NEWS ROUNDUP

Bridger-Teton National Forest officials propose more heli-skiing Bridger-Teton National Forest officials are proposing to allow more heli-skiing while redrawing permit boundaries for heli-skiing to limit interference with wildlife and backcountry skiers. The forest on Tuesday released a draft study and proposal to award a five-year permit to High Mountain Heli-Skiing, which has been permitted to guide heli-skiing trips in the Bridger-Teton and Caribou-Targhee national forests since 1977. The company had sought permission to expand its operation. Under the forest's preferred plan, the company would be allowed access for 1,000 skier days, up from 468 days originally permitted in 1984. The company had requested 1,500 skier days to meet future demand...Grizzly bear recovery presents new challenge Hans Peterson wasn't concerned when the 2-year-old grizzly bear wandered into the yard of his home in Tetonia, on the Wyoming border, in September. Even after the bear turned into a regular visitor, ignoring his barking dogs, Peterson didn't rattle. But when the 150-pound sub-adult sow refused to leave his garage after his wife honked the car horn, Peterson lost his patience with his new neighbor. The bear was trapped and moved by federal authorities last month, a scene that is expected to become a regular occurrence in eastern Idaho as the grizzly population continues to expand out of Yellowstone National Park. Peterson's non-violent resolution of his encounter with the bear is a sign of the success of the Endangered Species Act, signed into law 30 years ago today by President Richard Nixon...Species Act reform may be possible As the federal Endangered Species Act turns 30 today, groups warring over the landmark conservation law say they're edging toward a consensus that its future lies in cooperation instead of confrontation. Supporters and opponents alike say the act is being loved to death by environmental groups that have used it not only to save species from extinction, but to block -- or at least slow -- rampaging development. The Bush administration's chief overseer declared the act "broken," snapped under the weight of myriad lawsuits that now drive most aspects of the law. Environmental groups counter that Bush has sabotaged the law by not seeking sufficient money through a Congress that, in turn, is so split it hasn't reauthorized the act since 1988. It's funded instead on a year-to-year basis as critics and supporters spar over its future...Measure shielding wildlife turns 30 Thirty years after President Nixon quietly signed it into law, the Endangered Species Act remains one of the nation's premier environmental statutes and one of its most controversial. From the snail darter to the spotted owl to Pacific salmon, the law and its enforcement still spark fierce confrontations between environmentalists and business interests that almost inevitably end up in court. Repeated attempts to overhaul the law have been beaten back in Congress, though critics say they aren't about to give up trying. The original sponsors of the act may not have foreseen the impact it would have...Endangered Species Act hits 30 Paul Selzer can thank a tiny lizard for making him an unlikely member in the desert's club of Endangered Species Act pioneers. It was the early 1980s and Selzer, a Palm Springs attorney, had a client whose plans to build a new country club were being hindered in part because it would have threatened a population of Coachella Valley fringe-toed lizards. At the time Selzer said he had never heard of the Endangered Species Act, the 1973 law that was shielding the lizards' habitat from the proposed country club development. But he soon became acquainted with the landmark environmental law and, perhaps more important, an amendment to the act that would allow the country club to go forward and rewrite the way species are protected in the Coachella Valley and the nation. "Before (the amendment), if you found an endangered species on your property the game was over," Selzer said. "You couldn't do anything."...Pombo eyes overhaul of Endangered Species Act Since he was elected to Congress in 1992, Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Tracy, has steadily gained political influence in Washington, D.C. The former rancher serves on the Committee on Agriculture and last year was elected to a powerful post -- chairman of the House Committee on Resources. As chairman of the Resources Committee, Pombo helps set policies governing oil and gas exploration, logging, water use and endangered species protection. A staunch defender of property rights, Pombo recently talked about his legislative priorities...Activists protest Alaska in NYC On a Manhattan sidewalk jammed with shoppers and tourists, a tight band of animal rights activists Saturday tried to draw attention to the cause of Alaska wolves. "Save a wolf. Sign a postcard. Boycott Alaska," Bob Orabona called out to the crowd rushing past Rockefeller Center. Orabona works in the Connecticut headquarters of Friends of Animals, the group that staged the protest...Feds losing grip on species act A funny thing happened to the landmark Endangered Species Act (ESA) on its way to turning 30 today: Depending on whom you ask, the government either lost -- or ceded -- control over it. When a federal judge in Seattle this month ordered the government to rethink its decision not to protect Puget Sound orcas under the ESA, it did so at the behest of a Tucson, Ariz.