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Photo courtesy of Rick and Susie Graetz
Monday, June 17, 2013
produced daily by Shellie Nelson
Editor's Notes...

West map In the Rockies today, updates on an array of issues we follow in the Rocky Mountain West.

Federal investigators are joining Colorado authorities in the investigation of the deadly Black Forest Fire that has killed two residents and destroyed 485 homes.

Hundreds of the people who live in the area of the wildfire northeast of Colorado Springs will remain evacuated until at least Thursday.

Aerial support for firefighters is a concern as the federal fleet of large air tankers is down from 40 to just 10, with more to come under contract later in the year.

On the energy side, a federal judge in Montana dismissed a challenge of energy leases filed by two environmental groups seeking force actions on greenhouse gas emissions from oil and gas development; a Montana tribe's financial future is tied to the outcome of the fight to prevent new ports on the U.S. coast to export coal from Montana and Wyoming; and continuing drought in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico is raising concerns about the water used by hydraulic fracturing to tap oil and gas resources in those states.

Also in the news, the New York Times offers a Retro Report on wild-horse management, as geldings raised in Bureau of Land Management holding facilities are finding their way on a ranch in Montana.

And finally, public comments on the latest winter-use plan for Yellowstone National Park are due by midnight tonight.

The Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee will be holding its annual summer meeting at the Wyoming Game & Fish's Whiskey Mountain Conservation Camp near Dubois on June 18-19, with the public portion of the meeting beginning at 8:00 a.m. on the 18th.

For more information, please visit the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee's website.

Rockies today

 Federal judge in Montana dismisses oil, gas leasing challenge
Last Friday, U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Montana Environmental Information Center, WildEarth Guardians and Earthworks’ Oil and Gas Accountability Project that sought to block gas and oil leases on 800,000 acres in Montana in a bid to force actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Great Falls Tribune (AP); June 15

Hydraulic fracturing's water needs questioned in drought-stricken states
Drought is stressing water resources in many of the counties in Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas where hydraulic fracturing is being used to tap oil and gas resources, and the drilling method is under fire for dropping the water table in some areas and driving the price farmers must pay for water in other areas up dramatically.
Denver Post (AP); June 17

Montana tribe's coal future tied up in export fight
As domestic demand for coal in the United States declines, companies are tapping export markets in Asia and elsewhere, but U.S. port capacity must expand in order to fill international orders, a move that has sparked fierce opposition.
New York Times; June 15

Public comment period on Yellowstone Park's winter-use plan closes today
If you haven't yet commented on the latest winter-use plan for Yellowstone National Park, you have until midnight June 17 to do so.
Casper Star-Tribune (AP); June 15

Colorado wildfire that killed 2 keeps residents from their homes
Hundreds of residents evacuated due to the threat of the Black Forest Fire may remain so until at least Thursday, as crews work to contain the Colorado fire that has burned across 14,198 acres and destroyed 485 homes, and federal investigators have been called in to help determine the origin of the fire that killed two residents.
Denver Post; June 17

  • Limited federal air-tanker fleet constrains firefighting efforts
    Last week, when Colorado fire managers asked the federal government for large air-tankers to help fight the Black Forest Fire, the request came back "UTF," or unable to fill, and with just 10 such large air tankers in the federal fleet, one "on call," and seven more set to take flight late this summer, more such UTF responses could be received.
    Denver Post; June 17

The New York Times tracks wild-horse management in the U.S.
The Retro Report provides a retrospective on the history of wild horses in the United States and the Bureau of Land Management's policies riding herd on those animals.
New York Times; June 17

  • Geldings begin their semi-wild life on a Montana ranch
    The 710 young geldings released on the Spanish Q Ranch in Montana have spent all of their lives in Bureau of Land Management holding corrals, making the young horses wary of exploring their new range.
    Billings Gazette (AP); June 15

National Security Agency's backup data center is in Utah
The massive data center on 120 acres near Bluffdale will serve as the National Security Agency's backup data farm when the Utah facility goes online this fall, although NSA officials assured the Salt Lake Tribune that the data that flows into the center's computers won't and can't capture Americans' private telephone and email records, although the recent disclosure about NSA activities may cause some to doubt that assurance.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 15

Opinion

 Black Forest Fire in Colorado no natural disaster
The wildfire in Colorado that has thus far killed two people and destroyed nearly 500 homes cannot be termed a "natural disaster," given the decades of wildfire suppression and the location and construction of the homes. A column by Rocky Barker.
Idaho Statesman; June 15

Wyoming's road problem begins with what's under them
While the problems on Wyoming's roads are on the surface where everyone can see them, the buried water lines that run under them and the leaks from those water lines that undermine the roadbeds are the underlying cause of the Cowboy State's rough roads.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 17

Beyond the region

 University in Washington state opens sperm bank for honeybees
Researchers at Washington State University in Pullman have discovered a way to preserve honeybee sperm, and are working to increase the number of honeybees and to prevent subspecies from dying out.
Idaho Statesman (AP); June 15

Weyerhaeuser buys Washington-based timber company for $2.6B
The $2.6-billion deal for Weyerhaeuser to buy Longview Timber is being billed as the third-largest forestry acquisition in North America, with Weyerhaeuser to obtain 645,000 acres of timberlands in Oregon and Washington, bringing the company's total land holdings 6.6 million acres.
Seattle Times; June 17

In depth

 Lightning-caused wildfire in Colorado national monument allowed to burn
The wildfire in Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado began as two wildfires, both sparked by lightning last Friday, and the 370-acre Wild/Hacking fire will be allowed to burn as it is not threatening any structures and will be beneficial to the landscape.
Denver Post; June 17

Weather hampers crews fighting wildfire in national park in Colorado
High winds and low humidity added to the fight on the firelines of the Big Meadows fire in the Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado, but crews had the 600-acre fire is now 60 percent contained on Sunday.
Denver Post; June 17

Wildfire in W. Colorado closes highway, state park
Lightning sparked the Ward Fire in western Colorado last Friday, and the 682-acre fire has forced the closure of Colorado 325, as well as the Rifle Falls State Park, Rifle Mountain Park and the Rifle Falls Fish Hatchery.
Denver Post; June 17

Crews battle three wildfires in Utah
The 181-acre Rock Creek wildfire was 60 percent contained by Monday morning, and the 904-acre Lackey Fan fire in the Manti-La Sal National Forest was 30 percent contained, while the other fire in that national forest in Utah, the 215-acre Dark Canyon Fire, was just 5 percent contained due to the rough terrain in which that fire was burning.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 17
Mountain West News is a program of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West
at The University of Montana.
"C oal is life. It feeds families and pays the bills."

Darrin Old Coyote, chairman of the Crow Nation in Montana, where a fight over the export of U.S. coal overseas has hindered the tribe's sale of its resources.
- New York Times
On The Bookshelf
Barbara Theroux gives readers a preview of books to be released this fall

6/12/2013
A Look Ahead
June 18-19: Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee's annual summer meeting, Wyoming Game & Fish's Whiskey Mountain Conservation Camp. Dubois

June 28-30: Western Governors' Association's annual meeting, Park City, Utah
Mountain West Voices
Hear weekly stories from the Rocky Mountain West as gathered by Clay Scott

6/12/2013:  An Afternoon Cigar
5/29/2013:  Like A Small Family
5/22/2013:  This Little Journey
5/15/2013:  A Long Way
5/8/2013:  Making Roots

Mountain West News is a program of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West



at the

The University of Montana