|
BLM reopens comment period for proposed commercial oil shale regulations (posted 6/13/13)
Comments accepted until July 15, 2013
Bureau of Land Management
WASHINGTON – In order to facilitate greater review by the public and key stakeholders, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced today (June 13, 2013) that it is reopening the public comment period for proposed revisions to its commercial oil shale regulations. Notice of the new 30-day comment period is published in today’s Federal Register. Public comments will now be accepted until July 15, 2013.
On March 27, the BLM published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to revise certain provisions of the commercial oil shale leasing regulations. The proposed revisions are designed to ensure that the royalty system ensures a fair return to the American taxpayer and that adequate measures are in place to protect the environment.
The proposed rule provided a deadline of May 28 to comment on the proposed revisions. The BLM has received requests from several interested parties asking for an extension of the comment period. The parties expressed the need for additional time to conduct a comprehensive review of the proposed revisions and potential impacts.
In February 2011, the Department of the Interior announced that the BLM would take a fresh look at commercial oil shale rules and plans issued under the previous Administration and, if necessary, update them based on the latest research and technologies, to account for expected water demands in the arid West, and to ensure they provide a fair return to the taxpayer.
The proposed rule published in March identifies several options for amending the current royalty rates for commercial oil shale production. The BLM will consider whether a single royalty rate or royalty structures should be set in advance or whether to retain some administrative flexibility to adjust royalty rates when more information is available about costs of production, energy inputs, and impacts associated with various emerging extraction technologies.
Interested parties are requested not to resubmit comments previously submitted to the BLM during the comment period that closed on May 28.
Oil shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock containing kerogen, and is distinct from "shale oil." The largest known domestic oil shale deposits are in a 16,000-square mile area in the Green River formation in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming.
Missing Child has been found (posted 6/12/13)
Sublette County Sheriff’s Office
June 13, 2013, 11:37AM:
Sublette County Sheriff’s Office media release:
On June 12, 2013, officers from the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office, Tip Top Search and Rescue volunteers, Wyoming Highway Patrol, and Emergency Management responded to Boyd Skinner Park in Pinedale looking for a missing male juvenile. The Everbridge notification system sent out 1,200 calls to area residents that have signed up for the system. The juvenile was located at approximately 1:30 am on June 13, 2013 and returned to his home. The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the participants for the successful search.
Authority: Dave Lankford, Sheriff
________________________________________
Thursday, June 13, 1:30AM Update: MISSING BOY HAS BEEN FOUND. The Sublette County Sheriff’s Office reports that the missing juvenile has been found safe and has been returned to his parents.
________________________________________
Thursday, June 13, 12:10AM update: Search will continue at first light in the morning if Charles isn't found overnight. No foul play suspected.
________________________________________
Wednesday, June 12, 9:53PM Update from Sublette County Sheriff's Office via email: MISSING 11 YEAR OLD BOY, CHARLES DEREK NICHELSON, LAST SEEN AT BOYD SKINNER TOWN PARK, WEARING LIGHT COLORED T SHIRT, LIGHT COLORED CARGO SHORTS. APPROXIMATELY 5'00" SKINNY BROWN HAIR. PLEASE CONTACT 307-367-4378 IF YOU HAVE ANY INFORMATION.
________________________________________
Wednesday, June 12, 9:45PM, Everbridge broadcast alert: Sublette County Sheriff’s Office has issued the following alert: 11-year old Charles Derek Nichelson was last seen in Boyd Skinner Park in Pinedale around 6:30PM. He is wearing a light colored t-shirt and light colored cargo pants. He is 5’ tall, skinny, with brown hair. Anyone with any information about him is asked to call the SCSO at 307-367-4378.
