NEWS ROUNDUP

Brokaws question safety of nearby hunting Lawyers for "NBC Nightly News" anchorman Tom Brokaw want a judge to require the Montana Board of Outfitters to review a decision that allows a Wyoming outfitter to guide big-game hunting trips on land next to Brokaw's Montana ranch. "The complaint we have is safety, plain and simple," Clifford Edwards, a Billings attorney representing Brokaw, told District Judge Nels Swandal at a hearing Oct. 29. "Tom and (wife) Meredith are not anti-hunting - they are concerned for their safety." On Sept. 1, the Board of Outfitters granted Wyoming outfitter David Nelson's request to take as many as 10 hunters onto more than 2,500 acres of private land bordering the Brokaws' West Boulder Ranch during archery season, court records said....
Udall says environmental cause not lost Rep. Mark Udall said environmentalists will "have their hands full" over the next four years because of the re-election of President Bush, but he remains optimistic that many of their causes aren't lost. Udall, a Boulder-area Democrat whose 2nd District includes Summit and Eagle counties, said he suspects that Bush will continue to do in a second term what he did in the first - attempt to "undercut" numerous environmental laws....
Bush Victory Helps Clear Regulatory Landscape Big business used to hedge its bets on politicians, giving about the same amounts to each party. But no more. Many industries subject to environmental and health regulations bet big on a second term for President Bush and won. Forestry, mining and agriculture were among the industry sectors that gave the highest shares of campaign cash to Bush. Employees and political action committees of forest-product companies, for example, gave $4 to Bush for every $1 to Sen. John Kerry. For many leaders in these industries, betting on Bush was obvious: In its first four years, Bush's administration built a consistent record of simplifying, scrapping or scaling back enforcement of regulations that added to the cost of doing business....
Powerful current sweeps biologist away A massive search was launched Thursday morning for a 42-year-old U.S. Forest Service biologist who was swept away in a current while working on a lake near Ketchikan, officials said. According to officials, Sainz and two colleagues had been staying in a Forest Service cabin in the Bakewell Arm area, about 40 miles east of Ketchikan. On Thursday, the three federal workers rowed a small skiff with no motor across Bakewell Lake to retrieve some gear on the other side, said trooper Gary Webb. The skiff got caught in a strong current where the lake drains into a creek and the occupants decided to swim for shore because they knew the creek led to a 50-foot waterfall, Webb said. Two of the workers made it to land. They did not see what happened to Sainz, Webb said....
Mountain could receive protection from mining The Black Hills National Forest wants public input on a proposal to withdraw Inyan Kara Mountain in Crook County from hard-rock mining. Inyan Kara Mountain spans about 1,278 acres, 440 acres of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The mountain is sacred to American Indians and it is also a site of significant historical and prehistoric cultural resources, according to the Forest Service. But the Wyoming Mining Association said it objects to any withdrawal of public lands for mining....
U.S. Fish and Wildlife rules could leave some hunters, farmers facing federal prosecution for 'baiting' Many farmers -- and hunters -- received a double dose of bad news last week when the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced it would be enforcing its provisions on baiting -- or using damaged crop lands to gain an advantage. According to US Fish and Wildlife regulations sportsmen would be in violation of federal baiting laws if they use frost damaged or other crops that did not reach maturity and have been manipulated. US Fish and Wildlife Service officials claim hunters are gaining an unfair advantage by using the 'baited' fields to harvest birds. Uncontrolled baiting, they feel, could have an adverse effect on the migratory bird populations in the flyway....
More remains found in Kanab Archaeologists collecting and documenting bones of ancient American Indians discovered by a sod farmer in Kanab have found two more sets of remains. The latest find increases the total to nine sets of remains. The Bureau of Land Management office over the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument has been removing the bones as agents for the state, which has jurisdiction because the site is on private land. The bones, believed to be those of prehistoric Anasazi Indians, will be delivered to Salt Lake City later this month for further study before being turned over for reburial to a tribe claiming the remains....
Column: Building on decision for protecting the Front Montanans received welcome news in early October when the federal government temporarily halted proposals to drill a portion of public lands along the Rocky Mountain Front. As a business owner in Choteau, I appreciate the importance of protecting the Front to our local economy and good long-term jobs. Now the question is how to make the decision to halt drilling permanent while providing lasting benefits to those of us who live along the Front as well as all Montanans. In the near term, two steps can be taken: a swap or buy-out of existing leases combined with targeted economic development assistance for communities along the Front to help Montana families preserve their heritage and traditional way of life....
Editorial: Kyoto Ratification FOLLOWING RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin's long-awaited signature yesterday, the Kyoto Protocol on climate change will finally go into effect. Mr. Putin has not decided to ratify the treaty because his compatriots suddenly saw the light and decided to become environmentalists, although some will try to portray it that way. In fact, the Russians bargained hard, winning European endorsement for World Trade Organization membership in exchange for their signature. Moreover, Russia will gain financially from the treaty, because it is based on a requirement that signatories reduce their greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 levels. Russia's industrial output has collapsed since then, along with greenhouse gas emissions. No regulation, taxes or pollution controls are necessary. In this sense, Russia is not alone. Britain, which has pushed hard for ratification of the treaty, also stands to gain, thanks to the country's move away from coal. China and India, which ratified it, are not, as "developing countries," required to meet any emissions targets at all....
Measure 34 results have Oregon activists feeling blue, not green Now that the dust has settled over this year's election results, some Oregon environmentalists say they are left wondering whether the state is really as green as its national reputation. Voters soundly defeated a measure to place a quarter-million acres of state forest off-limits to logging, and approved one that could prompt dramatic changes in the state's vaunted land-use laws....
Hearst deal maintenance will cost $1.3M a year Adding 12 miles of Hearst Ranch coastline to the state parks system will cost as much as $1.3 million a year and require the hiring of seven new parks employees. Those figures were released Friday as state officials put the finishing touches on a $95 million deal to preserve the scenic ranch at San Simeon. The state Public Works Board met in Sacramento to vote on the deal but postponed its decision until Wednesday in order to review several changes to seven of the conservation documents. The changes are minor and the delay is not expected to kill the deal, said Stephen Hearst, who has been negotiating the historic deal for the Hearst Corp., which owns the San Francisco Chronicle and other media outlets....