Silenced Springs? Great Basin waters face threats big and small.

High Country News does major feature on the proposed draining of Nevada desert valleys, including Snake Valley on the NV/UT border-

For some time now I have been posting stories on the diversion of desert valley aquifers to provide more water for glitter and sprawl at Sin City. These posts are but most modestly read. Now High Country News has produced a major feature article on this growing issue.

Hopefully this will be some kind of turning point in interest on the issue.

Silenced Springs? Great Basin waters face threats big and small. By J. Madeleine Nash. High Country News.

Update Oct. 8. Snake Valley. First, do no harm. Salt Lake Tribune editorial.

Folks should also consider that this polluted dust from desert valley dewatering is not just going to blow into Utah. It will hit Idaho, Oregon and Wyoming too. Nevada has been one hell of a dangerous state to its neighbors — radioactive pollution from open air A-bomb tests, huge amounts of mercury from the open pit gold mines, and now this scheme that will make us suffer and maybe ruin our health to help Sin City grow.

Endangered-species lists may be broadened

State, feds take a fresh look at once-rejected protections-

Endangered-species lists may be broadened. State, feds take a fresh look at once-rejected protections. By Bruce Finley. The Denver Post

Recent stories on the blog have indicated this is happening. This article puts it all together. Many of these are continuing “gifts” from disgraced Bush deputy secretary of Interior, Julie MacDonald who couldn’t keep her industrial hands off of the work of agency scientists.

Not all, however.

I have always liked Colorado’s own preemptive effort to restore the lynx on its own, even though some conservation groups objected.

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Update. Related story.

Alaska sea otters get a lot of help from Administration. Critical habitat designated for them.  By Mary Pemberton. Associated Press Writer. Fact sheet on this from US Fish and Wildlife Service. PDF file.  This file is a vast amout of information. The news story by the AP above is brief.