Tag Archives: water quality

Government considers allowing fracking in GW national forest

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Lynchburg News and Advance 4/28/2013
Excerpt:      “Apparently for the first time in America, the U.S. Forest Service is considering whether to allow horizontal drilling for natural gas, in the George Washington National Forest. Energy companies are saying “yes,” environmental activists are saying “no,” and governments are divided on whether roads, trucks and drilling equipment should be permitted in the national forest, a source of drinking water for 260,000 people.

More than 54,000 public comments have been made, and Virginians oppose the gas prospecting by at least a 2-1 margin, according to Kate Wofford of the Shenandoah Valley Network, an environmental advocacy group that analyzed the comments. …”
Read entire article at http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/article_762f9d5c-af77-11e2-86f9-001a4bcf6878.html

Forest Service holds public meetings on ski area water rights

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Summit County Voice 4/14/2013
Excerpt:      “SUMMIT COUNTY — After losing a court showdown, the U.S. Forest Service will restart a process to try and clarify the future of water rights associated with permitted uses on national forest lands, especially with regard to ski areas in the West

In December, a federal court ruled that the Forest Service failed to meet legal requirements when it updated the rule administratively. Now, the agency will hold a series of public meetings, starting April 16 in Denver, to take input from the public and key stakeholders. Additional meetings are set for Salt Lake City on April 17, and Lake Tahoe, Calif., on April 18.  …”
Read entire article at http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/04/14/forest-service-holds-public-meetings-on-ski-area-water-rights/

State legislator loses water fight with Forest Service bigwigs

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Cortez Journal 4/11/2013
Excerpt:        “DENVER – Lobbying from the very highest level of the U.S. Forest Service has scuttled a state representative’s bid to keep the federal government from claiming water rights at ski areas.

Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, said he expects his House Bill 1013 to die without a vote in May, when the Legislature adjourns for the year. His bill would have forbid the Forest Service from demanding that ski areas sign over their water rights in return for approval of their permits to operate on federal land.   …”
Read entire article at http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20130411/NEWS01/130419933/State-legislator-loses-water-fight–with-Forest-Service-bigwigs

Forest managers told to protect Sierra rivers

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Modesto Bee 4/2/2013
Excerpt:      “McCLELLAN — State and federal scientists met here last week to consider something most Californians take for granted: the health of the rivers flowing from the Sierra Nevada.

It may seem obvious that the humans who drink that water and the fish who swim in it benefit if it is clean and plentiful. Yet it is only recently that the officials in charge of the place where those waters are born have had marching orders to make sustained flow of those rivers a priority.  ….”
Read entire article at http://www.modbee.com/2013/04/02/2651190/forest-managers-told-to-protect.html

U.S. Starts Massive Forest-Thinning Project

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Scientific American 3/22/2013
Excerpt:          “FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — The smell of wood-burning stoves seems to permeate this gateway to the Grand Canyon and pit stop on the legendary Route 66.

In this corner of the state, trees, wood and fire have an ever-evolving relationship. Surrounded by the Coconino National Forest, this northern Arizona town sat at the edge of the 2010 Schultz fire, which burned 15,000 acres.   While the Schultz fire visibly marked the landscape, the damage was relatively benign compared with the floods that came a month later.    ….”
Read entire article at  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=us-starts-massive-forest-thinning-project

Q&A: What The Supreme Court Logging Roads Ruling Means

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Oregon Public Broadcasting 3/20/2013
Excerpt:       “The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday decided in favor of the timber industry in a case that challenged the regulation of muddy water that flows off logging roads. The case was originally filed in Oregon by an environmental group. It argued roads in state forests were violating the Clean Water Act.

Here’s a Q & A to sort out the case and what it means:    ….”
Read entire story at http://earthfix.opb.org/water/article/qa-questions-and-answers-on-the-supreme-court-logg/

Karuk Tribe claims victory in suction-dredging lawsuit

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Redding Record Searchlight 3/20/2013
Excerpt:      “The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal of a lawsuit filed against suction dredging miners on the Klamath River, handing a victory to the Karuk tribe, which sued nine years ago to protect coho salmon in the river.

“This decision is a great victory for the Karuk Tribe and everyone else who believes that federal agencies must act to protect our natural resources and fisheries,” Buster Attebery, chairman of the Karuk Tribe in Happy Camp, said in a news release.   …..”
Read entire article at http://www.redding.com/news/2013/mar/19/karuk-tribe-claims-victory-in-suction-dredging/

U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear gold dredging/endangered species case

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Mineweb 3/19/2013
Excerpt:     “A 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling ordering the U.S. Forest Service to consult with wildlife agencies prior to granting Notices of Intent to weekend hobbyists using suction dredges to mine for gold in northern California was allowed to stand by the nation’s highest court Monday.

The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the case, The New 49’ers, Inc., et al. v. Karuk Tribe of California.   Environmental NGOs and the Karuk Indian tribe, which filed the original litigation to stop gold dredging in the Coho Salmon critical habitat in northern California called the original June decision an historic one.  ….”
Read entire article at http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/content/en/mineweb-gold-news?oid=182609&sn=Detail

Dust settles on legislative session but Utah land war continues

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Deseret news 3/17/2013
Excerpt:      “SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s conservative lawmakers this session continued to engineer their own version of a coup d’etat against the federal government over its land management policies, passing a flurry of resolutions and new laws that assert and reiterate dominion over the state’s destiny.

They urged the federal government to butt out of Utah prairie dog management in Iron County and leave it to the locals, and told them to drop San Juan County populations of the Gunnison sage grouse from consideration of being named to the Endangered Species list.  …”
Read entire article at http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865576052/Dust-settles-on-legislative-session-but-Utah-land-war-continues.html?pg=all

Forest Service still plans public meeting on oil & gas drilling

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Anniston Star 3/10/2013
Excerpt:       “The U.S. Forest Service hasn’t forgotten about possible lease sales in the Talladega National Forest.

It is currently setting up a public information meeting in Montgomery about the issue, said Steve Bekkerus of the public affairs office for the Forest Service’s Southern Region.    “We’re still trying to coordinate a date with our partners,” Bekkerus said. “We’re getting close.”    ….”
Read entire article at http://annistonstar.com/bookmark/21933714