NEWS ROUNDUP

Downside of cleaner air: more warming New measurements of tiny particles in Earth's atmosphere contain a sobering message: All those hard-won efforts to cut air pollution may unwittingly accelerate global warming. The result: The planet is likely to warm more and faster than current projections suggest, according to a team of British and American scientists. The group has produced the most precise estimates yet of how tiny particles, known as aerosols, could affect the world's climate. Aerosols, which include pollutants, have a cooling effect on the atmosphere, and the team's work suggests that the cooling effect is strong - nearly as strong as the top estimates of the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Thus, the dwindling presence of aerosols means that global average temperatures could rise faster than previously estimated and reach toward the high end of projections for the end of the century....
The Jaguar Man Wild jaguars in the U.S.? What sounds implausible was proven true in 1996 when two male jaguars were photographed, first in southern New Mexico and then in Arizona. Until that time, experts had concluded that our hemisphere’s biggest cat—seldom seen north of the Mexico border since European settlement—had disappeared forever from the U.S. “It was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen,” says Warner Glenn, a big-game hunter whose hounds brought a large jaguar to bay during a late-winter mountain lion hunt. Glenn took a series of remarkable photos. “I felt tremendously lucky,” said the rancher, who wrote a book about his experience. Six months after Glenn’s sighting, members of a party led by Jack Childs treed a jaguar in the Baboquivari Mountains near Tucson. Childs caught the cat on videotape as it settled into an aerie of juniper branches. “I considered it a once-in-a-lifetime event,” says the retired surveyor. Since then, motion-triggered hidden cameras in southern Arizona have clicked off 16 pictures of the endangered cats, including two that appear to be the first resident U.S. jaguars in decades. “What Jack and Warner have documented is amazing,” says Mexican wildlife biologist Octavio Rosas. “But this species will not survive long north of the border without effective protection in Mexico.” Rosas, now completing his Ph.D. degree at New Mexico State University, was spurred into action by the sightings made by Glenn and Childs. “I’d been working with wildlife in Sonora, the Mexican state immediately south of Arizona, so I knew that a small breeding population existed there and was probably the source of the cats seen sporadically in the U.S.,” he says. Rosas soon put together a unique project that tied local conservation and field research to economic development....
Wildlife officials mull graylng plan State and federal officials are proposing a new plan they say would help the last population of fluvial grayling in the lower 48 states expand its numbers. The goal is to get ranchers to leave more water in the Big Hole River in southwest Montana and to use the water they do extract more efficiently. Fluvial, or river dwelling, grayling live in about 80 miles of the upper stretch of that river -- their last refuge in the contiguous United States -- and their numbers have been declining for decades. Environmental groups have been pushing for the grayling to be protected under the federal Endangered Species Act, an idea that rankles most ranchers in the Big Hole, a beautiful and sparsely settled valley where the economy is based around cattle and irrigation....
Oil, gas well byproduct: water James and Pam Lang started building a new home near La Veta this year and watched water produced by nearby gas wells turn their trickling creek into a small river. "The flow is growing heavier and heavier," said Pam Lang. The Langs live in Denver and plan to retire to their new home below the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. "I'm concerned about the waste of water. There's no attempt to conserve it or use it," said Pam Lang. The unnamed creek flows into the Cucharas River. That's the worry across Colorado, where years of severe drought fostered a strong conservation ethic and the state's oil and gas wells pump up millions of gallons of water a day. Most of that water isn't used, but energy companies, state officials and potential users are looking at ways to turn that wasted water into a new water resource....
Aldo Leopold Foundation Logging Trees Planted by Leopold Himself Five-hundred pine trees planted by Aldo Leopold and his family in the 1930's are being cut down, but don't worry, every part of the tree will be put to good use. Steve Swenson is an ecologist with the Aldo Leopold Foundation. He says this logging is the same kind of land stewardship Leopold wrote about in A Sand County Almanac. "The ones we're taking out are the ones you might call the sub–dominant trees or the ones that are under that upper most canopy." Swenson says this 10 acre forest needs to be thinned to provide the healthier trees more room to grow. "We felt that the trees around it would benefit if this one was removed." But the exciting thing for Swenson is how the fallen trees will be used. "We'll make that into a timber, like an 8X8 or a 4x10 or something, but it's going to hold up the building down there."....
