| Flathead Valley
Trout Unlimited - Conservation News |
|
08/27/2011 -
Favorable review of Keystone XL pipeline draws
fire. Erich Pica, president of Friends of
the Earth, called the massive environmental
review document "inadequate," saying the
analysis failed to acknowledge the true extent
of the project's threats to the climate, to
drinking water and to the health of people who
would breathe polluted air from refineries
processing the tar sands oil... Great Falls
Tribune |
|
08/27/2011 -
Salmon disappear from Lake Huron, towns suffer.
Today, southern Lake Huron is virtually devoid
of king salmon, thanks to food web changes
wrought by invasive species like zebra and
quagga mussels... Detroit News |
|
08/26/2011 -
Invasive Northern Pike Disaster For Pend Oreille
Native Fish; Will Move Further Into Columbia
Basin? Northeast
Washington’s Kalispel Tribe has mounted an
effort to turn back a wave of invasive northern
pike that has devastated local fish populations
and warns that other areas of the
Columbia River basin could
suffer the same consequence...Columbia Basin
Bulletin |
|
08/26/2011 -
Fish project targets Necklace Lakes. A
multiyear project aimed at restoring native
westslope cutthroat trout in alpine lakes above
the South Fork Flathead drainage will resume
next week when Necklace Lakes will be treated
with a toxin to remove non-native or hybrid
fish... Daily Inter Lake |
|
08/26/2011 -
Montana gives Exxon OK to replace failed
pipeline. The Montana Department of Natural
Resources and Conservation announced Friday it
has issued a temporary construction license for
a replacement line. The new line will be drilled
at least 40 feet beneath the riverbed...
Bloomberg |
|
08/26/2011 -
Lucky sucker sets Idaho fishing record on SF
Snake River.
Rick Thompson, 47, of Idaho Falls caught the
fish Saturday on the South Fork of the Snake
River with a No. 18 Pheasant Tail nymph,
according to a story by Rob Thornberry in the
Idaho Falls Post Register.
He thought he was stalking the brown trout of
his dreams... Spokesman Review |
|
08/26/2011 -
State: Yellowstone Fish Safe, But
Some Oil Found. Exxon Mobil's Silvertip pipeline
broke and leaked an estimated 42,000 gallons of
oil into the flooding river near Laurel on July
1. Much of the oil was swept away; only about 400
gallons have been recovered. Pockets of oil have
been found along the bank, on islands and on the
riverbed along dozens of miles of the river...
Flathead Beacon |
|
08/25/2011 -
Officials celebrate restoration of Alaska river.
Trout Unlimited says more restoration projects
are in the works. The conservation group says
the Tongass produces about 30 percent of the
salmon caught on the West Coast... Houston
Chronicle |
|
08/25/2011 -
Catching heaven in Montana. Montana claims
the value of her recreational fishing produces
over $9 million in income to the state annually.
Much smaller than the non-economic output that
North Carolina claims to be $716,318,246.00.
Multiply those numbers by all the rest of the
states and suddenly the national value of wild
and recreational fish becomes mighty important,
estimated something like 16 billion dollars. It
means over 1.6 million jobs, more than the
largest U.S. retailer, Wal-Mart, produces and
one will understand why sport fishing is so much
more than just a traditional American pastime...
News & Observer |
|
08/25/2011 -
Fishing
good on the Bitterroot. Fishing this weekend
will continue to be good. Pale morning duns are
best in the early morning hours and evening
hours. Caddis hatches are also best during these
times. During the day, fish stimulators and
other types of attractors to bring the fish to
the surface. Hoppers are also a good bet during
the day when they are most active... Talking
Trout Blog |
|
08/25/2011 -
Montana and Colorado Get Big Grants to Protect
Fish and Ferrets. Montana’s Stimson
Forestlands Conservation Project in Missoula
County will receive $4 million to fund a
conservation easement of more than 9,300
forested acres. The land, adjacent to another
easement of 18,700 acres, continues a
landscape-scale conservation effort of several
years in northwestern Montana aimed at
protecting bull trout, Columbia redband trout,
mountain whitefish, pygmy whitefish, and
westslope cutthroat... New West |
|
08/24/2011 -
Elwha River hatchery to hurt recovery, critics
say. A $16 million hatchery will pump fish
into the Elwha River after the dams come down —
including nonnative steelhead — to the dismay of
scientists who warn it will hurt wild fish the
$325 million recovery program is supposed to
help... Seattle Times |
|
08/24/2011 -
In Yellowstone, Killing One Kind of Trout to
Save Another. So death to the lake trout is
the rallying cry. And come death does, to
hundreds of thousands of fish in recent years,
through an entanglement of gill nets, or a quick
slice of the fillet knife and now, through the
Judas fish program, at the scientific
frontier... New York Times |
|
08/24/2011 -
Salazar: Replenish land and water fund. “The
proposals that we have coming through the House
of Representatives would essentially decimate
the Land and Water Conservation Fund to the
lowest level we have seen in modern times,”
Salazar said at the Craig Thomas Discovery and
Visitor Center at Moose... Jackson News &
Guide |
|
08/23/2011 -
Analysis: Rails, not pipes, may tame twisted oil
market. Delays in southbound pipeline
construction and insufficient existing capacity
have resulted in Midwestern crude gluts, the
main reason cited by oil traders for the unusual
discounts. Railroads are emerging as a viable
option for inland oil producers to get crude to
coastal areas and maximize profits...
