January 2007, Newsletter #18 Welcome to THE RED LODGE CLEARINGHOUSE, the full-service information source for collaborative groups throughout the Interior West committed to resolving resource-use conflicts. It appears we're in for a period of extreme contention — CEQ has issued a new regulation that many consider a death blow to NEPA. E&E News reports "the categorical exclusion proposal was shelved for nearly two years as staffers within CEQ, USDA and Forest Service debated whether it was legal and going too far." Chief Bosworth, frustrated by years of "analysis paralysis" is leading the troops into battle. Undersecretary Mark Rey has taken issue with not only NEPA but a broad panoply of environmental laws. He sees "laws as tools to enable decision makers in doing their job." Gail Kimbell, head forester of Region 1 joins her colleagues in support of the new rule. New rule exempts forest plans from environmental reviews BY DAN BERMAN, LAND LETTER, 12/14/06 National forests would no longer have to conduct a full-blown environmental impact statement when they write new forest plans under a final rule the Forest Service said it will publish this week. The Forest Service announced it has completed a review that determined the writing of management plans and amendments has no effect on the environment, qualifying individual plans for categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act. SEE FULL STORY >> A story worth repeating — Mark Rey: Public land laws are due for an overhaul BY RICHARD WERST, CLARK FORK CHRONICLE, 12/07/06 The system of laws governing public land management in the United States is disjointed and archaic, according to Mark Rey, Undersecretary of Agriculture for Natural Resources and Environment. SEE FULL STORY >> NEPA exemptions 'crucial' to Forest Service, chief says BY DAN BERMAN, E&E NEWS PM, 01/05/07 A new rule exempting federal forest plans from National Environmental Policy Act studies is "crucial to the success of the Forest Service land management planning," said USFS Chief Dale Bosworth in a letter yesterday to key House Democrats. SEE FULL STORY >> Firestorm of controversy follows Forest Service rule change BY PERRY BACKUS, THE MISSOULIAN, 12/31/06 The Forest Service is in the midst of fundamental change in the way it develops its long range land management plans. “We're pretty excited about this new process,” Regional Forester Gail Kimbell said. “We think that it better reflects what the public wants from its national forests.” Among other comments on the proposed changes: “Changes in fundamental forest policy should be made with the cautious precision of a whittling knife. Instead, the Forest Service is slashing forest laws with a high-powered chainsaw.” — U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall “We found over the last 30 years that planning wasn't occurring in a very collaborative way. People would choose sides and then battle over which alternative they liked the best.” — Kimbell “The new planning process requires us to work with the public right from the very beginning. The public has the opportunity to be involved to help shape the document. They have the opportunity to influence the final package.” — Kimbell SEE FULL STORY >> Enviros will likely contest FS rule on no planning EIS BY JAMES COFFIN, PUBLIC LANDS NEWS, 01/05/07 Environmentalists will almost certainly take to court a new Forest Service rule that exempts new and revised forest plans from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA.) The rule allows individual national forests to exempt themselves from preparing environmental analyses (EAs) or EISs for plans. SEE FULL STORY >> Senator Baucus adds momentum to landowner incentive bill BY ALLISON FREEMAN WINTER, GREENWIRE, 12/14/06 An incentive bill by Sens. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) [Note: Now supported by Sens. Baucus (D-Mont.) and Grassley (R-Iowa)] would give landowners tax breaks when they conserve species on their land. Crapo and Lincoln said they drafted the legislation with the farm bill in mind, in an effort to expand incentives to the tax code. SEE FULL STORY >> DOWNLOAD GAO REPORT (.PDF) >> Comments from Michael Bean, Chair of the Wildlife Program for Environmental Defense and long-time proponent of incentives for species conservation JANUARY 2007 The new Congress that just convened holds the potential to create powerful new incentives for land and wildlife conservation through innovative changes in the tax code. The most encouraging glimpse of what