Related Links:
Sublette County Sheriff’s Office media release June 13, 2013
Everbridge Notification System for Sublette County
Sublette County residents urged to sign up for Everbridge Emergency Alert program Pinedale Online, December 14, 2012
Flag half staff notice – for Former Secretary of State Thyra Thomson (posted 6/12/13)
Wyoming Governor Matt Mead’s office media release
Acting Governor Max Maxfield, in coordination with Wyoming Governor Matthew H. Mead, has ordered both the U.S. flag and the State of Wyoming flag be flown at half-staff statewide from sunrise to sunset beginning today, June 12, 2013 through Friday, June 21, 2013 in honor of former Secretary of State Thyra Thomson who passed away June 11, 2013. Ms. Thomson served as Secretary of State from 1963 until 1987.
Sophie White attends the annual Kickin’ Cancer in Sublette County dinner and auction held on Saturday night. The event helped raise money for medical and travel expenses associated with cancer treatment. Photo by Kathy Carlson, Sublette Examiner.
|
Sublette Examiner – June 11, 2013 (posted 6/11/13)
A study in White
Feds prepare for wildfire season
Chinese teacher receives Fellowship
USFWS proposes gray wolf delisting
Clinton Kyhl named as Bridger-Teton Forest Supervisor (posted 6/11/13)
Bridger-Teton National Forest
Clinton Kyhl, currently deputy forest supervisor of the Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest in central Washington state, will be the new supervisor of the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Forest Service officials announced today.
"Clint’s broad experience and high caliber of his work make him a great match for the issues, communities and natural resources that are the Bridger-Teton National Forest," said Intermountain Regional Forester Nora Rasure. "I personally know what an outstanding job he has done in previous positions. His commitment to working with people and familiarity with Wyoming will serve the forest and the public well."
"I am excited about the opportunity to serve as Forest Supervisor of the Bridger-Teton National Forest," said Kyhl. "I truly believe in including the public and local governments in the management of our national forest. It is a tremendous responsibility to lead a forest into the future, and I accept this opportunity knowing that the employees and the public are really what will make a difference."
Kyhl is no stranger to Wyoming. From 2007 to 2009, Clint was the Incident Commander for the Bark Beetle Incident Management Team in southeastern Wyoming and northern Colorado. He and his team developed management strategies to deal with a large bark beetle infestation across 2.5 million acres of National Forest. Prior to this, Kyhl was the District Ranger for the Laramie Ranger District on the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests, located in Laramie, WY.
Kyhl and his wife Sharon have two sons, both of whom are graduates of the University of Wyoming. The family enjoys a wide range of outdoor recreational activities. He will begin work at the Bridger-Teton National Forest on July 28, 2013. Kyhl replaces Jacque Buchanan who transferred to the Rocky Mountain Regional Office this past March.
FWS proposed wolf delisting (posted 6/9/13)
Mexican wolves would remain protected
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service press release
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today (June 8, 2013) proposed to remove the gray wolf (Canis lupus) from the list of threatened and endangered species. The proposal comes after a comprehensive review confirmed its successful recovery following management actions undertaken by federal, state and local partners following the wolf’s listing under the Endangered Species Act over three decades ago. The Service is also proposing to maintain protection and expand recovery efforts for the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) in the Southwest, where it remains endangered.
Under the proposal, state wildlife management agency professionals would resume responsibility for management and protection of gray wolves in states where wolves occur. The proposed rule is based on the best science available and incorporates new information about the gray wolf’s current and historical distribution in the contiguous United States and Mexico. It focuses the protection on the Mexican wolf, the only remaining entity that warrants protection under the Act, by designating the Mexican wolf as an endangered subspecies.
In the Western Great Lakes and Northern Rocky Mountains, the gray wolf has rebounded from the brink of extinction to exceed population targets by as much as 300 percent. Gray wolf populations in the Northern Rocky Mountain Distinct and Western Great Lakes Population Segments were removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in 2011 and 2012.
"From the moment a species requires the protection of the Endangered Species Act, our goal is to work with our partners to address the threats it faces and ensure its recovery," said Service Director Dan Ashe. "An exhaustive review of the latest scientific and taxonomic information shows that we have accomplished that goal with the gray wolf, allowing us to focus our work under the ESA on recovery of the Mexican wolf subspecies in the Southwest."
