Don’t Help….Yellowstone geotourism map

National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations, in partnership with several conservation and tourism organizations (click here to see full list ), most notably Wyoming Travel and Tourism have launched a giant “geotourism” program for the Greater Yellowstone Region (click here for the main page of the project website). The effort is intended to “celebrate and help sustain the world-class natural and cultural heritage” of the Greater Yellowstone region (click here for the press release).

The project’s centerpiece is, “a community based process will create a National Geographic ‘Geotourism MapGuide’ for the region centered on Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, and including communities and private and public lands in the three partner states.” In sum, National Geographic and their partners intend to give Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho an economic shot in the arm, in the form of well-heeled tourists, many from Europe, visiting the Greater Yellowstone region. Clearly, these three states couldn’t be more deserving, right?

Denali wolves wearing snares. Animals are roaming free with devices caught on necks

Denali wolves wearing snares. Animals are roaming free with devices caught on necks. By Mary Pemberton.  Associated Press.

Under Wyoming’s wolf plan this could happen inside Yellowstone Park because most of the packs leave the Park from time to time.

Forest Service May Move to Interior. Some See Agency As Out of Place Under the USDA

Forest Service May Move to Interior. Some See Agency As Out of Place Under the USDA. By Christopher Lee. Washington Post Staff Writer.

While this may seem new, this is one of the oldest controversies in the history of American conservation.

The Forest Service began at the end of the 19th century as the Division of Forestry in the Department of Interior. President Theodore Roosevelt and his key advisor, forester Gifford Pinchot, pushed to move the Division of Forestry to the Department of Agriculture. USDA was then a new department. Many felt it was progressive and science-minded compared to the old line Department of Interior, then properly regarded as a site of corruption. The Division was moved, renamed the U.S. Forest Service, and Pinchot became the first Chief Forester. He had a very close relation with President Roosevelt during his time in office.

Pinchot was the father of the concept that the national forests should be used for many things (multiple use), not protection of wildlife and scenery alone. In fact, he devalued these latter ideas, causing a split in the early conservation movement between the utilitarian and development minded conservationists and those who sided with John Muir — “esthetic conservationists.” Both were disliked in places like Idaho. In fact, Idaho’s senator Heyburn (an early day Larry Craig) successfully pushed legislation to stop the creation of more national forests by the President.

Snowmobile trespass through Yellowstone NP west boundary increases

Park trespassing raises flags. By Daniel Person. Bozeman Chronicle Staff Writer

Artificial flood released on Colorado River. Effort promoted as renewing Grand Canyon ecosystem.

A 60-hour flood of water is being released from Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River in what is supposed to be renewal of the Grand Canyon’s dwindling sandbars, beaches, vegetation, and habitat for rare and endangered fish.

This is the third time such a flood has been created since the giant dam and reservoir was built in the 1960s. The project turned the warm, silt-laden Colorado into a cold and clear river that eroded away the beaches and backwaters during the artificial daily rhythm of generating hydropower.

It was felt that major releases of water every so often would mimic the floods that now longer occured and restore the river, but many who were once-hopeful say the floods have failed because they are too rare and not big enough. Others say no manipulation can restore the river from a dam that should have never been built.

Nevertheless, Secretary of Interior Dirk Kemphthorne is making a big show of the big release of water.

Questions on Grand Canyon ‘Blow Out’, By Mike Nizza. New York Times.

Six year study shows Western National Parks polluted by toxic chemicals from the outside

Western National Parks polluted by toxics from nearby and far away. By Matthew Brown. Associated Press

Guns in national parks issue is a wedge to block an omnibus land protection bill

As I speculated in a number of threads, the hot new issue over guns in the national parks is indeed a political invention for this presidential campaign with the primary intent to stop a large number, over 60, relatively low controversy land protection measures that had been rolled into an omnibus bill.

Those promoting “the Coburn Amendment” were so effective in raising this wedge issue that few of media either knew or bothered to explain that it is an unrelated amendment to a public lands bill to designate wilderness areas, and enlarge a number of minor national park service sites.

Once Senator Coburn (R-OK) unwrapped this smelly fish of an amendment, it immediately became a partisan issue with McCain signing on as a co-sponsor and Senator Reid pulling the bill from the floor. It had already passed the House. Reid feared it would put too many Democrats in jeopardy with the upcoming election.

On most major Senate bills, senators bargain beforehand how many amendments and what kind of amendments will be offered to a bill when the bill is brought to floor. Senators of both parties generally do this is in good faith because they know their transgression of process today will come back and haunt them on their own bill tomorrow. The bargain between Coburn and majority leader Reid was that Coburn would get to offer five amendments, but this kind of amendment was not expected because Coburn had not raised this issue (guns) at all in the months leading up the floor action. Instead he had opposed the bill for being “bloated” and “too expensive.”

So Coburn will earn himself some payback, but for now he has probably blocked measures like the Wild Sky Wilderness near Seattle for yet another Congress.

Meanwhile, sensing an issue they can use, Republican Secretary of Interior Kempthorne is ordering the Park Service to see if he can allow guns in some national parks by administrative actions of the Department of Interior.

Story in the Missoulian by Michael Jamison. Park’s Gun Rules May Change.

This kind of amendment is called a “poison pill,” and Coburn and the Republicans carried it off with success.

British Petroleum’s plans for thousands of coal bed methane wells near Glacier NP are dropped

This is great news! BP drops Flathead coal-bed plan. By Michael Jamison. Missoulian.

I recently did a story on the grave threat of these wells to the water, air and land in British Columbia just NW of Glacier National Park.

The plans for the huge mountaintop coal mine (the Cline Mine) remain, however.

Here is the most extensive article. BP Drops Coal-Bed Methane Exploration Project North of Glacier Park. Flathead Beacon. By Dan Testa.