes has provoked an identity crisis within Central Oregon. Is it urban or rural? Pro-growth or protective? Working-class or wealthy leisure? Hard-core athlete or martini-inclined duffer? These Central Oregon spats have spilled into statewide politics, with the region's lawmakers emerging as major players in the state's divisive debates over land use, water rights and education...Water-rights fees may start in February First the first time in the state's 127-year history, an annual fee on water rights will soon be imposed. Senate Bill 278, signed by Gov. Bill Owens May 1, requires State Engineer Hal Simpson of the Colorado Division of Water Resources to develop rules for assessment and collection of water fees, at least for the next two years. The law, expected to raise $1.8 million annually, affects owners of absolute water rights adjudicated for direct flow of at least 1 cubic foot per second and storage of at least 100 acre-feet...Pamela's Pet Project at KFC Well, there's at least one man in the world who refuses to succumb to Pamela Anderson's charms: the CEO of KFC Corp. Anderson has been in bed with the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) since her "Baywatch" days, she told us yesterday, and is currently leading the group's boycott against the restaurant chain. According to PETA, the treatment of chickens on KFC farms is cruel...Johnson County to restore 1850s Chisholm Trail cabin "In 1855 a brisk norther came in, and judges were holding court," said Jack Carlton of the Johnson County Historical Commission. "Wind whipped the fireplace until it caught on fire. The judge said, 'Let it burn, maybe we'll all get warm.'" Now the 16-by-16-foot log cabin can -- and will, officials say -- be restored starting next week as part of a tribute site in Cleburne to honor the grit of the cattle drovers of the Chisholm Trail in Texas. The log structure, rediscovered this year east of Cleburne "back in the woods," where it had been moved, Carlton said, is set now at Cleburne's Chisholm Trail monument of nine steel silhouettes featuring longhorns and drovers, just off Highway 67 west of Lake Pat Cleburne...Column: Why We Are In Trouble First, the National Beef Cattleman's Association just put out a press release about how the recently passed (by the Senate) Grasslands Reserve Program will "help" ranchers. The fact that the Public Lands Council joins in this praise should be your first clue that something is amiss. With all the examples of Federal authority growth and abuse (Endangered Species, Marine Mammals, Animal Welfare, etc.) the fact that a national rancher group can sell this stuff to private property (land and animals) owners is nothing short of amazing. Part of the problem is the "We" expect and reward Washington organizations that get us a "piece of the pie." "We" are part of the problem...