NEWS ROUNDUP


Editorial: The Environment Shortchanged The Interior Department's appropriations bill, scheduled for a House vote this week, is a stunning example of what happens to discretionary domestic programs when a complicit White House allows tightfisted lawmakers to have their way. Nothing much escapes the ax, including in this case two programs that were central to President Bush's environmental agenda in the 2000 campaign. One is the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the main federal land-acquisition program. Mr. Bush promised to give the program its statutory maximum, $900 million a year, of which half goes to the states and half to federal purchases. This figure has rarely been reached, but under Mr. Bush it has receded even further into the distance. He asked for just over $300 million altogether and House appropriators did even worse, calling for $91.5 million for the states and a measly $48.5 for the federal side... Conservationists want protection for West Coast salamander Conservation groups on Wednesday asked federal wildlife officials to grant protected status to a salamander that lives in old-growth forests in southwestern Oregon and northwestern California. The environmental groups filed their petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to list the Siskiyou Mountains salamander as an endangered species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The salamander is threatened by logging in old-growth forests, the groups said. The salamander was previously protected by a federal program that required government scientists to conduct surveys of the salamander and protect its habitat, but the Bush administration scrapped that program in March, according to the environmental groups led by the Center for Biological Diversity.... The Grizzlies Return Ever so slowly, the grizzly bears of Yellowstone National Park have lumbered back from the brink. Some 200 years ago, when Lewis and Clark first reported seeing them, the government estimates there were 50,000 of the bears across the American West. By 1975, the number had plummeted. In the area surrounding Yellowstone National Park, there were fewer than 250 bears remaining. Under the Endangered Species Act, the grizzlies were listed as threatened. That protected the bears from hunters, and the forests where they lived from loggers and builders. It worked. The number of bears around Yellowstone has more than doubled. Now, says Chris Servheen of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, it is time to remove them from the threatened-species list.... Algae killing thousands of fish along Salt River Thousands of fish are dying in several lakes along the Salt River, probably because of increased algae fed by ash runoff from wildfires and warm temperatures. Although the dead fish in the Salt River lakes may be unsightly, the lakes do not pose a health risk for the public, health officials say.... Reefer madness: Grizzly with penchant for human treats captured and marked A marijuana-munching grizzly bear with a history of belly-flopping on tents in Yellowstone National Park likely has a short future in the wild. The 332-pound, 5-year-old bear has been captured, marked and released so rangers can tell if he reverts any of his old tricks again. Unfortunately, the bear has earned some food rewards from his behavior. That, coupled with his apparent lack of fear of humans, means that if he pulls any more stunts, he'll likely be killed or sent to a zoo.... Nevada lawmakers want to expand auctions of federal land A measure to sell federal government land in a rural Nevada county to pay for economic development, infrastructure, recreation and conservation was being introduced Wednesday by the state's congressional delegation. Nevada's five federal lawmakers in Washington said they modeled the Lincoln County Conservation, Recreation and Development Act of 2004 after a program that has sold almost 8,200 acres and raised $1.4 billion in the Las Vegas area.... Editorial: Managing wild lands It could well be argued, as it was well argued by Utah environmental groups, that judicial micromanagement of America's wild lands is preferable to no management at all. The fact that a unanimous Supreme Court Monday rejected that contention, at least in one case, does not mean that Utah's federal lands are all well managed. It does mean that any failure to do so belongs at the feet of the Bureau of Land Management, the Bush administration and Congress. And that is where the fight to defend wilderness land from the loud and destructive toys known as off-road vehicles (ORVs) should be taken.... Editorial: Land use A unanimous Supreme Court this week put the kibosh on a tactic often preferred by environmentalists: using activist judges to accomplish what they've been unable to get done legislatively. The case involved about 2 million acres of "wilderness study areas" in Utah, including some land near Zion National Park. Congress has yet to agree whether to designate the land as official wilderness, which would bar off-road vehicles. Environmental groups sued, hoping the courts would compel the BLM to change course. But while the justices agreed the off-road vehicles had damaged the land, all nine of them -- liberal and conservative -- held that it wasn't the role of the judiciary to micromanage the federal bureaucracy.... House passes bill to promote refinery expansion, opponents say it would hurt environment House Republicans pushed through legislation Wednesday that supporters said would speed construction of new refineries to ease tight gasoline supplies. Opponents said the bill would reduce environmental protection and do little to stem high fuel costs. The legislation was approved by a vote of 239-192 as House Republican leaders sought to dramatize the congressional impasse over energy legislation by bringing up for votes a series of energy-related bills.... Billions of crickets plague parts of Idaho They eat everything in sight. They shake the ground as they move together in bands that cover the earth like a dark blanket. In some parts of Idaho, they're taking over. Owyhee County Deputy Sheriff Richard Freund has seen Mormon crickets do all that and more. This year it's so bad the county is asking Gov. Dirk Kempthorne to declare a disaster in Owyhee County....