The Service will open a 90-day comment period on both proposals seeking additional scientific, commercial and technical information from the public and other interested parties. The comment period will commence upon publication of the proposed rules in the Federal Register. Relevant information received during this comment period will be reviewed and addressed in the Service’s final determination on these proposals, which will be made in 2014. The Service must receive requests for public hearings, in writing, within 45 days of the publication in the Federal Register. Information on how to provide comments will be made available in the Federal Register notices and on the Service’s wolf information page at www.fws.gov/graywolfrecovery062013.html.
The Service’s proposal is supported by governors and state wildlife agency leadership in each of the states with current wolf populations, as well as those that will assume responsibility for managing wolves dispersing into their states, such as Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah and North Dakota.
" With a solid state conservation and management plan in place for the Northern gray wolf, an experienced wildlife management agency that is committed to wolf recovery, and established populations recovering at an increasing rate, Oregon is ready to take on further responsibility for wolf management in this state," said Roy Elicker, Director of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
"We know that there are questions that need to be resolved in moving toward a delisting of the Northern gray wolf under the federal ESA, and we believe the rulemaking process is an appropriate forum to address these issues. Oregon is supportive of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publishing a proposed rule to begin this dialogue, and we look forward to participating in the scientific review process."
"The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is firmly committed to the long-term persistence of wolves in Washington," said Miranda Wecker, Chair of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission. "The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission believes the state should be responsible for the management of wolves and supports the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s consideration of delisting gray wolves under the federal Endangered Species Act. By publishing the proposed rule, the Service ensures this important consideration can take place in an open and public process."
The Service’s comprehensive review determined that the current listing for gray wolf, which was developed 35 years ago, erroneously included large geographical areas outside the species’ historical range. In addition, the review found that the current gray wolf listing did not reasonably represent the range of the only remaining of the Mexican wolf population in the Southwest.
Gray wolves were extirpated from most of the Lower 48 states by the middle of the 20th century, with the exception of northern Minnesota and Isle Royale in Michigan. Subsequently, wolves from Canada occasionally dispersed south and successfully began recolonizing northwest Montana in 1986. In 1995 and 1996, 66 wolves from southwestern Canada were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park and central Idaho.
In 2002 the Northern Rocky Mountain population exceeded the minimum recovery goals of 300 wolves for a third straight year, and they were successfully delisted in the Northern Rocky Mountains in 2012 and Western Great Lakes in 2011. Today, there are at least 6,100 gray wolves in the contiguous United States, with a current estimate of 1,674 in the Northern Rocky Mountains and 4,432 in the Western Great Lakes.
The number of Mexican wolves continues to increase within the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area. During the 2012 annual year-end survey, the Mexican wolf Interagency Field Team counted a minimum of 75 Mexican wolves in the wild in Arizona and New Mexico, an increase over the 2011 minimum population count of 58 wolves known to exist in the wild.
In addition to listing the Mexican wolf as an endangered subspecies, the Service proposes to modify existing regulations governing the nonessential experimental population to allow captive raised wolves to be released throughout the Blue Range Wolf Recovery Area in the Apache and Gila National Forests east central Arizona and west central New Mexico, and to disperse into the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area in the areas of Arizona and New Mexico located between I 40 and I 10.
Related Links:
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Learn more about wolves here.
Wolf Watch - by Cat Urbigkit
Wyoming Water Supply Outlook, June-September 2013.
|
Wyoming Water Supply Synopsis (posted 6/9/13)
Jim Fahey, Wyoming NOAA hydrologist
May basin precipitation was near 96 percent of average across Wyoming.
Mountain snowpack across Wyoming was 65 to 70 percent of average by early June.
Below normal streamflow volumes are expected for the rest of the summer across most of Wyoming’s major watershed.
Total reservoir capacity was near 70 percent by early June.
