NEWS

Officials downgrade fire outlook in West Federal forecasters have backed away from predictions for a busy fire season in the West, citing mountain snow and unseasonably cool June temperatures. The Predictive Services Unit of the government's national wildfire coordination center is expected to downgrade its "above normal" prediction to "normal" in the western fire season outlook set for release Friday. "The large fire danger has moderated and it's not going to be as dire as we first thought," said Larry Van Bussum, an official with the National Weather Service....
Owens inks bill creating roadless areas task force Environmentalists said they hope Colorado can keep most of its roadless areas intact after Gov. Bill Owens signed a measure Wednesday that will create a task force to review the use of 4.4 million acres of public land. Owens said the change is better than allowing the federal government to decide. The Colorado bill creates a 13-member task force to examine federal forest that has been considered at some point for roadless designation by the U.S. Forest Service. The task force will hold hearings and make recommendations within 16 months to Owens on which areas the public wants to maintain as roadless. The governor will then have two months to make his recommendations to the federal government....
Agency rejects appeal on mine After losing a final appeal with the U.S. Forest Service, the Greater Yellowstone Coalition is now considering asking a federal judge to block J.R. Simplot Co. from exploring phosphate deposits in southeastern Idaho for a potential new mine. The 400 acres being scouted in the Caribou National Forest includes Crow Creek, a primary spawning stream for the rare Yellowstone cutthroat trout. In a recent decision denying an appeal by environmentalists to Simplot's exploration permit, the Forest Service found that the company's plan was in compliance with federal laws. Greater Yellowstone Coalition Idaho Director Marv Hoyt said the group fears that a new phosphate mine in the Crow Creek drainage will threaten the Yellowstone cutthroat, which has been dwindling in numbers....
Ranch conserves wildlife habitat An innovative conservation easement struck between Fremont County ranchers Tony and Andrea Malmberg, the Wyoming chapter of The Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will protect almost 5,000 acres of wildlife habitat. By providing protection from future development, the conservation easement means that sage grouse and their chicks can migrate each spring from nests on Twin Creek Ranch south of Lander to summer range in the foothills of the Wind River Mountains n- 20 miles and a thousand-foot climb over the rough hills and rocky escarpments that form a transition zone between the Winds and the Red Desert. "We'll be able to keep a functional ranch intact, without selling off important pieces," said Tony Malmberg, whose family began ranching the property more than 25 years ago. Completed on Wednesday, the conservation easement used the USDA's Farm and Ranchland Protection Program, which is administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service and The Nature Conservancy....
Judge says he agrees with environmentalists on increasing spill to save salmon A federal judge indicated Wednesday that he is leaning toward greatly increasing the amount of water spilled over four dams on the lower Snake and Columbia rivers to boost the survival of threatened and endangered salmon migrating to the ocean. U.S. District Judge James Redden issued his preliminary finding in a statement filed with the U.S. District Court in Portland, just two days ahead of a scheduled hearing to determine how dam operations should be changed to help salmon survive in the wake of his rejection of the Bush administration approach. Environmentalists, Indian tribes and sport and commercial fishing groups have argued that if the spill is not increased greatly, salmon protected by the Endangered Species Act could face extinction....
Everglades oil buyout slammed in government inquiry Hailed by environmentalists as a rare act of conservation by the Bush administration, a deal to prevent oil drilling in the Everglades came under sharp attack Wednesday in a report by investigators at the Interior Department. The report, issued by the department's inspector general, said administration officials were so eager for a shot of good public relations that they were willing to meet almost any terms to buy out oil rights at Big Cypress National Preserve, a vast wilderness inhabited by panthers, manatees and other endangered species. Over the objections of career civil servants, who said the oil rights might be virtually worthless, administration officials agreed to pay the Collier family of southwest Florida $120 million to keep the family from undertaking a major oil exploration project at the preserve....
Groups Seek To Restore Wolverines In an effort to save one of the rarest wilderness wildlife species in the lower-48 states, four conservation groups today filed a lawsuit asking a federal court to overturn the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's refusal to consider new legal protections for the wolverine. "Everything we know about the wolverine tells us that this species is under siege from trapping in Montana and habitat disruption throughout its entire range," said Earthjustice attorney Tim Preso, who is representing the groups in the lawsuit. "We shouldn't wait until the last few wolverines are trapped before we take action to protect this rare species."....
Law aims to head off water wars Gov. Bill Owens on Tuesday signed a measure intended to inspire collaboration instead of fresh ammunition in Colorado’s water wars. The measure is patterned after the successful effort of nearly a century ago that resulted in the Colorado River Compact, which divided the waters of the stream among seven states. The bill establishes nine roundtables in each of the state’s main river basins and the Denver metro area and a 27-member interbasin compact committee, which is made up of representatives selected by the roundtables and other selected by legislators and the governor....