Edmonton Journal |
|
08/23/2011 -
High mercury in fish prompts three new Utah
warnings. The new fish consumption
guidelines bring to 19 the number of places
where mercury contamination is considered high
enough that anglers and the people who share
their catch should limit the amount of fish they
eat or avoid eating it altogether... Salt
Lake Tribune |
|
08/23/2011 -
Weather behind whitefish fishery crash on
Flathead, FWP official says. Jim Vashro,
fisheries manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and
Parks Region 1, and his staff have been trying
to piece together the reasons behind the
apparent collapse of the whitefish fishery in
Flathead Lake the last two to three years...
Missoulian |
|
08/23/2011 -
Enviro groups sue BLM over Powder River Basin
leases. WildEarth Guardians, Defenders of
Wildlife and the Sierra Club say the Obama
administration has failed to give adequate
weight to air pollution and global warming
concerns when it approved the leasing of two
large tracts — the 1,671-acre Belle Ayr North
and 1,023-acre Caballo West, both in Campbell
County... WyoFile |
|
08/23/2011 -
National Science Foundation: No misconduct by
climate scientist, case closed. The review
concludes that “lacking any direct evidence of
research misconduct, as defined under the NSF
Research Misconduct Regulation, we are closing
this investigation with no further action.”...
McClatchy News |
|
08/23/2011 -
Fly-fishing industry threatened by Congress.
"They better wake up to what the House is trying
to do before it's too late," said Klug, chairman
of the American Fly Fishing Trade Association.
"Our industry depends on a clean environment,
and if you take that away, you don't just take
away a hobby and pastime, you take away
entire industries... Times-Picayune |
|
08/22/2011 -
Cut Bank Creek oil spill cleanup
complete.
Gabe Renville, owner of Indian Country
Environmental Associates in Browning, the
cleanup contractor hired by pipeline owner FX
Energy of Salt Lake City, said the work was
finished Sunday.
He's said the company did a satisfactory job
cleaning oil from soil, pools of water and
rocks... Great Falls Tribune |
|
08/22/2011 -
Tribes
plan for Kerr Dam purchase. Kerr Dam
was built on tribal lands by a subsidiary of the
Montana Power Co. in 1934 at a bend in the
Flathead River flowing downstream from Flathead
Lake. It was one of the first hydroelectric dams
in the country to be licensed by the federal
government, with a 50-year term that arranged
for lease payments to the tribes because "it's
on tribal land and it uses tribal resources,"...
Daily Inter Lake |
|
08/21/2011 -
Another Teton Dam Disaster More Plausible Than
You Think. That’s because the agency — which
in addition to monitoring to dam safety is vital
to south-central Idaho’s irrigation-based
economy — has had its budget cut 30 percent in
three years... Twin Falls Times-News |
|
08/21/2011 -
Police arrest 65 near White House in pipeline
protest. The protesters want President
Barack Obama to deny a permit for the 1,700-mile
Keystone XL pipeline. It would go through
Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas,
Oklahoma and Texas to refineries in Houston and
Port Arthur, Texas... Associated Press |
|
08/21/2011 -
Idaho History: Huge fishing hauls were big news
in 1890s. Prodigious catches of Idaho fish,
reported regularly in the 1890s, further reveal
the common attitude that the supply was
unlimited. There was, however, enough growing
concern in the country for conservation of our
natural resources, that Congress established a
U.S. Fish Commission in 1871, and some of its
scientists had investigated salmon spawning
conditions in Idaho streams in the 1890s...
Idaho Statesman |
|
08/21/2011 -
Team Claims It Has Found Oldest Fossils. A
team of Australian and British geologists have
discovered fossilized, single-cell organisms
that are 3.4 billion years old and that the
scientists say are the oldest known fossils on
earth... New York Times |
|
08/21/2011 -
Enviro groups say Clean Water Act
is under attack.
The Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act
would take away federal authority – essentially
gutting the landmark law of 1972 — says Chris
Wilke, Executive Director of Puget
Soundkeeper Alliance. “Each individual state would have a race
to the bottom as they would seek to
dismantle the Clean Water Act protections
that have in large part brought back many of
our waterways,” he says... NPR |
|
08/19/2011 -
Oil Shale Mining Would Suck the West Dry, Report
Warns. A new
report from the National Resources Defense
Council (NRDC), Between a Rock and a Dry
Place, explores the potential impacts of oil
shale development on water supplies in the basin
and on the region’s agricultural economy, water
quality, protected species and natural
environment... New West |
|
08/18/2011 -
Yellowstone oil spill cleanup will last into
fall. Slowing the cleanup effort has been
the painstaking task of removing crude from
hundreds of debris piles deposited by the same
spring floodwaters that are widely believed to
have triggered the 12-inch pipeline's failure.
Also, the energy company did not want to bring
in more workers than necessary to avoid
trampling the riverbank, Craft said... Great
Falls Tribune |
|
08/17/2011 -
Selway solitude: Cutthroat trout fishing's
fantastic because this is one tough river to get
to. Cutthroat trout fishing on the Selway
River is world class, but less well known than
other rivers because it’s remote and tends to be
floated more often by whitewater rafters than
anglers, but some do both... Bellingham
Herald |
|
08/17/2011 -
Sport fishing abides on stocked salmon. But
even though the salmon fishery is heavily
managed, both to prop up fish numbers and to
avoid overfishing, there are worrisome signs - a
mature salmon caught in Lake Michigan 10 years
ago commonly weighed more than 20 pounds. The
average size by 2010 had dipped to under 13
pounds... Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
|
08/16/2011 -
13 Columbia Basin Salmon, Steelhead Stocks To
Retain ESA Listing. “After
considering the best available information, we
concluded that all listed salmon and steelhead
species in Washington and
Idaho will retain their
listing classifications,” the agency announced
Monday... Columbia Basin Bulletin |
|
08/16/2011 -
Rare pike bites teen’s line in city.
Northern pike, a non-native species, are not
common to the Spokane River west of Idaho,
although they’re known to wash downstream
occasionally from Lake Coeur d’Alene...
Spokesman Review |
|
08/15/2011 -
Parasite Loads an Underlying Cause of Salmon
Mortality, Linked to Land Use Changes. A
recent study suggests that parasites in fish,
including threatened species of Oregon coho
salmon, may have more profound impacts on fish
health than has been assumed, and could be one
of the key mechanisms by which habitat and land
use changes cause salmon mortality...
ScienceDaily |
|
08/15/2011 -
Cutthroat Habitat Faces Collapse.
Analyzing the question of how much territory
cutthroat would occupy today if no other trout
species existed in their waters, the team’s
statistical model indicates that the total
suitable stream length would rise by one-third,
from the current 159,000 km to 239,000 km.
Projecting into 2080, the modeling shows that
total stream length suitable for cutthroat is
expected to be 68,000 km, but if non-native
trout species were absent, that figure would
rise 26 percent, to 92,000 km... New West |
|
08/15/2011 -
Blog: Don’t ignore economic value of clean
environment. Trout Unlimited recently
commissioned a study of the economic impact
resulting from the restoration of trout streams
in the driftless region of southwest Wisconsin,
southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa and
northwest Illinois. Madison-based NorthStar
Economics undertook the study, which gathered
data from trout-stamp holders who fish in the
region. The study concluded that the direct and
indirect spending from trout fishing in the
region produces an economic benefit in excess of
$1.1 billion a year... Madison.com |
|
08/14/2011 -
Glacier Park Officials Propose Fish Barrier.
So Glacier National Park officials want to
prevent the lake trout population from being
bolstered by additional fish entering through
Quartz Creek. That means improving the partially
completed barrier. The park is taking public
comments on the fish barrier plan through Sept.
6... Flathead Beacon |
|
08/14/2011 -
New study blames human beings for half of Arctic
ice melt. The peer-reviewed study, funded by
the National Science Foundation is the first to
attribute a specific proportion of the ice melt
to greenhouse gases and particulates from
pollution... McClatchy News |
|
08/14/2011 -
Flaming Gorge produces abundant catch. Utah
has the 32-mile Flaming Gorge tailwater.
Biologists report the seven-mile A section
supports about 16,000 trout per mile; wild
browns averaging 16 inches; and stocked
rainbows, cutthroat and brook trout...
Columbia Daily Tribune |
|
08/13/2011 -
De facto wilderness ban.
