NEWS ROUNDUP

Group has issue with road-closure neglect The Targhee National Forest has been accused of failing to enforce road closures to preserve grizzly bear habitat in eastern Idaho under the Endangered Species Act. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition put the U.S. Forest Service on notice this week that it will go to court if changes are not made in the bear management units near Island Park, Henrys Lake and the west slope of the Teton Range. The Forest Service rejected the charge. Targhee National Forest managers said 380 miles of roads in the area have been effectively closed with earthen berms and gates and grass and shrubs are growing on closed-off trails.... Bush admin. eases logging restrictions The Bush administration on Tuesday eased restrictions on logging old-growth forests in the Pacific Northwest, completing a rules change that will allow forest managers to begin logging without first looking for rare plants and animals. Instead, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management will rely on information provided by Washington, Oregon and California to decide whether to allow logging, controlled forest fires, and trail- or campground-building, agency spokesman Rex Holloway said. The change was prompted by a timber industry lawsuit and is intended to increase logging on 24 million acres of public land.... Decision upheld on dams in Emigrant After three months of consideration, Regional Forester Jack Blackwell released his decision yesterday: Keep 11 rock-and-mortar check dams in the Emigrant Wilderness and allow seven to erode. The verdict upholds Stanislaus National Forest Supervisor Tom Quinn's identical decision, made in December.... Three forests join in plan to attack non-native weeds A draft plan to attack noxious weeds before they take over parts of northern Arizona’s national forests envisions treating weeds on 119,000 acres annually for as long as a decade. Forest officials estimate that non-native weeds have spread from fewer than 5,000 acres on the three forests in 1985 to more than 187,000 acres today, pushing out native plants as they multiply.... Cougar capture attempts expected to start today Arizona Game & Fish Department officials plan to begin laying cable snares and using tracking dogs in Sabino Canyon today in hopes of capturing mountain lions that may pose a threat to humans. Details had yet to be finalized for hiring a helicopter to lift the big cats out of the popular recreation area northeast of Tucson, potentially delaying the hunt in more remote areas, Game & Fish regional director Gerry Perry said during a news conference yesterday afternoon.... Governor holds up airlifting of lions Gov. Janet Napolitano delayed the airlift of Sabino Canyon mountain lions for at least a day when she refused Monday to allow state game officials to use a National Guard helicopter to take the lions, once captured, from the canyon to a rehabilitation center.... Wolves raise pack of concerns Outfitter Ray Heid knows the snowy mountains around his ranch may soon be home to wolves moving south from Wyoming. In this tiny town north of Steamboat Springs, these mountains are also where he makes his living, taking families on summer horseback trips through the sun- dappled aspen and guiding hunters into the Mount Zirkel Wilderness each fall. So, like many Western Slope residents, Heid is uneasy that old foes are once more close at hand and that state officials are only now asking for advice on how to manage them.... Colorado Takes On The Wolf Debate Wolves would likely consider Rocky Mountain National Park a little bit of heaven, though not for the quite the same reason tourists do. The elk population in the park and the entire Estes Valley has exploded. Imagine Rocky Mountain National Park without its trademark aspen trees. Imagine aspen forests turned into tree-less meadows. That is what the constantly foraging elk are doing to the park. The park is considering a variety of methods to reduce the elk population -- including the reintroduction of wolves. The state of Colorado is about to start holding public meetings as it tries to draft a statewide management plan for wolves.... Column: Listen to the birds Today, birds are warning us once again, only on a much larger scale. A recent report from the conservation group Birdlife International has found that one in eight of the world's bird species is facing extinction and one-third are at risk. It's the first time that one paper has brought together status reports of bird populations worldwide for a true global analysis. The findings are pretty grim. More than 1,200 bird species face extinction, with some 200 on the critical list.... River plan violates Endangered Species Act, Interior claims The new plan for operating the Missouri River does not comply with the Endangered Species Act, the U.S. Department of the Interior said in a letter released Tuesday. The letter is significant because an Interior Department agency -- the Fish and Wildlife Service -- must sign off on river operations. The Fish and Wildlife Service is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to put the new plan in place. In finalizing its new Missouri River guidebook, the corps said Friday it won't create a more seasonal ebb and flow to sustain fish and birds, as the wildlife service previously ordered.... Political Shades of Green Clash The bitter wrangle over immigration now threatening to topple the leadership of the Sierra Club has exposed a rift in the nation's environmental movement itself and placed prominent conservationists, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson, a founder of Earth Day, in opposing camps. At the dawn of the modern environmental movement four decades ago, conservationists widely embraced the goal of global population control. They still do. But as they confront the prospect of a 50% increase in the U.S. population by mid-century — mostly composed of immigrants and their children — they are bitterly divided over whether to call for immigration restrictions.... Agencies Sign Agreements to Continue Species Protection The departments of Agriculture, Interior and Commerce announced they have signed agreements to implement new regulations announced in December that will expedite fuels reduction and other forest health projects while ensuring the protection of threatened and endangered species. Under the Endangered Species Act, federal agencies are required to consult with either Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or Commerce's NOAA Fisheries whenever they authorize, fund or carry out an action that may adversely affect a listed species or its designated habitat. The new regulations will improve the process by allowing trained biologists within these federal agencies to make the initial determination of whether there is likely to be an adverse effect.... Scientists testing national park snow for pollution Like little kids saving for summer, scientists are packing blocks of snow from national parks throughout the West into freezers to test it for pollution. The National Park Service began the study two years ago and is scheduled to conclude it in 2007. The goal is determining whether airborne pollutants have fouled national treasures that many people