NEWS ROUNDUP

Shale's new hope A stretch of private land 200 miles west of Denver, between the towns of Rangely, Rifle and Meeker, is home to an ambitious research project that - if successful - could reduce the United States' dependence on foreign oil. Energy giant Shell, which owns the property, is using it for an experimental technology to extract oil from shale formations. Although the project, called Mahogany, was rejuvenated four years ago, the company says it will be 2010 before it makes a commercial decision. Shell is not alone. A host of energy companies are revisiting technologies to recover shale oil, plans put on the back burner 30 years ago because of extremely high capital costs. But now they're seen as viable alternatives to buying pricey foreign crude oil....
Column: Surrender to Wildfire Federal and state forests long have practiced "Let It Burn" natural fire management, especially popular during the Clinton administration. No fire road cutting, no clearing of diseased, dead trees, no disturbing natural habitat. In San Diego, no aerial drops of fire retardant are allowed on land or buildings within 300 feet of water. Why? Retardant might pollute the water that might poison fish and aquatic plants. A few days before San Diego erupted in fire, the United States Forestry Service's Environmental Ethicists brought suit in Missoula, Montana, to prevent aerial firefighting drops of fire retardant chemicals and to prohibit bulldozing of fire-breaks near animals and plants protected under the Endangered Species Act. Firefighters would be obliged to get permits for spraying retardant from the Environmental Protection Agency and for bulldozing, from the Army Corps of Engineers.....
Automated cameras spot jaguars in Southern Arizona Automated cameras have filmed at least two jaguars creeping across Southern Arizona since late August, offering fresh evidence that the endangered cats at least visit here from Mexico. The jaguars' full bodies and unmistakable spotted coats are visible in all four of the nighttime shots, taken near the border, south of Tucson, in oak woodlands. It's still unclear if the secretive species is residing permanently in the United States....
Refuge leaders call Bison Range tribal management plan flawed Twenty-three career wildlife refuge managers in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have studied a proposal to allow the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes to jointly manage the National Bison Range at Moiese and its associated wildlife refuges on the Flathead Reservation. Their conclusion, in a letter released to the public Monday: The annual funding agreement drafted by the tribes, the Department of the Interior and the Fish and Wildlife Service is fatally flawed because it separates the responsibility of managing the Bison Range from the authority to do so....
Feds OK'd biblical Grand Canyon book? An organization representing public employees that opposes the presence of a biblical book on the Grand Canyon in National Park Service bookstores contends the federal government has approved the resource despite claims by the agency the matter is still under review. As WorldNetDaily reported, a controversy began brewing in January over the book, "Grand Canyon: A Different View" by veteran Colorado River guide Tom Vail, which claims the Grand Canyon was formed by the Old Testament flood Noah survived and can be no older than a few thousand years. That contention caused some scientists to call for the book to be pulled from shelves of the Grand Canyon's gift shops. Most geologists contend the canyon is millions of years old....
Man seeks Supreme Court review of law protecting Indian sacred site case pending before the U.S. Supreme Court charges federal officials with violating the Constitution by protecting a mountain range located on Navajo land. The case stems from a 1999 incident when Earl DeWall visited the Rainbow Bridge National Monument in southern Utah, an area located on the tip of Navajo land and just a few miles from the Arizona border. Since 1995, the U.S. Park Service had installed signs at the monument to prevent visitors from walking under or near the world's largest natural arch....
Measure would undo ban on mining Initiative 147, repealing a voter-approved ban on the use of cyanide in gold and silver mining, has a high profile at the Fort Belknap reservation because of the Zortman-Landusky gold mine complex on its southern border. Acid-mine drainage from the abandoned cyanide operation is the top environmental issue for the reservation's Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes. For some of Montana's voters, I-147 is a referendum on the mining industry itself. Supporters say passage would encourage new mining, with its high-paying jobs, and the cyanide process can be used without environmental damage. Opponents resent corporate efforts to undo what voters approved in 1998, and say cyanide contaminates water, harms neighboring property and leaves taxpayers on the hook for cleanup....
BLM closes 2 trails to motorized use The U.S. Bureau of Land Management has closed two trails to motorized use on the Bighorn Mountains' western slope because horses with people on them have been startled by all-terrain vehicles and motorcycles. The Cottonwood Creek and Petes Canyon Trail remain open to hikers, skiers, mountain bikers and horse riders, according to the BLM. "In one case, some motorcyclists came upon a group of horseback riders rather suddenly," said Shirley Bye-Jech, BLM outdoor recreation specialist....
Column, Under siege: the wonders of the West You couldn’t ask for a more scenic oil well than the Long Canyon facility in southeastern Utah. In fact, if it weren’t for the stench of petroleum fumes, and the constant up-and-down whir of the pump jack, you might be tempted to disregard it altogether in favour of the breathtaking vista it affords across a layered red rock landscape out towards the ancient geological splendours of Arches National Park. As it is, it sits like a great sore on the landscape, bleeding toxins into the ground, slowly killing off the ancient junipers that provide ground cover on the otherwise unforgiving desert terrain, and blowing ozone-depleting gas byproducts directly into the air....
On energy and environment, a vast divide Nothing highlights the ideological differences on energy and the environment between George W. Bush and John F. Kerry as starkly as the black coal that fuels more than 50 percent of the nation's electricity. Coal, including millions of tons extracted from the swing states of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio, is poised to make a renaissance in America as natural gas and oil prices spike. The federal government estimates it will need more than 100 new coal-fired power plants by 2025 to keep up with electricity demand....
Schwarzenegger unveils action plan to protect Calif coast Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced a plan to protect Pacific waters off the state's coast that seeks to make California a national leader in ocean conservation. The plan, called Protecting Our Ocean: California's Action Strategy, outlines a series of legislative actions, studies and state programs aimed at restoring the state's coastline and coastal waters to benefit the environment, recreation and the economy. The plan only offers $12.5 million in new funding so far, but calls on state agencies to devise ways to finance new projects.....
Wind war
It is a battle of two visions - one that protects the scenic foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains and the other that harnesses the area's wind energy. The issue is a proposed 1,800-acre wind farm on the blustery ridgelines and pristine desert floor between Cabazon and Palm Springs. The main landowner has dreamed of using nature's power near the village of Snow Creek for decades. But conservation groups say wind turbines would harm wildlife and a fragile ecosystem. Locals worry the towering blades could ruin the scenic gateway to the Coachella Valley....
It's All Trew: Victorian era marked by colorful confusion Early eastern settlers in America lived in dreary log cabins with rock fireplaces and dirt floors. The only color came occasionally in cloth brought from Europe as homespun clothes were drab grays or shades of brown. Spring flowers also brought color to their lives. The early Spanish settlement in America was similar with the people living in adobe structures, rock houses or dugouts. Later, the plains settlers lived in soddies built of grass and dirt slabs plowed from the virgin prairies. Again, there was almost no color other than those provided by nature at certain times of the year. Very little paint was available for sale in stores until after the Civil War ended and it was considered too costly for the average settler. School officials and barn owners often painted the buildings red because it was the most plentiful and the cheapest paint available....