NEWS ROUNDUP

Citizens launch water petition It's time the state reconsider what is truly a "beneficial use" of groundwater in the Powder River Basin, according to a grassroots campaign in northeast Wyoming. Nineteen landowners and the Powder River Basin Resource Council launched a citizens' petition Wednesday, asking the state to close what they consider to be a loophole in its policies regarding the management of coal-bed methane water. They said the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality's policy of regulating only the quality of water discharged from coal-bed methane wells is based on an outdated assumption that the arid West needs, and can use, all the water that oil and gas operations can produce. "That is no longer a valid assumption," the landowners' petition states. "And the DEQ must manage CBM discharge water by recognizing that it is not generally being used; it is being disposed of. The exclusion has become a loophole stretched so far that in application it has lost all relation to logic." Water pressure locks methane gas into the cleats and pores of coal in the Powder River Basin. In order to produce the gas, the industry pumps large amounts of water from the coal aquifer to relieve the static pressure, allowing gas to rise to the surface. The industry produces some 550 million barrels of water annually....
Lawsuit asks colorado to regulate water Since coalbed methane development started in the county in 1988, residents have claimed it has damaged their water wells. But state and federal agencies have said that’s not their jurisdiction. Bayfield area ranchers Bill and Beth Vance and Jim and Terry Fitzgerald have filed suit in State Water Court in hopes of forcing the Colorado Division of Water Resources to take control of gas development impact on groundwater. It’s a change of strategy from lawsuits during the 1990s, where landowners tried unsuccessfully to sue gas companies for alleged damage to water wells. “This isn’t asking for damages,” Fitzgerald told the Times. “We want to determine the legal obligations of the State Engineer.” The suit names State Engineer Hal Simpson and District 7 Water Engineer Ken Beegles. Fitzgerald noted the northern San Juan Basin gas drilling draft Environmental Impact Statement lists drawdown of tributory water, wells and springs among the impacts of more gas well drilling....
Group sues over status of bighorn sheep The government isn't doing enough to protect the endangered Sierra Nevada bighorn sheep, a population numbering only in the hundreds, an environmental group said in a federal lawsuit Thursday. Among the most pressing concerns is the proximity of domestic sheep to bighorn habitat, a situation biologists fear is spreading diseases between the two populations, the Center for Biological Diversity said in its lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Sacramento. The wild sheep live high in the Eastern Sierra, where they are threatened by mountain lions and genetic problems caused by inbreeding because of the small surviving population. Before the turn of the century, the number of wild bighorns in the Sierra numbered in the thousands. Only about 100 survived as recently as 1998, a number that has crept up to around 300 today....
Column: Free market can be a boon to environment A surprising thing happened to the Grand Canyon Trust as it tried to use free-market methods to protect the environment: It ran into opposition from conservative politicians who don't want to allow willing sellers to contract with willing buyers. Such is the way change comes to the West — inconsistently, piecemeal, with residents sometimes embracing the future while other times they struggle to hold back the tides. The Flagstaff-based trust started its free-market program in the mid-1990s, when it decided the best way to preserve endangered lands was to pay ranchers to forfeit their grazing rights. In the rock-layered lands along the Escalante River in southern Utah, many areas needed protection from overgrazing. Sometimes the trust approached ranchers to see whether they would accept payment to give up their grazing permits. Generally, however, the ranchers approached the trust, wanting to sell their permits, Bill Hedden, trust executive director, told me....
North Bay pest controllers strive to think outside of the bottle Michael Honig, president of Honig Winery in Napa, is in love. The object of his affection on this fall afternoon is a team of golden retriever puppies that are learning to "sniff out" the dread vine mealy bug. This tiny insect secretes honeydew, a sweet, sticky substance that provides an ideal environment for black mold and diseases that afflict grapevines. As it happens, honeydew is also a food delicious to ants. To ensure a food source, ants literally move female mealy bugs around the grapevines with them, spreading mold and disease in the process. As the golden retrievers leave their puppyhood behind them, they'll learn to stand at attention before an infested vine and bark an alert. Then, says Honig, "we'll pull the vine out," thus eliminating the need to spray the entire vineyard with toxic chemicals. Putting their money where their hearts are, Honig and other area county grape growers have contributed $32,000 to the puppies' first year of education at the Assistance Dog Institute in Santa Rosa....
