NEWS ROUNDUP

Endangered rabbits in US state are being eaten by predators; only 6 remain alive Most of a group of 20 endangered rabbits that were reintroduced to the wild with great fanfare last month have been killed by predators, state officials said. Only four of the rabbits released on March 13 remained at the Sagebrush Flat Wildlife Area in this northwestern state as of Tuesday, said David Hays, pygmy rabbit coordinator for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Hays said two males were removed earlier this month and will be returned at the end of April. The other 14 rabbits are believed to have fallen victim to predators, mainly coyotes, but also hawks and owls, Hays said. The rabbits, small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, eat sagebrush and are the only rabbits in the United States that dig their own burrows....
Commentary: Land base is wealth to be used wisely The first principle of regional land planning is that our land base is our wealth! Fifty-eight percent of our land base is owned by the United States and managed, by the U.S. Forest Service. We, as citizens must not walk away from the responsibility of that management, we must hold the feet of our national leadership to the fire and demand that we be given the opportunity to manage for the health of these watersheds. Our national forests, and rangelands, which provided for the very life and vitality of people for over 10,000 years now, sit mostly unavailable and uncared for all around us. The fuels in our forests are growing beyond the historic norms as suppressed unhealthy stands compete for sunlight, water and nutrients; growing on slopes so steep that, in the event of fire, the intensity would sterilize the soils and destroy all forms of life that hold the mountain in place. For generations, our people and the native tribes have survived by our human energy and time to eek life from these lands. We now sit impotent to the ability to survive from productivity on these lands. We go to planning meetings, and workshops and trainings to try to find the way. Now, we must do so much more than talk the talk. We must begin to walk the walk needed to provide for the continuation of the custom and culture of our people and the symbiotic relationship to these incredible lands....
USGS Launches Land Cover Data Web Tool Today the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) announced the launch of the new USGS Land Cover Visualization and Analysis Tool, which allows users to analyze, in specific detail, how land cover has changed over time. Designed for both novice and expert users, the web-based system provides an intuitive interface able to selectively view and analyze land cover data from any web browser. The USGS is soliciting users to evaluate the preview release of the application. For more information, go to http://emmma.usgs.gov/landcover. "Land cover data has been a largely untapped information resource. With increasing population and the challenging prospect of climate change, comprehensive information about the condition of our land, and how it is changing, becomes more and more vital," said Barbara Ryan, USGS Associate Director for Geography. "An easy-to-use Web-based application that delivers national land information assets to a wider audience and clearly demonstrates how our environment is changing broadens opportunities to incorporate land cover data in decision making." Land cover, the pattern of natural vegetation, agriculture, and urban areas, is shaped by both natural processes and human influences. Information about land cover is needed by managers of public and private lands, urban planners, agricultural experts, and scientists for studying such issues as climate change or invasive species....
Forestry Panel Addresses Fire Policy and Partnerships In the West, water is the wonky issue, urbanism is the sexy issue and energy is that cyclical issue that rears its big head every few decades. Meanwhile, forestry just seems to plod along through our history, never forgotten, but only in the spotlight when big fires erupt. But forest issues are now more important than ever, according to researchers at Colorado College and a panel at the State of the Rockies Conference, which just ended in Colorado Springs. Student and faculty researchers at the school presented their baseline date for the health of the region’s forests, noting the increasing problems with insects and fires. You can read about that report here on NewWest.net. At the conference’s panel on forestry, a divers group lead a discussion about fire policy and the increasing importance of partnerships and collaboration in addressing forest issues. Legal scholar Phillip Kannan critiqued the federal Healthy Forests Initiative, and said it reduces public input and weakens environmental laws, rather than discouraging development in at-risk areas. But James Hubbard, Deputy Chief for State and Private Forestry with the U.S. Forest Service, defended the legislation, saying it is used by communities to protect themselves. Yes, it does lessen some environmental reviews, he admitted, but it has only been used to treat 1 million acres of the 24 million acres treated for fires since the National Fire Plan came out a year prior to the Healthy Forests Initiative....
