A CHANGE THAT'S LONG OVERDUE

Harry Reid, the New Public Lands Enemy No. 1

UPDATED Friday, March 12, 1 pm:
I used this headline once before when writing about Mark Rey, former Bush Administration Undersecretary of Agriculture and boss of the Forest Service. Prior to Rey’s Reign of Terror, California Republican Congressmen Richard Pombo held the honor of being the biggest enemy of public lands. Voters booted him in 2006, but he’s back, running for Congress again this year.

Now, we have a new Public Lands Enemy No. 1, none other than current Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV).

News Nugget

Salazar Says Feds Aren’t Poised for Western Monument ‘Land Grab’

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar says talk of his department creating new national monuments in Montana and other Western states was just “brainstorming.”

The issue became big news after after an internal memo about the subject was leaked last month, setting off alarms in many, if not all, Western congressional offices and certainly across the Rockies. Montana Rep. Denny Rehberg is even planning legislation that would halt such activity.

But, Salazar maintains that the feds are not out for a land grab. He tells Ledyard King of the Gannett Washington Bureau in today’s ,Great Falls Tribune, “They were brainstorming sessions that basically said, ‘These are the areas that could be protected, and the way you protect them is through a variety of different means, and this is one option, but it doesn’t mean that’s the option that we select.”

And, when Sen. Jon Tester’s questioned him about the issue at a Tuesday hearing, he said, “There are no plans that we have to move forward” and that there have been “no directions from the White House that we move forward on monument designation.”

King’s story in the Tribune is a good exploration of the issue, read it here.

MAX'S 30-YEAR CRUSADE

The North Fork of the Flathead: The Gem of the Continent

Montana is home to some of the most gorgeous landscapes in the world. From the plains of the east, to the mountains of the west, we are incredibly blessed to be able to call it home. And there is one area that holds a special place for me: the North Fork.

One of the best parts of my year is when the weather starts to turn warm and I can get away for a weekend to Glacier or the surrounding areas. I love looking at the deep blue of Lake McDonald or the crystal clear water of the North Fork. I love staring up at the soaring peaks, and experiencing the awe when you hear names like Jackson and Stimson. I love the wildlife and the ruggedness. 

Guest Column: Wyoming

Western Politics: “Cowboy Ethics” an Official Wyoming Law?

Cowboys may be irrelevant, but their ethics matter.

So much of Wyoming is synonymous with the cowboy. But surely we’re the (unofficial) Cowboy State for much more than the fact that cowboys are cool. Cowboys represent an idealized ethos of a bygone era. In a world where there are more fake Louis Vuitton purses than real, cowboys embody authenticity. Their vocational role in modern society might be diminished, but their ethics - honesty, hard work, perseverance, prudence - are more relevant today than ever before.

So relevant in fact, that our Wyoming Legislature is contemplating adopting “cowboy ethics” into law. Sponsored by state Sen. Jim Anderson (Converse/Platte Counties), the bill draws inspiration from a 2004 book, Cowboy Ethics:  What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West. 

Guest Column

Now is the Time for Mining Reform

Everyone who fishes for trout in the Frying Pan River or hunts elk on the Grand Mesa knows that Colorado has a rich fish and wildlife legacy. Yet any person who spends time in Colorado’s mountains knows that more than a century of hard-rock mining has created a different kind of legacy – one that continues polluting some of our most essential fish and wildlife habitat and has left a lasting impact on our state’s unique lands and waters.

While mining is a legitimate use of public lands, few laws are more in need of an overhaul than the 1872 General Mining Law, the most outdated natural resource law in the nation. Fortunately, promising legislation currently being considered by the U.S. Senate would implement long-overdue reform of this 137-year-old law – legislation that is benefiting from the support of Colorado’s leadership.

Both Sen. Mark Udall and Sen. Michael Bennet have said “yes” to responsible management of our shared natural resources and cosponsored Senate Bill 796, the Hardrock Mining and Reclamation Act. They deserve the appreciation of Coloradans for their action on this important public-lands issue, but we still need their help to assure the bill’s speedy passage into the law of the land.

Sage Grouse Misses ESA Listing By A Feather

You might be all in a tizzy about whether Avatar or Hurt Locker won the big Oscar on Sunday. But a lot of folks in the Interior West—and enviro wonks from all over—were focused last week on a much bigger announcement: Will the greater sage grouse get federal protection under the Endangered Species Act or not?

The answer? No. At least not yet.

In a March 5 press conference, Interior Secretary Salazar said that the bird—whose numbers have declined by 90 percent over the past century—will not get federal protection. That’s in spite of the fact that the feds believe the bird needs protection. Extensive scientific research over the past few years, said Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife Tom Strickland, has demonstrated that the grouse “does warrant protection. But we are proposing to not list, because of the need to address higher priority species.”

Sage Grouse Listing Denied

Today the US FWS announced today that the sage grouse, a once wide-spread bird of the West’s sagebrush steppe, warranted listing under the Endangered Species Act, but would be “precluded”. A disjunct isolated sage grouse population along the California-Nevada border formerly known as the Mono Basin sage grouse was also determined to warrant listing but was precluded as well. Such a designation offers no protection to the bird.

Politics

Freudenthal Won’t Seek Re-election, Doesn’t Suprise Anyone

LARAMIE—Viewed from the disciplines of political science and history, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal’s announcement today that he will not seek a third term, is not a big surprise.

That’s the assessment of two professors at the University of Wyoming—political scientist Jim King of and historian Phil Roberts.

“The only thing that surprised me is that the announcement came this week,” said King, who’d believed that it would happen next week when the current legislative session was finished.

Column: idaho legislature

Tempers Grow Short in Idaho Legislature

Just days after a spat in which the Idaho Senate refused to hear a bill to eliminate a House proposal for a 1 percent cost of living adjustment to state retirees, which Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter also weighed in on, another potential turf battle looms—one that could doom the carefully crafted education budget, scheduled to be voted on Wednesday morning by the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC).

In Tuesday’s meeting of the House Education committee, Chair Representative Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, strongly criticized the process by which JFAC Chair Senator Dean Cameron, R-Rupert, had set up meetings with education stakeholders in order to determine the best way to make cuts to the education budget that would cause the least damage to schools and students. The meetings resulted in a proposed budget bill and an unprecedented dozen pages of intent language explaining it last week, which was supposed to culminate in a vote on Monday but which was postponed until Wednesday. Nonini issued a number of strong statements indicating that he believed JFAC was not paying enough attention to the education committee, which is supposed to be making policy decisions.

“I don’t know how he can criticize,” said Cameron, when informed of Nonini’s remarks. “He was part of the process.”