Category Archives: Environmental Issues

Ten Lakes debate could impact future wilderness proposals

Environmental Issues, News,

Big Therriault Lake - Kootenai National Forest

Over at the Missoulian, Rob Chaney has put together an excellent article, including maps and supporting documentation, on the issues and conflicting interests surrounding the Ten Lakes Wilderness Study Area.

Recommended reading . . .

If it’s true that you’re doing something right when everyone’s angry with you, the Kootenai National Forest has nailed its wilderness designation process.

More likely, it may become the decision point for how the U.S. Forest Service respects the recreation wishes of snowmobilers, cross-country skiers and land managers across the Northwest. The lens for that debate is the Ten Lakes Wilderness Study Area.

“There was a huge effort in the forest planning process, where the Montana Wilderness Association, The Wilderness Society and others wanted to sit down with folks in Eureka to find common ground around Ten Lakes,” Kootenai Forest Supervisor Chris Savage recalled. “They met for a couple of years to come to some resolution. But it became apparent from other parties that they just don’t see it should be a wilderness study area, and that it shouldn’t be managed as wilderness at all. They had to stop the process.

Read more . . .

Closed-door discussions fail in lawsuit over Badger-Two Medicine leases

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Badger-Two Medicine Region

After several weeks of closed-door discussions aimed at resolving a lawsuit over drilling leases in the Badger-Two medicine region, the Interior Department and Solonex, the Louisiana energy company that brought the lawsuit, notified the court yesterday afternoon that they intend to resume litigation.

This means the government will press ahead with their decision to cancel all energy leases in the Badger-Two Medicine and Solonex will fight the decision.

Expect some sort of fireworks within the next couple of weeks.

‘Detection dogs’ used to study habitat suitability for bears

Environmental Issues, News, , , , ,

Camas the detection dog

Sometimes science is a bit… quirky. This is also a pretty interesting read . . .

A recently released study from WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) details a new method using “detection dogs,” genetic analysis, and scientific models to assess habitat suitability for bears in an area linking the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE) to the northern U.S. Rockies.

The method, according to the authors, offers an effective, non-invasive approach to the collection of data that could play a vital role in the further recovery of grizzly bears during the coming decades.

“The use of detection dogs allowed us to quantify and map key areas of habitat for black bears in the Centennial Mountains located along the Idaho-Montana border west of Yellowstone National Park,” said Jon Beckmann, WCS Scientist and lead author of the study. “Black bears are a proxy species useful for predicting likely grizzly bear habitat. With recovery, a larger grizzly bear population needs room to roam and to reconnect with other populations. The Centennial Mountains region of the U.S. northern Rockies can provide room and safe linkages— critical to connecting the bear population in the GYE area to others further north and west”.

Read more . . .

Montana to relocate some sage grouse to Canada

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Sage Grouse

Montana will relocate some local sage grouse to Alberta in an effort to improve the population in both jurisdictions . . .

Montana will send dozens of sage grouse to the Canadian province of Alberta in a plan approved Thursday that faces opposition from some lawmakers who say the state should first look to bolster its own fragile population of the bird.

The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission voted 3-1 to relocate 40 greater sage grouse hens this year across the border to Alberta, where an estimated 100 to 120 of the birds are left. The sage grouse in Alberta and Montana make up a transboundary population, and the program should result in healthier numbers on both sides of the border, officials said.

“We have worked hard with Alberta to get this to fruition,” Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission Chairman Dan Vermillion said. “It seems to be working up there, and Montana has a lot to benefit.”

Read more . . .

Gloria Flora: Why I resigned over a public land dispute

Commentary, Environmental Issues,

An excellent, well-researched op-ed on the current public lands debate . . .

Once again, a provocative armed display of dissatisfaction with a federal land management agency is unfolding—this time, at a remote wildlife refuge in southern Oregon. It’s been happening since 1848, when Mexico ceded the southwest quadrant of the United States after losing the Mexican-American War. Early settlers were primarily Mormons and Confederate Civil War refugees, both fiercely anti-federal government. Those attitudes haven’t changed much.

In the late 1990’s, when I served as Forest Supervisor of the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest in Nevada and eastern California, the simmering anti-federal government animosities boiled over dangerously multiple times but failed to garner much notice. Now, we’re seeing a similar boil-over in Oregon. The Nevada-based protesters, despite confusion over history and the exact purpose of their one-sided stand-off, are demanding privatization, to give the land back to “the people.” It sounds compelling, but it’s invented history.

