New West Blog
Foodie News: Montana’s Local Food Ministry, a 50-year Farm Bill and Why Does Vilsack Need a Push?
Three bites in food and ag news today:
Sustainable ag gurus Wes Jackson and Wendell Berry write in the New York Times about the nation's need for a 50-year Farm Bill that "addresses forthrightly the problems of soil loss and degradation, toxic pollution, fossil-fuel dependency and the destruction of rural communities."
Among others, the two offer this suggestion: "Any restorations will require, above all else, a substantial increase in the acreages of perennial plants. The most immediately practicable way of doing this is to go back to crop rotations that include hay, pasture and grazing animals."
Meanwhile, Tom Vilsack, the guy who should be charged with reforming the nation's food system, has a building fan club as he awaits his new gig as the Secretary of Agriculture. But, Tom Philpott at Gristmill wonders why he would need a push: "The effort strikes me as bizarre. Why band together to support someone who's a shoo-in to be confirmed? Vilsack is no firebrand reformer; his nomination will generate little controversy in the Senate."
And, the Christian Science Monitor profiles a Bozeman-area ranching family who is starting the food revolution at home. Writer Corrine Garcia tells a nice story about Jenny and Mark Sabo, who she calls, "extreme locavores."
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Missoula Blog
Legislators, Watch Yer Scratchin
One of my favorite tidbits from the opening of Montana's 61st Legislative session, from Charles Johnson's story in Lee Newspapers:
"... the Senate's sergeant at arms, Nancy Clark, reminded lawmakers that much of the session will be televised publicly across the state.
“Don't scratch any place that you don't want anybody to see, because you are on television,” she said."
Watch for scratching -- or watch public policy in action, your choice -- here:
Online streaming page.
Channel list for TVMT, which will be broadcasting all session. (Missoula is channel 62)
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Idaho State Politics
Brad Little Named Idaho Lt. Governor
Idaho Governor Butch Otter today named state senator Brad Little as Lieutenant Governor, replacing Jim Risch who was sworn in as U.S. Senator just an hour earlier.
The appointment takes effect immediately, but there will be pro forma confirmation by the state senate.
Little has long been considered a potential candidate for governor in political circles, and is considered a moderate Republican.
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Bob Wire Has a Point (Under His Cowboy Hat)
Last Year Will Be Hard to Top
Not only will be 2008 be remembered as a watershed year in world history, but last year was especially dramatic for my personal life as well. Obama’s election is the obvious high water mark, but there were several other achievements and toe-stubbings that I will always associate with 2008. So here is my obligatory recap of the Best and Worst of 2008.
I already have a big jump on next year’s list: Worst Idea of 2009: Bob Wire writing a blog about breastfeeding.
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The 'Golden Age of Aristocracy'?
Richardson, Bennet Roil Western Politics
With the withdrawal of Bill Richardson and the appointment of Michael Bennet, the Mountain West may have lost one politician on the national stage and gained another.
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Idaho Politics: House
New Congressman’s Family Helps Out in D.C.
It’s a big day in Idaho politics.
In Boise, Governor Butch Otter will announce his pick to replace Jim Risch as Lieutenant Governor.
In Washington, D.C., Risch will be sworn in today as the newest senator from Idaho, replacing Larry Craig.
And Walt Minnick will be sworn in as a congressman representing the First Congressional District, replacing Bill Sali.
At Minnick’s new apartment, his family will finish up their three days of scrubbing walls and finding used furniture, unpacking things from Idaho, and double-testing the coffeepot.
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DUBBED THE "SPIDER BULL" FOR ITS UNIQUE ANTLERS
Boone and Crockett Club Confirms New World Record Elk
Rumors have been flying this fall about a new world record elk shot down in Utah, and now, the world's record keeper, the Boone and Crockett Club, has confirmed it.
On September 30, Denny Austad of Ammon, Idaho, downed the monster bull while hunting on public land in the Fishlake National Forest in south-central Utah.
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Diary of a Mad Voter: Heath Haussamen
Shouldn’t Obama Have Seen This Coming?When Barack Obama announced his nomination of Bill Richardson to be commerce secretary in early December, my initial thought was something along the lines of, “That must mean the federal investigation of the governor’s administration has ended.” How wrong I was. [more]
Yellowstone Club Fallout
Bozeman’s Story Mill Falls Victim to Yellowstone Club Debacle
A highly touted mixed-use development slated for the historic Story Mill site in Bozeman appears to be dead - the latest victim of the rolling financial fiasco that has engulfed the Yellowstone Club and its owner, Edra Blixseth.
The Story Mill project, which would have been among the first large urban infill projects in the region and promised to set new standards for sustainable development, was led by Matthew Crocker, the son of Edra Blixseth. Crocker and Blixseth signed personal guarantees for a $13 million loan from a Colorado real estate finance company in the summer of 2007, the proceeds of which went to Blue Sky Development, Go Build and several related entities. Story Mill was the primary project being undertaken by those companies, and the Colorado firm, Western Capital Partners, sued Blixseth and Crocker for repayment last month, alleging that no payments had been made on the loan since July.
Multiple sources associated with Story Mill confirmed that activity had been at a standstill for some time, and that Go Build laid off all its employees and closed its Bozeman office in December.
Story Mill is one of a number of entities that are reeling in the wake of the Yellowstone Club bankruptcy.
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Breaking News
Plum Creek Backs Off Road Easements in Montana
Plum Creek CEO Rick Holley told Missoula County Commissioners in a letter sent today that the timber company is backing off a controversial proposal to allow logging roads on public lands to be used for any purpose, including development.
The letter comes just after Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey vowed to push the easements through before Barack Obama, who said he would oppose the proposal, takes office January 20. In the letter, Holley writes, "Although we continue to believe that the easement amendment would be beneficial to the general public, given the the lack of receptivity, we have decided not to go forward with the amendment."
Missoula County had been very vocal in its opposition to the easement amendment and the letter was welcome news to Deputy Missoula County Attorney James McCubbin who called the move, "commendable."
"We appreciate that they're reacting to the public input they've received," McCubbin said.
Click here for a PDF of the letter and stay tuned as we update the story.
The easement amendment was privately negotiated between Plum Creek and the Forest Service to clarify the decades-old easements and ensure Plum Creek access across Forest Service for purposes besides resource extraction, namely to access residences. Residential development has become a big part of Plum Creek’s business as the timber industry flounders from the effects of the housing downturn. In October, the Government Accountability Office announced it was investigating the deal. Still this last weekend, the Washington Post reported Rey was ready to go forward with the plan.
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