believe are unspoiled. "It's really sort of a mystery we're trying to solve," said Dixon Landers, the lead scientist in a multidisciplinary research team working on the Western Airborne Contaminants Assessment Project.... Appeals filed over Phoenix Mine Great Basin Mine Watch and Western Shoshone Defense Project are appealing the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's approval of Newmont Mining Corp.'s Phoenix gold and copper mining project. The two environmental organizations are asking BLM's state director, Bob Abbey, to put the Battle Mountain project on hold and to review the agency's decision approving Phoenix.... Feinstein Opposes Nominee Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), a pivotal member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, disclosed Tuesday that she would vote against President Bush's choice of William G. Myers III for a seat on the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals — a move likely to trigger a filibuster of the nomination. Howard Gantman, an aide to Feinstein, said the senator reached her decision after thoroughly reviewing Myers' record as a lawyer representing mining and cattle interests. Environmental organizations have led opposition to Myers, saying his record includes numerous attacks on federal environmental laws.... Editorial: No Pal of the Environment In nominating William G. Myers III for the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal, President Bush is seeking to elevate a lawyer who has worked vigorously for private firms in opposing environmental protection. That alone should give pause. But there's more. Federal judges should have all the facts before passing judgment. During two years as the chief lawyer in Bush's Interior Department, Myers prodded two congressmen to draft a special-interest bill that would have given away to a private firm federal land near Sacramento worth hundreds of millions of dollars. This was at a time when Myers' job was to safeguard federal resources for the public. Instead, guided by knee-jerk property-rights views, he eagerly championed the company's claim that it owned the eight acres. The deal collapsed only when Interior agents in the Folsom office produced readily available documents conclusively proving that the government owned the land, embarrassing the department into pulling its support for the company's legislation.... State Sponsored Cattle Rustling: BLM Targets Two More NV Counties Several ranchers have been notified that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and/or the National Park Service (NPS) may again try to impound cattle from Nevada ranges. The cattle are running at large upon historic open range ranches of Nevada or lands claimed by the Western Shoshone Indians under the Ruby Valley Treaty. Earlier this month the BLM was on the radio and in the regional press announcing their intentions. Impoundment Notices have also been posted in local newspapers and post offices....High court ruling in Everglades case pleases both sides Water managers eventually might have to get costly federal permits for their pumps that pollute the Everglades -- but not just yet, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. In an 8-1 decision that left both sides claiming victory, the justices said a federal judge in Fort Lauderdale acted too hastily when he ordered the South Florida Water Management District to seek permits for pumps in western Broward County. But the Supreme Court also rejected one of the district's prime legal arguments -- that its pumps cannot be blamed for moving water that's already polluted. That caused environmentalists and the Miccosukee Indian tribe to predict they'll win when the case returns to a South Florida courtroom for further argument.... Grass roots force hearing on U.N. treaty The highly controversial United Nations Law of the Sea Treaty, which was on a fast track toward ratification by the U.S. Senate, has been temporarily checked though not derailed. In response to a groundswell of well-informed opposition both on Capitol Hill and from the grass roots, a hearing on the LOST (Treaty Doc. 103-39) is scheduled for today before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Chairman Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who heads the 19-member committee, says there's an obligation to ensure the treaty "does not adversely affect the sovereignty of the United States," and advises taking time to "slow down and take a critical evaluation of this Convention that deals with the Outer Continental Shelf, which is in the jurisdiction of this Committee.".... Lake Hattie at low levels Water levels at Lake Hattie, a popular recreation reservoir, have fallen 31 feet in the past five years. The lake was 74 feet deep in 1999, but by last October, it was 43 feet, according to state measurements. "It's sad," said Mike Hickerson, who owns a small home near the lake. "This is a natural beauty that we are just letting go to a pond. It's like a mud puddle." Officials say drought is to blame and that Lake Hattie's low priority water rights make it difficult to allocate more water from the Laramie River.... Battle Grows over Naming Places of Origin for What Americans Eat Country-of-origin labeling, or COOL, sounds simple enough: Tell consumers where the food comes from and then let them choose. People consistently say they'd be willing to pay more for a U.S. product. Trouble is, nobody's sure how much more. And with millions -- possibly billions -- of dollars in added labeling, record-keeping and processing costs, some sectors in the nation's sprawling food industry don't want to take the chance. "It could well prove to be a very expensive gamble," said Matt Brockman, executive vice president of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, which supports a voluntary labeling program.... Cloud-seeding permit approved: License for weather-modification program to expire in 2008 When the storm clouds gather, Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District will be seeding them. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation approved a permit granting the water district authority to continue its weather-modification program for the next four years. The permit will expire March 13, 2008.... Judge sides with Tyson Foods to reject $1.28 billion award Tyson Foods, the world's largest meat processor, persuaded a federal judge to deny $1.28 billion in damages a jury awarded to more than 35,000 cattle ranchers after finding they were victims of price manipulation. U.S. District Judge Lyle Strom, who presided at last month's trial in Montgomery, Ala., yesterday rejected the jurors' award, saying the amount was "overstated" because it reflected potential damages for all ranchers who sold cattle between 1994 and 2002, not just ranchers in the suit.... Squirrel shooters spurn Humane Society protest More than a hundred farmers, ranchers, hunters and shooting enthusiasts turned out last weekend for the 13th annual Surprise Valley Squirrel Roundup, despite a protest from the Humane Society chapter in Redding. A letter from the Humane Society said the event that centers on shooting of ground squirrels in fields and pastures is not only distasteful, but may violate California law....