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Photo courtesy of Rick and Susie Graetz
Friday, June 8, 2012
produced daily by Shellie Nelson
Page 2
More news from the Rockies
Community
 Corps' plan to double capacity of Colorado reservoir open for comment
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' plan to double the capacity of the Chatfield Reservoir will flood about 10 percent of Colorado's Chatfield State Park.
Denver Post; June 8

Montana state judge rules against landowner in roads dispute
District Judge Kathy Seeley ruled that the Virginia Creek-Gould Road and the Canyon Creek-Gould Road that cross private land in Montana's Lewis and Clark County were public roads and ordered Andy Skinner to remove obstructions blocking those roads.
Helena Independent Record; June 8

Hospital in Alberta oilsands country puts out call for emergency helicopter
Doctors at the Northern Lights Regional Health Centre in Fort McMurray said lives are being lost due to the lack of a medical helicopter stationed at the hospital in Alberta's oilsands country.
Edmonton Journal; June 8

Idaho city officially opens 60-acre park on Saturday
The Julius M. Kleiner Memorial Park is Meridian's largest park and is situated on Kleiner's former dairy farm in Idaho.
Idaho Statesman; June 8

Colorado scientists plan to polish shoes to protest budget cuts
Saturday's "Planetary Car Wash & Bake Sale" scheduled by scientists from the Southwest Research Institute's Space Science and Engineering Division in Boulder is meant to call attention to the proposed 20 percent budget cuts in NASA's planetary science program.
Boulder Daily Camera; June 8

Environment
 USFS puts Wyoming fuel-reduction analysis on hold
The Bridger-Teton National Forest the environmental analysis of a proposed fuels-reduction project on hold until a discrepancy about the boundary of the Palisades Wilderness Study Area in the Wyoming forest can be resolved.
Jackson Hole Daily; June 8

Wyoming wildlife officials confirm bear near Lander was a grizzly bear
For the second year in a row, a grizzly bear has been reported near Lander in Wyoming, prompting warnings from wildlife officials to the public to take precautions.
Casper Star-Tribune; June 8

Montana dam releases increased for sturgeon
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers increased releases from the Libby Dam in Montana to improve conditions for the endangered white sturgeon downstream in the Kootenai River in Idaho.
The Western News (Libby); June 6

Colorado events will educate recreationists about sheep dogs
In past years, mountain bikers and hikers have had encounters with dogs protecting herds of sheep in Colorado's high country, and on Saturday, the La Plata County Living with Wildlife Advisory Board, the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management will hold a couple of informational sessions in Durango to educate the public about how the sheep guard dogs work and how to avoid confrontations.
Durango Herald; June 8

Politics
 Montana senator adds provisions to Farm Bill to speed USFS work
Montana U.S. Sen. Max Baucus added a provision to the Farm Bill to provide the U.S. Forest Service with $100 million to combat beetle infestations and $350 million for cooperative forestry programs.
Missoulian; June 8

Legislature
 Montana state senator resigns his seat
State Sen. Joe Balyeat, who is barred from running for re-election by term limits and has just six months left in his term, said his resignation will save Montana taxpayers money.
Bozeman Daily Chronicle; June 8

Economy
 Owner of Montana refinery says volatile market impedes sale
Calgary-based Connacher Oil and Gas Ltd., which owns the oil refinery in Great Falls, Mont., as well as an Alberta oilsands operation and conventional oil and gas assets, said it's been unable to attract a buyer for some or all of those assets due to the volatile oil market.
Calgary Herald; June 8

HP to offer early retirement incentives to Idaho workers
As part of its plan to shed 27,000 jobs across its international workforce, Hewlett-Packard is offering early retirement incentives to workers in Idaho and elsewhere.
Idaho Statesman; June 8

Montana lumber company celebrates 100 years of business
The family-owned F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber Company in Columbia Falls has stayed in business these past 100 years by embracing technology, which includes a biorefinery that uses algae and wood waste, and plans for a biomass plant are in the works.
Flathead Beacon; June 6
Mountain West News is a program of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West
at The University of Montana.
"T he cost of dealing with the aftermath of this fire far exceeded what proactive steps might have been taken at the outset to prevent those types of things from happening."

USDA Undersecretary Harris Sherman, discussing lessons learned during the 2002 Hayman Fire in Colorado that helped in the development of a national wildfire management strategy released Thursday.
- Denver Post (AP)
On The Bookshelf
Barbara Theroux of Fact & Fiction reviews Christine Byl's "Dirt Work: An education in the woods

5/15/2013
Mountain West Perspectives
Study uncovers the restoration realities in Montana


4/15/2013
A Look Ahead
June 6-8: A Low-Carbon Energy Blueprint for the American West, Natural Resources Law Center, University of Colorado-Boulder

June 9-12: Western Governors' Association's annual meeting, Cle Elum, Wash.
Mountain West Voices
Hear weekly stories from the Rocky Mountain West as gathered by Clay Scott

5/15/2013:  A Long Way
5/8/2013:  Making Roots
5/1/2013:  Cancer in the Real World
4/24/2013:  Sheep Country
4/10/2013:  Shearing Sheep

Mountain West News is a program of the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West



at the

The University of Montana