You are viewing news tagged as 'wildlife' || Red Lodge Clearinghouse

Wolf killing ban sought for land between Yellowstone and Teton national parks

Posted: May 21, 2013

A conservation group is asking the National Park Service to eliminate potential wolf hunting in the 24,000-acre Rockefeller Parkway between Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks.

The National Parks Conservation Association is petitioning the agency to launch a “rulemaking process” to review...

BLM moves Ariz.'s largest wind-power project closer to approval

Posted: May 21, 2013

The Bureau of Land Management announced today that it has completed a years-long environmental review of what would become the largest wind power project in Arizona, covering nearly 40,000 acres of public land.

Houston-based BP Wind Energy North America Inc.'s proposed 500-megawatt Mohave...

Silvery minnow faces cruel, cruel summer on parched Rio Grande

Posted: May 21, 2013

With flows on the Middle Rio Grande in central New Mexico expected to slow to a trickle this summer, the endangered silvery minnow is facing one of its worst years ever.

Farms and cities in the Middle Rio Grande Valley that rely on the river are also bracing for low flows. Under a 2003...

Warm spring temps shrank Rockies snowpack over last 30 years

Posted: May 21, 2013

When a Denver resident turns on the sprinkler in midsummer, it applies last winter's Rocky Mountain snowfall to the lawn. In the northern Rockies, that snowmelt fills the Columbia River, whose hydroelectric dams provide power to Seattle residents. Meanwhile, the meltwater flowing into the...

Exxon Mobil challenges Yellowstone River spill fines

Posted: May 17, 2013

Exxon Mobil Corp. is challenging $1.7 million in penalties for a 63,000-gallon crude oil spill in the Yellowstone River, according to documents.

The penalties were proposed by the Transportation Department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which cited bad decisions...

Wind farms escape punishment for eagle deaths

Posted: May 17, 2013

Under the Obama administration, wind farms have never faced prosecution or fines for the deaths of eagles and other protected bird species.

While the administration has used bird deaths to prosecute oil companies and traditional power companies, wind companies have never faced penalties...

ENR panel to mark up roughly 30 bills promoting wilderness, O&G

Posted: May 15, 2013

A Senate committee Thursday will seek to advance roughly 30 lands bills, including measures to designate wilderness in Nevada and New Mexico, swap tens of thousands of acres of gas-rich lands in Utah, and designate a national historic park in Rhode Island.

The Energy and Natural Resources...

Wind farms won't be prosecuted for condor deaths, says USFWS

Posted: May 15, 2013

The Fish and Wildlife Service on Friday said the operators of wind farms in the Tehachapi Mountains will not be charged if their turbines kill protected condors.

The announcement drew anger from environmentalists, who said the move undermines the California condor program.

The...

Company proposes mitigation project in Wyo.

Posted: May 15, 2013

The plan for a 600,000-acre mitigation bank in Wyoming would benefit environmentalists, the state and energy developers, according to the men behind the idea.

The idea would allow companies to conserve land before they develop elsewhere. The current proposal involves a restoration project...

Feds work to remove protections from northern Rockies grizzlies

Posted: May 14, 2013

Grizzly bears lack a reputation as a rule-following animal, but they sure inspire a lot of rule-making. The bears of the Northern Continental Divide Ecosystem have a draft 158-page rulebook up for public comment this summer as they move toward possible removal from federal Endangered Species Act...