Utah legislators’ letter offends American freedom

The Salt Lake Tribune features an article about a letter that a couple of Utah legislators wrote associating wilderness designation in the state with aiding terrorists. Letter links wilderness, threats of terror. The Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance takes the brunt of these bumbling assaults on preserving wild places, wilderness that when properly protected actualizes the most potent and important manifestations of genuine public freedom remaining – the wild.

“Man always kills the thing he loves, and so we the pioneers have killed our wilderness. Some say we had to. Be that as it may, I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in. Of what avail are forty freedoms without a blank spot on the map?”

– Aldo Leopold 1949 A Sand County Almanac

[Mark Rey] threatened with jail

It looks as if more has developed in the Mark Rey contempt of court case. It is being reported that a judge decided Friday that the Forest Service is indeed in contempt of court for not properly assessing the environmental impacts of the fire retardant ammonium phosphate by its deadline. The Forest Service had dragged its feet the whole way through court, ignoring court orders and deadlines to the point of igniting the ire of the federal judge. Official threatened with jail (link broken – i.e. registration required) in the Sacramento Bee :

Agriculture Secretary Mark Rey could be forced to wear a monitoring bracelet until the U.S. Forest Service complies with an order to evaluate the chemical, ammonium phosphate.

New Link – Judge ready to hold Forest Service in contempt The Oregonian :

“The Forest Service, throughout these proceedings, evidenced a strategy of circumventing, rather than complying with,” the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, [Judge Mollow] wrote. “The apparent pattern suggests a strategy of looking for ways to avoid the law’s mandate as opposed to looking for a means of complying with the law.”

New Link – Molloy orders feds to explain fire retardant policy The Missoulian :

Previous Post –
Bush top forestry official could be jailed for contempt of court

Call me mean-hearted or whatever you will, but anyone who’s sifted through Mark Rey’s resume knows that this former timber lobbyist appointed top forester is one of the top environmental obstructionists and public land profiteers in our government – It sort of brings a smile thinking about Larry Craig’s point man in Executive with an ankle bracelet.

Idaho legislators moan and groan on Wolves

Idaho state legislators just don’t believe the numbers on wolves and big game and they’re more than willing to be loud about it.

Wolf population grows
F&G director briefs lawmakers on species
By Jared S. Hopkins
Times-News

This is the kind of political pressure and anecdotal hearsay  that makes the state not ready for delisting.

Wyden looks to thin Forests

Oregon Senator Ron Wyden wants to expedite logging for one of his home state’s chief industries – timber.  Ore. Senator’s Bill Would Thin Forests :

Wyden said he was particularly interested in developing collaborative processes to identify objections early on, so they can be addressed without ending up in court.

This while the timber industry laid out its terms :

“If you put diameter limits on this process, it’s not going to work.”

So in order to protect old growth, they’re going to need to harvest old growth.  I see …

Oregon Ag Press “Delisting wolf may not help”

Oregon may have as few as a pair of wolves and it’s state protections drop after four breeding pairs, but just west of the Snake lies a temporary reprieve for wolves. Capital News, an Ag publication, illustrates a few of Oregon’s state protections “Delisting wolf may not help” (broken/pay) :

One thing the federal delisting will do is give the state authority to intervene and kill a problem wolf in cases of chronic depredation. It also will give the state authority to issue a permit for lethal take to livestock producers who suffer wolf depredation – provided the producer first fails to resolve the conflict through non-lethal strategies.

Emphasis mine. I’m still rubbing my eyes.