NEWS ROUNDUP

House panel near approval of major Endangered Species Act Conservative lawmakers poised to eliminate key provisions of the landmark 32-year-old Endangered Species Act encountered unexpected support Wednesday: Some environmentalists and liberal Democrats said they agree with some of the changes. "There is a recognition that the current critical habitat arrangement doesn't work, for a whole host of reasons,'' said Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., a leading liberal voice on the House Resources Committee. "There are some in the environmental community who think the answer is just no to any change, and I think that's a problem.'' Miller and other Democrats said that without substantial amendments, they still can't support a bill by Resources Committee Chairman Richard Pombo, R-Calif., that's set for a committee vote Thursday. Pombo's bill is a top-to-bottom overhaul of the Endangered Species Act that would delete the federal government's ability to protect "critical habitat'' for plants and animals and require compensation for landowners if the government blocks their development plans to protect certain species....
Evangelical and Jewish Leaders and Scientists Call on Congress to Protect Endangered Species An extraordinary partnership between sometimes distant communities -- evangelical Christians and Jews, clergy and scientists -- today announced creation of the "Noah Alliance" to prevent congressional attempts that would rollback and weaken the Endangered Species Act. In separate statements released together, members of the Academy of Evangelical Scientists and Ethicists and rabbis and scientists associated with the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life echoed insights from both scripture and science. Calling for faith community action, they presented plans to mobilize efforts in key states and across a range of religious associations. "Evangelicals are often set apart from other faith groups and religion and science are said to be at odds," said Dr. Cal DeWitt, President of the Academy of Evangelical Scientists and Ethicists. "But we don't have to agree on how the world was created in order to join forces to protect all creatures on Earth." Citing the Biblical example of Noah, nearly 70 evangelical scholars from Baptist, Pentecostal, Reformed, and other denominations wrote, "As evangelical Christians in our time, we see a most profound threat to the integrity of God's creation in the destruction of endangered species and their God-given habitat." These evangelical scholars, from 35 Christian colleges and universities in 19 states, are helping to train the next generation of evangelical leaders in places like Messiah College in Pennsylvania, Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma, Point Loma Nazarene University in California, John Brown University in Arkansas, Colorado Christian College, and many others. In a separate statement, nearly 40 prominent rabbis joined a Nobel laureate and almost 30 other eminent Jewish scientists, from distinguished institutions such as Princeton, Cornell, Stanford, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Carnegie Institution, in declaring "our conviction that the Endangered Species Act is one of our generation's richest fulfillments of our biblical destiny as b'tselem elohim, created in the image of God with the unique power to share, preserve and renew creation."....
Rancher must accept water, suit says A Powder River Basin cattle rancher is challenging the notion that surface owners can be forced, without legal recourse or monetary compensation, to accept coal-bed methane water produced from upstream wells. Groups such as the Powder River Basin Resource Council warn that if the courts rule that coal-bed methane water enjoys the same public easement as "waters of the state," it would give a new and dangerous legal precedent of condemnation to the oil and gas industry. In his arguments on Tuesday, Wendtland said the case exemplifies a previously unchallenged notion in the coal-bed methane industry that downstream, off-lease surface owners cannot refuse their by-product water when intermingled with "waters of the state." He said operators typically strike private agreements with downstream landowners regarding the water. Williams brought the case against Maycock when the parties failed to reach a surface use agreement and Maycock threatened to pursue criminal trespassing charges if the company allowed by-product water from its upstream coal-bed methane wells to flow onto his property via Barber Creek. Attorneys for Williams Production argued that, based on the state's constitution, the operator's by-product water does become "waters of the state" when it enters a natural watercourse....
Report: 'West is warming' Climate change in Colorado and the West is leading to depleted snowpacks, higher temperatures and warmer winters, all factors that could endanger water supplies for the Front Range and plains agriculture. That was the stark assessment of a report released Wednesday by the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization, a fledgling advocacy group that calls itself a "mainstream coalition" educating the region about the hazards of global warming. "The West is warming, our snowpacks are declining and that has profound impact on our water supplies," said Stephen Saunders, president of the climate organization and the lead author of the 30-page report, titled "Less Snow, Less Water: Climate Disruption in the West." The organization said it analyzed temperature data from several federal agencies. The data covered four major Western river basins, including the Colorado and the Missouri, which includes the South Platte River....view the report here....
Builders: Overdue Proposed Rule On Endangered Species Is Sensible Policy Two years after a federal court ruled illegal the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listing of the cactus ferruginous pygmy-owl under the Endangered Species Act, FWS has proposed to remove the pygmy owl from the endangered species list. The proposed rule is a victory for sensible policy making, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). FWS’ new proposed rule finds that Arizona’s population of cactus ferruginous pygmy-owls does not qualify as a “significant” population and should be taken off the endangered species list. The proposed rule would also render moot an earlier proposal, never finalized, that would have directly affected 1.2 million acres of pygmy owl habitat. “We support the Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed action,” said David F. Wilson, NAHB President and a builder from Ketchum, Idaho. “The delisting of the pygmy owl is based on sound science, not political whim.” On August 19, 2003, the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled, in a suit brought by NAHB, the Southern Arizona Home Builder Association (SAHBA), and the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona (HBACA), that the pygmy owl listing was illegal. The Court agreed, and found that FWS did not articulate a rational basis for the listing of the pygmy owl, given that the owls were known to exist in far greater numbers in Mexico....