Public included in grazing plans In an effort to keep transparent its ongoing livestock grazing impacts study on the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, Uncle Sam is mailing out an updated version this week. The 95-page plan expands on a much smaller study released in 2001 shortly after the 52,940-acre monument was created on the Bureau of Land Management’s Medford District. However, no decisions have yet been made on future grazing on the monument, said Howard Hunter, the study’s project leader. "We want to get everybody up to speed," he said, noting that copies of the updated study are being sent to those who have participated in the process over the years. One of the recommendations made by the Southwest Oregon Provincial Advisory Committee was that the process be translucent and available to the public, Hunter said....
Column: When man alters nature wildlife loses — and wins Over the eons, the Montana prairie and its river corridors have naturally stabilized after undergoing geologic and climatic changes. But man-made changes such as ditching, diverting, damming and draining affect salt and mineral deposits, water salinity, sedimentation and even water flow. This, in turn, affects habitat and wildlife. A case in point is the change in the Teton River; there is neither single cause nor single solution. The Teton River flows southeast from the Lewis and Clark National Forest, where it meanders near Freezout and Priest Butte Lake. Russell Kastner of Conrad has fished the north and the south forks of the Teton River and has caught colorful brook trout. "Brook trout are an indicator species and thrive in cold, clear, and clean water, and the headwaters of the Teton River has it," he said....
Authorities arrests 6 ecoterror suspects Six people were arrested Wednesday in connection with Northwest eco-terror attacks dating back to 1998, including the 2001 arson at Jefferson Poplar Farms near Clatskanie. The arrests were made Wednesday in New York, Virginia, Oregon and Arizona, and each of the defendants has been indicted in Oregon or Washington, the U.S. attorney's office said. The attacks included three arsons in Oregon, the destruction of a research facility in Olympia and the toppling of a Bonneville Power Administration transmission tower near Bend. The underground Earth Liberation Front and Animal Liberation Front took credit for most of the acts. The May 21, 2001, explosive fire at Jefferson Poplar Farm destroyed two large storage buildings, shop equipment and 15 to 19 vehicles. Damage was estimated at more than $1 million....
Burns, Montana delegation opposed to public lands sale provision Montana Sen. Conrad Burns said Wednesday that he opposes legislation moving through Congress that would sell off some public lands. The issue should be left to local governments, he said. Burns joined Montana Sen. Max Baucus and Gov. Brian Schweitzer, both Democrats, and fellow Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg in denouncing the legislation, which is contained in a larger budget bill designed to cut federal spending. The House and Senate are currently negotiating a final version of the bill. The provision would overturn a decade-old congressional ban that prevents mineral companies from "patenting," or buying, public land at cheap prices if the land contains mineral deposits. In order to generate revenue, some House Republicans want to lift an 11-year-old congressional ban on new applications to buy public land for mining. Once a patent is granted, companies could buy the land for $1,000 per acre....
Hemlock Dam to be razed to aid fish Depression-era Hemlock Dam on Trout Creek northwest of Carson will be removed to improve fish passage for threatened steelhead, the Forest Service decided this week. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the 20-foot-high dam in 1935 to supply the Wind River Ranger District headquarters with electricity and provide irrigation water for the Wind River Nursery, which once grew conifer seedlings to reforest public lands throughout the Northwest. The nursery closed in 1996. The 16-acre reservoir behind the dam, now choked with sediment and only 2 feet deep in places, remains a popular recreation site for Skamania County residents....
Attorney: Activists' trial not about lions A federal prosecutor Wednesday told jurors that the trial of two animal rights activists accused of sabotaging mountain lion traps is not about mountain lions or whether they should be trapped. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wallace Kleindienst then devoted most of his opening statement to the dangers the big cats posed in March 2004, when Rodney Adam Coronado, 39, of Tucson and Matthew Crozier, 33, of Prescott allegedly ruined traps to capture the pumas. The mountain lions were reported to have been wandering near the Sabino Canyon National Recreation Area's visitor center and into surrounding neighborhoods. Public pressure forced state wildlife managers to change plans from killing to capturing the mountain lions. Coronado and Crozier are accused of entering the closed park on March 24, 2004, and pulling up traps....
Congressmen and Environmental Groups Disagree on Forest Recovery Bill After two years of conversation, a bill that would allow the U.S. Forest Service to take quick action to restore forests after catastrophic disasters remains a source for debate. But some environmental groups argue that the restoration treatments, such as cutting dead and damaged trees, will cause more harm to the forests. The House Committee on Agriculture discussed the "Forest Emergency Recovery and Research Act" at a hearing Wednesday. The bill encourages removing dead and damaged trees as well as reforestation, using native plants to restore damaged areas. It also supports developing scientific input and public participation in revitalizing the areas. Rep. Greg Walden, R-Ore, said that delays in restoring damaged forests can result in significant losses. Walden said the bill secures rehabilitation and maintains environmental standards. Certain actions can help to save forests if they are completed quickly after the disaster, he said....