In Colorado, a Skirmish Between Ranchers and Army Some ranchers in southeastern Colorado are doing battle with the Army over controversial plans to expand a military base, and state legislators are taking steps to protect the threatened ranchlands. “You have the military fighting for the freedom of other people overseas, and we’re losing our own back home. It makes no sense,” rancher Lon Robertson told the New York Times. He’s the president of the Piñon Canyon Expansion Opposition Coalition, a group of 1,100 opponents of the Army’s plan to expand the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site at Fort Carson. The Army is eyeing condemnation on nearly a half-million acres around the site in southeastern Colorado. That prompted the state House of Representatives to pass a bill to block the move. The state Senate is considering a similar bill, which passed a subcommittee on Monday. However, cautions the Times, it’s not clear if the federal government would be bound by state law. Ranchers worry the expansion could threaten 40 to 80 ranches. And they’re not the only ones concerned. The expansion includes hundreds of dinosaur tracks preserved in Picketwire Canyonlands, and a chunk of Comanche National Grasslands. Not everyone opposes the move, though. Fort Carson is the state’s second-largest employer, writes the Denver Post, and an El Paso County commissioner and the Greater Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce feared the legislature’s meaure would sent(sic) a “harmful message.”....
New study sheds light on long-term effects of logging after wildfire A new study on the effects of timber harvest following wildfire shows that the potential for a recently burned forest to reburn can be high with or without logging. Recently published in the journal, Forest Ecology and Management, the study demonstrates that the likelihood of a severe reburn is affected by the timing – not just the amount – of fuel accumulation after fire. The study examines fuel accumulation with and without logging after a large wildfire in the Blue Mountains of northeast Oregon. Three treatments were examined: commercial logging that removed only dead trees with value for wood products, commercial logging plus thinning that removed all dead trees larger than 4 inches in diameter, and unlogged sites. The year after logging (3 years after the fire), sites that were logged and thinned had four times more fine fuels on the ground, as a result of logging residue, compared to unlogged sites. Those same sites also had fewer snags– which provide habitat for woodpeckers, owls, and other animals that nest in tree cavities – and contribute to large woody debris on the ground. However, logging activity caused no change in the litter or duff, the upper soil organic layers that also affect how a fire burns. The study was led by James McIver of Oregon State University and Roger Ottmar of the Pacific Northwest Research Station, U.S. Forest Service....
Former owner raps plan for ranch The man who sold a 6,439-acre Converse County ranch to the state of Wyoming last year has criticized some parts of a proposed management plan for the property. Hugh Duncan, who sold the Duncan Ranch to the state in hope of protecting it from subdivision, said he wants to see more opportunities for public recreation. “My greatest disappointment in this particular plan is the lack of a coherent plan for the recreational use of the ranch,” he said, citing the potential of an area known to his family as Sawmill Canyon, near the Converse County Park, for a few picnic tables. “When my soul needs refreshing ... I go up there and walk down that canyon,” he said, telling of green meadows, wildflowers, a tumbling stream and a succession of small waterfalls. “It would be very simple to build a trail down that canyon,” he said, also suggesting a small corral for people who wish to ride horseback over the land....
Grizzlies' champion says delisting is sound conservation Chris Servheen makes an improbable eco-villain. While conservation groups prepare the lawsuit they have vowed to file to prevent the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from removing Yellowstone's grizzly bears from the endangered species list, the 56-year-old wildlife biologist finds himself called upon again and again to defend the federal government. And all he ever wanted to do was save the bears. Servheen was chapped by my column last month about conservationists' objections to delisting the bears. He took it personally. After listening to him, I can see why. He is the first and only grizzly bear recovery coordinator for Yellowstone since the bears were designated as threatened on the endangered species list. His doctorate is in grizzly bear research. He lives in Montana, has crawled all over bear habitat and has monitored dozens of radio-collared bears for years, and his hand was on every one of the 500 pages of conservation strategy that accompanied the decision to delist. "I wouldn't support this if I didn't think it was the right thing to do," he said....
Ritter offers revisions to roadless protections Gov. Bill Ritter asked the federal government for an "insurance policy" Wednesday to protect 4.1 million acres of roadless areas in Colorado from development, modifying a petition submitted last year by former Gov. Bill Owens. Ritter told the Agriculture Department and the U.S. Forest Service that he wants interim protection for Colorado's roadless areas while the federal government reviews whether to keep wilderness-style protections for the lands. He also said he wanted the state Department of Natural Resources and Division of Wildlife to be able to work with federal land managers on any proposed activity within the roadless areas. In addition, he asked that some areas in the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison national forests be classified as roadless, with limited exceptions for temporary roads and other activities associated with coal exploration and development....
