NEWS ROUNDUP

Groups file suit to block timber sale near Helena A timber sale in the Helena National Forest south and west of here is challenged in a lawsuit filed by three environmental groups. The Alliance for the Wild Rockies, the Native Ecosystems Council and the Ecology Center recently filed a complaint in U.S. District Court at Missoula. The groups want to block Forest Service plans for logging 2.3 million board feet of timber on 1,300 acres in what's known as the Clancy-Unionville sale. Much of the logging would be in mature forest areas that support lynx, grizzly bears and other species, the environmental groups said.... Historic Land Conservation Effort Begins with Permanent Protection of 140,000 Acres of Valuable Watershed Lands The California Public Utilities Commission and Pacific Gas and Electric Company today sponsored the inaugural meeting of the Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council. The Stewardship Council was established to develop and implement a plan for the protection of 140,000 aces of PG&E's Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain watershed lands and Carizzo Plains for the benefit of current and future generations of Californians. The effort also includes a $70 million fund to support environmental enhancements that may be proposed for the lands.... Old stump moved out of North Dakota Badlands A 60-million-year-old petrified tree stump weighing 12 1/2 tons has been moved out of the North Dakota Badlands to a visitor's center here. "It looks beautiful," said Gene Veeder, the McKenzie County tourism director, after the petrified stump arrived late Wednesday afternoon at the new Long X Visitor Center. The stump is about 9 feet in diameter at the base, about 6 feet at the top, and about 8 feet high. The stump was lifted with a crane from a Badlands butte about 30 miles southeast of Watford City, then put on a county gravel truck for the trip, protected by a steel cradle.... Gorge panel votes to permit weddings, commercial events Owners of Columbia River Gorge wineries, bed and breakfast inns and other businesses in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area have won the right to host weddings and other commercial events. The Columbia River Gorge Commission, persuaded by last-minute appeals from gorge counties, reversed itself Tuesday and agreed to allow such celebrations on most private land throughout the scenic area.... Congress Mulls Sale Of Forest Land A House subcommittee is considering a bill that would allow the U.S. Forest Service to sell or exchange 23 properties in Arkansas and Oklahoma and reinvest profits in the states. Rep. Mike Ross, D-Prescott, introduced a bill requested by the Forest Service that would authorize the disposal of property valued at about $3.375 million in the Ozark-St. Francis and Ouachita national forests. The Forest Service would use the funds to buy, build or improve administrative buildings and invest in forest additions.... Dead trees pose danger to hikers More than 180 dead trees pose a danger to hikers along one of the southern Sierra Nevada's most popular trails, and will be cut down, U.S. Forest Service officials said. The Trail of 100 Giants in Giant Sequoia National Monument leads visitors on a half-mile walk through a grove of ancient giant sequoia trees. None of the dead trees along the Trail of 100 Giants is a giant sequoia.... Family Of Kit Foxes Killed When Den Filled An entire family of an endangered species was found dead and investigators are trying to figure out if it was intentional act, KERO reported. Two adult and four baby kit foxes were killed when the den in which they lived was filled. A federal investigation continues into who filled in the den and why.... Bush Administration Poised to Strip Federal Protections from Pacific Salmon StocksCalling it the latest in a series of administration failures to protect imperiled stocks of Pacific salmon and steelhead, conservation and fishing business groups and scientists today condemned a new and as yet unreleased Bush administration policy that could remove federal protection for many, if not most, of the 27 listed salmon and steelhead stocks from the northwest tip of Washington down to southern California and inland to central Idaho.... House panel hails Bush moves on Species Act The efforts of Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-CA) and the House Committee on Resources to improve the Endangered Species Act (ESA) were boosted this week by Bush Administration's announcements that will help focus the broken law on species recovery. Specifically, the administration announced new regulations for endangered species conservation agreements that will enhance cooperative recovery efforts on private lands. In addition, it has decided to put more emphasis on science and innovation under the ESA by including hatchey-bred fish in population assessments.... Plan seeks to limit 'critical habitat' cases The Bush administration issued new guidance Wednesday seeking to limit the cases in which it will designate "critical habitat" meant to preserve endangered animals but which often infuriates Western landowners. Under the letter sent to Fish and Wildlife field offices, the restrictions associated with critical habitat will be imposed only when they are supported by sound science and economic analysis and will be used only in limited areas that are vital to species conservation. The new guidelines also instruct the field offices not to designate critical habitat if other conservation steps already are in place.... Threatened mouse may be same as other species The scientist who first classified the Preble's meadow jumping mouse as a distinct subspecies now believes the mouse is no different from a species found widely in North America, according to Gov. Dave Freudenthal's office. Wyoming has asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider its 1998 decision to list the mouse as a threatened species. In a March 31 e-mail to Rob Roy Ramey, who conducted the new study, Krutzsch said the research clearly invalidates his own findings of almost 50 years ago. He called Ramey's methods "cutting edge" and his analysis "in-depth and reproducible." Ramey testified in Washington, D.C., before the House Resources Committee on Wednesday on a bill involving designations of critical wildlife habitat under the Endangered Species Act. He used Krutzsch's endorsement of the new study to call for using better scientific information and methods in making Endangered Species Act decisions.... Bush switch on salmon protection stirs outcry Sweeping changes in how salmon and their habitat are protected could result from a Bush administration proposal that would gauge the health of Northwest salmon by counting, for the first time, hundreds of millions of hatchery fish along with those born in the wild. Critics immediately denounced the plan for ignoring scientific realities and potentially stripping away crucial protections now granted under the Endangered Species Act. Carried out to its fullest, fishery experts said, it could result in some salmon stocks' being taken off the endangered species list after years and billions of dollars spent to restore dwindling populations....Zion shuts areas to protect falcons Zion National Park officials are monitoring access to popular climbing routes to protect nesting peregrine falcons. Recent decisions are based on biologists' observations of the cliffs chosen this season as nesting sites by the returning peregrines. The Northeast Buttress of Angels Landing is newly closed because of recent peregrine breeding activity. Mountain of the Sun, Twin Brothers, Cable Mountain and Great White Throne have been reopened to climbing. Park biologists will continue to monitor nesting activity of peregrine falcons in the park throughout the 2004 breeding period.... 