Arizona forest schedules meetings on proposed wilderness areas

Coconino National Forest officials are soliciting public comment on 10 potential wilderness areas.

Public meetings will be held July 26 in Flagstaff and July 27 in Sedona. The meetings are being held as part of a revision process of the forest plan.

The U.S. Forest Service evaluates lands that have wilderness characteristics before making recommendations to Congress for official designation.

Read the full article from the Arizona Daily Sun here.

Arizona wildfire fully contained

The 3,420-acre Eagle Rock fire 11 miles northeast of Williams has been fully contained.

According to information from the U.S. Forest Service, the fire has been determined to have been caused by lightning. An area around the fire remains closed to entry until further notice because of hazards.

Read the article from the Arizona Daily Sun here.

Montana visit highlighted importance of local resource management

This past April, President Barack Obama launched the America's Great Outdoors conservation initiative in an effort to confront the serious challenges our natural resources face today. This initiative recognizes that while we've made significant progress in protecting natural resources in America, we still face significant challenges. Our public and private working lands face threats from fragmentation and development.

Read the full guest column by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in the Missoulian here.

Workers clean waterfowl befouled by Utah oil spill

Armed with dishwashing liquid and vegetable oil, county workers are striving to save the ducks and geese turned refugees from the weekend's oil spill.

Chevron and myriad government agencies continue to deal with the aftermath of the oil spill that dumped an estimated 33,000 gallons of oil into Red Butte Creek. The spill spread to the lake in Liberty Park and has since continued on to the Jordan River and the Great Salt Lake.

Thirty-two homeless fowl are at the county site, while about 300 are being cared for at Hogle Zoo.

Read the full story from the Deseret News here.

Some question if Montana brucellosis plan worth the cost to bison

In the decade since five state and federal agencies came up with a plan to manage bison in and around Yellowstone National Park, no confirmed cases of cattle being infected with brucellosis from bison carrying the disease have been reported.

Many people involved in the effort say that’s proof the Interagency Bison Management Plan, or IBMP, is a success.

However, that success has come at a cost. Since the agreement was signed in 2000, more than 3,500 bison have been killed to stop the potential transmission of the disease.

Read the full article from the Missoulian here.

Federal biologists: Mountain goats threaten Colorado bighorn sheep

Bighorn sheep once just about posed for Barb Day when she crept across their high-country habitat with her camera.

Now, in the latest twist of an ecological saga, non-native mountain goats are displacing the sheep along the road from Echo Lake Lodge to Mount Evans' 14,264-foot summit.

"You miss them," said Day, who has run the lodge for 31 years. She and others who sense trouble are correct.

The long-term survival of bighorn sheep — Colorado's curly-horned state animal — is far from assured, with the sheep facing heavy threats here and across the West.

Read the full story from the Denver Post here.

Wyoming national forest seeks $2.5M to buy critical habitat

Shoshone National Forest managers are backing the purchase of 118 acres of private land near Dead Indian Pass above Sunlight Basin, calling the tract crucial winter range for elk, mule deer and bighorn sheep.

President Obama’s fiscal year 2011 budget proposal includes $2.5 million for the acquisition, but Congress must approve the appropriation from the Land and Water Conservation Fund as part of a larger budget bill.

Read the full story from the Billings Gazette here.

Interior Dept. releases new rules on onshore drilling

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced on Monday he had finalized several reforms of the federal onshore oil and gas program.

He said the reforms will reduce the high number of legal challenges the industry faces by ensuring the protection of environmentally sensitive areas before companies are given the opportunity to lease minerals and develop.

The reforms include restricting the use of the controversial "categorical exclusion" permitting tool -- a fast-track approval of drilling activities in developed areas. The BP well that is spewing oil in the Gulf of Mexico was a categorical exclusion.

Read the full article from the Casper Star-Tribune here.

Colorado, N.M. first in nation to team up on wildlife corridors

Colorado and New Mexico this year became the first states to team up to create interstate wildlife corridors. State biologists are to inform land-use planning and development.

"It'll be win-win — protect wildlife and create jobs," Richardson said. "We're going to try to spread it with the Western governors."

"The idea is not land acquisition but to work cooperatively to establish a development-free "circulatory system for wildlife," coalition director Jeff Parrish said.

Read the full story from the Denver Post here.

Colorado mulls adoption of sagebrush study

Today, there is widespread concern over the continued loss of sagebrush habitat across the West.

Not only is the landscape changed, but familiar species disappear, and in some ways traditional activities also are threatened.

While sage grouse seem to get most of the publicity, there are many other species threatened by the continued loss of sagebrush habitat.

A report prepared by two western Colorado biologists addressing the impacts of sagebrush loss is being considered for adoption by the Colorado Wildlife Commission.

Read the full story from the Grand Junction Sentinel here.