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Groups press BLM for more protections of Wyoming basin
The Bureau of Land Management is updating its nearly two-decade-old plan for the Bighorn Basin in Wyoming, and 10 groups, many of them Wyoming-based, are asking that wildlife and recreation concerns get equal footing with energy development on the 3.2-million acre basin. Read the entire story from the Billings Gazette.
Colorado counties, cities oppose regulation of 'fracking'
Legislation submitted by Colorado U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette and Jared Polis that would impose new regulations on the drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing that involves pumping a stew of chemicals, water and sand underground at high pressure to crack into natural gas reserves has drawn formal protests from six counties in the state, as well as five cities. Read the entire story from the Grand Junction Sentinel.
Montana Land Board sets hearings on coal leases
The Montana Land Board is holding public hearings this week over whether to lease for development state land near Ashland that contains roughly 600 million tons of coal. Any mine would need a long-stalled railroad along the Tongue River to be built, so the coal could be brought to market. Read the full story from the Billings Gazette .
Groups say Interior decision on Utah leases apply to Colorado plateau
An energy company and conservation groups are at odds over whether a federal official’s report on Utah oil and gas leases has any bearing on a lawsuit challenging drilling on the Roan Plateau. Read the entire story from the Grand Junction Sentinel.
Without budget, Ariz. parks closing facilities
PHOENIX (AP) -- Arizona's state parks system says it is closing down most of its parks before a midnight deadline for a new state budget to be enacted. Read the entire story from the Denver Post.
Saving Species No Longer a Beauty Contest
Ten of the fifteen species in the United States that have been deemed "recovered" since the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973 are the type that look good on a T-shirt: wolves, grizzly bears and bald eagles, and those species often garnered the lion's share of funding and effort to save them, but times are changing, and even the homely species are getting a boost away from the brink of extinction. Read the entire story from the Washington Post.
Federal sage grouse listing may go to 2010
In a lawsuit filed by Western Watersheds Project over the lack of federal protection for sage grouse, the Idaho-based group and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to extend the deadline for the federal agency to make a decision on whether greater sage grouse should be listed as endangered until February of 2010. Read the entire story from the Twin Falls Times-News.
Development of Roan acreage on hold for now
Energy companies that own drilling rights to areas of the Roan Plateau in Colorado that had agreed to hold off on developing those leases until July 1 have agreed to wait now until Sept. 1, to give conservation groups that protested the leases and the federal government time to reach a settlement. Read the entire story from the Grand Junction Sentinel.
10 lynx kittens found in 5 dens in Colorado
Colorado's lynx re-introduction program is finally starting to see some success, and state biologists say that they found 10 kittens, which may indicate that the lynx 10-year population cycle may have started its upswing. Read the entire story from the Aspen Times.
America's Forgotten Lands
When President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act in March, the National Landscape Conservation System became law, protecting 850 areas that cover 26 million acres, but most of the areas aren't well known, and the National Conservation System Foundation is working to establish local groups to help raise awareness of those lands. Read the entire story from Concierge.com (Conde Nast Traveler).
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