No federal protection for landlocked trout Rainbow trout landlocked above the Calaveras and San Antonio dams near Sunol Regional Wilderness remain without special federal protection. Last week, the National Marine Fisheries Service reversed its previous plan to extend the same protections to those so-called "resident" rainbow trout that now exist for their wild downstream cousins -- the Central California Coast steelhead trout. Steelhead, which migrate to the ocean to mature and return to fresh water to spawn, have been listed as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act since 1997. The Alameda Creek Alliance, which for years has been trying to restore a steelhead run along the full stretch of creek and its tributaries, said continuing to treat steelhead and landlocked resident trout as two distinct populations is "arbitrary" given their genetic links....
L.A. Times prints quote from fake release A quote in a fake news release that was intended as an April Fool's joke ended up in a front-page story in the Los Angeles Times. The story in Tuesday's editions of the Times noted how successful the reintroduction of wolves had been 10 years ago, but said the predators remained controversial. "In Wyoming, for example, Gov. Dave Freudenthal last April decreed that the Endangered Species Act is no longer in force and that the state 'now considers the wolf as a federal dog,' unworthy of protection," the story read. The Times printed a correction Wednesday, acknowledging that the news release was a hoax....
Carbon takes aim at Nine Mile Canyon plan Carbon County officials are vowing to go to "whatever lengths necessary" to prevent what they view as a too-big designation to protect the archaeological resources of Nine Mile Canyon. An Area of Critical Environmental Concern designation for 60,539 acres in the canyon is to be part of a resource management plan issued by the Bureau of Land Management, county officials say. The BLM hasn't released the plan's final version, adds a county commissioner, but local officials have been shown proposed contents. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Nine Mile Canyon Coalition supports ACEC designation for the canyon, which is world famous for its archaeological resources. The group seeks to protect the abundant examples of rock art and other evidence of the past. But Michael S. Milovich, a Carbon County commissioner, responded, "I don't know why they need to do the whole canyon."....
U.S. nears OK of Yucca rail The Energy Department moved a step closer Wednesday to getting the public land it needs to build a railroad that would take nuclear waste across Nevada to Yucca Mountain, illustrating why Utah lawmakers wanted Congress to approve the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area so badly. The Bureau of Land Management withdrew about 308,600 acres of land in the state from sale, surface entry or mining claims for 10 years, according to a notice in Wednesday's Federal Register. This will allow the Energy Department to study a mile-wide corridor to decide where it can build a rail line to the proposed federal nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The bureau would still need to grant the department a right-of-way to actually construct a railroad, but Wednesday's announcement allows the department to prepare an environmental impact statement studying how building a railroad would affect the land there. Grazing permits, public access and other current uses of the land would not be affected but no new permits will be allowed....
BLM to enforce Glamis curfew With the approaching New Year's weekend, the federal agency that manages the desert's most popular off-roading area says it will maintain a "zero tolerance" policy on irresponsible behavior and serious offenses. Officials with the U.S Bureau of Land Management said Wednesday they will be out in force at the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area, also known as Glamis, where thousands of riders are expected to descend on the wind-whipped sand hills for the holiday weekend. "We will have a greater focus on safety and safety compliance this weekend as we encourage our visitors to recreate in a safe and responsible manner," said Vicki Wood, a top BLM manager. The BLM will close an area known as Competition Hill 30 minutes before sunset. It has become known as a rowdy area where mostly younger riders congregate after dark....
Mining company, tribes, state work to preserve artifacts The Three Affiliated Tribes, the Coteau Properties mining company and the State Historical Preservation Office have worked out a plan to preserve American Indian artifacts in a mining area near here. The federal Bureau of Land Management has signed off on the plan, which would affect cultural sites and stone features in a 5,300-acre area northwest of Beulah. A North Dakota Indian Culture Education Trust will be administered by the State Land Department. The land and stone features will be set aside, and Coteau will donate $400,000 for education. If the acres are eventually leased for grazing, that money will go into the trust. Coteau plans to start mining in the area in 2007. The 5,300 acres, part of a 17,000-acre mining permit area, are underlain with coal owned by the federal government. Coteau is expected to be the only bidder for some 89 million tons of the federal coal....
