NEWS ROUNDUP

Tribes, public meet again For the second time in three days, the Klamath Tribes met with the public about the possibility of re-establishing a reservation, except this time they heard questions and concerns from some of the Tribes' members. The Tribes have been talking with the federal government about getting 690,000 acres of national forest land in exchange for improved management. The crux of the deal is the Tribes' forest management plan, which tribal officials have called the "gold standard" of management plans. It is being completed by forestry experts from the University of Washington and Oregon State University. The plan, which had been expected to be released about Nov. 15, is now set for release Dec. 1, Foreman announced...Editorial: Lands Worth Leaving Alone Last April, Interior Secretary Gale Norton and Gov. Michael Leavitt of Utah struck a deal that removed federal protection from about 2.6 million acres of land in Utah that her predecessor, Bruce Babbitt, had designated as potential wilderness. The consequences of that deal are now becoming clear. The Bureau of Land Management, part of Interior, recently announced plans to sell oil and gas leases on 16,000 acres in and near Desolation Canyon, a fragile landscape that would almost certainly have remained off limits under the Babbitt policy. Environmental groups have filed protests aimed not only at protecting Desolation Canyon but also at sending a larger message: that the fate of these and other lands of national significance should ultimately be decided by Congress, not the oil and gas industry...Mining proposed at Sierra Madre historic site The U.S. Forest Service is seeking public comment on a proposal to explore for minerals at the historic Lost Cabin Mine in the Medicine Bow National Forest. The mine, more than 100 years old, is in a historic copper and silver mining area of the Sierra Madre Mountains. It also sits in a roadless area, meaning development is prohibited, though the roadless rule was thrown out by a federal judge in Cheyenne. That ruling is now being challenged...Judge hears arguments on logging injunction After hearing arguments on what the U.S. Forest Service must do to allow harvests to resume on six old growth timber sales in Oregon, a federal judge said Wednesday he will issue a permanent injunction next week banning logging on them in the meantime...Forest ATV plan gets opposition Environmentalists are challenging a plan to open as much as 215 miles of Mark Twain National Forest trails to off-road vehicles, saying the effort meant to study the effects of the machines is illogical and illegal. Calling for little public input and no formal environmental analysis, the proposal comes almost a decade after the U.S. Forest Service yielded to public opposition in dropping a plan to expand ATV trails in the forest, which covers 1.5-million-acres in 29 Missouri counties. The latest plan, developed in conjunction with trail rider groups, would authorize off-road vehicles in three areas on existing roads and trails, many of them created by illegal use. After three years, the Forest Service would decide whether to keep the trails open...Bush adminstration argues against appeal of roadless decision Environmental groups should not be allowed to challenge a Wyoming federal judge's decision to strike down a ban on road-building in remote areas of national forests, Justice Department lawyers contended in court papers filed this week. The Justice Department defended the roadless rule in federal court in Wyoming but did not appeal U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer's decision to strike it down in July. The environmental groups had intervened in the case and did appeal. They are asking the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reinstate the rule, which blocked road construction in 58.5 million forest acres nationwide as a way to stop logging and other commercial activity...Freaky Fridays with the Bush administration On Friday, Oct. 10, the Bush administration made it easier for mining companies to dump tailings on federal land. The timing of the announcement fit what environmental groups call the "Friday Follies." "It's a very effective strategy, a very cynical strategy," says Rob Perks of the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, D.C. "It's sneaky." When the Bush administration does something that's bad for the environment, it's often rolled out on a Friday, Perks says. That makes it difficult for news organizations to cover, because reporters and editors are already busy doing work for weekend publication or broadcast. And there is less chance for follow-up coverage, because newsroom staffing is at its thinnest on Saturdays and Sundays...Judge throws out suit blocking Lolo logging A judge has thrown out an environmental group's lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service's plans to log 4,600 acres in the Lolo National Forest. But that doesn't mean the project can go forward. A different decision by the same U.S. District Court judge, Don Molloy, prevents all work in burned areas of the Lolo forest. It is being appealed...'Outbreak of trees' targeted in Vail Valley The U.S. Forest Service has devised a plan to address what some agency planners call a "critical outbreak of trees in the Vail Valley," aiming to restore vigor and diversity to an overgrown forest that is being eaten alive by pine beetles. "Part of the intent is to get those stands in a condition where they're not so susceptible to the beetles," said Cal Wettstein, the agency's Minturn-based district ranger...The Klamath Whistleblower A scientist with the fisheries service, the man who was the "technical lead" for those biological opinions that had so rankled the reclamation bureau, was seeking protection under the federal whistleblower act, a law that shields federal employees who come forward with evidence of misconduct by their superiors. The whistleblower's name was Mike Kelly, and he was alleging that his own agency, despite being charged with protecting endangered species, had endorsed a plan that provided insufficient protection to the Klamath River's beleaguered