NEWS ROUNDUP

Drought, beetles may trump artificial forest thinning Even as the nation devotes billions of dollars to artificially thinning crowded forests, a stressed-out Mother Nature is taking matters into her own hands on a catastrophic scale humans can't hope to match, scientists say. An epidemic of bark beetles is killing untold millions of trees from Alaska to Arizona. And an eight-year drought across the Southwest is killing many of the trees the beetles don't get.... Forest-Edge Communities Take Precautions, But Many Still at Risk Prescott, a town of 34,000, is hardly alone this fire season. The Agriculture and Interior departments identified 11,376 communities across the United States in 2001 that were highly susceptible to damage from a wildfire on federal land. Since that time, many communities have gotten more aggressive about reducing underbrush and other fire hazards near homes, said fire and forest officials. But they also agree the job isn't done.... Oregon company faces barrage of letters, phone calls over Alaska mill The well-connected environmental organization, with more than a million members, in its February newsletter called for a letter-writing campaign against Timber Products. The goal: to stop Timber Products from buying and restarting a bankrupt veneer mill in Ketchikan, Alaska. The NRDC worries that restarting the mill would lead the U.S. Forest Service to open roadless areas of the nearby 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest to logging. The NRDC sought, at the very least, a public pledge from Timber Products that the company would not use Tongass timber if the firm decided to buy the mill. The Tongass is the country's largest national forest, with almost a third designated as wilderness.... Grizzlies may lose threatened status U.S. officials are making plans to take grizzly bears off the endangered species list, where they have been listed as threatened since 1975. The bears were put on the list that year when the number of grizzlies in the lower 48 states had plummeted to between 200 and 250. Pressure from hunters, ranching and development made their numbers drop precipitously from the early 19th century, when as many as 50,000 roamed the West, ranging as far south as Mexico. But since coming under strict federal protection, the number of grizzlies in the lower 48 states has bounced back to between 1,200 and 1,400, the Washington Posted reported Sunday, along with 35,000 in Alaska, where the grizzly has never been listed as threatened.... Editorial: In the end, it's about wild fish Comparing the Bush administration's new hatchery policy with its old one is like examining a hatchery salmon and a wild one swimming side by side. There are significant differences, but they are hard to see on the surface. In interviews Thursday, the top administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the agency's leader in the Northwest said all the right things about wild salmon, habitat and the future role of hatcheries. "The object of the policy is naturally spawning wild salmon runs -- that's the ultimate goal of the Endangered Species Act and that's what we intend to enforce," said Conrad Lautenbacher Jr., the NOAA administrator.... Those lion sightings could have some teeth From Beaver to Bradford counties and scattered locales between, have come recent reports of mountain lion sightings. Though the Pennsylvania Game Commission does not acknowledge the existence of wild free-ranging lions in Pennsylvania, the state has yielded more panther reports since 1990 than any other state in the East. Not far behind are the reports from West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Tennessee and North Carolina. It does seem that some kind of feline phenomenon is unfolding in the eastern mountains. It's easy to understand why eastern states are less than enthusiastic about embracing the possibility of naturally reproducing eastern panther populations. As a listed endangered species, the return of the eastern panther could complicate public land management, recreational development and even private land use in the areas where cats were deemed to occur.... Sagebrush under siege after years of drought After six years of drought in much of the West, sagebrush lands -- critical to wildlife, agriculture and underground water supplies -- are dying. "The drought probably rang the bell on these sites," said A.J. Martinez, natural resources specialist for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). "Ecologically, some of these sites have crashed.".... Panther removed from preserve Wildlife officers removed a Florida panther from Big Cypress National Preserve on Friday after the Miccosukee Tribe complained the cat was spending a frightening amount of time near homes and occupying the site of the tribe's annual Green Corn Dance. State and federal wildlife officers tracked down the panther with dogs, treed it just south of Tamiami Trail and darted it with a tranquilizer gun.... Critics Say Clean-Air Plan May Be a Setback for Parks The Cherokee called the lush Appalachian upheaval "the land of blue smoke," in homage to the steamy billows that roll up from the valleys of Great Smoky Mountains National Park after summer thunderstorms. The summertime haze that often swallows up the majestic views of forested ridges these days is something else entirely: a pollution-rich brew of sulfates that scatter light and small particles that obscure it. Not only can one often not see clearly in the park, the most visited in the nation, one often cannot breathe cleanly. Nitrogen oxide cooks in the sun with other chemicals to form ozone pollution, which discolors leaves and pains lowland lungs.... Rancher, Newcomer, BLM Fight Over Water A bitter legal battle has erupted in the remote back-country of Southwestern Utah. This battle pits a rancher and a federal agency against a newcomer who moved there, ironically, to get away from neighbors and the government. This is ranching country we're talking about so you can probably guess what they're fighting about -- it's water. Dave Brown claims God led him to a spring. But the legal question is: Does he have a right to use it? Bill Hall and his in-laws have run cows here for nearly a century. When he drives across the Hamlin Valley, the antelope play, and wild horses romp in the distance. Nothing is more important here than water.... Buying the Ranch It's been more than five years since Earl Boardman hauled out his shotgun to greet a coalbed methane representative at his ranch. The move earned Boardman a sit-down with the Johnson County Sheriff and changed the way landowner disputes get settled in the gas fields. Now the cankerous relationship between the industry and those surface owners who don't care to host the activity has evolved from a show of firearms to a show of property deeds. At least three of the industry's top producers have opted to buy ranchland property rather than try to balance their regulatory obligations with a rancher's existing operations.... Elko motocross racetrack a go Backers of a plan to build a motocross racetrack near Elko have won a five-year special recreation permit from the Bureau of Land Management. The Elko Riders and Racing Club hopes to begin construction at the end of a 30-day public appeal period. Appeals must be filed by June 28th. The BLM conducted an environmental assessment before approving the project for a reclaimed gravel pit on Bullion Road three miles southwest of Elko. BLM officials say the motocross area, including parking for about 100 vehicles, would be located within the ten-acre gravel pit area.... Law enforcement agencies seek border-crossers inside refuge The Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge apparently isn’t just for birds and butterflies anymore. Multiple law enforcement agencies joined forces last weekend to watch for undocumented immigrants using the popular nature preserve as a border crossing zone. U.S. Fish and Wildlife officers, U.S. Border Patrol officers from the Weslaco station and Hidalgo County deputy constables joined forces May 22-23 to scour the wildlife preserve — situated along the Rio Grande, seven miles south of Alamo — for any undocumented immigrants who might try to take refuge there.... Governor is greener than was expected They didn't support him during last year's recall campaign, but a growing number of California environmental leaders say Schwarzenegger is turning out to be greener than they anticipated. They still grumble regularly that he owns gas-guzzling Hummers -- though he has sold four of the seven and is retrofitting one to run on hydrogen. And they say his administration has major tests ahead. Yet on issues from coastal protection to his staff appointments, from air pollution to water supply, Schwarzenegger has taken actions that environmentalists are cautiously cheering. "Arnold is green," said John White, a veteran Sacramento Sierra Club lobbyist. "He's a throwback to the old days when Republicans were good on these issues.".... Low water limits Colter Bay to canoes Low water will prevent water-skiing, cruises and other motorboat activities at Jackson Lake's Colter Bay Marina this summer. Services including 100 boat slips and buoys, a fuel dock and cruises to Elk Island will be unavailable. Only canoe rentals and a store will be open at the marina in Grand Teton National Park. Jackson Lake is expected to fill only 3 feet above the boat ramp at Colter Bay -- too low for most boats, according to Bob O'Neil, director of guest activities for Grand Teton Lodge Co....