NEWS ROUNDUP

Interior Department's No. 2 Resigns After Controversial Tenure J. Steven Griles, the former timber and energy lobbyist who managed the country's vast mineral and land holdings as the Interior Department's No. 2 official, resigned yesterday and said he would return to the private sector. Griles, a vocal advocate for drilling and logging on public lands as Interior's deputy secretary, won praise from industry but came under intense scrutiny for maintaining close ties to his former lobbying firm and its clients. An 18-month investigation by the department's inspector general found that he had dealings with energy and mining industry clients of National Environmental Strategies Inc. even as he continued to receive payments from his former firm. The report did not accuse Griles of violating any laws or federal ethics rules....
Wolf plan lacks cattle rancher support Continued criticism from ranchers is expected when a wolf management plan that has preliminary approval of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission gets a public airing Friday. The Salem public hearing is the first of three scheduled by the panel before Feb. 11, when it is to make a final decision on the plan that would allow ranchers to kill wolves seen attacking their livestock. Approving the rules to implement the plan won't be the end, though, because the Legislature would need to revise the state's endangered species law. The commission is responding to changes in federal policy that are expected to cause wolves to migrate to Oregon from Idaho....
Agency says ads misinform The Wyoming Outdoor Council and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department say some people in western Wyoming are deliberately spreading misinformation about the state's grizzly bear occupancy management plan. An unknown group has borrowed the Game and Fish Department's Grizzly Bear Working Group name and placed ads in several local newspapers. The ads claim the state's plan "would have a devastating effect on ‘multiple use' by area citizens," closing down grazing, logging, roads, trails and campgrounds....
Editorial: Best choice for managing wolves This is, of course, a touchy subject that triggers all sorts of volatile reactions from folks. Some wolf advocates have little trust in the state to manage relatively small populations on the Montana landscape, preferring that task be left to the heavy, protective hands of the federal government. Those who flat-out dislike wolves wonder why the heck the state is taking any role in protecting and managing them. Both positions are off-center, missing the major point: Like it or not, wolves have protected status under the Endangered Species Act, and the state is just plain better suited to manage them than the federal government....
Turtle nests could stall post-hurricane dune restoration Plans to repair sand dunes damaged from Florida's historic hurricane season could be blocked by nesting sea turtles until the end of next year's hurricane season, officials said. State officials have hoped to spend nearly $70 million to make repairs before more storms carve into severely eroded beaches, but local officials say little work can be done before the end of April, when sea turtles return to the Florida shoreline to lay their eggs. When that happens, restoration projects could be stalled at many beaches until November because of federal protections for the endangered species....
Dubois crowd grills G&F on grizzlies A deeply suspicious, rancorous crowd of 150 filled the Headwaters Art and Conference Center here Monday night to learn about the grizzly bear occupancy plan proposed by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. During a question and answer session with Game and Fish representatives, the Dubois audience seemed suspicious of the motives of state and federal agencies alike when it comes to managing the tri-state population of grizzly bears after it is removed from Endangered Species Act protection. "When are we going to get our lifestyle back?" was one question shouted from the rear of the hall, voicing widespread resentment toward an expanding grizzly bear population that has made hunters and hikers wary of venturing into grizzly country....
ESA Under Review Western governors convening a two-day summit on the federal Endangered Species Act heard a list of complaints: Too few plants and animals saved. Too many lawsuits filed. The economic costs of the act are too high. Attended by nearly 300 people representing industry, agriculture and conservation groups, the governors' Endangered Species Act summit comes at a time when the Bush administration is changing how the 31-year-old landmark environmental law is interpreted and enforced. The western governors made it clear that they expect to have a voice in future decisions. Of the more than 1,200 species listed by the federal government as threatened or endangered, nearly 70 percent are located in 18 Western states...