-based environmental group, which had filed a legal challenge. Three decades after President Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law, nearly every major decision about what animals or plants to protect -- from the Columbia Basin's pygmy rabbit to the Washington gray squirrel -- is now made, at least in part, by Arizona's Center for Biological Diversity. Founded more than a decade ago by a philosopher, a biologist and an emergency-room doctor, the Center for Biological Diversity has grown so efficient and successful at filing lawsuits that it is responsible for more than 95 percent of the species nationwide that have been protected by the act since the year 2000...Endangered Species Act remains source of controversy Critics say that law went too far. Conservationists say not far enough. The Endangered Species Act offered crucial protection not just for critters but for us, too, scientists say. So in a state where the needs of both often clash, they say the battle to save species is far from won. Environmental groups considered the act a national wakeup call. It replaced weaker laws in 1966 and 1969 that set forth lists of endangered wildlife. For the first time, the government had to identify the most important habitats and create plans for recovering species. It also had to consult federal biologists before issuing permits for construction in areas where listed species live. Now, some wildlife advocates consider the results mixed...Endangered Species Act survives 3 decades: Law's future rocky as backers, critics deadlock on possible changes Whether the act that was meant to keep species alive has become creaky and outmoded -- or is just underfed after years of political stalemate and stagnant budgets -- is a matter for debate. The law's supporters cite its legendary successes, such as the comebacks of the bald eagle and the California condor. Backers say other victories are less well known but just as ecologically significant. But the law's critics -- including senior officials in the Bush administration -- say it has become an economic drag and is badly in need of reform...Column: GOP moves imperil dynamic, flexible, common-sense law On Dec. 28, 1973, I watched President Richard Nixon sign into law the Endangered Species Act. It was one of my proudest moments in Congress. For 30 years the ESA has been protecting our environment and species on the verge of extinction. Today, conservationists and supporters look at the ESA and call its enactment visionary, while developers and critics refer to it in four-letter terms not fit for printing on the pages of this newspaper. I disagree with both characterizations. To me, the ESA was and remains common sense. Like many of the cornerstone environmental laws we put in place during the early 1970s, the ESA's enactment was a nonpartisan, consensus undertaking: it passed the House by a vote of 391-12, and the Senate by a vote of 92-0...As list grows, so does struggle to save endangered species Now, 30 years after President Richard M. Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law on Dec. 28, 1973, conservationists are still wondering how to keep the dwarf wedge mussel, the bog turtle, and the wild yak from disappearing. The challenge gets bigger every year. In 1973, 77 species were on the endangered or threatened list. Today, more than 1,800 plants and animals are listed. Though critics slam the Bush administration for weakening environmental protection and say the process to get on the endangered list is cumbersome, even the harshest voices say the Endangered Species Act has been a positive force. "It's a law that has morals - and to me it's a miracle that it's stood intact for so long," said Brock Evans, executive director of the Endangered Species Coalition, which represents about 400 grassroots groups. "Sure, it could be better and improved, but this is a law with teeth."...The State of the Species The biggest battles now are over the act's requirement that endangered species listings be accompanied by designations of "critical habitat'' areas. Such a designation requires scientific review and a formal declaration by the U.S. Department of Interior that precludes habitat changes that would adversely affect the endangered species. Craig Manson, assistant secretary of the interior for fish and wildlife and parks, has said a flood of court orders requiring the government to designate critical habitat for endangered species already on the list is eating up the program's $9 million annual budget. He said the requirement has become an obstacle to private landowner cooperation and has delayed the listing of other species that are in need of the act's protections. Only about 400 species have had critical habitat designations, Manson said, and to do the work for designating habitat for the other 800 species on the list would cost more than $150 million. Pending court orders require the Interior Department to perform assessments and designate critical habitat for 32 species on the endangered list...Editorial: An Endangered Act In recent years, skeptical members of Congress have frequently complained that the Endangered Species Act is "broken" and so riddled with litigation and ill-defined rules that it ought to be abandoned. Controversies over obscure plants and toads have led many to ridicule the act's stringent provisions. The congressional committees with jurisdiction over the law are now all controlled by members who oppose the act. As a result, it has not been reauthorized since 1988, when Ronald Reagan was in the White House, though it remains in effect by default. But however despised, the law has been a success, at least in one sense. Thanks to the legislation, the American bald eagle, whose near-extinction had become a symbol for environmental degradation, is still flying. Species as varied as the gray and red wolves, the American alligator, the black-footed ferret and the California condor have also recovered, and their numbers are increasing. The act has also inspired conservation efforts around the world, including a