NEWS ROUNDUP

Residents voice concerns during public oil board meeting Addressing industry regulation, residents voiced concerns, thoughts and opinions about surface and operator agreement timelines, surface use agreements, damages and bonding issues. Annual rentals to surface owners for use of the property during the long-term extraction of minerals was a top concern that many who voiced concerns had in common. According to the current Montana law, an excavation company may pay annual rental fees, but they aren’t required. Many of those who shared personal experiences explained the various barriers encountered when seeking fair compensation. Testimonies illustrated the deep value lost from the extensive damages. These compromise surface use of the land and result in a lower quality of life. Dennis Trudell, Northeastern Montana Land and Mineral Owners Association, said, an annual rental fee of $1,000 is merely a drop in the bucket when compared to the millions spent on a well. He explained the average compensation a surface owner gets for the disturbance is between $5,000-$6,000 for the life of the well. Trudell argued the amount, when calculated over a well’s average lifetime, is very little in comparison to the value of losing 30 years of land use along with the added inherent lifestyle disruptions....
State hears first split-estate case If negotiations broke down and got ugly at the kitchen table, it didn't get any prettier when the dispute was brought to the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. A brutal exchange between witnesses and lawyers Tuesday in Casper marked what was regarded as the first test of Wyoming's new Split Estates Act. It ended with the commission chairwoman reprimanding lawyers from both sides for straying from the matter at hand and instead trying to embarrass one another. Boomgaarden tabled the hearing and asked representatives of Kennedy Oil and Johnson County rancher Steve Adami to submit a summary of unresolved issues to the commission by Dec. 23. The case has drawn much attention from around the state because it is thought to be the first test of the Split Estates Act, which went into effect July 1. The intent of the law is to give landowners who don't own the minerals below their property assurance that oil and gas activities will be cleaned up and that they would have equal leverage in negotiating surface use agreements. Jurisdiction of the Split Estate Act is divided among several state agencies, and on Tuesday the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission heard its first case. The test on Tuesday was less about whether the Split Estates Act will resolve disputes in a fair manner and more about how the act will be implemented procedurally....
Group appeals winter drilling A Wyoming conservation group has appealed a federal decision to allow more winter drilling on the Pinedale Anticline this winter, saying the decision was made "through the back door" and is harmful to wildlife. The Wyoming Outdoor Council filed its appeal this week, asking for a halt to additional activity authorized last month. Other previously approved winter natural gas drilling could continue. Bruce Pendery, program director for WOC, said it is "well documented" that mule deer populations are suffering because of winter drilling activity. A study released earlier this fall showed mule deer numbers have plummeted on the Mesa by 46 percent, but it is unclear whether those animals have been displaced or have died. "We are going to fight these kinds of approvals for winter drilling where they exclude the public from the process and where they ignore Wyoming Game and Fish's concerns and where the project really isn't going to make any difference in terms of energy supplies in any meaningful way," Pendery said. The Bureau of Land Management authorized the additional winter drilling, saying it fell within its purview to amend earlier winter drilling allowances. The public was notified of the additional activity through a decision notice on the agency's Web site....
G.O.P. May Harness Arctic Drilling to Pentagon Budget With a budget-cutting measure stymied by stiff resistance to opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, Congressional Republicans began exploring Wednesday a new tactic to win approval of both $45 billion in cuts and the drilling plan. Lawmakers and senior aides said they were seriously considering tacking the drilling proposal onto a Pentagon spending bill that is among those that must pass before Congress heads home in the next few days. The switch, they said, could clear the way for approval of the spending cuts sought by conservatives and the Arctic drilling plan that is a priority of Republicans and the Bush administration, provided they could defeat any filibuster. "It's going to be on one bill or the other before I go home," said Senator Ted Stevens, Republican of Alaska, a leading proponent of opening the Arctic plain to oil production. As lawmakers grew more anxious about recessing for the Christmas holidays, Republican moderates in the House said they believed that the push for enacting the spending cuts by the end of the year was losing momentum and that the leadership was ready to postpone action until early next year.
Harsh critic of feds in mix for top state BLM post A southern Utah legislator who has been one of most outspoken critics of federal land management policies in recent years has emerged as a possible candidate to become the next state director for the Bureau of Land Management. Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, a former BLM employee, said Wednesday that he has not actively pursued the position, which opened up when former state BLM director Sally Wisely left in October to take a similar job in Colorado. But he is apparently in the mix for the post, and says he would consider taking the job if it is offered - though he also has his doubts. "I've had some people approach me about the position," Noel said by phone as he traveled from Salt Lake City to Kanab on Wednesday. "There are people who have asked me to consider it. But I'm not sure where it is in the process at this point."....