Enthusiasts spend billions on boats; fish aren't so popular The National Marine ManufacturerÏs Association estimates that there are 17 million boats on America's waterways, and 69 million people who say they enjoy boating. In 2004, total retail expenditures on boating reached $33 billion, an 8 percent increase over 2003, according to NMMA research. Sales of after-market accessories led with $2.4 billion in sales, a 14 percent increase. Sales of boating accessories have doubled since 1997. Participation in fishing has declined by 4 percent since 1991, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This comes at a time when conservation efforts have improved many of the nation's rivers and lakes. This downturn could seriously affect fishing because fewer anglers translate into fewer dollars for resource-management activities such as hiring biologists, building boat ramps and funding fish-stocking programs....
LGBT group signs agreement with Dept. of Interior Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender-owned businesses looking to secure vendor contracts with the Department of the Interior and its eight bureaus signed a groundbreaking agreement to increase their opportunities Wednesday afternoon. The memorandum of understanding (MOU), facilitated by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, aims to boost the agency's outreach efforts to small businesses owned and operated by the LGBT community, and to provide an increased exchange of information regarding program contract opportunities, officials said....
Sea Turtle Lights Spark Controvery Bay County law protects sea turtles and their hatchlings on the west end of Panama City Beach by regulating lights on the coast. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wants the ordinance expanded to include the entire 25 miles of Bay County coastline, but some county commissioners say the policy could put people in danger. Bay County Commissioner Mike Thomas says he's gotten several complaints about the lack of lighting on the beach at night. Since May of 2003, special turtle-friendly lights have been installed along beachfront properties on the western five-mile stretch of Bay's coastline to promote more sea turtle hatchlings. Thomas says the ordinance is extreme and some of the lights should be turned back on....
House vote to end slaughter of horses for food The House voted Wednesday to stop the slaughter of American horses to feed diners in European and Asian nations where the meat is considered gourmet fare. The 269-158 vote on an amendment to a Department of Agriculture spending bill strips funding from the USDA to inspect any horse meat to be shipped overseas for consumption, effectively barring the sale of horse meat for human consumption. Roughly 65,000 wild horses, race horses, work horses and even pet horses are slaughtered every year in the United States to become steaks in other countries. Two plants in Texas and one in Illinois currently slaughter horses for foreign consumption....
Recent deaths on Rio Grande prompt discussions about safety Some river-rafting outfitters are reviewing their policies and government agencies are talking about more stringent training for river guides following the deaths of two rafters along the Rio Grande. Carol Whalen, 61, of Heber City, Utah, drowned Sunday after the raft she was riding in flipped on a section of the river between Pilar and Embudo. All seven passengers were thrown from the raft, including Whalen's sister, Joyce Kraut of Illinois. On Memorial Day, Airman 1st Class Jacob P. Hampson, 23, of Rochester, N.Y., drowned when the raft he was in capsized near Pilar....
House votes to postpone meat labeling The House voted Wednesday to block the government from requiring labels that would tell shoppers from what country their meat comes. Congress already had postponed the labeling from its original date of 2004 to September 2006. The House action would stop the Agriculture Department from spending money on the new requirement. The postponement was part of a $100 billion spending bill for food and farm programs in the budget year that begins Oct. 1. The House passed the bill by 408-18 vote Wednesday. Western ranchers had counted on the labels to help sell their beef, Rep. Stephanie Herseth said. "Instead, the large meatpackers have rallied to kill this program because they don't want American consumers to discover how much meat in the grocery case is actually imported," said Herseth, D-S.D. Rep. Denny Rehberg, a rancher, said Texas cattle producers are fighting the labels because they do not want shoppers to know that the cattlemen buy cheap Mexican calves to fatten and sell in the U.S....
Murders end Florida's range wars The late Leon Thompson of Port Charlotte, a retired U.S. Marine sergeant major, was a survivor of the last range war: "I was 14 years old in February 1933 when my cousin Lincoln Whidden asked me to help him find and butcher a cow. The animal was part of Milton Norton's herd near Old Venus on the prairie east of Fort Ogden. "My father, Lorenzo, had a small sawmill house (rough, unpainted lumber) between Old Venus and Palmdale where he could keep an eye on his horses and cattle. "Those were tough days in the depth of the Great Depression. Men with hungry families might kill somebody else's range-cow to stay alive. ."Cattlemen understood rustling for food and never shot a hungry man — just warned him not to do it again or get shot next time....

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