Celebrity wolf stirs up passionate debate This is a story about pets, the owners who love them and a lone, black wolf that has for the past four winters, depending on who you talk to, either harassed or entertained the community they all live in. This is also a story about life in a town on the edge of the wilderness and what some say can be the sometimes fine line between observing and interacting with nature. Four years ago, when a black wolf began roaming the snow and ice playground that is the Mendenhall Glacier Recreation Area, wildlife watchers and photographers such as Nick Jans were thrilled. In the morning, the animal could be seen walking on frozen Mendenhall Lake, crisscrossing the ski tracks and running over to the edge of this capital city's famous attraction, the Mendenhall Glacier. Talk about the wolf's escapades spread quickly. After all, Juneau is a political town - and a small one to boot - in which gossip and chatter can seem like a sport in their own right....
Pilot in Kim family rescue posts warning sign; feds want it down The helicopter pilot who spotted three members of the stranded Kim family in the Rogue River Canyon of Southern Oregon put up an urgent warning for drivers, but a federal agency says it is in a federal right of way and must come down. “You could get stranded and die!!!” read the bright red sign, warning drivers headed for the mountain passage connecting Grants Pass and the Oregon Coast. “I've had the idea for several months,” John Rachor, a Medford restaurant owner, told the Grants Pass Daily Courier. “I thought the (Bureau of Land Management) was going to be able to do something.” Rachor, flying his own helicopter, spotted Kati Kim and her two young daughters on Dec. 4, and they were rescued. Kati's husband, online editor James Kim of San Francisco, was found dead two days later. He had left the family to seek help. The sign got an endorsement from local officials such as Sheriff Gil Gilbertson and Sara Rubrecht, Josephine County emergency services director. “I love that man,” Rubrecht told the Grants Pass paper. “He just got tired of waiting.” Jim Roper, an engineer for the Bureau of Land Management, said the government is adding signs and making them bolder. “We're doing a lot,” Roper said. “We're just not there yet.”....And there you have it: Federal rules come first and the safety of the public comes second. Just wait till BLM can get "there".
Molycorp mine: an 80-year development, controversy Since its inception as a small-scale underground mining operation 87 years ago, the Molycorp mine, located 11 miles west of Red River and four miles east of Questa, has brought forth a myriad of complex issues — from economic development to health and environmental hazards — to area residents. Molycorp began producing molybdenum — a mineral, along with sulphur, found in a soft, metallic blue mineral called molybdenite, and used in lubricant applicants and to improve properties of stainless and alloy steels — in 1920. In 1965, the company developed an open pit that allowed for waste rock to be excavated and deposited in large piles surrounding the mine. In 1983, when use of the pit was discontinued, Molycorp turned to large-scale underground mining. Today, the mine is owned by Chevron. Because of its longevity, the Molycorp mine is undoubtedly a historical facet to the area. In 1914, two prospectors known as Fahey and Johnson staked 10 claims in the mine’s Sulphur Gulch. The metallic material they discovered was initially thought to be graphite, but in 1918 when the R&S Mining Company entered the valley, molybdenum excavations began. According to historical data from Molycorp, the ore was hauled several miles by horse and mule drawn wagons to the June Bug Mill, the relocated gold mill from Elizabethtown....
Air Force cuts access to pristine Point Sal beach Public access to the pristine beach at Point Sal has been permanently restricted by the Air Force for safety reasons. The beach has actually been closed since January, but the military didn't make an announcement until Wednesday. The concerns include steep cliffs and potential landslides due to coastal erosion, the Air Force said in a statement. Santa Barbara County officials questioned the Air Force's authority to deny access. The county holds the easement that gives the public the right to pass except during missile launches. "The county is going to work diligently with the Air Force to get that restriction lifted," Supervisor Joni Gray said. Also complicating the issue is that Point Sal is a state beach. The county, Bureau of Land Management and private properties also have land in the area.
Do-over on land preservation A proposed ballot initiative aimed at preserving sensitive state land may not be the silver bullet conservationists and local leaders are searching for — but it might be the best way to protect ecologically rich areas around Tucson, officials said. Much like two ballot measures that voters shot down in November, the proposed initiative would set aside state lands that have been targeted for conservation, including areas on Tucson's Northwest and Southeast sides. House Continuing Resolution 2039 is a scaled-back version of what voters saw in Propositions 105 and 106. Gone are the complicated changes to the State Land Department. Also trimmed is the amount of land that would be preserved — 196,000 acres — compared with 690,000 acres proposed in Proposition 106. While the bill might be a compromise that could gain voter approval, its passage would push local governments to come up with huge volumes of cash quickly to pay for the land, most likely through bonds....