May basin precipitation across Wyoming was near 96 percent of average.
Precipitation numbers varied between 187 percent of normal over the Belle Fourche River Basin to 60 percent of normal over the Upper North Platte Drainage.
Mountain snowpack across Wyoming decreased to below normal at around 65 to 70 percent of average by early June. Snow water equivalents (SWEs) were 45 to 55 percent of average across western and central Wyoming watersheds; while SWEs in southeast Wyoming drainages were near 70 percent of normal.
Streamflow snowmelt volumes are expected to be below normal for the rest of the summer across almost all of Wyoming’s major basins.
Total reservoir capacity in Wyoming was near 70 percent by early June. Levels at the major reservoirs in early June varied from 39 percent capacity at Pathfinder Dam to 95 percent capacity at Jackson Dam.
Related Links:
Other hydrological information for Wyoming NOAA hydrology website
Monthly Wyoming Hydrologic Summary and Graphics (updated monthly around the 15th of every month)
Wyoming Drought Information Page (updated at least once a month)
Wyoming Graphical Water Supply Outlook (updated by the 15th of every month—January-June)
Wyoming Average Precipitation by Basin (updated monthly)
Wyoming Spring Snowmelt Runoff Flood Potential Graphic (updated by the 25th of the month---January-May)
Current and Forecast Wyoming Streamflows and/or River Stages
USGS Current Water Data for Wyoming
BLM extends public comment period on proposed Hydraulic Fracturing Rule (posted 6/9/13)
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that it is extending the public comment period on its proposed revised rule to regulate hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas on public and Indian trust lands. Notice of the 60-day extension, which extends the comment period deadline to August 23, 2013, will be published in the Federal Registeron Monday, June 10.
The high level of interest in the rule, which is the first update of these Federal oil and gas regulations since the 1980s, prompted the extension.
The updated draft proposal maintains the three main components of the initial proposal: requiring operators to disclose the chemicals they use in fracturing activities on public lands; improving assurances of well-bore integrity to verify that fluids used during fracturing operations are not contaminating groundwater; and confirming that oil and gas operators have a water management plan in place for handling fluids that flow back to the surface.
Submit comments on the revised proposed rule before August 23 in one of the following ways:
Mail: U.S. Department of the Interior, Director (630), Bureau of Land Management, Mail Stop 2134 LM, 1849 C St. NW, Washington, DC, 20240, Attention: 1004-AE26.
Personal or messenger delivery: Bureau of Land Management, 20 M. St. SE, Room 2134 LM, Attention: Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 20003.
Online at the Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments at this Website.
To read the proposed rule, click on this link: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-05-24/pdf/2013-12154.pdf
Pinedale Preschool celebrated the graduation of its Class of 2013 at a ceremony Wednesday. Haven Whitley, along with 31 other graduates, will begin Kindergarten in the fall and are looking forward to taking the next step in their young lives. Photo by Matthew Manguso, Pinedale Roundup.
|
Pinedale Roundup – June 7, 2013 (posted 6/7/13)
Tots and circumstance
Wise steps in as BOCES director
Ercanbrack receives fines, no jail time for forklift accident
Pinedale transfer station goes out to bid
Obituary - Wayne "Bear" Steele
Feds enter settlement talks, shut door on grazers (posted 6/5/13)
Forest Service in closed door discussions with anti-grazing activists, but deny grazing permittees the right to participate in talks over the reauthorization of grazing permits
Cat Urbigkit, Pinedale Online!
U.S. Forest Service officials are slated to spend two days behind closed doors this week in settlement discussions with anti-grazing activists. Other parties to the lawsuit over the reauthorization of grazing permits, including the grazing permittees whose allotments are at issue, have been denied the right to participate in the talks, according to three sources affiliated with the case.