'Black gold' flows in Sevier The discovery of a major oil field has people in this tiny farm town on the edge of anticipation, driving property values and speculation, real-estate agents say. But the payoff could make millionaires out of some landowners who never knew there was oil under Sigurd, a Sevier County town of 431 with no traffic lights, grocery store or home mail delivery. The town center is defined by Dave's Country Trading Post, where ranchers' retired greasy cowboy hats hang from the rafters. The ranchers, if they're selling any land, are keeping the mineral rights. Hope came more than a year ago, when tiny Wolverine Gas & Oil Corp. made an unlikely find that could rank as the biggest onshore discovery in 30 years. Although no one knows for certain how much oil Wolverine will find — and some industry analysts are skeptical — the potential has townsfolk giddy....
Next phase in protecting species: living with them The Rogue Valley in southern Oregon is normally a mellow, small-town place where the major commercial export is Harry and David's fancy fruits and most of the violence comes at the hand of Richard III onstage at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. But lately, people have been keeping an eye out for predators on the prowl - not criminals, but tooth-and-claw types a critical notch above humans on the food chain. Dog walkers out for an evening stroll have spotted cougars in the town park. Pets and livestock have been mauled or sometimes killed. In the eastern part of the state, gray wolves from the wilds of Idaho have occasionally emigrated across the border, worrying ranchers and others. It's not just a local phenomenon. From Oregon, Idaho, and the northern Rockies to the upper Midwest and across to northern New England there are legal cases, legislative efforts, and political debates over how to control or accommodate what in some places are growing populations of large carnivores....
Toad's listing could affect plans for facility A rare forest-dwelling toad could complicate efforts to build a $300 million underground physics laboratory at Henderson Mine. On Sept. 30, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will decide whether to propose that Southern Rocky Mountain boreal toads be included on the Endangered Species List. Listing would strengthen protections for the warty 4-inch amphibians, whose numbers have plummeted in the last 20 years. Colorado populations of the boreal toad include a group that breeds in ponds on Henderson Mine property. A long string of "ifs" could toss the boreal toad into the mix as Colorado researchers attempt to land the federally funded Deep Underground Science and Engineering Laboratory, known as DUSEL. If Fish and Wildlife proposes listing the toad as a threatened or endangered species, and if that listing is approved, then Endangered Species Act protections come into play....
Gathering planned to talk about pelican abandonment The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is planning a gathering of pelican experts to try to solve the mystery of why the big birds abandoned the Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge in central North Dakota. No date has been set, but the meeting would include biologists and officials from refuges throughout the Upper Midwest, said Ken Torkelson, a Fish and Wildlife spokesman in Bismarck. Last year, nearly 30,000 pelicans left the refuge near Medina, leaving their chicks and eggs behind. This year, the refuge saw a massive die-off of pelican chicks, followed by an exodus of their parents. "Next year may bring a whole new mystery," Torkelson said....
Congressman calls for sale of federal land to fund hurricane relief U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo on Wednesday called for the sale of federal land to fund Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. "The federal government may be cash-poor but it is land rich. There is demand for farm and ranch land, and the federal government should have long ago transferred its massive holdings to the private sector, where it can be put to use," the Colorado Republican said in a statement. He introduced a bill in Congress requiring the Interior Department to sell 15 percent of the federal land it controls, excluding national parks and Indian land. The Agriculture Department also would be required to sell a portion of the land it controls. "Environmental radicals put up regulatory roadblocks to use of our national land, often miring any sensible land use proposal in endless litigation. My bill would give environmentalists an excellent opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and buy up federal land for conservation," Tancredo said....
State launches road claims The long battle over the ownership of Utah's rural back roads either took a giant step toward a conclusion, or was plunged even deeper into the murk on Wednesday. Armed with an appeals court decision loosening the definition of what constitutes a public right of way, the Governor's Office unveiled an ambitious, aggressive plan to claim old Jeep and mining roads across federal land in every county of the state. Under the plan, counties now need only to identify, record and map the roads they claim as their own under an old mining law known as RS 2477, which granted public rights of way across federal land. The statute was repealed in 1976, but existing roads were grandfathered in. Lynn Stevens, the state's public lands policy coordinator, said that in the wake of this month's 10th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, it is state law - not Bureau of Land Management policies - that will now guide the counties in their quest to claim the roads....