BLM begins review of split-estate issues around the Rockies With natural gas drilling rates at or near record highs in the Rockies, a federal agency is seeking comments on how it manages energy development when the minerals are publicly held and the ground above is privately owned. The energy bill passed in July directs the Bureau of Land Management to review drilling on land with split ownership, where one party owns the minerals and another owns the surface. The agency is focusing on cases where the minerals are publicly held and the land is private. Elected officials, landowners and energy companies have wrangled over so-called "split estate" issues from Montana to New Mexico. State and federal agencies encourage companies that own or lease minerals to negotiate the placement of wells, access to the property and possible compensation. Mineral rights, however, trump surface rights. State and federal laws give mineral rights owners reasonable use of the surface to extract the oil and gas. Companies can post bonds and drill without an agreement with the landowner. "I applaud the BLM for at least asking for public comment," said Peter Shelton, who owns land in Montrose County 300 miles west of Denver. His suggestions include notifying people when the minerals under their property are up for auction and requiring that companies have agreements with landowners before drilling can start....
Rewriting the Rules The Department of Interior is taking a red pen to documents that lay down the mission of the National Park Service, and the results may be felt for years to come. The Park Service’s management policies guide the daily decisions of superintendents as they pursue the goal of guaranteeing the preservation of parks for the future while providing for the enjoyment of park resources. Although some might consider the process a tedious clarification of bureaucratic policies, it’s a meaningful exercise that will have dramatic effects on the way we experience our national parks. The troubles began in August, when Paul Hoffman, an Interior political appointee, sought to rework the Park Service’s management policies, which he characterized as outdated....
Award-Winning Film 'Grizzly Man' To Debut on Discovery Channel The critically acclaimed film Grizzly Man, documenting Timothy Treadwell’s obsession with the Grizzly Bear, will make its television debut on Friday, Feb. 3, at 8 pm on Discovery Channel. ‘Diary of the Grizzly Man,’ which follows at 10:30 pm, is a never-before-seen 30-minute film that delves deeper into the mind and madness of Timothy Treadwell and addresses controversies such as claims of fictitious interviews in ‘Grizzly Man.’ Named best movie of the year by TIME Magazine’s Richard Schickel, and heralded by Roger Ebert as “brilliant,” ‘Grizzly Man’ also received the Sundance Film Festival’s prestigious Alfred P. Sloane Feature Film Award and the Best Feature Documentary award at the Telluride Mountain Film Festival. ‘Grizzly Man’ has also been selected Best Documentary of 2005 by both the New York Film Critics Circle and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, honored by all major critics associations, and nominated for numerous awards. Respected director Werner Herzog’s film ‘Grizzly Man’ paints a complex portrait of Treadwell, a tireless and passionate advocate for grizzly bears who died in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Reserve in 2003 after being mauled and devoured by a grizzly along with his girlfriend Amie Huguenard....
Environmental Critics Get EPA Grants The same environmental groups that lobby and sue the government over protecting air, water and human health also are collecting federal grant money for research and technical work, documents show. More than 2,200 nonprofit groups have received grants from the Environmental Protection Agency over the past decade, including some of the Bush administration's toughest critics on environmental policy. "It may be confusing to the public that with the right hand we're accepting government money and with the left hand sometimes we're beating up the government," said Charles Miller, communications director for Environmental Defense. The group has received more than $1.8 million from the EPA since 1995. One recipient, the Natural Resources Defense Council, recently was cited by auditors for failing to properly document more than one-third of the $3.3 million it received in three EPA grants....
Dog Chases Sheep, Herd Killed On Train Tracks More than 130 sheep were hit by a train in Spanish Fork. The sheep's owners have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars and 20 years of hard work raising the herd. The sheep were killed the week before Christmas near Interstate 15. The owner of the herd said the sheep were corralled onto the tracks by a neighbor's dog, and literally plowed down by a Union Pacific train. Traveling in excess of 60 miles-an-hour, the sheep were no match for a the train. “That's carnage like I’ve not seen before,” said sheep owner Jim Jensen. “Some of them are just killed and laying there and others are just in pieces.” The herd of 140 Suffolk and Hampshire sheep was chased through an electric fence and onto the tracks by a neighbor's dog. The dog killed a few of them, but the train ran over nearly all of the others. “We have sheep scattered about 800 yards down the tracks,” said Jim Jensen....