The Republican
agenda in Washington, D.C., contains a strand
that identifies environmental policy as an
impediment to economic development - or,
recovery, as the case may be - and seeks to
undermine as many such policies as possible,
regardless of their actual bearing on the
economy. One example that blatantly overlooks
economics in favor of party line politics is the
proposed Wilderness and Roadless Area Release
Act... Durango Herald |
|
08/13/2011 -
Bounty at Lake Powell follows record dry
stretch. In a dramatic shift, the Colorado
River is flush this year. Lake Powell hasn't
been this full in a decade. Vacationers and
water managers are pleased... Los Angeles
Times |
|
08/12/2011 -
Polluting the Best of the Best. That West
Virginia Trout Unlimited is the entity involved
in overstocking a native fish population with
non-native hatchery trout seems particularly
troublesome and calls in to question the
organization’s actual commitment to its stated
policies. Changing the practices of state or
federal managers involves a long- term and well
thought campaign, but ending Trout Unlimited’s
membership from harming native salmonids would
seem to be in this venerable organization’s best
interests and within Trout Unlimited‘s total
control... Fly Rod & Reel Blog |
|
08/12/2011 -
Some Question New Water Release Regime Intended
To Return Salmon, Steelhead To Upper Deschutes. Fishermen
accustomed to targeting steelhead in the lower
Deschutes River are again steamed about water releases 100 miles
upstream which they say are warming the water
and making it less inviting, and less
hospitable, for fish... Columbia Basin
Bulletin |
|
08/12/2011 -
Businesses Call For Building New Salmon Plan
With Broad Stakeholder Collaboration. More than
1,000 American businesses signed on to a letter
sent Tuesday asking President Obama for a change
in the government’s policy for restoring wild
Columbia and Snake river salmon and steelhead...
Columbia Basin Bulletin |
|
08/11/2011 -
Mobile App for Flyfishers. If you are into
fly fishing, or want to get into it, this app
would make a handy reference... AppAdvice |
|
08/10/2011 -
Buoys to Measure Flathead Lake
Water Condition. The data will provide
scientists with better information about the
changing conditions in the lake's water quality
as well as wind speed and direction, barometric
pressure, air temperature, solar radiation and
humidity.
The public will be able to access the data
online... Flathead Beacon |
|
08/10/2011 -
Largemouth Bass Caught in Flathead River Slough
May be the Oldest on Record for Montana.
[FWP fisheries biologist Mark] Deleray said that
10-year old Garrett Frost of Kalispell reported
catching and releasing a 20-22” largemouth bass
in Rose Creek Slough on July 16, 2011 weighing
approximately 3.5 lbs... Flathead Beacon |
|
08/09/2011 -
Fight Over Mining Near Grand Canyon, Other
Riders Will Return After Recess. Several
lawmakers involved in the congressional debate
over uranium mining around the Grand Canyon
expect the war of words to reignite as soon as
the House returns from summer recess... New
York Times |
|
08/09/2011 -
Whatcom Doctors Warn of Health Impacts of Coal
Terminal. The group
identified four major areas that it claims would
impact local health: increased exposure to
diesel particles, coal dust, increased noise
pollution, and more injuries or delayed
emergency vehicle response times from the
trains... KGMI TV |
|
08/09/2011 -
Could civil disobedience at the White House
block the Keystone XL? A coalition called
Tar Sands Action, which includes
environmentalist Bill McKibben, author Naomi
Klein, actor Danny Glover, climate scientist
James Hanson, and dozens of others, is calling
for two weeks of civil disobedience at the White
House in an effort to stop the Keystone XL
pipeline... Missoula Independent |
|
08/09/2011 -
NOAA Releases July Climate Assessment. In
brief, it was hot, unbearably and persistently
hot. Only now, a week into the month of August,
has the heat begun to dissipate for the northern
half of the country. The scorching July has
shattered records in many places, making it the
fourth warmest July on record in the US...
Environmental News Network |
|
08/08/2011 -
Years after failure, Teton Dam still sparks
debate. Bureau of Reclamation managers say
the Teton Dam, now projected to cost some $550
million, is still part of the conversation, but
mostly as a benchmark for other, potentially
cheaper storage alternatives... Seattle PI |
|
08/08/2011 -
Emissions from Tar Sands Will Dwarf
Carbon Cuts in Canada. Carbon dioxide emissions
from
the exploitation of Alberta’s tar sands will far
outweigh emissions reductions in other
sectors of Canada’s economy and will be a major
contributor to the country missing its 2020 targets for cutting greenhouse gas
emissions, according to a new report... Yale
Environment 360 |
|
08/07/2011 -
Cleanup of Cut Bank Creek oil spill continues,
nears completion. Cleanup of up to 20
barrels of oil that spilled over three-quarters
of a mile along a steep ravine on the Blackfeet
Indian Reservation is 50 percent complete, with
some of the toughest work occurring over the
weekend, when heavy contaminated material was
hauled out... Great Falls Tribune |
|
08/06/2011 -
River
project designed to help sturgeon.