The multi-state lawsuit was filed in federal court in Idaho by anti-grazing activists Western Watersheds Project, Center for Biological Diversity, Utah Environmental Congress, and Grand Canyon Trust. These groups challenge the Forest Service use of "categorical exclusions" (CEs) to reauthorize grazing permits instead of going through a much more detailed and time consuming environmental analysis process for each permit (through creation of either Environmental Assessments or Environmental Impact Statements). The use of CEs has been authorized by Congress, but these groups allege that the Forest Service is using CEs improperly, and that extensive analysis should be done on grazing permits since livestock grazing "causes so many adverse environmental impacts." It’s worth noting that several of these groups have declared their intention to rid public lands of livestock, and use the environmental planning process and litigation in attempt to drive permittees from public lands.
Intervening in this case are Wyoming Stock Growers Association, Wyoming Wool Growers Association, Public Lands Council, Peter R. Arambel, Wyoming County Commissioners Association, and the State of Wyoming.
This case challenges the use of CEs to authorize grazing on national forests in Wyoming, Idaho, and Utah. A CE may be used by the agency to authorize grazing only under certain conditions, including:
(1) the decision continues current grazing management of the allotment;
(2) monitoring indicates that current grazing management is meeting, or satisfactorily moving toward, objectives in the land and resource management plan, as determined by the Secretary; and
(3) the decision is consistent with agency policy concerning extraordinary circumstances.
If these three conditions are met, the decision to allow grazing upon an allotment can be excluded from full review under the National Environmental Policy Act.
When the court had a look at how CEs had been used in this administrative region of the Forest Service, it examined 43 allotments in four national forests, finding: "The great majority of the analyses done, and decisions made, by the Forest Service in connection with the Categorical Exclusion decisions at issue in this case, withstand judicial scrutiny. However, there are some issues raised by the decisions from each Forest that call into question the propriety of using the categorical exclusion for these grazing permit decisions."
For the 14-allotment Southern Wind River Allotment Complex along the western front of the Wind Rivers in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, the court found that the Forest Service range report on the conditions of the allotments was lacking in several ways. This is significant because the range report was relied upon for issuing the CE for continued livestock grazing. The court noted that although the relevant data to support the agency’s findings may exist, the range report used to justify the CE decision was lacking in its explanation and analysis. The court noted: "Forest Service must support its conclusions with reliable studies and data and adequately explain why the underlying evidence is reliable."
The agency’s attempt to provide such an explanation and analysis in court proceedings was rejected by the court, which must base its decision on the existing administrative record already before it, not by additional records generated in response to issues that arise while in court.
Because of the complexity and scale of the issues before the court, a federal Magistrate Judge conducted a detailed review of the record before the court, and in a February 2013 report to the court, issued recommendations to the federal judge overseeing the case. U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush concluded:
"The Court recommends that the Forest Service be ordered to make its decision as to whether to initiate a NEPA compliance process, or issue a new CE decision, pertaining to each of the allotments at issue in this case, according to the following timetable.
The Forest Service shall take one of the following actions:
(1) the Forest Service withdraws its CE decision, sets the earliest possible time-frame for complying with NEPA as part of its ultimate decision as to whether grazing should be authorized, and completes the NEPA process by July 31, 2013, to be followed by a new decision on the grazing permit no later than September 30, 2013; or
(2) by July 31, 2013, the Forest Service issues a new CE decision, to include specific and appropriate response to the areas of the prior CE decision found to have fallen short of the 2005 Rider requirements.
In the intervening time period, the current status quo shall be maintained – that is, grazing can continue under the terms of the currently existing permit."
That’s where the case remained until the environmental groups and Forest Service scheduled a two-day settlement conference for this week. The other parties to the case – the livestock associations, permittees, and state and county officials – were not invited to the settlement conference. When they objected to being excluded, the environmental groups agreed that they could attend the settlement conference, but would not be allowed to speak or materially participate. Yet the Forest Service agreed to participate, knowing that the other parties had been excluded.
Only when the settlement conference ends on Thursday afternoon will the public learn whether the federal agencies caved to anti-grazing concerns, or held its own, with the court report behind it, to uphold the use of Congressionally authorized Categorical Exclusions in place.