Yellowstone’s microbes spawn new industries John Colter left Fort Remon in the winter of 1807 with a 30-pound pack and a rifle to recruit Indian trappers. On that trek he discovered a volcanic wonder. “Colter’s Hell” later became the world’s first national park. A rugged peak in Yellowstone National Park bears the explorer’s name. A little more than a century and a half later, a prospector following Colter’s tracks discovered a golden bug. The prospector was Dr. Robert Brock, a microbiologist from the University of Wisconsin. Brock was sampling hot water from the outflow of a thermal spring when he made a discovery that would rattle the halls of academia. The further upstream he went, the hotter the water became. He was nearing the spring where the water crowded the boiling point when he found a creature that would have a greater economic impact than all the moose, buffalo, bear and elk in the park. He named this microbe Thermus aquaticus, Latin for the hot water the creature called home. “Taq” proved to be neither plant nor animal. It was a member of an entirely new kingdom of living organisms. The enzyme found in Thermus aquaticus is now used to duplicate DNA at high speed. The process makes literally billions of copies of a DNA sample in hours. This is the technology used to identify the bodies of air crash and homicide victims or the true father of a baby. This is the technology of the TV show “CSI.” It’s what made genetic engineering possible. The enzyme earns a genetics company $300 million a year....
Probe of Yellowstone deaths extends to Arizona The investigation into the case of a Scottsdale man and his son who plummeted 200 feet to their deaths in Yellowstone National Park soon will extend to Arizona. Officials with the National Park Service will talk to Arizonans who knew 50-year-old Drew Speedie and his 13-year-old son Brent to collect background for the investigation, said Brian Smith, Park Service special agent in charge of investigating the deaths. The Speedies plunged 200 feet from Gardner River Bridge to their deaths Friday while on vacation in Wyoming, officials said. Irene Speedie — Drew’s wife and Brent’s mother — reported the pair’s absence about three hours after they left to take pictures, said park spokeswoman Cheryl Matthews....
Senate Petitioned in Eminent Domain Case The Connecticut woman whose case led to the Supreme Court decision allowing local governments to take homes for private development asked senators on Tuesday to end the federal government's involvement in such seizures. "I sincerely hope that Congress will do what judges and local legislators so far have refused to do for me and for thousands of people like me across the nation: protect our homes," Susette Kelo told the Senate Judiciary Committee. The panel is considering one of several congressional proposals that would bar federal money from construction projects that benefit from the Supreme Court ruling. State and national lawmakers around the nation are moving quickly to blunt the effects of the Supreme Court's Kelo v. City of New London, Conn., decision. In that 5-4 ruling, the justices said municipalities have broad power to bulldoze people's homes in favor of private development to generate tax revenue. The decision drew a scathing dissent from Justice Sandra Day O'Connor as favoring rich corporations. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts _ who is on track to become the next chief justice _ told senators last week that Congress and state legislatures have the power to trump the decision, something the Republican-controlled House and Senate are working feverishly to do....
Plan to compensate Spokane Tribe hits snag A proposal to compensate the Spokane Tribe of Indians for land flooded by the Grand Coulee Dam has raised the ire of Lincoln County elected officials and property owners, who claim they were not consulted. The plan pushed by Rep. Cathy McMorris, R-Wash., would pay the tribe tens of millions of dollars and transfer management of land south of the Spokane River to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The bill recently was passed by the U.S. House without debate and awaits Senate action. A similar agreement was reached with the Colville Confederated Tribes in 1994. Both tribes have reservations abutting Lake Roosevelt, the sprawling reservoir behind the dam. In exchange for a change in management of the land, the Spokanes said they would accept about 29 percent of what the Colvilles were given in 1994 - $53 million up front and millions more each year....
Two hikers attacked by grizzly Two hikers were attacked by a grizzly bear in Yellowstone National Park, but escaped serious injury, the National Park Service said Thursday. Pat McDonald, 52, of Bismarck, and Gerald Holzer, 51, of Northfield, Minn., were hiking on a trail near Shoshone Lake in the park's southern section when they noticed fresh bear scat, officials said in a written statement. They decided to continue, but were charged by a grizzly bear "at full stride" about a quarter-mile further along the trail, the release said. Holzer, who was in front, sidestepped the bear. McDonald stepped behind some trees and dropped to the ground, officials said. The bear ran past him, but returned and swatted at him, then turned to Holzer, who had dropped to the ground and was lying on his stomach....
Bennett switches, opposes Yucca U.S. Sen. Bob Bennett has changed his mind about the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste dump and now plans to join Nevada lawmakers in pushing for legislation that will keep the radioactive fuel where it is. "However much the idea of a single repository may have made sense decades ago, it's now clear that it does not make sense and we need to move in some future direction," said the Utah Republican in a Senate floor speech Tuesday. In publicly renouncing his past position - a rarity in Congress - Bennett allied himself with Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and other political leaders in the state's fight to block a private waste-storage site on the Skull Valley Goshute Reservation, about 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. In the same stroke he isolated his fellow Utah Republican, Sen. Orrin Hatch....

===