Libby Dam releases are being ramped up to
prepare for running the Kootenai River at low
flows this fall to allow for the start of a
long-planned white sturgeon habitat restoration
project... Daily Inter Lake |
|
08/05/2011 -
CO2 Sequestration. Today’s proposal
will exclude from EPA’s hazardous waste
regulations CO2 streams that are injected for
geologic sequestration in wells designated for
this purpose under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
EPA is proposing this exclusion as part of the
agency’s effort to reduce barriers to the use of
CCS technologies... Environmental News
Network |
|
08/05/2011 -
FWP Commission To Meet Aug. 18 In Helena.
Montana’s Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission
will meet Aug. 18 in Helena at FWP headquarters,
1420 East 6th Ave., beginning at 8:30 a.m.
The full agenda, background on the scheduled
topics, are on the FWP website at fwp.mt.gov on
the home page under the heading FWP Commission.
The FWP website will offer live streamed audio
of the August meeting, or the public may view a
live television feed of the meeting at FWP
regional offices... Wolf Point Herald News |
|
08/05/2011 -
117,500 Triploid Trout Escape Columbia River
Net-Pen Operation; Might Pose Threat To ESA
Steelhead. [Jeff] Korth [WDFW
fish biologist] said
the triploids are "voracious" eaters and could
pose a threat to juvenile steelhead, some of
which are listed for protection under the
federal Endangered Species Act... Columbia
Basin Bulletin |
|
08/05/2011 -
Anglers Catch 90,000 Pikeminnow So Far; Top
Fisherman Collects $36,000 In Three Months. So far
this season, 560 fishermen signed up to compete
in the program with the top angler earning more
than $36,000 in about three months...
Columbia Basin Bulletin |
|
08/05/2011 -
Idaho Plans Study Of Building Dam/Reservoir On
Weiser River; Cites Salmon Recovery Benefits. The Idaho
Water Resources Board on July 29 approved the
spending of up to $2 million for geologic and
operational investigations and analysis that
could build momentum toward a long-held goal of
boosting water supplies by building a dam in the Weiser
River canyon... Columbia Basin Bulletin |
|
08/05/2011 -
Feds Plan For Climate Change In Columbia Basin:
Earlier Runoff, Lower Flows In Late Summer.
“Traditionally historical climate data has been
used when evaluating proposed actions; however,
there is growing evidence that the global and
regional climate system is changing and is
expected to continue changing,” according to a
summary report on work undertaken by the
agencies over the past two years in
collaboration with other federal, state and
tribal entities... Columbia Basin Bulletin |
|
08/05/2011 -
Species recovery plan in motion for Alberta’s
cutthroat trout. Currently under way is a
federal-provincial species recovery plan, which
is expected to be completed this fall. But
saving the cutthroat from oblivion won’t be
easy, when man-made hazards lurk everywhere. A
faulty hydroelectric generator, for instance,
has left one cutthroat population in peril...
Globe & Mail |
|
08/05/2011 -
Editorial: GOP vs. Mother Nature. Why are
House Republicans so mad at Mother Nature? "Many
of us think that the over-regulation from the
EPA is at the heart of our stalled economy,"
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho) told the New York
Times. Actually, it was a failure to properly
regulate the mortgage industry that caused the
meltdown, not environmental protections that
have been in place, through economic good times
and bad, since the 1970s... New York Times |
|
08/05/2011 -
Science and salmon. Now eight senators from
salmon-fishing states are warning the Food and
Drug Administration that they will pursue
legislation — already passed in the House — to
keep the FDA from using any of its funding to
study whether genetically modified salmon are
safe for the environment and consumers...