Editorial: Reopen forest without the delay WHEN the U.S. Forest Service in late October rescinded its wacky edict and declared it was re-opening the Angeles National Forest, they were telling half- truths. In fact, access to large portions remain closed for reasons that are unclear. Closures continue to deny public access to the upper reaches of Azusa Canyon, closed since the October 2002 Curve-Williams Fire. Closures at the entrance to Glendora Mountain Road and Chantry Flat Road deny millions of visitors each year access to some of the most reachable forest acreage. Chantry Flat Road's closure epitomizes the Forest Service's stubborn preoccupation with keeping forest access roads closed and therefore, keeping people out. Fewer people, less work. Sounds good if you are a Forest Service employee....
Editorial: End to range wars might lie at 'radical center' And it is particularly satisfying to apply Stegner's sunny observation to the long, often bitter spat between New Mexico's ranchers and environmentalists. A three-part series that ended Dec. 4 by Tribune reporter Carrie Seidman, titled "Change on the range," suggests that one of the most innovative and promising strategies for preserving both Western lands and the ranching way of life is being developed right here in the Land of Enchantment. The strategy, promoted by the 7-year-old Quivira Coalition of Santa Fe, appears to be having some success....
BLM Launches Two New Web-Based Tools for Accessing Land Use Records The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has announced the deployment of “Land and Mineral Use Records” and “Federal Land Stewardship,” two new Web-based data tools within its GeoCommunicator website. Part of the BLM’s E-Government initiative, GeoCommunicator (www.geocommunicator.gov) is a website for the distribution of spatial data from the BLM’s Land and Minerals Records System and the joint BLM-U.S. Forest Service U.S. National Integrated Land System (NILS). NILS uses ESRI’s ArcGIS 9 technology and Model Builder to develop and standardize BLM’s land management business processes....
Column: We Need a Green March It can no longer be denied: The national environmental movement has stalled. It became glaringly obvious as the movement campaigned against George W. Bush for three years with no noticeable influence on his re-election. It's proven more subtly by the fact that Congress has passed almost no significant environmental laws since 1980, and by now, whoever happens to be president can jerk around the priorities of key agencies like the Forest Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The environmental movement's halt is important in the West, because this is the movement that set aside all the federal land that distinguishes the region, and it defends the bedrock laws that preserve the qualities of the land, wildlife, water and air....
New plan for dams aims to improve salmon runs Two hydroelectric dams once blamed for harming Skagit River and Baker River salmon runs would be managed in a more fish-friendly way under an agreement reached by Puget Sound Energy, tribes, state and federal environmental agencies and environmental groups. The deal would set stricter limits on how much water should be released from two dams on the Baker River, which flows through the North Cascades town of Concrete, Skagit County, before joining the Skagit River. The energy company, which owns the dams that have a combined output of 175 megawatts of power, also would pay for expanding a fish hatchery, transporting fish around the dams, improving habitat, redeveloping a resort along Baker Lake and protecting tribal cultural sites....
Editorial: Horse-trading for more water On Thursday, the Arizona Water Banking Authority is expected to approve a pact that transfers 1.25 million acre-feet of Colorado River water to Nevada. In return, Arizona will be paid $330 million over the next 14 years and gain something it has shunned for years: a strategic partner in determining the future of the Colorado River and protecting its own water supply. This deal, tantalizingly close to completion after years of negotiations, creates a water bank in Arizona. The Southern Nevada Water Authority would be able to draw from that bank by taking water from Lake Mead that otherwise would flow downstream to Arizona. Nevada can withdraw as much as 20,000 acre feet -- one year's supply for about 30,000 Las Vegas Valley households -- beginning in 2007. By 2011, the state could draw 40,000 acre-feet per year until the 1.25 million acre-feet credit is gone. The deal was reached, in part, because of the increasing likelihood that both Arizona and Nevada will have their shares of Colorado River water reduced as a result of the West's persistent drought. If federal authorities declare a "shortage condition" on the river, Arizona will absorb the biggest share of that reduction....