coho population. So superheated was the Klamath controversy at that point that the news broke like a tidal wave. Kelly was besieged with interview requests from the likes of the Los Angeles Times and The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. He turned them all down. He hadn't come forward to bask in the limelight. He'd come forward, ultimately, to get the fish more water...GOP lawmakers on environment tear: Republicans say they want balance, Democrats see rollbacks Republican lawmakers are mounting their strongest bid since regaining control of the Senate in January to overturn or postpone an array of environmental provisions. With Congress trying to wrap up major energy and spending bills, GOP leaders are pressing to postpone implementation of tough smog rules for communities, ease restrictions on some energy exploration and exempt deep-water naval activities from the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Republicans say their efforts would strike a balance between environmental concerns and the need to protect industry from excessive restrictions that discourage investment and kill jobs...Ranch becomes haven for sage grouse The sprawling Ochs Ranch is haven to an at-risk population of Gunnison Sage grouse under a 2,757-acre conservation easement inked Wednesday. The $9.5 million agreement protects habitat while allowing local ranchers to work the land. "This has really become a model in many respects, because this is an area where we're talking about preservation of critical habitat and important open space in one of the prettiest parts of Colorado and the preservation of the agricultural economy that's so important to make it all work," said Greg Walcher, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources...Future of species protection gets scrutiny, Some say it's time to change 30-year-old law Each time Dick Jordan switches on a light or washes a load of clothes, his life is touched by the costs of the Endangered Species Act. It might be just pennies a day, but the price of saving endangered salmon and Snake River snails is reflected in the Timberline High School teacher's electric bill. Increased costs for growing Idaho's famous potatoes and raising beef are two other impacts of the landmark environmental law passed 30 years ago. Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and some of Idaho's leading experts on the law say the nation needs new tools to protect biological diversity. They are meeting with scientists this week in Santa Barbara, Calif., to map out a future for the most powerful environmental law ever written...Peregrine falcon makes courthouse its home Nature has taken flight at the El Paso County Courthouse. For the past eight winters, a window ledge on the 12th floor of the courthouse has served as one falcon's dining room and a public window to the wild. What El Pasoans are seeing out that courthouse window is becoming an increasingly common urban sight as peregrine falcons -- on the comeback from near extinction -- take up residence on big-city skyscrapers around the country, said Jeff Smith, interim executive director of HawkWatch International in Salt Lake City. Peregrines are known to be living in the New York's tall buildings and in the downtowns of Toronto, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Seattle and other major cities across North America...Yellowstone reports wolf sightings every day for almost three years For 1,000 days in a row, somebody in Yellowstone National Park has spotted a wolf. That's a total of 130,000 people reporting wolf sightings, the National Park Service announced this week. The 1,000-day mark, totaling almost three years, was reached Nov. 5. The Park Service called it "an extraordinary benchmark...Park Workers 'Openly' Opposing Bush Policies For the first few months of the Bush administration, if career employees at the agencies charged with protecting the environment disagreed with the new president's agenda, they expressed their concerns primarily among themselves - or sometimes, demanding anonymity, to reporters. Then several left their government jobs and started openly criticizing the administration, calling it hostile to wilderness, wildlife and clean air. Others stayed - but tried to sabotage, or at least expose, administration initiatives by leaking documents to the media. On Thursday, disagreements between the administration's environmental officials and some of their employees took a turn toward the bizarre...Poll: Some despair among parks' employees Politics is trumping science in America's national parks and the Bush administration is doing a poor job of upholding the mission of the parks, according to a majority of veteran Park Service career workers who participated in a recent poll. For those who responded - representing a little less than 10 percent of the agency's full-time work force - the results released Thursday indicate low morale, unease about the Bush administration's environmental policies, worry about the fate of the parks and an increasing difficulty in protecting the parks' natural resources...Clean-Air Rules for Parks The Environmental Protection Agency must propose a clean-air rule for national parks and wildernesses by Sept. 30 as part of a settlement announced on Thursday by the agency and environmental groups. The rule, to go into effect in September 2005, would address nitrogen oxide levels at parks like Acadia, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Rocky Mountain and Shenandoah. The accord was reached in a suit by Earthjustice, formerly the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund, and Environmental Defense. Before the pact is made final, it has to pass a public-comment period and court approval. The National Park Service says that smog damages vegetation and water in parks, and that air pollution cuts visibility to about half the natural level in Western parks and one-fifth in many Eastern ones. Plug Pulled on Dam Eighty-five years ago, the National Park Service dammed the Merced River with timbers, boulders and debris for a hydroelectric project that brought hot water and lights at the touch of a switch.
