NEWS ROUNDUP

New guidelines balance wildfire management, air quality Wildfire managers want to let lightning-sparked fires burn in remote areas, but said they need to improve how government agencies decide which blazes can be allowed to continue without harming air quality miles away. They announced a plan Monday to better coordinate between local, state and federal agencies when fires in the Sierra Nevada range should be allowed to spread, when they must be extinguished, and when they can be channeled and allowed to burn out. Lightning-triggered wildfires are a natural phenomenon that aids some wildlife, helps control forest growth, and can minimize catastrophic firestorms, said John Kennedy, a manager within the air division of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.... Forest Service makes fresh beginning on job competition effort The Forest Service has received permission to partially clear its slate after completing a number of small job competitions that are not expected to yield any savings. Office of Management and Budget officials agreed to let the agency out of overseeing the in-house teams that won 142 contests for maintenance jobs, said Christopher Pyron, the Forest Service's deputy chief of business operations, last week. The studies involved only a few positions each and, if implemented, promised few improvements in efficiency.... Flake offers bill to get grounded firefighting planes flying East Valley Congressman Jeff Flake has introduced legislation to get grounded firefighting air tankers back in service temporarily. Flake wants contracts reinstated with aviation contractors to provide aircraft to help fight western wildfires. The Flake bill would require the contractors to meet safety requirements. The U.S. Forest Service grounded some aging air tankers in May amid safety concerns regarding the aging fleet. That has sparked major concerns about the ability to fight major wildfires this summer in Arizona and other western states.... Blazing a trail in the forests Pauline McGinty is a bit of a pioneer in the U.S. Forest Service, having paved the way for other women who wanted more than just a desk job. In the late 1960s, the Philomath resident was the first woman hired as a forest technician in Region 6, which covers Oregon and Washington. She later helped other women find jobs outside the office, joining men out in the field. There were no female foresters when McGinty became a forest tech. Some rangers believed women were entitled to training for the job, some didn't. Even McGinty's own ranger, Jack Price, didn't think it was OK.... Cattlemen Teaming Together to Restock Arizona's Forest Service Land The U.S. Forest Service (USFS), National Cattlemen's Beef Association (NCBA), Public Lands Council (PLC), and Arizona and Gila County Cattle Growers are teaming up to restock grazing cattle on Arizona's Forest Service land. Because of drought and other issues, Animal Unit Months (AUMs) on Forest Service land has been reduced in that area by nearly 80 percent, and the area's ranching community has suffered. The Tonto National Forest Restocking Agreement signed by Arizona-based representatives of the USFS, the Arizona Cattle Growers Association, and Gila County Cattle Growers will expedite the return of as many cattle as supportable by forage conditions on allotments.... House Passes Landmark Legislation to Save Endangered Sea Turtles The Ocean Conservancy applauds the House of Representatives for today's passage of the Marine Turtle Conservation Act (H.R.3378), a victory for endangered sea turtles. Championed by Maryland Congressman Wayne Gilchrest (R-1st), the bi-partisan bill authorizes $5 million a year for international conservation projects protecting nesting sea turtles and their habitat, and will help to thwart illegal trade in sea turtle shell, meat and eggs. A similar bill passed the Senate in October of 2003. Small differences between the Senate and House versions need to be resolved before President Bush can sign the bill into law. Because sea turtles live a very long time, mature late, and move through the waters of many nations in their lifetimes, they are often victims of overexploitation.... Two grizzlies killed recently; charges filed in one case Two grizzly bears were illegally killed recently near Hungry Horse Reservoir and Essex, and the state is also continuing its prosecution of a grizzly poaching case in the Condon area. A Hungry Horse man and his son have been charged with illegally killing a grizzly bear on the west side of Hungry Horse Reservoir last month. Meanwhile, another grizzly was found dead near Essex last week. The grizzly was found Saturday by Tim Manley, a state grizzly bear management specialist, in the upper Middle Fork Flathead Drainage east of Essex. The case is under investigation.... Retirees Tell Hill of Illegal Lobbying Push, Bush Campaign-Related Travel by Mainella and NortonThe group that exposed the secret plans to cut summer services at national parks is back today with a revealing letter to key members of Congress warning of an illegal lobbying push by park superintendents that was ordered by a political appointee working for National Park Service (NPS) Director Fran Mainella (and later rescinded in the face of an internal uproar), as well as a flurry of widely publicized trips by Mainella and U.S. Interior Department Secretary Gail Norton that are designed to promote the re-election of President George Bush.... Justices limit courts' role in forcing agencies to act The Supreme Court Monday blocked a lawsuit that accused the federal government of not doing enough to protect undeveloped Western land from off-road vehicles, the Associated Press reported. In the case, Norton v. Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, the court said that environmental groups cannot use courts to force the federal Bureau of Land Management to more aggressively safeguard about 2 million acres of potential wilderness in Utah.... Rancher in fight with BLM sells cattle A rancher embroiled in litigation with federal land managers for nearly a decade is no longer grazing cattle, his attorney said. Harvey Frank Robbins Jr. and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management have been involved in lawsuits and countersuits over numerous grazing violations for nine years. Although he is out of the livestock business, Robbins will press his latest suit against the agency, his attorney, Karen Budd-Falen of Cheyenne, said. In January, the BLM voided a settlement agreement with Robbins after he was cited by the agency for nonwillful trespass of cattle on BLM lands. Budd-Falen then filed a motion in U.S. District Court seeking to prevent the BLM from voiding the agreement, a matter which is still pending, she said....