State sees week with no new wells No new coalbed methane wells were drilled in Wyoming over the week that ended Wednesday, the longest the state has gone without a new well since 1998, according to Don Likwartz, supervisor of the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. Likwartz suspects that regulations imposed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management to protect breeding sage grouse are responsible for the lull. The BLM rules forbid drilling and related activity within two miles of a sage grouse lek, or strutting ground, each March 1 to June 15. The rules have hit the Powder River Basin coalbed methane fields especially hard this year while drilling progresses westward into more sage grouse habitat....
Grijalva, Giffords seeking status for Santa Cruz River Two congressional representatives agreed Tuesday that the land along the Santa Cruz River is so rich in history that it should be a nationally recognized heritage area. U.S. Reps. Gabrielle Giffords and Raœl Grijalva, both Arizona Democrats, stood at the Tumac‡cori National Historical Park and said they’d offer a bill to Congress to create the Santa Cruz National Heritage Area. The area would stretch from the Mexican border to the Pinal County line north to south, and from the Pima County and Santa Cruz County lines on the east roughly to a line that generally parallels the Santa Cruz River and Anza Trail on the west. It’s rich in history, starting before the Spaniards came here in the 1500s. There are mountains, deserts, the lands of the Tohono O’odham Nation and Pascua Yaqui Tribe, and an international border. Tucson, a metropolitan area of about a million, is within the proposed area....
The Supreme Court as Umpire?: How the Global Warming Decision Illuminates the Role We Ask the Justices to Play Chief Justice John Roberts gave a memorably smooth performance during his confirmation hearings. The moment for which his testimony may be most vividly remembered, is one where he used a metaphor to describe the judicial role: Judges are like baseball umpires, Roberts said. Their job is simply to call balls and strikes, applying the strike zone defined by the Constitution and the laws the Congress enacts. At the time, many observers -- including myself -- criticized Roberts for dismissing the role that interpretation and political judgments inevitably play in judicial decision-making, where there sometimes (indeed, perhaps often) is no objectively "right" answer to the questions posed by cases. This is especially true with the kind of disputes that make their way to the Supreme Court: close and complicated cases over which lower courts are already in disagreement. However, the Court's recent decision in Massachusetts v. EPA (in which the Court rejected the EPA's claim that it had no authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases) has caused me to revisit the much-discussed umpire metaphor -- as I will explain....
NFIB escalates opposition to eminent domain The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) hosted the event, due mostly to increasing concerns from their membership. "Clearly, our members have communicated the message that eminent domain is one of their biggest concerns, and we are responding," said Andrew M. Langer, regulatory policy manager and chief property rights activist from NFIB's Washington, D.C., office. Langer was the keynote speaker at the event and stated that 80 percent of the NFIB membership voted to include eminent domain as a legislative priority. Several business owners from Long Branch, who are currently battling the city over property rights, attended the forum and expressed outrage at what is happening there. One landowner, who asked that his name be withheld, said, "Eminent domain is a terminal disease, which never goes away." He said he has spent more than $400,000 in his effort to keep his property from being taken through eminent domain for a redevelopment project. NFIB is a proponent of stronger eminent domain laws and believes that current legislation is doing little to protect the business community. "The legislation being considered now has no teeth at all," said Laurie Ehlbeck, director of NFIB's New Jersey office. "Businesses will literally lose their livelihood if they are displaced."....
A living ghost town It was the discovery of gold in 1873 that first made the town of Liberty possible. But it is the persistence of its people that allows it to exist today. They have survived the ebb and flow of gold mining, an assault on the town by a mining company and, in the 1970s, an effort by the U.S. Forest Service to force the occupants out. It took an act of Congress to allow the 19 occupants of the town to buy their property from the government, which finally happened in 1981. But it wasn’t the persistence of the inhabitants that impressed Harry Kirwin, an itinerant journalist who lived in Liberty from 1939-1941. It was the Saturday night dances at the Wildcat Dance Hall that caught his attention. The people in Liberty mostly kept to themselves, except for the Saturday night dances, when they “get cockeyed drunk and holler all night long,” he wrote friends in Seattle. “Now and then there is the occasional melee in the only street we have and the next day the boys go around with shiners and busted noses,” Kirwin wrote. “The ladies also swing haymakers side by side with their kinfolk.” Although he lived a block and a half from the dance hall, he only attended one dance. “It is too close to nature to suit us,” he wrote....