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Photo courtesy of Rick and Susie Graetz
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
produced daily by Shellie Nelson
Page 2
More news from the Rockies
Community
Draft plan on cleaning up Asarco lead plant in Montana released
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the nonprofit Montana Environmental Trust Group released a draft plan for work this year to clean up the Asarco lead plant site in East Helena, and future Interim Measure plans will be released for 2013 and 2014.
Helena Independent Record; June 19

Firms compete to build light-rail project in Colorado
Regional Transportation District staffers are reviewing bids from two firms to complete the final segment of the FasTracks Interstate 225 light rail project in Colorado, and are expected to make their recommendation by July 3.
Denver Post; June 19

Utah families with autistic children forced to move to get insurance
Utah is not among the dozens of states where insurance companies are mandated to provide coverage for autism, forcing some families with autistic children to move to states where such coverage is available.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 19

Tribes
Archaeologists, volunteers seek path of Nez Perce from Wyoming to Montana
In 1877, a band of Nez Perce Indians eluded the U.S. Army’s 7th Cavalry in the Absaroka Mountains near Clark, Wyo., and escaped across the Wyoming flatlands and into Montana, and a team of volunteers led by archaeologists from the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management are at work trying to find the exact route the Nez Perce used.
Billings Gazette; June 19

Blackfeet's Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump in Alberta celebrates anniversaries
Blackfeet buffalo runners used to herd buffalo over the sandstone cliffs on the Eastern Slope of the Rockies in Alberta, and 40 years ago the aboriginal site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and this year the interpretative center at the site celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Calgary Herald; June 19

Environment
Corps of Engineers wraps up spill to aid sturgeon below Montana dam
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ended its weeklong spill tests from the Libby Dam in Montana designed to mimic historic spring runoff that would encourage endangered Kootenai River sturgeon to swim farther upstream in the Kootenai River to spawn.
Spokane Spokesman-Review; June 19

Going-to-the-Sun Road in Montana national park to open today
Crews have cleared the way for vehicle traffic on the entire 50 miles of the Going-to-the-Sun Road through Glacier National Park in Montana, which opens to such traffic today.
Kalispell Daily InterLake; June 19

Invasive aquatic species focus of Flathead Basin meeting in Montana
At a Flathead Basin Commission meeting last week in Kalispell, federal and state officials met to discuss how best to keep invasive aquatic species out of Montana's waters.
Flathead Beacon; June 19

Politics
Libertarian presidential candidate on campaign trail in Colorado
Gary Johnson, the former New Mexico governor who is running for president as a Libertarian, was in Colorado on Sunday and Monday, making his pitch to voters there.
Denver Post; June 19

Legislature
Crime on Wind River Reservation focus of Wyoming legislators' meeting today
Members of the Wyoming Legislature's Joint Judiciary Committee and Select Committee on Tribal Relations will be in Ethete today, where they'll hear from state and federal officials about work to reduce crime on the Wind River Reservation.
Denver Post (AP); June 19

Utah governor calls special session on liquor licenses, education funding
Gov. Gary Herbert called a special session of the Utah Legislature on Wednesday to add another 90 liquor licenses for restaurants and to approve a measure to fix a $25 million budget gap in education funding.
Salt Lake Tribune; June 19

Economy
Whole Foods signs deal for beef from Colorado ranch
Crystal River Meats near Carbondale will provide beef to Whole Foods' for its store that will open in Basalt in August, and once the ranch can prove it can meet that demand, the beef will then be provided to other Whole Foods stores in Colorado.
Aspen Times; June 19

Montana boaters can wash boats at Missoulian Angler
The owner of the Missoulian Angler fly shop teamed up with the West Slope Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Clark Fork Coalition, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Fishing Outfitters Association of Montana, and the Hellgate Hunters and Anglers to open a boat wash station at his store in Missoula to help stop the spread of aquatic invasive species.
Missoulian; June 19

Report forecasts role natural gas will play in Wyoming, other states' economies
IHS Global Insight studied 58 unconventional natural gas plays across the United States, including those in Wyoming's Upper Green River Basin, that said those resources would bring another 33,000 jobs to the Cowboy State between 2015 and 2035.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 19

Wyoming wind-tower plant back on track, to open in 2013
The $40-million wind tower manufacturing plant near Cheyenne proposed by Spanish-based steel company Corporacion Gestamp and Ohio-based Worthington Industries was put on hold last year, but Wyoming Business Council CEO Bob Jensen told lawmakers last week that the plant would be built and up and running next year.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 19





Mountain West News is a program of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West
at The University of Montana.
"W hile this seems like the result of election-year politics, I'm pleased by today's announcement. In fact, maybe if we had a presidential election every year we might actually get closer to true energy independence."


On The Bookshelf
Barbara Theroux of Fact & Fiction reviews Christine Byl's "Dirt Work: An education in the woods

5/15/2013

Mountain West Perspectives
Study uncovers the restoration realities in Montana


4/15/2013

Mountain West Voices
Hear weekly stories from the Rocky Mountain West as gathered by Clay Scott

5/22/2013:  This Little Journey
5/8/2013:  Making Roots
5/1/2013:  Cancer in the Real World
4/24/2013:  Sheep Country
4/10/2013:  Shearing Sheep


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



at the

The University of Montana