MONTANA

Feds say wolves may need protections after states expand hunting

BILLINGS — The Biden administration said on Sept. 15 that federal protections may need to be restored for gray wolves in the western U.S. after Republican-backed state laws made it much easier to kill the predators.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service initial determination that the region’s wolves could again be in peril — after decades spent restoring them — will kick off a year-long biological review.

It marks an abrupt turnaround for the federal wildlife agency and brought a swift pushback from Montana’s Republican governor, who said officials in Washington shouldn’t be “second guessing” the state’s wildlife policies.

Federal officials had spent years in court defending their decisions on wolves, including under Biden and dating back to the Obama administration, when wolves were returned to state jurisdiction in the six-state Northern Rockies, opening the door to hunting for the first time in decades.

Former President Donald Trump’s administration lifted protections across most of the remainder of the U.S. in his last days in office.

Committees seated to advise the reintroduction of wolves to Colorado

But the deference given by federal officials to state wildlife agencies is now being tested. Republican lawmakers in Montana and Idaho are intent on culling more wolf packs, which are blamed for periodic attacks on livestock and reducing elk and deer herds that many hunters prize.

The states’ Republican governors in recent months signed into law measures that expanded when, where and how wolves can be killed.

Wilderness areas in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming are strongholds for wolf populations, helping fuel their expansion in recent years into portions of Oregon, Washington state, California and Colorado.

Federal officials rejected a request to restore protections immediately but said advocacy groups provided enough information to justify a year-long review of whether wolves warrant re-listing under the Endangered Species Act, which is for plants and animals considered at risk of extinction.

In Montana, state wildlife authorities last month approved a harvest quota of 450 wolves, about 40% of the population. Previously-outlawed killing methods can now be used, including snaring, baiting and night hunting for wolves. Trapping seasons were lengthened, and each hunter or trapper can now take up to 10 animals.

UTAH

Mormon church to require masks amid COVID surge

SALT LAKE CITY — The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced on Sept. 22 that masks will be required inside temples to limit the spread of COVID-19.

Church leaders said in a statement that masks will be required temporarily in an effort to keep temples open. The message was the latest in a series of statements from church leaders encouraging masking and vaccination efforts against COVID-19.

“As cases of COVID-19 increase in many areas, we want to do everything possible to allow temples to remain open,” the church said in a statement. “Therefore, effective immediately, all temple patrons and workers are asked to wear face masks at all times while in the temple.”

Majority of Coloradans agree with vaccination, mask mandates, says 9News/Colorado Politics poll

In Utah, where the church is based, a summer surge of the virus among unvaccinated residents has continued to grow while vaccination rates have slightly increased.

Data from the Utah Health Department showed that in the last 28 days state residents who are unvaccinated are 5.9 times more likely to die from COVID-19 and 7.2 times more likely to be hospitalized than those who are vaccinated.

About 64% of Utah residents ages 12 and older were fully vaccinated as of Sept. 21, state data shows. Utah reported 25 new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the total since the pandemic began to 2,829.

NEW MEXICO

Legislators sue to rein in governor on pandemic relief

SANTA FE — Legislators asked the New Mexico Supreme Court on Sept. 21 to limit Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s authority over more than $1 billion in federal relief.

The lawsuit from the Republican Party’s top-ranked senator and a Democratic colleague accuses Lujan Grisham of overstepping her constitutional authority.

Senate Republican minority floor leader Gregory Baca of Belen says that the governor has taken over the Legislature’s authority by appropriating more than $600 million in federal funds provided under relief legislation signed by President Biden in March.

Legislative leaders create task force to guide stimulus spending

It says another $1 billion is at stake and that the governor has pressured most lawmakers into ceding to her authority.

“The court must now act to rebalance the scales of power and protect the Legislature’s important yet fragile power over the purse strings of state government,” the lawsuit states.

Lujan Grisham has tapped the disputed relief funds to replenish the state unemployment insurance trust and underwrite millions of dollars in sweepstakes prizes for people who got vaccinated.

Lujan Grisham said through a spokeswoman that appropriation of the federal relief funds is the responsibility of the executive branch, not the Legislature.

Education retirements up by 40% this year

ALBUQUERQUE — Retirements of teachers and other public education employees in New Mexico spiked by 40% this year, and the pandemic is thought to be one of a number of possible causes for the spike, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

The state Educational Retirement Board reports handling 1,269 applications for July 1 retirement this year, up from 906 the year before and the largest number in seven years.

Legislature eyes a fund without money for higher teacher pay

Albuquerque Public Schools reported a similar retirement wave among a group of employees that includes teachers, librarians, nurses and counselors.

July 1 is the start of the state fiscal year which often coincides with teacher contracts.

Stan Rounds, executive director of the New Mexico Coalition of Educational Leaders, said the pandemic might be a factor, while Albuquerque Public Schools spokeswoman Johanna King said exit interviews “show many reasons for retiring, including health reasons, feeling overworked, leaving New Mexico, and not liking remote teaching.”

Rep. G. Andrés Romero, chairman of the state House Education Committee, said the retirement spike is a concern and that officials will try to determine how to improve retention.

NORTH DAKOTA

Pipeline company asks high court to reverse ruling

BISMARCK — The company that operates the Dakota Access oil pipeline is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse an appellate ruling ordering additional environmental review, saying it puts the line at risk of being shut down.

A Washington, D.C., Circuit Court of Appeals panel earlier this year supported the Standing Rock Sioux and other tribes’ argument that the project deserves a thorough environmental review and is currently operating without a key federal permit. The study will determine whether the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reissues a permit for the line to cross the Missouri River in south-central North Dakota.

Texas-based Energy Transfer, which operates the $3.8 billion, 1,172-mile pipeline, said in a Sept. 20 filing to the Supreme Court that the appeals court decision creates uncertainty for the pipeline and puts it “at a significant risk of being shut down, which would precipitate serious economic and environmental consequences.”

Colorado oil and gas producers urge Senate to reject fees on methane

Standing Rock Chairman Mike Faith said in a statement the request by the pipeline operator “is part of an ongoing attempt to “evade accountability.”

The pipeline began operating in 2017, after being the subject of months of protests during its construction.

A federal judge ruled earlier this year that the Dakota Access oil pipeline may continue operating while the U.S. Army Corps conducts an extensive environmental review.

The Standing Rock Reservation is downstream of where the pipeline passes under the Missouri River, and tribal members are concerned about a potential spill. The company says the pipeline is safe.

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