When the hydroelectric project was finished, 35,000 annual visitors were coming to Yosemite National Park, and such modern comforts outweighed consequences to nature. On Wednesday, the roles reversed. Heavy equipment began pounding the small hydro dam to pieces. The only dam between the Sierra crest and foothills on the Merced should be gone by December, officials said...Program conserves thousands of acres A private foundation has spent the past five years rivaling the federal government in the business of conserving California's landscape. Capping an ambitious program begun in March 1998, the Los Altos-based David and Lucile Packard Foundation announced Wednesday that it had protected 342,355 acres statewide...AG Salazar presents alternate water plan Attorney General Ken Salazar, a top opponent to Gov. Bill Owens' $2 billion bonding plan for new water projects that voters overwhelmingly defeated Nov. 4, came out Thursday with his own plan to end the state's water wars. Fingering the rapidly-growing Arapahoe and Douglas counties as the cause of fights between the Eastern and Western Slope for the last 15 to 20 years, Salazar announced his backing of a study looking into bringing new water from the Western Slope, running it through Denver Water's system of pipes and reservoirs and sending it to the southern suburbs...Nevada again denies water rights for federal nuclear dump Nevada is again denying water rights to Yucca Mountain, the site the federal government plans for a national nuclear waste dump. "The building of a nuclear waste repository is not a beneficial use," state Engineer Hugh Ricci said Thursday of his decision to deny permanent groundwater rights to the Energy Department. Ricci's ruling, dated Nov. 7, has no immediate effect because a court order currently allows enough water for maintenance and scientific activities at the site 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas...Schwarzenegger pick for state EPA bashes Bush Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger's choice to head the state's environmental protection agency criticized the Bush administration Thursday for failing to reduce greenhouse gases or prevent forest fires. Terry Tamminen, executive director of Environment Now in Santa Monica, said a federal decision earlier this year "undermines our ability to control greenhouse gases."...Japan to ban cattle backbone use in food products Japan has decided to ban the use of cattle backbone in food products and the sale of beef with backbone from countries that have reported cases of mad cow disease, a Health Ministry official said on Friday. The decision by a ministry panel will mostly apply to domestic products as Japan has already suspended beef imports from countries that have reported cases of the disease formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). The ban will probably be put in place around February after preparatory steps are completed, the official said...Retiree's farm is a tribute to the blades that watered the West Otto Mann never intended to transform part of his farmland into a museum of America's pioneer ingenuity. But the 81-year-old retiree is not one to sit around. As a result, his farm on a road east of Pearsall is the reason many motorists brake on their ride through the quiet South Texas countryside. The whirling of dozens of restored American-style windmills is hard to pass up...NAFTA fight over BSE rejected Canada's cattle industry saw compelling grounds for a challenge under the North American Free Trade Agreement against the closure of the United States border to Canadian beef and cattle this year. But the reasons for not pursuing that challenge were even more compelling, said Betty Green, president of the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association. An industry sentiment was that a NAFTA challenge could easily tie the issue up before a trade tribunal for three to four years, Green said. It was possible that during that period of legal wrangling, the U.S. border would have stayed closed to Canadian beef and cattle imports, she said...NCBA Declines R-CALF Meeting The National Cattlemen's Beef Association late Wednesday told R-CALF USA that it would decline an invitation to participate in a cattle industry summit meeting on mandatory country of origin labeling. R-CALF has scheduled the meeting for Tuesday in Denver and says it will go ahead with the meeting, without NCBA. NCBA, the nation's largest organization of cattle producers, opposes mandatory country of origin labeling. R-CALF, a competing group, supports it. The House version of the FY04 Agriculture Appropriations bill contains a provision to stop implementation of the labeling program for one year. On the other hand, the Senate voted 58 to 36 last week to instruct its conferees not to accept the House provision...As Beef Demand Soars, A Plug for Vegan Products An activist animal "rights" group says vegan food has gone mainstream, and to thank the companies that helped make it happen, the group is handing out what it calls "Proggy Awards" - "proggy" being a shortened form of the word "progress." "Enjoying traditional American favorites no longer has to cost an animal an arm-or a wing-and a leg," said Joe Haptas, a campaign coordinator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals...Sheep fight shears loser of $222,000 in legal fees It was inevitable that someone would be shorn when the Shenandoah Sheep War, fought for seven years in high pastures and district and appellate courts, climaxed this month in a judge's award of attorney's fees and costs. Ed and Adalouise Dunne filed a lawsuit to rid their upscale rural subdivision of sheep but lost the case. They have been ordered by a judge to pay the legal fees of the flock-owning neighbors they sued, Paul and Terrianne Warner. The bill comes to almost $222,000. "Mr. Dunne fleeced himself," said attorney Thomas Dugan, who represented the Warners...