The federal government created the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, the focus of this standoff, by usurping the Native American Pauite Nation’s homeland, then, years later, aggregating their abandoned reservation and a used-up cattle ranch bought at a premium during the Depression. The Malheur occupation today sounds a battle-cry of frustration from unwanted proxies who believe they speak for the people of Harney County. Clearly, the interlopers have their facts wrong. But their hair-trigger reaction to a situation reminiscent of their grievances deserves a closer look.

The heart of the matter is that the human dimensions of managing public lands are just as important as the physical and biological dimensions. We Americans love our landscapes. Those who spend a lifetime on the land, like ranchers, connect with it even more deeply…

Read more . . .

Feds consider endangered species protection for fisher

Environmental Issues, News,

Fisher in winter coat - from Wikipedia

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is looking at endangered species protection for the Northern Rockies fisher . . .

Government officials will consider new protections for a small, fanged predator that thrives in old-growth forests of the Northern Rockies over concerns that trapping, habitat loss and poisoning could be harming the animal’s population.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Monday that it plans a yearlong review to determine if the Northern Rockies fisher should be protected under the Endangered Species Act.

The species historically occupied a Rocky Mountains range that stretched across parts of Washington, Utah, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming, wildlife advocates say. The animals are now limited in the Rockies to an area along the Montana-Idaho border.

Read more . . .

Montana considers partial approval for mine near Cabinet Mountains Wilderness

Environmental Issues, News, , , ,

Well now, it seems the Montana Department of Environmental Quality has reservations about the Montanore Mine proposal . . .

Montana officials are considering giving only partial approval to a $500 million silver and copper mine proposed beneath a wilderness area near the Idaho border, injecting uncertainty into a project that’s been in the works for more than a decade.

Regulators have continuing concerns with the Montanore Mine’s potential effect on surrounding waterways, said Tom Livers director of the Montana Department of Environmental Quality.

“We’re not sure we can approve the full mining plan that’s been proposed,” Livers told The Associated Press. “We’re looking at what we can approve. Some may have to happen subsequently as we get more information.” A decision is expected in late January.

Read more . . .

Groups sue to block helicopter use in Frank Church wilderness

Environmental Issues, News,

Rocky Mountain bull elk

A coalition of environmental groups is not amused with the Forest Service’s plans to use helicopters to tag elk in the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness . . .

Three environmental groups sued the U.S. Forest Service to challenge a decision allowing helicopters to land in a central Idaho wilderness area so state wildlife officials can outfit elk with tracking collars.

Wilderness Watch, Western Watersheds Project and Friends of the Clearwater filed the lawsuit Thursday in U.S. District Court in Idaho. They said the federal agency is violating the Wilderness Act and other environmental laws by allowing helicopters into the rugged Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness.

Wilderness areas generally don’t allow mechanized equipment.

Read more . . .

LWCF passes; Trumbull Creek conservation deal looks good

Environmental Issues, News, , ,

Looks like the Trumbull Creek land deal is a go . . .

A large land conservation deal northwest of Columbia Falls will benefit from passage of the Land, Water and Conservation Fund.

The fund uses off shore oil and gas lease revenue for conservation projects across the U.S. Congress extended the measure for three years when it passed a massive budget bill just before the holidays. Nationwide, Congress appropriated about $450 million to the fund.

Montana’s largest LWCF project this year is the Trumbull Creek conservation easement with F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Co. The Trumbull Creek easement is a $9.5 million deal, with $6.5 million from the Forest Legacy program, $2 million from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Habitat Conservation Plan program and $1 million from private donations.

Read more . . .

Conservation groups want USFWS to continue wolf monitoring

Environmental Issues, News, ,

Gray Wolf

Several conservation groups want the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to continue keeping an eye on things in areas where the gray wolf has been delisted . . .

Five conservation groups on Tuesday asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to extend its oversight of wolves in Montana and Idaho that is set to expire in May.

The agency removed the two states’ gray wolf populations from the Endangered Species List in 2011 after finding they were sufficiently recovered. The delisting order required the Fish and Wildlife Service to continue monitoring the population for five years as the states’ wildlife agencies assume management of the species.

Read more . . .