Vancouver Sun |
|
08/04/2011 -
Tests: Most toxic Montana spill compounds
dissipated. The 87 soil samples taken at 23
properties found low concentrations of petroleum
at seven of the properties and another seven
more with higher concentrations that required
cleaning. As with the EPA samples, state
officials found that the lighter, more toxic
compounds had largely evaporated or weathered
away... Associated Press |
|
08/04/2011 -
Bitterroot River fishing report. Fishing
during the past week has been good. A lot of
reports have included smaller fish in the 10- to
12-inch range. Although this is not what most
fishermen like to catch it is a great sign for
the river. It means that the river has a good
future for larger fish and that the tributaries
and the upper forks have continued to produce
good numbers of fry... Talking Trout Blog |
|
08/04/2011 -
State seeks oil pipeline river crossing data.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer's office estimated there
are about 88 pipeline waterway crossings in the
state, but only 23 of those crossings have been
granted easements to cross state-owned navigable
waterways... Great Falls Tribune |
|
08/04/2011 -
Sportsmen's Advisory Panel airs concerns over
impacts of Interior budget cuts. "We all
realize there has to be belt-tightening. We have
to take a sharp pencil to the budget," Bruce
Farling of Montana Trout Unlimited said. "But
one thing about the Land and Water Conservation
Fund is the source is offshore royalties, not
the general fund. That money has been promised
to conservation since the fund was created. Most
congresses have shorted us on it."... Great
Falls Tribune |
|
08/04/2011 -
How crude. It seems to have become a mantra:
Next time. Next time it will be better. Next
time things will be different. Exxon Valdez,
Deep Horizon, Silvertip: These types of
accidents will never happen again. Yes, it’s
true that the first Keystone pipeline has leaked
like a sieve—12 times in its first year of
operation—and it’s true that if the Keystone XL
burst it could dump 6.9 million gallons of toxic
hydrocarbons into the same river. But no need to
worry: Next time will be different...
Missoula Independent |
|
08/04/2011 -
Spruce
moth hatch promises fine fishing.
"When the spruce moth hatches it's hands-down
the best dry-fly fishing of the year, from
around 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.," said Alvin.
"It's the easiest dry-fly fishing people will
ever have. You could take a five-year-old out on
a fishing trip and they'd catch a dozen fish, no
problem."... Lone Peak Lookout |
|
08/03/2011 -
Lee's Montana/Wyoming paywall on Reddit. As
readers aired their grievances on newspaper
comment boards at the Missoulian, the
Helena Independent-Record, the
Billings Gazette and others, some web-savvy
news consumers were already exploring ways to
get for free what they always have.
One individual in particular, who claims to
be a Lee employee and appears to have
significant technical insight into the new
metered payment system, set about teaching
others how to do the same... Missoula
Independent |
|
08/03/2011 -
Missoula woman named Montana's poet
laureate.
Gov. Brian Schweitzer has named Sheryl Noethe
of Missoula as Montana's poet laureate.
Noethe is the author of four books and the
artistic director of the Missoula Writing
Collaborative. She has won the Missoula Cultural
Achievement Award, the William Stafford Prize
Best Book of Poetry and the Montana Arts Council
Literature Fellowship... Billings Gazette |
|
08/03/2011 -
New Method Makes Tar Sands Removal Cheaper and
Cleaner, Group Says. They say the process
will require less energy and deliver a crude
requiring less refining. Also, they say, the
lower costs will make it economically feasible
to extract more than twice as much oil from the
oil sands... Yale Environment 360 |
|
08/02/2011 -
Judge rejects salmon protection plan as too
vague. In a sternly worded ruling, U.S.
District Judge James Redden in Portland, Ore.,
wrote that the plan, known as a biological
opinion, is too vague and uncertain on specific
steps that will be taken in future years to
improve salmon habitat... KATU News |
|
08/02/2011 -
Hunting along the Rocky Mountain Front proves
recession-proof. The coalition cited five
years of hunting data collected by FWP regarding
hunting on the Front. The numbers say that
during 2006, sportsmen hunting along the Front
spent $9.8 million; which grew to $10.4 million
in 2008 — in the middle of the recession; and
fell slightly in 2010, to $10.1 million...
Great Falls Tribune |
|
08/02/2011 -
Opinion: Start of Elwha dam removal. The
only problem I have with the Elwha project is
the implementation of a hatchery that will not
just support wild fish spawning, but will also
include the use of Chambers Creek Hatchery
steelhead stock, in an effort to “boost” the
number of wild steelhead spawning in the Elwha.
Never has any run of hatchery fish resulted in a
recovery or improvement in the number or overall
mass of wild steelhead in that river...
Seattle Times |
|
08/02/2011 -
Permit process moves forward on ExxonMobil
pipeline repair. ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. is
working with state and federal agencies to get
the needed permits to replace its ruptured pipe
under the Yellowstone River with a new line that
will run 30 feet below the ground...
Billings Gazette |
|
08/02/2011 -
Advisory says trout not good to eat.
For the 2011-12
advisory for Lake Michigan from Frankfort north,
the recommendation catching the attention of
fishermen is to not eat lake trout over 18
inches in length due to the level of PCBs,
chlordane and dioxins found in the fat of the
fish. The recommendation is for both the general
population and women and children...
