seyden.net

Report details comments to travel plan

seyden — Fri, 24 May 2013 21:13:32 +0000

Baker City Herald 5/22/2013
Excerpt: “The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest has released the most detailed document yet examining the public’s reaction to last year’s hastily withdrawn proposal to ban motor vehicles on more than 3,000 miles of forest roads.

The “Content Analysis Report,” which the Wallowa-Whitman posted Monday on its website (www.fs.usda.gov/wallowa-whitman/), analyzes the more than 3,300 letters the forest received during a three-month period in the spring of 2012. Forest Supervisor Monica Schwalbach pulled the Travel Management Plan (TMP) on April 17, 2012, a month after it was released to the public. …”
Read entire story at http://www.bakercityherald.com/Local-News/Report-details-comments-to-travel-plan

Sequester Guts Wildfire Prevention, Sets Up Bigger Blazes

seyden — Fri, 24 May 2013 18:53:41 +0000

Mother Jones; 5/24/2013
Excerpt: ““Tree coming down!”

Skyler Lofgren shouts above a din of buzzing chainsaws, leans into his own, and with a final heave topples another 40-foot Ponderosa pine. Lofgren, 27, a forest firefighting crew boss with Flagstaff, Arizona’s fire department, felled a dozen trees on Monday, overseeing an outdoor classroom for a new crop of seasonal recruits who will spend the summer patrolling the Coconino National Forest with three-foot chainsaws at the ready. The crew will fight wildfires when they come, but the vast majority of their time will be spent on prevention or, as Lofgren puts it, “working ourselves out of a job.” ….”
Read entire article at http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/05/wildfire-prevention-flagstaff-arizona-sequester

Biodiversity: Scientists slam feds on possible wolf de-listing

seyden — Wed, 22 May 2013 15:01:37 +0000

Summit County Voice 5/22/2013
Excerpt: “SUMMIT COUNTY — A group of prominent scientists with expertise in wolf biology is taking issue with a draft plan to take wolves off the Endangered Species List. The document was leaked a few weeks ago, eliciting widespread criticism from wildlife advocates.

Federal wildlife agencies are under intense pressure from states to turn over wolf management. Congress has already set the stage for political interference in the wolf recovery process, and that step has put the the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service at the edge of a very slippery slope. Any proposal to de-list wolves is likely to face significant opposition and legal challenges from conservation advocates. ….”
Read entire story and letter to FWS at http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/05/22/biodiversity-scientists-slam-feds-on-possible-wolf-de-listing/

Forest Service fees at center of debate

seyden — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:57:30 +0000

Aspen Times 5/22/2013
Excerpt: “The U.S. Forest Service is making a simple, seemingly insignificant change to its fee-collection system at the Maroon Bells this summer, but the move is tied to a national fight that will end up in the lap of Congress next year.

The Aspen-Sopris Ranger District announced Tuesday that it won’t charge a fee for vehicles that drive to an inconspicuous spot called the Stein Meadow Overlook on Maroon Creek Road. Drivers who say that is their sole destination won’t be charged a fee. Vehicles bound for the three campgrounds in Maroon Valley, the East or West Maroon Trailheads or Maroon Lake will continue to be charged $10. ….”
Read entire article at http://www.aspentimes.com/news/6612397-113/fee-maroon-forest-service

Environmental Groups Sue to Halt Timber Sale Near Lake Koocanusa

seyden — Tue, 21 May 2013 17:29:16 +0000

Flathead Beacon 5/21/2013
Excerpt: “Environmental groups have filed a lawsuit to halt a U.S. Forest Service timber sale in Kootenai National Forest, arguing that it would harm critical habitat for grizzly bears and Canada lynx, both of which are protected by the Endangered Species Act.