State plans to shrink sea A state advisory group agreed Thursday to consider five options to drastically reduce the size of the Salton Sea in hopes of maintaining the desert lake as a key wildlife refuge. Under five scenarios devised Thursday, the Salton Sea can shrink to between 27,000 acres and 40,000 acres. The sea is currently 35 miles by 15 miles and about 233,000 acres. The largest the lake would be, under any of the state's ideas, is one-sixth its current size. Despite the dismal outlook for the salty lake, local plans to build up to 185,000 homes on the sea's shores moved forward Thursday. The Salton Sea Authority, made up of Riverside and Imperial county officials, agreed at a meeting in La Quinta to enter into negotiations with Citigroup and New River Development Co. to finance and oversee the development plans. "Clearly the larger the lake the better," said Donald Rogers of New River's San Bernardino office. "Reducing it that much substantially reduces the development potential." In a presentation by Russell Hunt, a planning consultant hired by the authority, the proposed development would include water taxis connecting seaside villages and marinas and public beaches. Those features, however, may be impossible if the state's plans go forward as is....
Alaska Again Targets Wolves for Aerial Killing Defenders of Wildlife today condemned the killing of the first wolves in this year's state aerial gunning program and the state's decision to soon approve numerous additional permits for aerial gunners to track and shoot wolves using aircraft in other areas of the state. As of December 2, permits were issued to 63 pilots and 54 gunners. Last season, the state targeted more than 1400 wolves for removal. More than 400 wolves have been killed since the Alaska Board of Game resumed the practice of aerial killing, despite the fact Alaskans have twice voted to ban the practice (1996 and 2000) in statewide referenda....
Canadian mining company agrees to comprehensive environmental review A Canadian company that wants to develop a coal mine north of Glacier National Park has agreed to subject the project to a comprehensive environmental review rather than try to open a smaller mine and then expand it. Kathy Eichenberger, regional manager for British Columbia’s Ministry of Environment, told the Flathead Basin Commission about the company’s change in plans Wednesday. The news that Cline Mining Corp.’s proposal will undergo a full environmental review was welcome, especially among those concerned that mine waste could pollute waters in and around Glacier National Park. ‘‘An entire economy has developed because of this pristine environment,’’ said Lt. Gov. John Bohlinger. ‘‘Our trade and travel economies depend on the protection of this water resource.’’ Cline Mining as recently as a month ago told shareholders it planned to pursue ‘‘fast-track’’ approval of the project, seeking a small mine permit with coal production limited to 250,000 tons per year. Such a permit does not require a full environmental analysis....
Japan considers lifting ban on U.S. cattle American beef moved closer to the highly profitable Japanese market after a two-year ban Thursday when Japan’s food safety commission unanimously declared that meat from U.S. cattle 20 months or younger is safe from mad-cow disease. The prolonged import ban has been a major irritant in relations between the two otherwise friendly nations. The Food Safety Commission’s findings go to the health and agriculture ministries, which will make a final recommendation to the government, The Associated Press said. It quoted Japanese media reports as saying the Cabinet could decide to lift the U.S. beef ban as early as Dec. 12. Asahi Shimbun, one of the country’s leading newspapers, earlier in the week quoted government sources as saying the first shipments of American beef cuts could be in Japanese meat counters by late this month....
Celebrating cowboy culture A group of cowboys will gather at Osceola Heritage Park Saturday to celebrate a 10-year reunion of the Great Florida Cattle Drive of 1995. Gates to the event, to be held at the KVLS facility in OHP, open at 10 a.m. Doyle Conner Jr., the chairman of the 1995 cattle drive and reunion organizer, said the latest event, dubbed a frolic/reunion, is an opportunity to celebrate the state’s cowboy history and culture. “We’re using the cattle drive reunion to kick off the first cowboy culture celebration,” Conner said of the event that organizers plan to stage annually in Kissimmee. The goal is to one day expand the celebration into a week-long one such as The National Cowboy Poetry Gathering held in Elko, Nev., according to Conner, who works in the Tallahassee office of the state Department of Agriculture....