Leelanau Michigan News |
|
08/01/2011 -
Greenhouse Gas Impact of Hydroelectric
Reservoirs Downgraded. Through an analysis
of 85 globally-distributed hydroelectric
reservoirs, the authors revealed that these
systems emit 48 million metric tons of carbon
annually, a downgrade from earlier estimates of
321 million metric tons... ScienceDaily |
|
08/01/2011 -
House Democrats Take Aim at GOP Environmental
Voting Record. "The new Republican majority
seems intent on restoring the robber-baron era
where there were no controls on pollution from
power plants, oil refineries and factories,"
said [Henry] Waxman, who serves as top Democrat
on the Energy and Commerce Committee... New
York Times |
|
08/01/2011 -
Coalition of conservation groups seeks greater
oversight, accountability for oil pipelines.
Groups that signed onto the statement included
the Northern Plains Resource Council,
Yellowstone Valley Citizens Council, Montana
Audubon, the Northern Rockies branch of the
National Wildlife Federation, Montana
Conservation Voters, the Yellowstone County
Chapter of the Montana Conservation Voters and
the Western Organization of Resource Councils...
Billings Gazette |
|
07/31/2011 -
Fly fishing conclave plans return to West
Yellowstone. The conclave, which will be
held Aug. 31 through Sept. 3, is the largest
educational experience dedicated to fly fishing
and will feature a variety of workshops,
demonstrations and displays... West
Yellowstone News |
|
07/31/2011 -
Changes evident on Clark Fork River as silt
settles after flooding. For Jim Vashro,
fisheries manager for Montana Fish, Wildlife and
Parks Region 1, the biggest immediate impact
along the Clark Fork is at Flatiron Ridge, where
the state fishing access site was completely
flooded. He expects the boat ramp there has been
silted over, and may need a bulldozer to reopen.
Similar messes await on fishing access sites
along the Flathead River... Missoulian |
|
07/31/2011 -
Montana's lucrative fly-fishing industry picking
up after slow start. A University of Montana
study in 2006 found that out-of-state visitors
spent $34.2 million just on outfitted fishing
trips, which doesn't include money spent on
hotels or gear. The study also found that 33
percent of anglers came to Montana specifically
for an outfitted trip. Another 43 percent said
that was just one reason for traveling to
Montana... The Republic |
|
07/31/2011 -
Tackling Maine's pike problem. At one time,
there were no northern pike in Maine waters. But
now the fish is found in great numbers in the
Belgrade lakes and Sebago Lake. It has depleted
the salmon fisheries in the Belgrades and
now threatens the same game fish in Sebago...
Maine Sunday Telegram |
|
07/31/2011 -
FDA faces opposition over genetically engineered
salmon. A group of eight senators is asking
the FDA to cease consideration of the fish as
food, and is threatening to pull funding for the
study if the agency does not comply... Los
Angeles Times |
|
07/30/2011 -
West Virginia Mountains Flattened to Retrieve
Coal. Since the 1970s, 500 peaks and
counting have been literally blown up for the
coal that's deep underground. It's called
mountaintop removal mining, and it's the subject
of a new documentary called "The Last Mountain."
It now surpasses mining that takes place
underground in output... ABC News |
|
07/29/2011 -
Removal of Dams Expected to Replenish Salmon
Population. The restoration of the Elwha
comes as dams, often facing expiring operating
licenses, are to be removed from several
prominent rivers, including the White Salmon in
northern Oregon and the Penobscot in Maine. Four
dams are scheduled to be removed in the Klamath
River in southern Oregon in 2020... New York
Times |
|
07/28/2011 -
Will Montana become a coal colony?
Schweitzer and coal companies such as Peabody
see economic opportunity in exporting coal to
China and other energy-hungry Asian markets.
More than a billion tons of coal beneath the
Otter Creek Valley could be shipped and burned
there... Missoula Independent |
|
07/28/2011 -
Bitterroot flows can still be tricky.
Fishing during the past week has been great. The
main river water levels are returning to
somewhat normal conditions and the fishermen who
float and fish still have the advantage from
Hannon Memorial access to Missoula. The fishing
pressure from rafts and boats continues to be
high with other rivers in our area high and not
fishing very well... Talking Trout Blog |
|
07/28/2011 -
Exxon 2Q earnings rise 41 percent. The
largest publicly traded oil company reported
earnings of $10.68 billion, or $2.18 per share,
for the three months ended June 30. That
compares with $7.56 billion, or $1.60 per share,
for the same part of 2010. Revenue grew 36
percent to $125.5 billion... Helena
Independent Record |
|
07/28/2011 -
Gazette opinion: Bury lines deeper for safer
river crossings. The Associated Press
obtained a preliminary estimate last week from
federal safety officials that the nation’s oil
and gas pipelines make 35,000 river and lake
crossings. Oil and gas pipelines cross under the
Yellowstone River 10 times in the
Billings-Laurel area, according to information
from the U.S. Department of Transportation...