On May 14, the Western Environmental Law Center filed the complaint in U.S. District Court in Missoula on behalf of the Alliance for the Wild Rockies. The complaint alleges that the proposed Young Dodge logging project violates the Endangered Species Act, National Forest Management Act and National Environmental Policy Act. …”
Read entire article at http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/articles/article/environmental_groups_sue_to_halt_timber_sale_near_lake_koocanusa/33542/

Smokey, spare that lookout — Washington lawmakers to Forest Service

seyden — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:58:13 +0000

Seattle Post 5/20/2013
Excerpt: “The Green Mountain Lookout should be let stand in its present perch, atop a popular Snohomish County hiking trail, and not be moved or removed, according to a tough-worded letter sent to the U.S. Forest Service by Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and U.S. Reps. Rick Larsen and Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.

“We strongly oppose the removal of the Green Mountain Lookout from its historic home,” lawmakers told the federal agency. “Smokey Bear” is struggling with what to do after a federal judge’s ruling that the federal agency acted improperly in rebuilding the 1933-vintage fire lookout. The lookout, located within the Glacier Peak Wilderness Area, has become a battleground that pits an extreme green group from out-of-state against local recreation activists, historic preservationists, county officials and lawmakers. …”
Read entire article at http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2013/05/20/smokey-spare-that-lookout-washington-lawmakers-to-forest-service/

Federal judge says Forest Service must consider critical habitat designations in regional forest plan guidance for lynx

seyden — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:39:28 +0000

Summit County Voice 5/21/2013
Excerpt: “FRISCO — The U.S. Forest Service has once again been called out for failing to live up to its legal obligations to protect endangered species, this time by a federal judge in Montana, who ruled last week that the agency violated the Endangered Species Act when it failed to consult with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on a regional forest plan amendment.

Dana L. Christensen, chief judge for the U.S. District Court for the State of Montana, ordered the Forest Service to re-initiate consultation, but did not block any specific projects on the affected forests, saying that plaintiffs couldn’t show any “irreparable harm.”
Read entire article at http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/05/21/federal-judge-says-forest-service-must-consider-critical-habitat-designations-in-regional-forest-plan-guidance-for-lynx/

Former Ravalli County attorney challenging Lake Como user fees

seyden — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:15:38 +0000

Missoulian 5/20/2013
Excerpt: “HAMILTON – A former Ravalli County attorney is challenging the U.S. Forest Service’s user fee requirement at the popular Lake Como Recreation Area.

George Corn said the agency isn’t following the law when it requires people not using developed amenities in the recreation area to pay a fee to park their car to go hiking, fishing or berry picking. Forest Service officials disagree with Corn’s interpretation and say they have made adjustments to meet changes handed down by a recent court ruling….”
Read entire article at http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/former-ravalli-county-attorney-challenging-lake-como-user-fees/article_49b6a098-c0cc-11e2-bae3-0019bb2963f4.html

Smokies add 2 new beetles, canopy cages in fight against hemlock adelgid

seyden — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:09:06 +0000

Knoxville News Sentinel 5/20/2013
Excerpt: “COSBY, Tenn. — At the eastern end of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, not far from Cosby, Tenn., are three 25-foot-tall hemlock trees enveloped in nylon that appear out of nowhere like circus tents in the middle of the forest.

They’re called canopy cages. Six years ago the University of Tennessee and the U.S. Forest Service tested them at Blackberry Farm in Blount County, and now they’re being employed in the Smokies to help control the hemlock woolly adelgid, a tiny, nonnative insect pest that has been killing the park’s hemlocks for more than a decade. ….”
Read entire article at http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2013/may/20/smokies-add-2-new-beetles-canopy-cages-in-fight/?partner=RSS

Energy: BLM eyes new rules for fracking on public lands

seyden — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:16:24 +0000

Summit County Voice 5/16/2013
Excerpt: “FRISCO — An updated set of draft rules for fracking on public and Indian lands includes several common-sense safeguards that will help protect the human health and safety, as well as the environment. For starters, the rule requires disclosure of the chemicals used for fracking, a key measure that ensures transparency and gives the public some assurance.

The proposed rule beefs up standards meant to insure well bore-integrity, which will help verify that fluids used during fracturing operations are not contaminating groundwater. Operators must also have a plan in place for handling fluids that flow back to the surface. …”
Read entire article at http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/05/16/energy-blm-eyes-new-rules-for-fracking-on-public-lands/#more-57338