ban on trade in elephant tusks and the redesign of fishing nets, which once killed large numbers of endangered turtles in the Gulf of Mexico and now allow them to escape...Column: Allowing snowmobiles in Yellowstone is the right thing to do However, to the environmentalists' chagrin, populations of bison, as well as elk, grizzly bear and gray wolf, increased as the case ground its way through court. As snowmobile use had not decreased, other theories had to be advanced, including alleged water and air pollution. However, the Park Service's own environmental analysis showed that the air and water in Yellowstone are not polluted. While snowmobiles do have impacts, they are a fraction of the total human impacts to the park. This makes intuitive sense, as Yellowstone receives more than 1.6 million summertime visitors traveling in all types of motorized vehicles along a more extensive road network than previously available to the 60,000 or so visitors on snowmobiles. That doesn't matter to the environmentalists. They are driven by a philosophy that would eliminate much of the human use and visitation to all of America's parks. They truly believe that we are "loving our parks to death." Their ultimate vision for the National Park system is a vast primitive wildernesses connected by highly restrictive "wildland corridors" where humans will at best be allowed a quick glimpse through a carefully controlled mass transit system...Park employees can use snowmoblies Most of the new snowmobiling rules in Yellowstone National Park probably won't apply to people who live and work in the park's interior. "Personal, non-recreational use of snowmobiles will be allowed to continue" for employees, park spokeswoman Cheryl Matthews said last week...Denali park opens to snowmobiles Like much of Southcentral Alaska, Denali National Park and Preserve has gotten copious quantities of snow. Enough has fallen, park managers said recently, that portions of the 6-million-acre park are now open to snowmachines. But when Denali National Park and snowmachines are mentioned in the same breath, confusion is never far behind. The 4 million acres added 23 years ago to Mount McKinley National Park by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, and designated either "park" or "preserve," are open, when snow cover is sufficient, to snowmachine access for "traditional activities." ANILCA did not specify what those activities are, but "congressional debate refers to subsistence-like activities associated with a rural Alaska lifestyle," according to a Park Service statement last May...Gibbons' plan to sell public land for mining criticized Rep. Jim Gibbons and environmentalists are clashing over his plan to sell public land in Nevada to two mining companies. The Reno Republican maintains the plan would give a boost to the rural economy, but environmentalists call it an end run on the nation's environmental laws to the benefit of one special interest. His plan calls for the sale of various plots of federal land in Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander and White Pine counties to Placer Dome U.S. Inc. or Graymont Western U.S. Inc. The proposal would allow the companies to bypass what Gibbons views as excessive red tape: the permitting process of the National Environmental Policy Act...BLM looks to double gas wells allowed The U.S Bureau of Land Management has more than doubled the number of gas wells that would be allowed under the Jonah Infill Drilling Project. The BLM originally proposed allowing up to 1,250 new wells to be drilled from 850 new well pads for the lucrative Jonah gas fields of southwest Wyoming. Based on new information and a revised development proposal from Encana Oil and Gas, Inc., the BLM revised that number to 3,100, according to Carol Kruse, leader of the BLM Jonah Drilling Project Interdisciplinary Team...Environmen talists wary of Steens Wilderness plan Environmentalists fear that consultants with strong ties to the mining industry who wrote a management plan for about 1.6 million acres of public land in southeastern Oregon ignored their concerns. In October 2002, environmentalists from the Oregon Natural Desert Association asked the Bureau of Land Management to designate 363,000 acres in southeastern Oregon as wilderness study areas. The land surrounded the Steens Wilderness Area, which was created in 2000. They got no response. The proposed area fits into a larger parcel -- roughly 1.6 million acres -- for which the agency was writing a management plan...Drought: Current dry spell no match for Great Depression No matter how dry it gets or how long the current drought lasts, it probably can never compare to the misery of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. "Most of our population now is insulated from its effects," said Bill Volk, a soil scientist and plant ecologist for the Bureau of Land Management. "There's food on the shelves at the grocery store, and water still comes out of the tap." Only a very small percentage of Montanans - those still farming and ranching - have experienced the latest drought's direct effect, he said. The other 90 percent has yet to feel the pain...A dark age driven by wind A mighty wind blew out of Montana and Wyoming on May 8, 1934, sucking top soil off dried-up fields and blowing it in a vast brown cloud east across the country and onto ships 300 miles off the Atlantic coast. The dust storm was estimated at 1,500 miles long, 900 miles across and two miles deep. On its sweep across the continent, the storm picked up 350 million tons of dirt and drove it at speeds of up to 100 mph. On the night of May 9, an estimated 12 million tons fell on Chicago as the dark cloud advanced on the East Coast. Three days after the storm began, the dust headed