Development News | New West Network

lynx habitat cited

The U.S. Forest Service turned down the Bitterroot Resort’s third request for a special-use permit to use national forest lands for Nordic and alpine skiing and mountain biking, Perry Backus of the Ravalli Republic reports.

Resort officials said Wednesday they are reworking their request and will likely resubmit it within a few weeks.

The new federal conservation regulations for Canadian Lynx put into place this spring made Lolo Forest’s lynx habitat the number one concern for the Forest Service during the reviewing process. Also, ski trail maintenance could disturb elk wintering habitat, and clearing trees for alpine skiing in the Bitterroot Forest could ruin the view from the Maple Creek area, Bitterroot National Forest Supervisor Dave Bull told Backus.  [more]

BorderWest

The ranchers I know are an independent lot. They do not form groups, organize, or launch campaigns. They like open spaces, devoid of people. Informing the public on what it takes to ranch or its importance is not on an activity they relish or perform with any regularity. That a group of ranchers with ties to the local business community managed to overcome their natural inclinations to broadcast their message and form a large coalition of supporters may herald a new day in land conservation.   [more]

Guest Column: A New Residential Model

A few months ago I wrote an article on how the nation’s energy issues are affecting the typical American household and specifically how the construction of new homes should change to accommodate the rise in energy prices. Since the publication of the article, the most asked question is, “What can I do about the house I live in now?” This is often followed by some discussion about how much more sustainable it is to remodel our existing houses than it is to build new homes. We will need to build new homes, but clearly the majority of the energy burden on the typical American household will come from existing houses.
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growing the green economy

The Sustainable Business Center, a nonprofit that would house close to 20 local green building and sustainable living companies, hopes to set up shop on Russell Street in Missoula.

These types of businesses are often small and undercapitalized, explains Rick Wishcamper, founding partner of the Rocky Mountain Development Group, which is organizing the project and purchasing the property. The Sustainable Business Center’s aim would be to strengthen them.

“It will grow the businesses that grow the green economy,” Wishcamper said.  [more]

BorderWest

Heath Haussamen at NM Politics reports Senator Pete Domenici's chief of staff, Steve Bell, blames the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance (NMWA) for causing gridlock surrounding wilderness designations in Doña Ana County. Bell states

"You don’t have to be a genius to figure out that we have absolutely entered gridlock and nothing can happen because there’s too much at stake politically,” Bell said. “… The upshot is, once again, in my judgment, a group has proved a truth of an old saying that I used everyday for the last 36 years in this job: ‘Never let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Because the Domenici plan was not perfect in their [NMWA] view, they rejected it,” Bell said of the wilderness group. “Then they came up with a proposal they think is perfect, and now they are faced with the prospect of getting nothing.”

the montana legacy project

Standing just below the summit of Kalispell’s Lone Pine State Park, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., today announced the purchase of 320,000 acres of Plum Creek Timber Company-owned land by two conservation groups, calling the deal, “the largest land purchase, for conservation purposes, in American history.”

Dubbed, “The Montana Legacy Project,” The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land are buying the acreage for $510 million, and will finance payments on the land over the next three years through private and public sources, with the federal government paying for about half the cost through a forestry conservation bond mechanism Baucus inserted into the recently passed Farm Bill.  [more]

From WyoFile.Com

Wyoming is getting younger and richer.

Rarely do these two demographics merge and create happy endings. Wyoming is trying to be the exception.

The money part is pretty straightforward. Wyoming's real earnings in 2006 reached their highest level in 36 years. Our job growth in 2007 was the second highest in the nation.

The aging part isn't too difficult to figure out, either. Young wayfarers seeking fortune have long been a part of Wyoming’s economic history. What's surprising is how long this latest batch is staying on.   [more]

City Voters Allowed to Vote Country

Montana's Attorney General issued an opinion this week that gives voters living in incorporated communities a vote on any countywide referendum, initiative or ordinance – specifically zoning ordinances.

Mike McGrath made the call in a case over who should have been able to vote in 2006 on two controversial Ravalli County zoning ordinances.

According to some, this decision could have far-reaching implications for county residents across the state, because it gives voters living in cities a voice in county land-use regulations. Other say county land-use regulations affect city residents too, so every voter in the county should be able to have a say.   [more]