Red Lodge Clearinghouse

CEOs from DuPont, Alcoa, General Electric, Duke Energy and six other corporations joined two large environmental groups yesterday in urging Congress to pass global warming legislation that curbs greenhouse gas emissions over the next 50 years.

President Bush signed an executive order yesterday granting political appointees oversight over agencies' regulatory agendas. The order would give the Office of Management and Budget new power to question, delay or alter federal guidance documents on topics ranging from traffic safety to global warming.

Since its shift from pilot program to federal tool for forest management in 2003, stewardship contracting has been slow to pick up much momentum. As a means to manage forests at a minimal cost and with maximum public involvement, contractors continue to have mixed feelings over whether the exchange of labor for the timber and biomass cleared is worth the costs and regulatory hassle.

A Republican-leaning conservationist coalition is joining with 20 labor unions to lobby for increased federal funding for protecting habitat while guaranteeing access for hunters and fishermen.

Forest Service chief Dale Bosworth announced his retirement today after nearly six years at the position. He will be replaced by the Northern Region forester, Abigail Kimbell.

 Arizona's Fossil Creek would gain environmental protection under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act under legislation introduced this week by Arizona Republican lawmakers.

 The Supreme Court declined today to accept an appeal of a 9th Circuit ruling in a case questioning how much scientific review is necessary for logging projects in national forests.

 The Cooperative Sagebrush Initiative is still in its formative stages, but the participants have grown rapidly and have maintained a remarkable pace of work. They include representatives of the roughly 65 "local working groups" that were formed in response to the potential listing of the greater sage grouse as an endangered species, the state fish and game agencies, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service, coal mining interests, oil and gas interests, grazing interests, and conservation organizations (among them, The Nature Conservancy, National Wildlife Federation, and Environmental Defense).

 Environmentalists will almost certainly take to court a new Forest Service rule that exempts new and revised forest plans from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA.) The rule allows individual national forests to exempt themselves from preparing environmental analyses (EAs) or EISs for plans.

 Two House members have introduced legislation that would keep the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge permanently off-limits to oil and gas drilling.