out to sea...State gets challenge on public land auctions A challenge to the way the state auctions public land has complicated Phoenix's plan to preserve thousands of acres and threatens preservation plans of cities around the state. Two members of People for the West, a property-rights group, sent letters to the State Land Department to stop the state from selling land to Phoenix for the Sonoran Preserve in north Phoenix. The group questions the legality of the Arizona Preserve Initiative, a 1996 law that enables the department to mark some land for conservation at the request of cities and non-profit associations. The auctions for such land are closed to developers...Court opens door for gravel mining to resume The Idaho Supreme Court has refused to rehear Blaine County's arguments over zoning on state lands, opening the door for a gravel mining operation unpopular with local homeowners to resume operations. The court has denied the county's motion for another hearing after its July 23 decision, when it handed the state Land Board an exemption from local planning and zoning laws for its mining and other "non-commercial" leases of state endowment land. The high court overturned 5th District Judge James May, who gave counties regulatory authority over state trust lands. Income from those lands goes into the state endowment funds for the public schools...Texas county is reluctant to shoot ions into clouds Farmers and ranchers in these parts have been seeding clouds and harvesting rain for decades, scientifically fighting what has been a losing battle against the arid climate of the Lower Rio Grande Basin. But new Russian technology that purports to build rain clouds by shooting ions into the sky is instead creating a firestorm on the Texas border. A political squabble has broken out between Webb County Judge Luis Bruni and the four county commissioners, who can't decide if they want to be the first county in the country to test the IOLA (ionization of the local atmosphere) technology...Scientists test dogs to sniff out weeds Someday soon, man's best friend could also be one of his biggest allies in the war on noxious weeds. That's the hope of researchers like Kim Goodwin, who are studying whether dogs can be trained to detect the prolific - and problematic - spotted knapweed the same way they can be trained to sniff out drugs and bombs. Goodwin, a weed prevention coordinator at Montana State University at Bozeman, said she got the idea for putting dogs to work by seeing how dogs have been used at airports, post offices and ports of entry to search for everything from illegal drugs and bombs to prohibited agricultural products...Local cattle paper has global reach In his travels across the United States and Canada, Byron Bayers discovered a common thread among cattle ranchers. "You can go into Alberta or travel into Texas and if someone didn't know these people were from different regions, you'd never know," Bayers said. "Ranchers everywhere are trying to do the same thing and achieve the same end result." That's one of the many observations Bayers has had over the last seven years as the co-owner of the largest independently owned newspaper on the Hereford breed of cattle in the United States. Bayers, 73, of Twin Bridges, and his daughter, Jill Hotchkiss of Reva, S.D., have published "Hereford America" - which boasts a circulation of 15,500, including readers in every state and 11 foreign countries...Cowboy churches, where religion is easy, ropin' em in Wearing a cowboy hat, boots and string tie, Harry Yates doesn't look like a typical preacher. And the Texas Troubadour Theatre he's standing in front of - with its neon Texas-shaped sign flanked by guitars - is not your normal church building. But that is part of the attraction of the Nashville Cowboy Church, which draws several hundred worshippers each Sunday and has thousands more listening on the radio or via the Internet...Newcastle engraver's silverwork adorns saddle displayed on movie screen in "The Missing" It was the classic case of being in the right place at the right time for engraver-silversmith Linda Doyle Dearmore. The outcome was that some of her artistry has made it onto the movie screen in "The Missing," a big-budget western directed by Ron Howard and starring Tommy Lee Jones and Cate Blanchett. Dearmore, who lives on an 18-acre ranch in Newcastle with her husband, Cliff, has been putting her own distinctive stamp on western-style silver pieces for the last three decades. One of her big fans is Clint Mortenson, who owns the Silver & Saddles shop in Santa Fe and does work for Euro Disney's Buffalo Bill Wild West Show. Mortenson invited Dearmore to Santa Fe last February to bring her tools with her for a couple of weeks of work...On The Edge Of Common Sense: Capture one of good's great triumphs over evil It is particularly unfortunate over the holidays that politics interferes with all Americans enjoying one of the greatest triumphs of good over evil that the world has seen since Hitler was driven from power. On Dec. 13, Saddam crawled from his hole a beaten man. Our magnificent armed forces, from Rumsfield to Jessica Lynch, rode in like the avenging army of red, white and blue. Despite sharp turns, pot holes and setbacks, they never hesitated, never lost their resolve. It is the job of critics to ask questions, to make us examine our motives, to encourage us to consider our options. Some critics consider it their obligation to diminish successes, to create doubt, to question the cause, to sow the seeds of dissent. Critics at home and abroad have done their job. They did as well as they could in the face of overwhelming odds. Nine months is not much time to fight an opponent as committed and well-trained as America's armed forces...