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New West Feature
Blame the Weather on Peru
Montana State University (MSU) researchers have been busy in the discovery department lately.
Three scientific papers out of the university that were published recently range from the effects of Peru’s ocean temperatures on Montana weather, to a shortage of oxygen in the lungs, to dinosaurs at the South Pole.
New West Feature
Scientists Detect Rare Species Using DNA Found in Streams
Problem: You’re a field biologist trying to assess the population of a secretive, imperiled aquatic species—let’s say a salamander—but you can’t find the little devil, so how can you count it?
Solution: Don’t try to eyeball the critters. Collect their DNA from cells they shed into the water.
[more]New West Feature
In Colorado, Critics Decry Melt-in-Your-Mouth Tobacco
Citizens of Denver and Colorado Springs are excited about a public hearing set for Wednesday on the current test marketing in the cities of dissolvable tobacco products, which critics say are packaged to appeal to young people, a charge hotly denied by corporate officials.
It’s the second round of test marketing by the RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company of the brightly packaged, flavored line of lozenges and strips that deliver nicotine when they dissolve in the mouth. The first tests were done this spring in Indianapolis, Portland, Ore., and Columbus, Ohio. The marketing in Colorado is accompanied by a program in Charlotte, N.C.
[more]New West Feature
Coal-fired Plants Lose a Big Battle
One of the dirtiest coal-fired power plants in the West has been given five years by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up its act, which its operators say could cost $750 million or more.
The EPA issued a final rule on Friday that Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM) must retrofit its San Juan Generating Station near Farmington, New Mexico to diminish emissions that cause visibility problems.
Camping Protocol
Unsafe Campfires Rise
An increase in abandoned campfires in the Rockies over recent weeks has prompted fire officials to issue a reminder: be careful in the woods this time of year, when the fire danger often is high.
In Montana, more than a dozen abandoned campfires have been discovered lately. Sixty-one percent of fires on lands managed by the state have been human-caused this summer. In the Lolo National Forest alone, firefighters have responded to 16 human-caused blazes, or 55 percent of the total fires there.
[more]New West Feature
How Preble’s Mouse Hopped Back into Protection
The reinstatement on Saturday, Aug. 6, of protection under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) for a mouse in Wyoming might seem a small move, but it encapsulates many of the special interest considerations that dominate land use decisions in the West.
The issue, which goes back several years, revolves around the familiar question of what “best science” means. Government agencies, the courts, the media, and biologists themselves have weighed into the debate, closely attended by conservationists, ranchers, and politicians.
[more]New West Feature
What Next for Delisted Wolves?
Yesterday’s ruling by a federal judge in Montana that upheld the delisting of wolves under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) might seem like third time unlucky for protectors of the species, but is it?
Twice previously, U.S. District Judge Donald Molloy had prevented attempts to escalate the hunting of wolves in the West, but this time he cited a 9th Circuit Court precedent that he decided required him to rule against a challenge of the so-called wolf rider to a federal budget bill passed in April.
[more]New West Feature
Is Snake River Dam Removal Back?
When a federal district court judge ruled on Tuesday that a plan to protect populations of Northwest salmon and steelhead did not meet the requirements of the Endangered Species Act, the possibility of hydroelectric dam removal on the Snake and Columbia Rivers was resurrected. But that doesn’t mean it is more than just a possibility.
Central Idaho contains the largest and best-protected contiguous salmon habitat remaining in the continental United States. Conservationists long have lobbied for removal of four dams on the lower Snake River that salmon must traverse on their journey to the ocean, and Judge James Redden’s decision gives them renewed hope, however slim.
[more]National Park News
Grizzly Sows in Grand Teton Exchange Cub
In a rare occurrence among grizzly bears, Grand Teton National Park biologists have reported that two sows—a mother and her five-year-old daughter—have exchanged a cub.
The two female grizzlies have occupied overlapping home ranges since both emerged from hibernation with newborn cubs this past spring. The adoption or fostering of cubs between two female bears is rare, but not unprecedented, according to a blogpost filed by public affairs officer Jackie Skaggs. This behavior was documented in an article written by Mark A. Haroldson, Kerry A. Gunther and Travis Wyman in a Yellowstone Science 2008 publication.
[more]National Park News
Glacier’s Going-to-the-Sun Road Finally Open
Park officials announced last week that Going-to-the-Sun Road would at last open in Glacier National Park today.
According to the park’s website, they fulfilled that promise. The road is now open to vehicles and shuttle buses through Logan Pass, although there are limited services—and no water—at the visitor center there.
[more]
