NEWS ROUNDUP

State may sue EPA over clean air law Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday said California will sue the federal government if the state is not allowed to implement its landmark law slashing greenhouse gases from vehicles within six months. "The clock is ticking…. If we don't see quick action from the federal government, we will sue the U.S. EPA," said Schwarzenegger, speaking at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills. "I just had a conversation with [EPA Administrator] Steve Johnson, and I said we are going to sue him," the governor said. "I put him on notice that the federal government is moving too slow." Environmental Protection Agency officials countered that they were moving "expeditiously" on California's request. But in a move that provoked immediate criticism, they also said Wednesday that they may link a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision on greenhouse gases to California's request. If they do, it could delay the waiver decision yet again. Under the federal Clean Air Act, California is allowed to pass its own air pollution laws but must first obtain a waiver from the EPA. The state submitted its waiver request in December 2005, after the law was passed. After California receives permission, other states can follow its lead. Eleven other states have adopted similar tailpipe greenhouse gas laws....
Rep. Salazar says no to expanding Pinon Canyon The Army lost a battle Wednesday in its long campaign to expand the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site when Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., sent a letter to the Defense Department stating his opposition to any expansion of the 238,000-acre training site southwest of La Junta. The Pinon Canyon training area is within Salazar's 3rd Congressional District and Salazar spelled out his opposition to expanding the training area in a four-page letter to Keith Eastin, assistant Army secretary for installations. Salazar said that adding 418,000 more acres to the Pinon Canyon site would "decimate" the area's ranching economy, take needed tax revenue from the rural counties that would be affected. He said the Army has failed to justify why the Army cannot conduct training at other Defense Department sites. "Furthermore, Pinon Canyon has been underutilized since its inception," Salazar said, noting that area residents report the training is used only a few times a year. "Simply put, the Army has neglected to make a compelling reason to acquire an additional 418,000 acres."....
Forest Service to Padlock Privies Toilets in the great outdoors can be an oasis for hikers, anglers, dirt-bikers and horseback riders, so the threat of padlocking them has created a little anxiety. The Tahoe National Forest, one of the nation's busiest, is running short on money to maintain its portable toilets. Each of the non-flushing privies sits on a 1,000-gallon concrete tank that has to be emptied, typically once a season. A bunch of dirt-bikers are offering to pay for pumping out one of them so it can stay open. But that's just one. Another 10 or so toilets, mostly serving trailheads in the forest, face padlocking. The problem of shrinking budgets for outdoor maintenance is crucial in California's national forests because operating costs are relatively higher than in the rest of the country, said Bonnie Petitt, recreation officer for the Tahoe forest. In 2006, the Forest Service got $54,500 through a special California fund collected from off-road vehicle fees that go to trail maintenance, which includes servicing 19 toilets in the trail areas. The forest needs at least $12,000 annually just to keep the toilets pumped out, Petitt said....Well, looks like my ol' Dad was right -- the Forest Service really can't manage shit.
State says feds should step up to the plate and fix Forest Service roads Nearly 2,170 miles of primitive roads meander through the Olympic National Forest, but poor maintenance and inadequate funding have left nearly half of those roads one big storm away from a washout. The state Department of Ecology, environmental groups and tribal leaders say the problem is pandemic throughout Washington’s six national forests. They fear washouts and gradual erosion could flood rivers with sediment, harming fish habitat and water quality. Now, they’re asking Congress for a tenfold increase in funding for the Forest Service to either fix or decommission the 22,000 miles of Forest Service roads in the state....
Ranchettes to replace wild horse plots? An Arizona real estate developer appears to be using the lure of wild horses to sell 40-acre ranchettes at a rural development near the Snowy Range, a Humane Society of the United States official charged this week. Wild Horse Ranch at Lake Hattie’s web site proclaims that “the wild horse” is “the heart and soul of the ranch. ... Dedication to their freedom and care is an ongoing priority and will always be an outstanding and unique quality of this property.” The web site contains numerous pictures of wild horses and herds. Dave Pauli, Humane Society regional leader in Billings, said the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and Wyoming citizens should be “deeply concerned” about the developer’s practice of “utilizing the horses’ charismatic beauty to sell the ground out from under their hooves.” Pauli said the BLM “should be taking the lead to ensure there is no appearance of commercialization of the horses and no misdirection of government funds intended to provide for the humane care of the wild horses placed on the ranch." Alan Shepherd, a BLM wild horse official in Cheyenne, said the BLM does not consider the activities of the developer as a violation of a standard clause in the adoption contract which prohibits “commercially exploiting a wild horse or burro.”....If this becomes a commercially successful venture, it will lead to additional wild horse sanctuaries being created. Why would the horse advocates oppose that?
