NEWS ROUNDUP

E-mails, Resolutions, and Name-calling “Like you, we would like this project to be over and for you to start construction of your village,” said the e-mail to Bob Honts, spokesman for B.J. “Red” McCombs, the billionaire developer who wants to build a major resort on top of the remote Wolf Creek Pass in southwestern Colorado. Those words are polite enough encouragement and assurance. Unfortunately, they were written last summer by H. Mark Blauer of Tetra Tech, Inc., the contractor hired to perform an independent evaluation of the environmental impact of a controversial road across Forest Service land required to access the $1 billion development. If built, the Village at Wolf Creek would be situated at more than 10,000 feet between two major Wilderness Areas. Although Tetra Tech’s assessment is contractually required to be independent, the company was hired by the Village at Wolf Creek to perform the study. The e-mail, acquired through litigation by the environmental group Colorado Wild, provides more ammunition for charges of collusion by McCombs’s employees in the development’s approval processes on the federal and county levels. Project opponents have already charged improper involvement by the developer in the project’s approval by Mineral County and in the Forest Service’s review of the access road. The e-mail (and others) are part of a busy week in the on-going saga of the Village at Wolf Creek....
Researchers go far afield to capture elusive wolverine Historic trapping records indicate wolverines were extirpated from the region by 1900, most likely due to trapping and the extensive use of poison baits to kill predators that also killed scavenging wolverines, Inman said. A few survivors might have remained in the Greater Yellowstone. Although wolverines have been making a comeback, Inman said the Wildlife Conservation Society's Greater Yellowstone Wolverine Program aims to provide scientific data to state and federal managers to help those agencies maintain the rare species. Conservationists have petitioned the species for listing as a threatened species, but to date such petitions have been denied. In five winters, the program has captured a total of 26 wolverines in Montana and Wyoming. Using radio tracking devices, researchers have learned that wolverines' individual home ranges large enough to occupy multiple mountain ranges across two states. That's one reason wolverines are hard to find: They require vast tracts of land and are territorial. This marks the first winter the crew will try to trap wolverines in the Teton Wilderness....
Sheep to stomp out flammable cheatgrass Carson City residents could see 1,000 sheep grazing across the hillside slopes of the city's west side as early as next week, officials say. An innovative fuel-reduction plan targets the highly flammable cheatgrass, which is expected to sprout any day, in the Waterfall Fire burn area, said Juan Guzman, the city's open space manager. "The use of sheep in order to reduce the most dangerous weed, the cheatgrass, is very effective," Guzman said. The action of sheep's hooves also helps break up the ground, which is unable to allow moisture to percolate into the soil because it has become "hydrophobic" due to the fire, he said. John McLain, principal range management consultant with Resource Concepts Inc., is helping oversee the program along with the city and several state and federal agencies....
Dry Southwest readies for worst In Phoenix, where Monday marked a record 139 days without measurable precipitation, it's almost possible to forget what rain is like. And that is raising a serious worry: The Southwest's spring wildfire season is approaching -- and it's coming early. "The conditions right now are about the worst we've seen," said Jim Payne, spokesman for the Forest Service's Southwest region. "It's already brittle dry. All we need is ignitions to see wildfires." While much of the West is accumulating an above average mountain snowpack, the source of most of the year's water in the region, Arizona and New Mexico haven't been so lucky. Those states, along with parts of Alaska, Wyoming, Colorado and the southern portions of Nevada, Utah and California show an above normal fire potential, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Smoke is already starting to curl up in some spots. A grass fire last week in New Mexico grew to more than 26,000 acres and led to the evacuation of a small farming and ranching community. "Pretty impressive for this time of year," Payne said. And in Arizona last month, a fire burned more than 4,000 acres in the Tonto National Forest, jangling nerves because it was the earliest large fire ever....
Land sale plan favors Northwest, study shows A Bush administration plan to sell more than 300,000 acres of national forest to help pay for rural schools contains a disproportionate amount of land in the South and Midwest — while primarily benefiting schools in three West Coast states, a new analysis shows. Nearly 60,000 acres in 13 Southern states and another 50,000 acres in 10 Midwestern states would be sold under the plan, while just 18,000 acres in forest-rich Oregon and Washington would be sold, according to an analysis by the Southern Environmental Law Center. Southern states received $37 million for rural schools this year under the program the sales are intended to benefit, while the Midwest received $41 million, the analysis shows. Oregon and Washington got five times those amounts — $210 million, with Oregon receiving nearly $162 million. About 80,000 acres in California would be sold; the state received nearly $69 million from the Forest Service this year....The fools. It is actually tilted towards them, as they will end up with the most private property, which will generate the most wealth over time....