13 endangered gray wolves killed last year U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service records show 13 endangered Mexican gray wolves were killed in Arizona and New Mexico last year. The records show six of those animals were shot to death; four others were hit by vehicles. Another one was too badly decomposed by the time it was found to determine a cause of death. One wolf death is still under investigation. And one of the wolves was killed by people working to reintroduce the wolves to the wild because the animal had a habit of killing cattle.... BLM boosts wild horse budget A Bureau of Land Management plan to significantly increase the amount of money spent on wild horse and burro management -- which takes money from a host of other programs the agency oversees -- is drawing a skeptical second look from some lawmakers. "Instead of just getting more money, they need to change the program," Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., said. "It's time they took some initiative and did something with how they dispose of the critters." Western Republican lawmakers and BLM officials say the number of wild horses and burros on public rangelands need to be decreased. Environmental groups counter that the agency should reduce the number of domestic livestock that graze on those lands.... “Time Out” Requested on Western Arctic Drilling Plan The headlong rush to open the Northwest Planning Area of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, located in America’s western Arctic, to oil and gas drilling has resulted in leasing plans that fail to protect key wildlife habitat, according to scientists and conservation advocates. In response, seven conservation groups today asked a federal court to declare a temporary "time out" to give the court time to review their challenge to the US Interior Department’s leasing plans before holding a lease sale, now scheduled for June. The request for preliminary injunction comes as part of a lawsuit filed in February that challenges the government’s failure to meet the law’s requirement to consider reasonable middle ground alternatives that would allow for oil development while protecting wildlife.... Environmentalists protest Colo. energy leases Environmental groups criticized the Bush administration today, saying the upcoming sale of oil and gas leases on nearly 74,000 acres in Colorado shows government has put energy development ahead of other important values. The leases will be offered by the Bureau of Land Management on May 13. Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., said she was "concerned and dismayed" the sale includes the same land she has been trying to designate as wilderness for six years.... The Lost Sierra Club Earth Day came and went as usual this year, with the renewed hope that our elected politicians and conservationists are indeed concerned with the environmental welfare of our planet. George W. Bush boastfully exclaimed that his administration, if re-selected, “will expand the wetlands of America.” And his presidential opponent John Kerry, claiming to be greener than Bush, declared that if victorious in November he, unlike GW, will not allow environmental legislation to be “written by polluters in exchange for campaign contributions.” This may all sound satisfying, but in reality Earth Day has turned into the Valentine’s Day of the corporate environmental movement -- where April 22nd has become the token feel good holiday for oily politicians and corporate conservationists to tout their commitment and love for the natural environment.... Renzi wants to remove AZ from the Ninth Circuit Congressmen Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) and Jon Porter (R-Nev.) introduced legislation to remove Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and Montana from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. House Resolution 4247 proposes the removal of Arizona, Nevada, Idaho and Montana from the Ninth Circuit and move them to a new 12th Circuit Court. Renzi favors the legislation because he feels the opinions of the majority of residents in these four states are not represented fairly.... US Decision on Canada Cattle Unlikely Until Summer The U.S. Agriculture Department's decision on whether to allow live cattle imports from Canada, as well as lifting all restrictions on beef shipments, is not likely to be made until sometime this summer, U.S. industry officials said on Thursday. "I think it's going to take them (USDA) at least two months" to wade through the more than 3,000 comments submitted by industry, consumer groups and ranchers, said a meat industry official.... US vows to fight WTO challenge The government's fight to protect farm subsidies against a World Trade Organization challenge may go on for years, and the subsidies will be safe in the meantime, US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said yesterday. Unless the preliminary report itself is changed, "you can be 100 percent sure we are going to appeal" the finding by a three-person panel that US cotton subsidies were unfair to Brazil, Zoellick said. The appeals through the litigation process "could last months or possibly a year or years," Zoellick told a House Agriculture Committee hearing.... Canada's Martin Asks U.S. to End Protectionism Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin on Thursday urged the United States to abandon protectionism at the start of a two-day visit to Washington to repair strained ties. "Frankly we are continually astonished at how quickly the border can be closed when pressures erupt in the United States," Martin said in a speech. "We have to recognize that ours is a North American economy. Canada is the largest export market for 37 of your states. You are our largest export market. Protectionism benefits no one.".... Cook-off serves up good grub Around 250 people turned out at Ute Lake Saturday to sample homemade fixings cooked in late 1800’s- style cookware over wood coals. The Logan/Ute Lake Chamber of Commerce held the chuck wagon cook-off to raise funds for chamber activities. Members of the American Chuck Wagon Association, based near Amarillo, provided the meals. There were six authentic chuck wagon ‘camps’ available for people to explore. Members of the chuck wagon association were dressed in cowhand clothing, and they answered the onlookers’ questions about life on a 19th century cattle drive....