Bill seeks oversight of conservation areas Much of the federal land set aside for conservation in southern Arizona has patchwork management which critics say is underfunded and can change greatly from administration to administration. Four members of Congress have sponsored a bill to give national conservation areas, national wilderness areas and national monuments more security under permanent management. The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, whose job has been more about doling out land for economic ventures than environmental protection, has been stuck managing these lands. The bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Tucson, would establish the National Conservation Land System and make protection of these lands permanent and create an agency specifically to oversee them. A similar bill was introduced in the Senate last week by Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. "It designates that system as an important system and it gives the lands status important for protection," Grijalva said. The bill, if approved, represents the last step in turning the Wilderness Act of 1964 into hard and fast conservation, said Matt Skroch, executive director of a Tucson-based environmental group, Sky Island Alliance....
Democrats demand a say in changes to species protection Key Senate Democrats expressed concern yesterday about an Interior Department proposal they say will weaken the Endangered Species Act and demanded the Bush administration include Congress in any attempt to rewrite the 30-year-old law. "We have seen reports of a document reflecting extensive draft revisions" and "additional documents that have surfaced recently suggest that major rule revisions remain under active consideration," the senators told Interior Secretary Dirk Kemp-thorne in a letter yesterday. "We are concerned about any attempt to overhaul the Endangered Species Act program administratively, without the involvement of Congress," the lawmakers wrote. The letter includes 15 questions the lawmakers are demanding be answered before the Interior Department's Fish and Wildlife Service moves forward with any changes. The letter is signed by Democratic Sens. Barbara Boxer of California, Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland, Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey, and independent Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Bernard Sanders of Vermont. The 90-page proposal limits the number of species protected and the acreage of habitat preserved for those species, and includes a timeline for protection. It also shifts more power and funding from the federal government to the states, and gives local officials veto power over what plants and animals will be protected....
Navajo President Explains Why New Mexico Was Selected As Location For First Casino Navajo Nation President Joe Shirley Jr. outlined the reasons for changing the location of the tribe’s first casino from Arizona to New Mexico during his State of the Nation Address on April 16. “…as you well know, the Pinta Road exit at Nahata Dziil (near Sanders) was selected as a casino site,” Shirley said. “The selection was based upon land availability and access. However, we have discovered that the Navajo Nation does not own the sub-surface rights.” Shirley went on to explain that the tribe had hoped to work with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in a “friendly condemnation” of the sub-surface rights, but the BLM advised the Navajo Nation to seek the rights by other means, such as through congressional action or “by simply relying upon Arizona state law.” The president stated, “Protection of our interests under state law is limited, and I believe that we must have unfettered use of the site if we are to invest millions in a gaming facility there. Even though Shirley indicated that a casino would likely still be built in the Nahata Dziil, or Sanders, area, he explained that the tribe’s first casino is now planned for Church Rock, N.M., just outside of Gallup. “We have prioritized this location because of land availability, and because the market study provided by GVA Marquette Advisors shows that the Gallup area is an excellent location to maximize our revenue generating potential,” he said....
Artist sees profit in recycling of park Rich Holstein, who has salvaged large amounts of reclaimed wood from the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park, has another grand plan he says could benefit the National Park Service and the local economy. Holstein proposed a large-scale reclamation plan for national parks across the country. Under his plan, all buildings being remodeled or in the throes of demolition would have wood and other building products saved to create keepsakes and art. The National Park Service would continue to pay for reclamation costs. But, he said, the they would get 25 percent of the profits from sales of products created from recyclables crafted by Holstein and his employees. Since 2005, Holstein has harvested wood from the Old Faithful Inn to create picture and mirror frames. Holstein said folks want to purchase treasures from their visits, not knickknacks with "Made in China" stamped on the bottom. "Everybody is looking to take something home made from the park," he said. Those treasures could include throw rugs recycled from park carpets, brass key rings from pipes and wires, and picture frames from walls and floors....
