My Page: New West Editor
New West Feature
Work Begins to Tap Huge Mineral Deposits in Idaho
Yesterday’s announcement by the Canadian company, Mosquito Consolidated Gold Mines Ltd., that it had received final approval from the U.S. Forest Service to begin exploring for molybdenum in Idaho’s Boise National Forest is bound to refocus attention on an old federal law that plays a central role in mining decisions.
The 1872 National Mining Act, which still governs how mining occurs on federal lands, has been a bone of contention between environmental groups and mining companies for decades.
[more]New West Feature
If Denver Wants Winter Olympics, It Will Have to Show the Money
Informal talks this week between Denver’s mayor and Colorado’s governor about the 2022 Winter Olympics would be the start of a long process full of hurdles, should Denver make a serious bid for the Games.
On Sunday, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper confirmed to the Denver Post that the idea interests them, but both expressed awareness of how long and winding any road to the Olympics would be.
[more]New West Feature
Wildfires Trouble New Mexico, Idaho and Montana
New Mexico, Idaho and Montana have had their wildfire troubles this season, while Utah, Wyoming and Colorado have been relatively fortunate.
In Montana, almost 100,000 acres have been burned this summer in 19 areas. A meeting will be held tonight concerning one of the latest incidents, the West Riverside fire, which has consumed 3,400 acres and is about 20 percent contained.
New West Feature
Grizzly Shooting Charges Elicit Outrage in Idaho
Criminal charges levied earlier this week on Jeremy Hill, who shot and killed a grizzly bear cub in his yard last May near Porthill, Idaho, just below the border with Canada, have sparked statements in his defense by Idaho’s local, state, and federal politicians.
Hill pleaded not guilty in federal court on Tuesday to the misdemeanor charge of killing an animal protected by the Endangered Species Act. A sow and two cubs wandered into his yard, and he said he was defending his six children.
New West Feature
State Department Pipeline Report Ignites Fervor
The web is abuzz with news of the U.S. State Department report released today, which concludes that the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from the oil sands developments in Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast will have minimal environmental impacts.
The $13 billion pipeline of TransCanada Corp (TRP) would extend 1,661 miles from Alberta through parts of Saskatchewan and eastern Montana on its way through five more states to Houston, Tx., and Port Arthur, La.
[more]New West Feature
Clean Energy Coalition Offers Blueprint for the West
A new report entitled Western Grid 2050: Contrasting Futures, Contrasting Fortunes examines two very different energy investment pathways facing the 11 Western states: business-as-usual or a new, clean-energy trajectory.
The report finds that with intentional policymaking and planning today, the West can successfully make the transition to a clean-energy economy that will deliver benefits in employment, the environment and public health for decades to come.
New West Feature
Rep. Lummis Lashes Out at Environmental Lawsuits
Sparks flew during last week’s annual convention of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, in Casper.
U.S. Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), chastized conservation groups WildEarth Guardians, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Western Watersheds for excessive recourse to lawsuits, which she claimed are giving the environmental movement “a black eye.”
[more]New West Feature
Montana and Colorado Get Big Grants to Protect Fish and Ferrets
Among more than $53 million in U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service grants announced last evening to help protect habitat for threatened and endangered species, Montana was a big winner for native fish, while Colorado was awarded substantial funding to reintroduce the extremely rare black-footed ferret to a safe place.
Montana’s Stimson Forestlands Conservation Project in Missoula County will receive $4 million to fund a conservation easement of more than 9,300 forested acres. The land, adjacent to another easement of 18,700 acres, continues a landscape-scale conservation effort of several years in northwestern Montana aimed at protecting bull trout, Columbia redband trout, mountain whitefish, pygmy whitefish, and westslope cutthroat.
New West Feature
Unemployment, Foreclosures Hit Rockies Children Hard
Utah, usually the only Rocky Mountain state among the nation’s top 10 in an annual assessment of how children are faring, did less well in this year’s report.
The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2011 Kids Count places Utah seventh, down three places from last year. Idaho ranks 22nd, Colorado 25th, Wyoming 28th, Montana 33rd, and New Mexico 46th.
[more]New West Feature
Despite Best Efforts, Poaching Still Plagues the Rockies
More than 5,000 reports have been received of poaching in Colorado since 1981, resulting in more than 900 convictions, for which about $800,000 in fines were levied, and $150,000 paid to citizens for reports of suspected poaching, a recent summary asserts.
Studies show that poachers kill almost as many animals as legitimate hunters do during legal seasons in various states, says the report, from Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW). It points out that poachers steal not only revenues generated by legitimate hunting, but kill threatened, endangered and non-game species.
[more]
