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Utah alone in Sagebrush Rebellion after Arizona governor's veto

Posted: May 17, 2012

Utah stands alone — so far, at least — in its bid to take public lands from the federal government, after Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed similar legislation and other states have yet to join the fight.

The Arizona governor, who has a reputation for being something of a conservative...

House bill would streamline grazing, logging to reduce wildfire risks

Posted: May 16, 2012

An Arizona Republican yesterday introduced a bill that would streamline approval of logging and grazing projects to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires.

Rep. Paul Gosar's (R-Ariz.) bill, which carries 27 co-sponsors, including two Democrats, would allow federal land managers to use...

Clear-cut the timber rules, beetle foes say

Posted: May 16, 2012

U.S. Forest Service land managers need more latitude and the forest-management industry more certainty if the mountain pine beetle is to be repelled, or at least contained, in Colorado’s high country, witnesses testified Monday before a congressional field hearing.

The bark-beetle...

USFS considers using explosives to bring down diseased trees

Posted: May 15, 2012

Interest in blasting hazard trees got started in Colorado, where huge swaths of forest have succumbed to mountain pine beetle infestations. Those dead trees threaten campgrounds, roads and other public facilities.

While the idea makes sense in theory, it takes a lot of on-the-ground...

Group sues to stop thinning project near Grand Canyon

Posted: May 11, 2012

An environmental group filed a lawsuit against the Forest Service yesterday over a proposed forest-thinning project that would include harvesting old-growth trees within northern goshawk habitat on the north rim of the Grand Canyon.

The Center for Biological Diversity's lawsuit accuses...

Parks, monuments could spur revival in U.S. tourism, says fed report

Posted: May 11, 2012

National parks, monuments and other public lands will play a major role in an interagency strategy to revive international tourism to the United States, according to a report delivered to the president today.

The national tourism strategy developed by the Interior and Commerce departments...

Loggers, environmental groups collaborate on Idaho national forest

Posted: May 10, 2012

For four decades, truckloads of logs rolling out of the woods were Bob Boeh’s primary interest in the Idaho Panhandle National Forests.

No surprise since his employer, Idaho Forest Group, depends on federal timber sales to help keep five sawmills churning out 2-by-4s.

But Boeh also...

Colo. roadless rule affirms disputed Bush-era oil and gas leases

Posted: May 9, 2012

A plan to ban most road building and logging across roughly 4.2 million acres of Colorado forests could allow tree cutting and temporary roads on thousands of acres of oil and gas leases sold under the George W. Bush administration, conservationists warn.

While the Colorado roadless rule...

Colorado Roadless Rule gets mixed reviews

Posted: May 6, 2012

A plan to manage some of Colorado’s most prized national forest lands is being billed as a national model for how states and the federal government can work together even amid the rancorous political climate.

Reaction from the environmental community was less enthusiastic. While...

Federal protection sought for rare western woodpecker

Posted: May 6, 2012

Smokey Bear has done such a good job stamping out forest fires the past half-century that a woodpecker that's survived for millions of years by eating beetle larvae in burned trees is in danger of going extinct in parts of the West, according to conservationists seeking U.S. protection for the...