Land bared by receded waters sparks Lake Powell debate With the waters of Lake Powell receding because of the drought and its once-submerged canyons re-emerging, has the time come to start looking at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area as more than a reservoir? A local environmental group says yes. The Glen Canyon Institute has petitioned the National Park Service to adopt a new management plan for Lake Powell, arguing that the reappearance of the canyon after 40 years mandates a reappraisal of how the agency defines the recreation area....
Energy report aims to move U.S. forward In an attempt to break a deadlock on a national energy policy, a diverse group of environmentalists, academics and former government officials will publish a report today that presents strategies for making the country cleaner, more competitive and less vulnerable to energy shocks. The strategies, intended to be the basis for action by Congress, include policies that are generally anathema to at least some of the constituencies represented by members of the group. It says the government should force increases in efficiency in cars and electrical equipment, stimulate global oil production, regulate ``greenhouse gas'' emissions with a trading system, rapidly expand a new method of burning coal and explore a revival of nuclear power. The $5 million, two-year private study, titled ``Ending the Energy Stalemate,'' is intended to be a package-deal blueprint, akin to a Ford Foundation report 30 years ago that first suggested vehicle mileage standards and a national petroleum reserve....
FBI Considers Ecoterrorism A Growing National Threat Ecoterrorism, suspected in the torching of a tony housing development near a sensitive wetland this week, is a growing national threat, the FBI says. The radical campaign gets less publicity than the sister movement of animal rights activism, known for freeing animals from cages and threatening laboratory employees. But the FBI, which dubs both movements "special interest extremism", blames them for 1,100 criminal acts that have caused $110 million worth of damage since 1976. Both types of extremists have emerged in recent years as a "serious domestic threat", the agency says....
Column: Stealing Property Rights in the Name of Historic Preservation The West Bridgewater Historical Commission announced in early October that it wants to create a "demolition delay bylaw" whereby any property owner who wishes to demolish his old, decrepit home and replace it with a new one, must file a "notice of intent to demolish a significant building" and wait for up to half a year to receive (or not receive) a "demolition permit." Once a property owner files his request to do want he wants to with his property, the Historical Committee schedules a public hearing on the matter and the property owner is required to post a notice of the public hearing that is visible from the nearest public way. After the public hearing, the Commission is given 21 days to cast its judgment and decide whether the property owner’s plans to do what he wants with his property conflict with what South Boston’s The Enterprise describes as "West Bridgewater's historical, cultural or architectural heritage or resources." In other words, the property owner is screwed....
Next on Supreme Court menu: beef and free speech For years, beef was considered the bad boy of American cuisine. Rising health concerns about red meat and soaring prices in the 1980s plunged the beef industry into crisis. The problem got so bad that in 1985, Congress passed the Beef Act - a law aimed at improving the image of steaks, burgers, and even pot roast. The centerpiece of the effort was a generic advertisement: "Beef: It's What's for Dinner." An industry organization, the Livestock Marketing Association, and a group of ranchers are challenging the constitutionality of the Beef Act - saying it forces some beef producers to pay for advertising that they do not support....
WNFR Journal: Round 4 Now that is more like it. Round 4 of the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo was pretty spicy. Guys who needed to get with the program did just that. Even the team ropers got into the spirit of things and posted their strongest overall performance in four rounds. If you are Kelly Timberman and leading in the world standings, the last thing you want to see is reigning champion Will Lowe jumping around in the Thomas & Mack Arena and celebrating a go-round win. Lowe has placed in the last two rounds, but is well back in the aggregate race. Lowe is so much fun to watch. He brings that youthful exuberance with him everywhere he goes. It may take more than boyish charm though to pull out a second straight world championship. Have you ever tried to follow someone through traffic and no matter what you do you can't keep up? That has to be how 14 steer wrestlers feel about Luke Branquinho.... You can also see Medders comments on rounds one, two and three...