Author: Matthew Brown
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Embattled wolves gain new frontier in Democratic Colorado, stoking political tensions
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As wildlife officials plan to release gray wolves in Colorado in coming weeks, ranchers and landowners prepare for potential conflicts many see as inevitable. And some funding is also beginning to flow into Colorado to pay for the cost of that conflict. More releases planned for Colorado over the next several years will start to…
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Scientists find flaws in plan to lift US wolf protections
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Scientists tasked with reviewing government plans to lift protections for gray wolves across most of the U.S. said in a report released Friday that the proposal has numerous factual errors and other problems. The five-member scientific panel’s conclusions were detailed in a 245-page report delivered to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. One reviewer said…
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US declines prosecution of government worker in mine spill
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U.S. prosecutors have declined to pursue criminal charges against an employee of the Environmental Protection Agency over a massive mine wastewater spill that fouled rivers in three states, a federal watchdog agency said. The EPA’s Office of Inspector General disclosed Wednesday that it recently presented evidence to prosecutors that the unnamed employee may have violated…
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Panel: $57M project to help endangered fish might not work
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A government-commissioned study concludes there’s substantial risk that a $57 million dam and fish bypass proposed on the Yellowstone River won’t meet its goal of helping an ancient, endangered fish species. An independent panel of scientists and engineers conducted the peer-review study for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They said the agency provided no…
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Retrofit of coal-fired Montana power plant priced at $1.2 billion
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Retrofitting Montana’s largest coal-fired power plant to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would cost at least $1.2 billion, but selling captured carbon dioxide for use in oil fields could help offset the cost, federal officials said Wednesday. Senior U.S. Department of Energy representatives presented the agency’s analysis of reducing emissions from the Colstrip plant at the request of…
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Settlement forces feds to decide whether nine species endangered
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The U.S. government agreed Tuesday to decide over the next several years if federal protections are needed to help a small, fanged predator of the Northern Rockies, massive alligator snapping turtles in the South and seven other troubled species that in some cases have awaited action for years. Deadlines for the decisions were detailed in…
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Visitor misbehavior abounds as U.S. parks agency turns 100
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Tourist John Gleason crept through the grass, four small children close behind, inching toward a bull elk with antlers like small trees at the edge of a meadow in Yellowstone National Park. “They’re going to give me a heart attack,” said Gleason’s mother-in-law, Barbara Henry, as the group came within about a dozen yards of…
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Oil and gas group says feds illegally canceling lease sales
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A trade group for the energy industry accused federal officials Thursday of illegally canceling or postponing the sale of more than two dozen oil and gas leases over the past two years. The Western Energy Alliance sued the Obama administration in U.S. District Court in New Mexico, seeking to force officials to hold lease sales…
