Norton reflects on 'Four C's,' Indian trust, lobbying scandal
BY DAN BERMAN, GREENWIRE, 03/31/06
Interior Secretary Gale Norton finds it "incredibly annoying" the press has focused on the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal that engulfed her department rather than on her efforts to promote cooperative conservation measures during her five years as secretary, she told Greenwire yesterday.
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ENVIROS AND INDUSTRY GROUPS ASSESS NORTON LEGACY >>
Bush's Interior nominee: comfort in consensus
BY KIRK JOHNSON, NEW YORK TIMES, 04/08/06
EAGLE, Idaho, April 6—Eagle Island State Park here has horse-riding trails, picnic tables and a water slide. Under a recent compromise between the Idaho Legislature and Gov. Dirk Kempthorne, President Bush's nominee to oversee the nation's public lands as secretary of the interior, the park may one day get its own gravel mine, too.
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IDAHO GOV. KEMPTHORNE NOMINATED >>
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Mark Rey, Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment tells the story as the administration sees it and is the in-the-field spokesperson for the Forest Service.
Forest Service tagged 450,000 acres as suitable for sale
BY DAN BERMAN, GREENWIRE, 04/14/06
The Forest Service identified over 450,000 acres of national forest it believes are suitable for sale or conveyance over the next five years under Bush administration plans to sell land to pay for a rural schools program.
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MORE INFORMATION ON SALES OF PUBLIC LANDS >>
Mark Rey says forest land sales will go ahead
BY SCOTT McMILLION, BOZEMAN DAILY CHRONICLE, 03/30/06
Despite strong bipartisan opposition, the Bush administration is forging ahead with its controversial plan to sell national forest lands to help pay for rural schools.
Mark Rey, the undersecretary of agriculture who oversees the U.S Forest Service, said his staff tried to come up with a better way to fund the popular Secure Rural Schools program but couldn't do it.
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Forest Service looks beyond timber sales for dollars
BY JOHN HEILPRIN, CASPER STAR-TRIBUNE (AP), 03/29/06
The lure of money is shaping the nation's 155 national forests: more advertising, more fees, more roads to draw timber sales and lumber mill jobs.
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Lease sale proceeds
BY BEN NEARY, CASPER STAR-TRIBUNE (AP), 04/04/06
Despite Gov. Dave Freudenthal's call for a halt to the process, the U.S. Forest Service is proceeding to offer nearly 20,000 acres on the Bridger-Teton National Forest for lease for oil and gas development at auction today.
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"At some point we have to tell the public, 'I'm sorry, but we are not a national park'." – Linda Rundell, New Mexico BLM State Director
BY NATHAN GONZALEZ, FARMINGTON DAILY TIMES, 03/30/06
When asked what the BLM was doing to protect land often used by the public, Kathleen Clarke responded, "We are mandated by law to manage for multiple use. The law directs us to oversee development of our natural resources to serve the needs of the nation."
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BLM EXPECTS STAFF LOSSES >>
Verdict still out on wildlife plan in the Jonah Field
BILLINGS GAZETTE (AP), 03/20/06
Oil and gas industry officials are excited about a first-ever plan designed to help wildlife affected by increased drilling in the Jonah Field in southwest Wyoming, but conservationists are more skeptical about the plan.
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Coalition group updates, strategizes in Angel Fire
BY GABE TOTH, SANGRE DE CRISTO CHRONICLE, 04/06/06
The Coalition for the Valle Vidal met at the Angel Fire Community Center Wednesday, March 29, updating residents and answering questions about the proposal to drill for gas in the Valle Vidal.
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READ MORE ABOUT THE COALITION FOR THE VALLE VIDAL >>
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Wildlife chief: State must be on front lines
BY JUDITH KOHLER, ASPEN TIMES (AP), 04/13/06
Energy development and endangered species are generating some of the most bruising battles in the West, and Colorado's top wildlife official said his agency needs to be on the front lines.
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Senate ESA rewrite unlikely this year, Chafee says
BY ALLISON A. FREEMAN AND DAN BERMAN, E&E NEWS P.M., 03/28/06
Senators working to broker a bipartisan rewrite of the Endangered Species Act are unlikely to succeed this year, a key negotiator said today.
Senate Wildlife Subcommittee Chairman Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) said chances of an ESA bill are "slim." Asked if the effort would likely die this year, Chafee answered: "To be honest, yes.
"But we'll keep working," he added. "We'll keep the door open a crack."
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Inhofe growing impatient with Chafee's ESA effort
BY ALLISON A. FREEMAN, E&E DAILY, 04/05/06
An impatient Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is ready to step in with his own Endangered Species Act proposal in the face of little progress from the bipartisan group of senators working to draft a rewrite.
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Sage grouse fails to get spot on endangered species list
BY DAVE CURTIN, DENVER POST, 04/13/06
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided Wednesday not to place the Gunnison sage grouse on the endangered species list.
While biologists say the stout, ground-dwelling bird faces threats from the drought, disease and energy exploration in its habitat in southwestern Colorado, wildlife officials say the bird's population has been stable.
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