may lie ahead occurred in the final week of the last Congress, when Senators Mike Crapo and Blanche Lincoln, introduced S. 4087, which authorizes two billion dollars worth of federal tax credits over five years for landowner agreements benefiting endangered species, plus additional tax benefits for other conservation measures. READ MORE >> Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, federal agencies embark on landmark collaboration BY SUSAN GALLAGHER, THE MISSOULIAN (AP), 12/15/06 New agreements between the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and two federal agencies clear the way for habitat improvement projects spanning 10 years [italics ours] and nearly 260,000 acres in Montana and Wyoming. Agreements the foundation, the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management signed Friday for 85,000 acres in western Montana and 174,000 acres west of Pinedale, Wyo., draw on a mechanism called "stewardship contracting," authorized by Congress in 1999. SEE FULL STORY >> Major contracts could prove potential >> ROCKY MOUNTAIN ELK FOUNDATION NEWS RELEASE >> Cooperative Sagebrush Initiative EXCERPTED FROM A REPORT FROM ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE TO THE LIZ CLAIBORNE ART ORTENBERG FOUNDATION A potentially important conservation opportunity is taking shape in the form of a "Cooperative Sagebrush Initiative." This is an ambitious effort to catalyze a broad range of conservation activities across the eleven states within what is often called the "sagebrush ecosystem." Those activities are intended to address the conservation needs of the many different imperiled species associated with that ecosystem, including the black-tailed prairie dog, burrowing owl, pygmy rabbit, black-footed ferret, and most especially, the greater sage grouse. SEE FULL STORY >> CSI HOME PAGE >> Collaboration working in Montana's Beaverhead-Deer Lodge National Forest BY JOEL CONNELLY, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER, 12/06/06 BUTTE, Mont. — Conflicts over land use in other countries often leave a landscape of burned villages, hundreds of dead and thousands of refugees on the move. In the United States, we should perhaps feel lucky that land "wars" result only in bureaucratic gridlock. SEE FULL STORY >> BLM releases study of proposal to ease Pinedale Anticline restrictions GREENWIRE, 12/19/06 The Bureau of Land Management released a study last week of an industry proposal to waive seasonal restrictions on natural gas drilling on Wyoming's Pinedale Anticline, which found that the plan "could cause significant adverse impacts to the human and natural environments." SEE FULL STORY >> PLAN CALLS FOR DRILLING EXPANSION >> READ MORE ABOUT THE PINEDALE ANTICLINE >> End of the road for the pronghorn migration? BY DANIEL GLICK, SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE, JANUARY 2007 Development threatens to block the ancient migration of a herd of pronghorn antelopes in western Wyoming. Without new protections, conservationists say, the speedy animals are running out of time. SEE FULL STORY >> USDA, Idaho finalize roadless agreement BY DAN BERMAN, GREENWIRE, 01/02/07 Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns formally accepted a plan last month to cooperate on the management of 9.3 million acres of national forest in Idaho. The Forest Service and Idaho will develop a memorandum of understanding based on former Gov. Jim Risch's (R) petition, the first filed after a federal judge reinstated Clinton-era roadless protections limiting roadbuilding, logging and mineral development on 50 million acres last September. SEE FULL STORY >> READ MORE ABOUT PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN ROADLESS AREA MANAGEMENT >> Supreme Court won't hear appeal of Montana logging case BY DAN BERMAN, GREENWIRE, 01/08/07 The Supreme Court declined today to accept an appeal of a 9th Circuit ruling in a case questioning how much scientific review is necessary for logging projects in national forests. SEE FULL STORY >> Let the public be part of Wyoming wolf talks EDITORIAL, CASPER STAR-TRIBUNE, 12/24/06 State and federal officials appear to be making progress on resolving Wyoming's controversial wolf management plan, but not all of the players have been allowed to be at the table. That's one way to silence public criticism of the latest proposal. And there's more: One state lawmaker actually asked the feds to please have their own wolf expert keep his mouth shut. SEE FULL STORY >> HOME PAGE  |   CONTACT US