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Photo courtesy of Rick and Susie Graetz
Monday, July 23, 2012
produced daily by Shellie Nelson
Page 2
More news from the Rockies
Community
U. of Wyoming adjunct professor wins prize for polar bear work
Steven Amstrup, an adjunct professor at the University of Wyoming, has won the 2012 Indianapolis Prize for his polar bear research.
Casper Star-Tribune; July 22

Counties in SW Montana report dramatic increase in new home starts
The number of new home construction permits in Gallatin County is up 86 percent over last year, and in Park County, such starts are up 80 percent over 2011, and in neighboring Madison County in southwestern Montana, a more modest 39 percent increase was reported.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; July 23

Montana closes Beaver Lake to allow for milfoil removal operations
Last Wednesday, the Montana Department of Agriculture closed Beaver Lake to boating to allow for dredging operations to remove a patch of Eurasian milfoil growing in the lake.
Kalispell Daily InterLake; July 22

Colorado city steps enforcement of rules along Clear Creek access
Golden Police Chief Bill Kilpatrick said officers wrote 61 tickets to recreationists along Clear Creek who violated the Colorado city's rules on keeping dogs on leashes and banning alcoholic beverages along the popular creek.
Denver Post; July 23

Tribes
War shirt of famed Nez Perce chief sells for $877,500 at auction
The poncho-style war shirt worn by Chief Joseph, which can be seen in a portrait of the Nez Perce leader that now hangs in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., was sold for $877,500 at a Saturday auction organized by the Coeur d'Alene Art Auction.
Portland Oregonian (AP); July 23

Environment
Federal, state agencies team up to expand access to Wyoming river
The Bureau of Land Management, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, Wyoming Fly Casters, and The Conservation Fund partnered up to buy 400 acres of land on the North Platte River, a parcel that extended public access along the river for about eight miles from Government Bridge toward Casper.
Casper Star-Tribune; July 22

Lightning-sparked wildfire puts 150 Colorado homes on pre-evacuation notice
A wildfire ignited by lighting near Durango in southwestern Colorado grew quickly to 500 acres on Sunday.
Durango Herald; July 23

Idaho wildfire nearly contained
The Roadside Fire burning in western Idaho near Midvale had burned 2,100 acres over the weekend, but crews expect to have the wildfire contained by Monday evening.
Idaho Statesman; July 23

Crews fight wildfire in southern Wyoming
A wildfire in southern Wyoming has burned about 650 acres of Bureau of Land Management and Bureau of Reclamation land northeast of Rawlins.
Denver Post (AP); July 23

Two Utah wildfires nearly contained
The Baboon Fire in Beaver County is 90 percent contained and the Lighthouse Fire in Emery County is 100 percent contained, but lightning sparked another wildfire in southern Utah on Friday that had burned 1,900 acres by Sunday evening.
Salt Lake Tribune; July 23

With wind in the forecast, Montana crews race to contain new fires
Hotter temperatures than forecast made Saturday's fight against the Chrandal Creek wildfire a little tougher than planned, with the fire on the Montana-Idaho border growing to 2,200 acres, with 40 percent containment reported on that fire, and crews jumped on new fires that were ignited by lighting in Western Montana.
Missoulian; July 23

Lightning ignites several wildfires on reservation in Montana
The 500-acre Wild Horse Ridge fire is the largest of the wildfires started by lightning on or near the Crow Indian Reservation on Sunday.
Billings Gazette; July 23

Politics
Environmental groups give up on Ottawa, turn to Canada's premiers
Canada's territorial leaders and premiers are meeting this week in Halifax, where environmental groups are converging, hoping to engage the premiers on their concerns.
Calgary Herald; July 23

Marijuana, personhood initiatives fail to make the ballot in Montana
Last Friday was the deadline for groups seeking to collect enough signatures to put two constitutional initiatives on the ballot in Montana, with the group seeking to decriminalize the sale, use and possession of marijuana by adults falling about 30,000 signatures short, and the group seeking to define life beginning at conception gathering less than half the signatures needed.
Helena Independent Record (AP); July 23

Economy
USDA approves 'Roundup Ready' sugar beets
Monsanto's genetically modified sugar beets designed to allow the crop to withstand the effects of the powerful herbicide glyphosate, also known as Roundup, was approved for use by the U.S. Department of Agriculture last week.
Billings Gazette; July 20

Alberta's grain farmers optimistic about yield, market
The U.S. drought could bring an optimum price for Alberta's corn and soybean crops, while Alberta's ranchers may see prices for their livestock fall as U.S. ranchers cull their herds to deal with diminishing forage and skyrocketing hay prices.
Edmonton Journal; July 23

Groups from Wyoming to India oppose plan to export Powder River Basin coal
As the coal industry eyes expanding its exports to Asia and India, grassroot groups from Wyoming, Montana, Washington and Oregon are joining forces with groups from India to fight against that expansion.
High Country News; July 23

Genesee & Wyoming, RailAmerica announce deal
Connecticut-based Genesee & Wyoming has offered to buy Florida-based RailAmerica for about $1.39 billion, a deal that will combine the United States' two largest short-line and regional railroad operators.
Idaho Statesman (AP); July 23

Areva says it needs partner to proceed with Idaho uranium project
France-based Areva first planned to build a gas centrifuge uranium enrichment plant near Idaho Falls in 2011, but deep financial losses pushed the plan back to 2013, and now company officials said if they can't find an investor to help fund the Idaho plant, the project may be pushed back yet another year.
Deseret News (AP); July 21





Mountain West News is a program of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West
at The University of Montana.
"I have yet to hear any knowledgeable forest or fire ecologist or forest manager say they are convinced by the main interpretations in that (Wyoming) paper. I doubt it will gain much traction in the scientific or management communities."

Thomas Swetnam, a professor of dendrochronology and director of the Laboratory of Tree Ring Research at the University of Arizona, raised questions about the U.S. Forest Service's current policy.
- Reno Gazette-Journal (AP)

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

5/15/2013:  A Long Way
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