Yellowstone wolf diet returns to normal Call it a change in taste. After an early-winter preference for young elk, wolves in Yellowstone National Park have turned their attention to killing older bulls. Doug Smith, the park's lead wolf biologist, said the wolves' out-of-the-ordinary emphasis on elk calves in November and December was followed by a more typical diet of large male elk last month. "This is right in line with what they do in March," Smith said. The wolves' diet late last year raised a few eyebrows. A survey by park biologists showed about 75 percent of the wolf kills were calves, 15 percent were bulls and about 10 percent were females. There was some speculation that the early mild conditions made it harder for wolves to get adult elk, so they turned to calves. But in March, about half of the kills were bulls, roughly 25 percent were calves and 25 percent were adult females, Smith said. The surveys are conducted every December and March to get an idea of what wolves are eating and how the overall population is faring....
Industry caught in carbon ‘smokescreen’ Companies and individuals rushing to go green have been spending millions on “carbon credit” projects that yield few if any environmental benefits. A Financial Times investigation has uncovered widespread failings in the new markets for greenhouse gases, suggesting some organisations are paying for emissions reductions that do not take place. Others are meanwhile making big profits from carbon trading for very small expenditure and in some cases for clean-ups that they would have made anyway. The FT investigation found: ■ Widespread instances of people and organisations buying worthless credits that do not yield any reductions in carbon emissions. ■ Industrial companies profiting from doing very little – or from gaining carbon credits on the basis of efficiency gains from which they have already benefited substantially. ■ Brokers providing services of questionable or no value. ■ A shortage of verification, making it difficult for buyers to assess the true value of carbon credits. ■ Companies and individuals being charged over the odds for the private purchase of European Union carbon permits that have plummeted in value because they do not result in emissions cuts....
CoStar Green Report: Grassroots, Part II We’ve may have traded Rachel Carson for Al Gore, swapped "Kumbaya" with Kyoto and we’re talking green buildings instead of clean water, but there appears to be more than a few similarities between today's fight against global warming and the environmental movement of yesteryear. Roused by Carson’s searing expose, "Silent Spring," and taken up by an already restless nation embroiled in Vietnam, the environmental movement blossomed into a historic inaugural Earth Day in 1970, followed by a decade of sweeping, unprecedented period of environmental legislation and reform. Now, enmeshed in another controversial war and spurred by an inconvenient truth, people are talking environmentalism again, in a volume not heard since Cuyahoga and Love Canal made headlines. And while Gore hardly pioneered the science of global warming, his message is having the same rallying effect and evoking the same collective awareness that Carson marshaled in the dawn of the grassroots movement. If these historical parallels hold, we may once again be on our way down the path that led to the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act and Endangered Species Act, created the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), all within about a decade....
State rodeo queen quits her position Reba Buchholz, of Bismarck - who officially started her reign Jan. 1 as Miss Rodeo North Dakota 2007 - has resigned, says Nancy Jo Bateman, president of the Miss Rodeo North Dakota Pageant Association. Bateman said the several issues that the association directors considered before accepting Buchholz's resignation had to do with requirements not upheld by Buchholz in the agreement she signed after winning the title. That agreement includes rules ranging from dress code requirements to conduct expectations, required appearances and the prohibition of alcohol and drugs. "Obviously, it's been a really uncomfortable situation for Reba and the directors," Bateman said. She said Buchholz and pageant officials have agreed the details that led to the resignation will remain among them, "and that's where they need to stay." Bateman said Buchholz has had to return the saddle she won, as well as other prizes. She said the board received Buchholz's resignation letter at the end of March....
On the Edge of Common Sense: Mechanic, doc do their best My mechanic has a lot in common with my mother's doctor. When the steering wheel locked up on my 1969 Ford F-250 3/4-ton, four-speed with split rims and a manual choke, we cajoled it down to George's garage in town. On my truck's last visit to George's, he replaced the power steering pump, so I figured I was good for a while, but ... not so! I left it over the weekend with instructions to please fix it. My sweet mother has had a long relationship with her doctors. They have kept her ticking through the Great Depression, World War II, four children and two husbands, as more than her share of afflictions struck away at her health. She still has an ongoing schedule of doctor's appointments. Sometimes she has a complaint, or the visit is just for a checkup. But no matter the purpose of the visit, it seems the doctors can always find something that's not quite right that requires an additional test or pill. I have found that I have to be specific when I take my truck to George's. If I just said, "If you see anything wrong, fix it," George could retire to the Bahamas after I paid the bill! The motor has been rebuilt, but the runnin' gear is wearing out. Kinda like Mother. She has a strong heart but her tie rods are loose....