Mojave guzzler plan calls for continued analysis The top official at the Mojave National Preserve acknowledges that a plan to convert 12 former ranch wells in the park into wildlife watering troughs called guzzlers will demand continued scrutiny to make it successful. "We will have to study and monitor the proposal over a period of years to determine the success of these artificial water sources," said Larry Whalon, the preserve's interim superintendent. A newly released environmental assessment, prepared by the California Department of Fish and Game and the National Park Service, calls for converting the 12 wells into guzzlers. Fish and game's proposal to rehabilitate the wells into guzzlers for mule deer and various game birds could create a dependence on artificial water among these creatures, the department notes....
Nature Conservancy purchases 1,231 acres for $7 million As a project manager for the Nature Conservancy, Basilevac worked three years to help buy the land on which he stood. Yesterday, it was announced that the sale had finally gone through: $7 million for 1,231 acres known as the Davis-Eagle Ranch. The conservancy's purchase – which closed Friday – triples the size of the Ramona Grasslands project, which is an effort to conserve a diverse wild habitat of Southern California. Two hundred years ago, much of the region consisted of the level grassy landscape, which is home to vernal pools, golden eagles and the endangered arroyo toad, Stephen's kangaroo rat and San Diego fairy shrimp. Today, more than 90 percent of this habitat has disappeared. The flat land is easy to grade, making it a prime target for builders....
Wilderness Society expanding state staff The Wilderness Society will expand its Montana staff in an effort to guide the U.S. Forest Service ‘‘toward more of a conservation mission,’’ the environmental group’s regional director said Wednesday. The society, based in Washington, D.C., is seeking an economist, a specialist in ecology and a leader for a campaign on management of national forests, Northern Rockies director Bob Ekey said in a telephone interview from Bozeman. The Forest Service’s role as ‘‘a timber production outfit,’’ Ekey said, is decreasing, and The Wilderness Society wants to help guide the federal agency’s planning for management of its lands. The new staff will be part of that work, he said. The three positions will increase the Bozeman staff to 11, from eight....
Protect best, restore rest, environment prof urges A conservation activist and former chief of the U.S. Forest Service says that it's up to the nation's politicians and its citizens to preserve and protect the legacy of American land conservation, a legacy secured in part by the late politician and environmental activist Gaylord Nelson. Speaking Tuesday night at the Wisconsin Historical Society, Michael Dombeck, professor of global environmental management at UW-Stevens Point, said that political partisanship is hampering efforts to improve land and water conservation efforts. "We've got to demand that our leaders take the partisanship out of conservation," he said. "We need to focus on protecting the best and restoring the rest." "Wealth and quality of life flow from land," Dombeck said, emphasizing the importance of responsible conservation efforts in the future....
Editorial: Land Grab SUDDENLY IT'S OPEN SEASON on our national parks. Not on the animals, though the Interior Department did move last month to take the Yellowstone grizzly off the endangered species list. It's open season on the parks themselves. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-El Cajon) has Santa Rosa Island in the crosshairs. He wants to strip it from Channel Islands National Park and give it to the military for special-forces training and as a recreation spot for the troops. This raises the question of how much relaxation soldiers and their families can get on an island where military types are crawling around in the brush. Environmentalists have become accustomed to fending off proposals to develop, drill on or weaken protections for public land. Some push-and-pull is inevitable in places that have always been intended for mixed use, such as the national forests or federal land run by the Bureau of Land Management. The national parks, though, have been sacrosanct. But now too many Republicans in the House, led by Rep. Richard W. Pombo (R-Tracy) and Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-Nev.), are thinking differently. And their attempts to carve away at the nation's natural treasures are progressing much further than they should....
Editorial: Spill more water for Columbia salmon A whole lot of lawyers will wedge into U.S. District Judge James Redden's courtroom this morning to haggle about spilling more water over Columbia River dams in the next year to help young salmon and steelhead reach the ocean. They will offer wildly conflicting projections of salmon returns and costs to electricity ratepayers. When all the arguments are in, Redden should be guided by this philosophy: This time, the benefit of the doubt goes to the salmon. There is no clear path here for Redden, or for Columbia salmon. The hundreds of pages of written arguments that have cascaded into court contain powerful arguments for and against spilling more water over dams, or spilling over different periods of time when young salmon are migrating to the sea. The plaintiffs that successfully sued the federal government over its salmon recovery plan, including the National Wildlife Federation, urge Redden to order more water spilled over the dams throughout spring and summer. They also ask that more upriver water be held back in the winter and used to increase summer river flows -- a more costly and uncertain request that the judge should deny....
Animal Rights Groups Engage in 'Catfight' Over Testing Two of the largest animal rights organizations in the world are involved in what one observer called a "catfight" over the use of animals in chemical testing and in such activities as hunting, trapping and whaling. On its WickedWildlifeFund.com website, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) criticize the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) as "an organization founded by trophy hunters" that has been lobbying for "the largest animal-testing programs of all time." According to the site, the WWF "has been actively pressuring government agencies in the U.S., Europe and Canada to increase the amount of testing that they require for pesticides and other chemicals," and the result "has been the establishment of what threaten to be the largest animal-testing programs of all time."....
