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Photo courtesy of Rick and Susie Graetz
Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012
produced daily by Shellie Nelson
Page 2
More news from the Rockies
Community
Colorado county releases draft of oil, gas regulations
On Monday, Boulder County posted draft regulations for oil and gas development in the Colorado county online and the county's Planning Commission has scheduled a public meeting on those proposed rules on Sept. 24.
Boulder Daily Camera; Sept. 18

Idaho DEQ clarifies role in Ada County waste-to-fuel plant
After Ada County Commissioners Rick Yzaguirre and Sharon Ullman declined to support Commissioner Dave Case's request that the county conduct an independent review of Dynamis Energy's proposed $75-million, garbage-to-power project on a county landfill because Yzaguirre said the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality was already doing such a review, DEQ officials said the agency was responsible for air-quality issues only, not engineering or safety of the plant.
Idaho Statesman; Sept. 18

Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Montana has a new owner
Health Care Service Corp., the nation's fourth-largest health insurance company, is buying Montana's dominant private health insurance company, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Montana.
Montana Standard; Sept. 18

Tribes
U. of Utah to close Center for American Indian Languages
The departure of the founder of the Center for American Indian Languages at the University of Utah prompted the university to refocus the Center on indigenous languages of tribes within the state and put CAIL-related programs in the new Language Center of the American West Center.
Salt Lake Tribune; Sept. 18

Environment
Crews have one Utah wildfire contained as another blazes out of control
The West Lake Fire ignited by a target shooter near Utah Lake was fully contained, while the Butte Fire in a remote area of Tooele County grew quickly to 1,000 acres as crews had difficulty accessing the area.
Salt Lake Tribune; Sept. 18

Crews get a handle on Montana wildfires
The 10,425-acre Millie Fire burning south of Bozeman is now 75 percent contained, the 4,325-acre Bean Fire near Toston is fully contained, and the Pine Creek Fire, also burning in that area of southwestern Montana, is about 50 percent contained but is burning in an area where crews can only monitor the activity.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; Sept. 18

Management of Wyoming wildfire returns to local level
The Sheep Herder Hill Fire in Wyoming is 100 percent contained, and management has now been transferred to state land officials.
Casper Star-Tribune; Sept. 18

As fire season lingers in Montana, BLM managers worry
Bureau of Land Management officials said continued dry conditions in Montana have them concerned about wildfires as hunting season kicks off.
Billings Gazette; Sept. 18

Montana FWP agents capture grizzly bear near Whitefish, relocate it
A young male grizzly bear that had been raiding garbage cans and eating apples near Whitefish was captured and relocated by wildlife officials to the northern part of the Whitefish Range in Montana.
Flathead Beacon (AP); Sept. 18

State wildlife agency seeks tips on poaching of bull elk, bighorn ram in Montana
Less than a month after someone illegally killed a bighorn sheep ram near Townsend and left the carcass to rot, another poaching case has been reported in that area of Montana when a bull elk was shot and its head removed, and state wildlife officials are asking the public for information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible.
Helena Independent Record; Sept. 18

Montana FWP hearing on statewide fisheries plan in Helena Wednesday
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials have been hosting meetings on the proposed statewide fisheries plan around the state, and on Wednesday, a meeting will be held in Helena.
Helena Independent Record; Sept. 18

Montana wildlife agents: Black bear's attack was 'predatory'
The male black bear that attacked a man in a tent in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Friday acted in a predatory manner, and for that reason was killed by wildlife agents.
Great Falls Tribune; Sept. 18

Politics
Montana gubernatorial candidates to debate tonight in Helena
The first of seven debates between Democrat Steve Bullock and Republican Rick Hill, Montana's gubernatorial candidates, will take place tonight in Helena.
Billings Gazette (AP); Sept. 18

Democratic challenger says Idaho congressman missing too many votes
Idaho U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador has missed 72 of 1,531 recorded votes, or 4.7 percent, which is nearly double the House median of 2.5 percent, and Labrador's Democratic challenger, Jimmy Farris, is calling him on it.
Idaho Statesman; Sept. 18

Economy
Emergency-preparedness company to move Calif., Utah operations to Idaho
Guardian Survival Gear, which makes emergency-preparedness products, announced that it was moving its operations in California and Utah to Boise, bringing 20 jobs to Idaho.
Idaho Statesman; Sept. 18

Parties near agreement on rebuilding Burns Lake sawmill in B.C.
On Monday, Oregon-based Hampton Affiliates, British Columbia's minister of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation, and First Nations representatives held a news conference in Burns Lake to announce that they were nearly done hammering out a detail that would allow the rebuilding of the sawmill that exploded last January, killing two workers, injuring 19 and eliminating 250 jobs.
Toronto Globe and Mail; Sept. 18

Forecast said Alberta cities will lead Canada in economic growth
The Conference Board of Canada's Metropolitan Outlook released its Autumn 2012 report on Tuesday that predicted Edmonton and Calgary would have the fastest growing economies in Canada over the next four years.
Calgary Herald; Sept. 18





Mountain West News is a program of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West
at The University of Montana.
"O ur research shows that reducing fuels isn't going to reduce severity much. Even if you reduce fuels, you are still going to have severe fires [due to extreme weather.]"

William Baker, a fire and landscape ecologist at the University of Wyoming, a co-author of a paper that questions the effectiveness of prescribed burns and other fuel reduction processes employed by the U.S. Forest Service.
- New York Times

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

A Look Ahead
Roundtable on the Crown of the Continent's Third Annual Conference: Pathways to Prosperity: Caring for Communities in the Crown of the Continent, Fernie, B.C.

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