USFS officials could face discipline for wildfire In a reversal of statements made earlier in the week by other forest service officials, the Forest Service supervisor said those who planned, started and managed the fire could face disciplinary action. "It is not accurate to state that no one will be held accountable," Sharon Heywood, supervisor of the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, told the crowd. She said she could be one of those disciplined, depending on the results of a review of the fire plans and how officials reacted when it went out of control. That review already has begun and any action hinges on the results, she said. Whether information about any discipline will be made public depends on whether the people are found to have been criminally negligent in how they planned and handled the fire, Heywood said....
Column: The Anti-Environmentalist They care more about the environment than we do. No, they really do. Anyone who has been following the story of Senator Ted Kennedy and the wind farm in Massachusetts was not surprised when recent reports surfaced that he is again at work trying to kill off this clean wind project. The wind project has been thoroughly vetted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who concluded in a study that the project was efficient, safe, and viable. It won't create an eye-sore, and it won't hurt local wildlife. But that hasn't stopped Senator Kennedy from trying to kill the bill even as he continues to sermonize about how committed he is to a clean, Green future. During a recent speech at the National Press Club, Senator Kennedy exclaimed, "We should replace our dependence on foreign oil, not by drilling in the priceless Arctic National Wildlife Refugee in Alaska, but by investing in clean energy." But the Kennedy hypocrisy goes beyond trying to halt a clean energy project. Over the course of more than three decades Kennedy has denounced the oil industry and laid at its feet the environmental problem of global warming. We need to "start demanding immediate action to reduce global warming and prevent catastrophic climate change that may be on our horizon now." But that hasn't stopped the Kennedys from owning two oil companies. Not stock in oil companies, mind you, but two oil companies, which drill for oil in five American states. Kenoil and Mokeen were merged in 1985 into the Kennedy family's Arctic Royalty Limited Partnership to avoid paying corporate taxes. The Kennedys are still getting their royalty checks today. But Kennedy is not alone in his environmental hypocrisy....
Wild Heart Ranch Books and Toys Teach a Generation of Children About Endangered Wildlife and Offer Suggestions on How to Take Action and Make a Difference Wild Heart Ranch Inc., a children's toy and publishing company that has built its brands around original stories about nature and endangered species, encourages young readers and parents to become informed and make a difference in the animal world. The current lines, "Bradford and the Journey to the Desert of Lop," "I Sea Horses, From Sky to Sea" and "No More Night Mares" address conservation of the critically endangered wild Bactrian camels, seahorses and wild horses. Wild Heart Ranch recently launched a Kids Club contest asking readers to contribute their stories of altruism and goodwill towards the animal kingdom. The purpose of the contest is to spread the message to participants that "kids can make a difference"; submit your story on how you are helping animals, wild or domestic, to have a better life. The site also features a section entitled" endangered animal news" and a related blog. The unique combined elements of light, magic and branded stars and moons on the plush toys identify Wild Hearts' award winning lines in the marketplace. Wild Heart Ranch children's books and toys empower children and support education on endangered animals....
Changes to West Coast fisheries weighed The fate of commercial and recreational fishing on the West Coast is on the line this week as fishery officials meet in Seattle to consider options for this year's season, including shutting down several lucrative salmon fishing grounds. Salmon runs from California to Oregon are at risk of being closed, a result of severely reduced chinook salmon runs on the Klamath River in southern Oregon. Fishing off the Washington coast also could be restricted because coho in the Lower Columbia River recently were listed as threatened under the Federal Endangered Species Act. The Pacific Fishery Management Council, which is responsible for making fish-policy decisions for California, Washington and Oregon, took up these and other fish-management discussions Monday when it kicked off a week of hearings and meetings....
Wolf pack causing trouble in Idaho Idaho officials will ask the federal government for authority to kill most of the wolves in a pack that is preying on dwindling numbers of elk in the state's Lolo Pass region. Members of the Idaho Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously Friday to ask the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for permission to eliminate up to 43 of the estimated 58 wolves in the Lolo pack that is roaming the Clearwater River Basin in northern Idaho. The reason for the request is to try to help rebuild an elk herd in the popular hunting area. Though the wolves -- which were reintroduced into the state in 1995 -- are protected under the Endangered Species Act, the federal agency in 2005 modified a provision of the law to allow Idaho to kill wolves that are reducing big-game animal numbers below state wildlife-management goals. Killing is allowed only if agency officials agree with the state's scientific findings in deciding that killing the wolves, rather than other means, would restore game populations to the desired level....