Column: Salmon Season With winter rains arriving, the region's rivers and streams are swelling. In Marin, the increased flow in streams like Lagunitas Creek allows one of the world's most magnificent natural cycles -- the return of the salmon -- to unfold as it has for millennia. Narrow streams are starting to be filled with improbably big, red fish, back in their home waters after three years at sea, fat and ready to breed. In the midst of our self-absorbed human world, wild nature can still find a way to hang on. Each year's return of these fish is a sign of hope, but also a reminder of how close we are to irreversibly damaging the world around us....
Water flow, ladder problems keep some fish from making it upstream Some fish made it, and some didn't. Last month, high water flows and a troublesome fish ladder along the Calaveras River prevented many salmon and protected steelhead from getting upstream to spawn. Now it seems a temporary solution couldn't save all the fish. Biologists counted at least 280 salmon carcasses below the Bellota weir after a 2-foot dam at the weir collapsed Thanksgiving weekend. The California Fisheries Foundation surveyed the Calaveras River after the incident and found the dead fish, biologist Trevor Kennedy said. The group plans to survey the river above the Bellota weir next to see how many fish made it upstream. Kennedy called the incident "a wasted opportunity," since the Calaveras had an unusually healthy amount of water this year....
Editoral: Budget bill's attack on Western lands But the West isn't yet out of danger, as another provision tucked into the budget bill would undo an important compromise on oil shale. In last summer's massive energy bill, Sen. Salazar got sensible language added to give states and communities a say in oil shale development. As much as 1.8 trillion barrels of oil shale may lie beneath Colorado, Wyoming and Utah, but past attempts to develop the resource mostly produced shattered dreams. Colorado communities got slammed by rapid growth, then shocked by suddenly high unemployment.
To ward off destructive boom and bust cycles, Sen. Salazar convinced Congress to impose safeguards: The agency handling oil shale leases must do a comprehensive environmental study, seek public comment and consult with state and local governments. While imperfect, the compromise reassured the West that our concerns would be heeded. Yet this fall, the same House Resources Committee that tried to ram the mining provisions into law also tucked language into the budget bill that would tear the heart out of the shale compromise. The amendment would force the Bureau of Land Management to lease about 4,000 square miles to oil shale projects in just one year, even though the technology for production is years away. It also says the BLM's environmental study would be accepted on its face even if it contained errors. It would largely cut off input from states and communities. And it would bar future environmental reviews even if new information or concerns arise....
Copter used in Yellowstone to blast snow As a helicopter buzzed over Yellowstone National Park last week, avalanche-triggering explosives were dropped out of an open door and onto snow-covered Sylvan Pass. The drops hit their targets, the packages exploded, and snow slipped off the hillside as planned, a pre-emptive strike against a potentially more dangerous avalanche that nature could dish up. Park officials expect 10 or more similar missions over Sylvan Pass this winter. What they've been doing for years - using a 105 mm howitzer to shoot 55-pound shells into the hillside - isn't safe, park officials say, especially when crews have to go through avalanche-prone areas to reach the gun. The howitzer shells are also notoriously unpredictable. Park officials estimate there may be as many as 300 unexploded shells in the hills around Sylvan Pass, which is west of the East Entrance. Four more were added to that list last winter. Using choppers for avalanche control has its limitations, too, but it doesn't pose the same kind of hazards to employees and the public....
Former Chief Teresa Chambers Files $2.2 Million Claim Against National Park Service Citing attempts by the National Park Service to destroy documents that would exonerate her, Teresa Chambers is seeking monetary damages for wrongful acts by top officials, according to filings released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Two years ago, in December 2003, Chambers was stripped of her badge and law enforcement credentials and suspended from duties as Chief of the U.S. Park Police, following an interview she gave to The Washington Post concerning a shortage of officers to patrol parks and parkways. "I want and fully expect to be restored as Chief of the United States Park Police," stated Chambers. "As the second anniversary of these events loomed, I was forced to file a compensation claim or waive that option forever."....
Nut Grower Wins Ruling on Financing Industry Ads The state's largest pistachio grower has won the first round of a legal battle that could revive a debate over whether growers can be forced to pay for government-sponsored campaigns promoting agricultural products. U.S. District Judge Margaret Morrow in Los Angeles on Monday granted Paramount Farms' request for a preliminary injunction allowing it to opt out of paying most of a California Pistachio Commission assessment used to fund marketing and lobbying programs. Paramount, owned by Stewart Resnick of Beverly Hills, still will have to pay the standard rate of 3.25 cents a pound on its pistachio production, but 75% of the money will go into an escrow account while a final determination in the case is made. In a lawsuit filed against the state-authorized commission in October, Lost Hills-based Paramount claimed it was forced to help pay for ad campaigns and other programs that it opposed. The farm company plans to take the money it would pay the commission and create "our own marketing programs that touch consumers directly. That's much more effective than the generic programs the commission has done over the years," said Chris Tuffli, Paramount's spokesman....