Billings Gazette |
|
07/28/2011 -
FX Energy: Pipeline in Cut Bank oil spill to be
'wiped off map'. An FX Energy official said
Wednesday that the company plans to take an oil
pipeline out of service and plug two wells in
the wake of a spill that sent up to 20 barrels
of oil into a canyon on the eastern edge of the
Blackfeet Indian Reservation... Great Falls
Tribune |
|
07/28/2011 -
ConocoPhillips to fix erosion near Belt Creek.
ConocoPhillips has been granted an emergency
waiver by Cascade County to restore soil and
rock cover for a section of 8-inch oil pipeline
near Belt Creek that was exposed by this year's
flooding... Great Falls Tribune |
|
07/27/2011 -
Are more oil spills imminent? The spill into
the Montana river amid historic flooding this
month drew attention to what had long been an
overlooked part of the nation’s energy
infrastructure: the presence of pipelines
underneath rivers coursing throughout the
country... Durango Herald |
|
07/27/2011 -
Tribal leader calls for oil spill
accountability. Crews reported being a third
of the way through the cleanup of an oil spill
near Cut Bank on Tuesday, as the chairman of the
Blackfeet Indian tribe called on state and
congressional leaders to ensure that energy
companies don't shirk their responsibilities in
future spills... Missoulian |
|
07/27/2011 -
Kalispel Tribe sets milestone, restores wild
cutthroat stream. "Everyone from ranchers to
environmentalists agree the best course is to
keep cutthroats off the endangered list and
avoid the restrictions that go along with it,"
Maroney said. "The tribe is proud to be part of
the effort."... Daily Herald |
|
07/27/2011 -
Rehberg supports Keystone XL pipeline. The
U.S. House passed a bill Tuesday to force the
Obama administration to make a decision by
November first on whether a Canadian company can
build a 1,900 mile long oil pipeline across the
Western U.S... KULR TV |
|
07/27/2011 -
NOAA changes position on killing
sea lions. The federal government reversed
itself on Tuesday and withdrew permission it had
granted to Oregon and Washington state to
euthanize sea lions caught gobbling endangered
salmon on the Columbia River...
Environmental News Network |
|
07/27/2011 -
Local
anglers broadcast their skills.
Hilary Hutcheson and Rich Birdsell are the hosts
of "Trout TV," a syndicated fly-fishing TV show
that began airing in February. Viewers can watch
their half-hour show locally on KAJ channel 8 TV
at 12:30 a.m. on Saturdays and 4:30 p.m. on
Sundays... Hungry Horse News |
|
07/27/2011 -
EPA seeks greater pollution control over small
waterways. The Environmental Protection
Agency has moved to extend Clean Water Act
protection to thousands of streams and wetlands
nationwide — following Supreme Court and
executive decisions that narrowed the definition
of "waters of the United States."... Denver
Post |
|
07/26/2011 -
Yellowstone spill tally: Oil on about 60% of
shoreline. A little more than 40 percent of
shoreline inspected to date had light to very
light oil. Seventeen percent had moderate oil.
Just 1 percent was heavily contaminated...
Billings Gazette |
|
07/26/2011 -
Plan to study CO2 sequestration moving forward.
"It's a big science experiment," said George
Hudak, underground injection control director
for the Montana Board of Oil and Gas...
Great Falls Tribune |
|
07/26/2011 -
Pew: Wilderness release act would ‘open area
size of Wyoming to industrial activity’.
“Mining, logging and drilling are already
permitted in more than half of our national
forests and other public lands,” [Pew
Environment Group Deputy Director Tom] Wathen
said. “This bill would open the door to such
activity on most of the rest. As a result,
valuable fish and wildlife could be lost and
clean drinking water for millions of Americans
compromised.”... Colorado Independent |
|
07/26/2011 -
Shallow wells show traces of pollution. A
study recently conducted by the Flathead Lake
Biological Station detected pollution in shallow
water wells in the Flathead Valley, but state
and county officials stress that the valley’s
main aquifer and deep water are safe...
Daily Inter Lake |
|
07/26/2011 -
Study: Bigger, more frequent wildfires in
Yellowstone's future. Warmer springs and
summers could increase the frequency of major
fires in Yellowstone National Park and the
surrounding area from once every 100 to 300
years to as frequently as every 10 years by that
time, caution researchers, writing in Monday's
edition of the journal Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences... Great Falls
Tribune |
| |
