Winning the West ’08. High Country News political coverage

High Country News (HCN) has produced a number of interesting articles on the 2008 election in the West (they always do).

HCN focuses on the election as it affects wildlife, recreation, energy, water — the truly Western issues.

Winning the West ’08. High Country News.

Bad Sign For Global Warming: Thawing Permafrost Holds Vast Carbon Pool

Talk about bad news, if true. Some kind of geoengineering would the only hope.

Bad Sign For Global Warming: Thawing Permafrost Holds Vast Carbon Pool. ScienceDaily.

Phillips: Groups work together to protect 9 million acres

Did Idaho’s short term governor Jim Risch produce a compromise that finally protected most of Idaho’s 9-million acres of roadless area?  Roger Phillips of the Idaho Statesman thinks so.

Phillips: Groups work together to protect 9 million acres. Idaho Statesman. By Roger Phillips

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Some earlier stories in this forum on the Idaho roadless rule.

8-30-2008 Truce Is Reached in Battle Over Idaho Forest Land
1-15-2008. Idaho roadless plan is good but it needs tweaking, Risch says
12-26-2006. USDA accepts Idaho’s roadless area plan
9-20-2006. Officials close to final Idaho roadless plan

NOTE: Jim Risch became Idaho’s governor for about a year, when Bush tapped Idaho’s governor Kempthorne to be the Secretary of Interior. Risch had been Lt. Governor when the governor’s office became vacant.

Risch is once again the Lt. Governor, but is running for the U.S. senate seat of retiring Larry Craig against Democrat Larry LaRocco. The governor is Butch Otter. IMO, Risch was a lot better governor than Otter.

Montana Elk, deer prospects look good this year

This won’t impress most of that fraction of hunters who have decided that wolves have killed off the elk populations of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming, but most years I have put up articles like this.

From the Missoulian. Montana Elk, deer prospects look good this year. By Michael Jamison.