BACKGROUND:
The History of CEs
Most grazing permits on Forest Service lands are issued for ten years. In 1995, due to a large number of expiring permits and concerns over the time and effort needed for renewal reviews, Congress enacted a series of legislative directives requiring the Forest Service to "establish and adhere to a schedule for the completion of National Environmental Policy Act analysis and decisions on all allotments within the National Forest System unit for which NEPA analysis is needed."
Among other things, Congress sought to protect ongoing grazing permittees by requiring that any grazing permit which would otherwise expire before completion of its NEPA analysis pursuant to the Rescissions Act schedule, to be reissued "on the same terms and conditions" as the expired permit, pending NEPA compliance.
Congress further strengthened the protections for ongoing livestock grazing with the 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Act. This Act provided that term grazing permits issued prior to or during fiscal year 2003"shall continue in effect until such time as the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture completes processing of [the renewed] permit . . . in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations . . ."
Finally, in 2005, an appropriations rider was passed that entirely exempted grazing permit renewals from NEPA requirements under certain conditions. This created what has become known as the 2005 Categorical Exclusion, and under its language, all grazing authorization decisions made during the fiscal years 2005 through 2007 were given the benefit of a NEPA categorical exclusion if three benchmarks were satisfied.
New Fork River boating access improved (posted 6/3/13)
Wyoming Game & Fish
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department has improved boating access at three different locations on the New Fork River south of Pinedale over the past several months. The three locations are the Airport Public Access Area (PAA) four miles south of Pinedale, the East Fork Confluence PAA four miles south of Boulder, and the Remmick PAA approximately four river miles upstream from the Hwy 351 bridge.
The Airport PAA is the most recently completed of the three, involving the construction of a mile of new road, a parking lot and a primitive boat ramp. The project also involved the creation of approximately 0.4 acres of wetlands as a 1:1 mitigation for existing wetlands that were lost due to the road construction.
The Airport PAA provides a key river access point between the Tyler Street/Mesa Bridge put-in and the take-out at Boulder, some 20 river miles downstream. The newly-developed site is located on state land, allowing both fishing and hunting access. An additional 50-foot wide access is available along the river for approximately 0.5 miles immediately downstream of the state land section on an existing Game and Fish easement.
To access the Airport PAA, take Highway 191 approximately four miles south of Pinedale, turn right on Runway Lane and follow the signs through the gravel operation to the parking lot. Drivers are asked to please drive slowly through the gravel pit area being respectful to those working at the site.
The East Fork Confluence PAA south of Boulder is located downstream from the confluence of the New Fork and East Fork Rivers. This site has been used by both boat and bank anglers for many years, but was never formally developed.
Consequently, the area had become severely rutted and eroded, contributing large amounts of sediment to the New Fork River and creating upland resource damage.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department teamed up with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and the Sublette County Road and Bridge Department to make significant improvements to the access road and parking lot and develop a boat ramp. Additionally, several unnecessary secondary roads have been abandoned and planted with native vegetation. Future plans call for the addition of a restroom and informational kiosk. Funding for the project was obtained through a grant from the Jonah Interagency Mitigation and Reclamation Office.
To get to this site, travel approximately 0.9 miles south of the bridge crossing the East Fork River on Highway 191. Turn right on Sublette County Road 106 and drive for 1.4 miles. When the road begins to bend to the left, turn right on a newly hardened access road for approximately 0.5 miles to the river.
The third improved site on the New Fork River is the Remmick PAA, named in honor of Ron Remmick, a well-known former Fisheries Supervisor for the Pinedale and Green River Regions of the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. It is located approximately four river miles upstream of the Highway 351 BLM boat ramp. Construction at this site included a hardened access road, parking area, and boat ramp. In addition, the site has a restroom and is open to camping.
To reach this site travel 10.8 miles on Sublette County Road 136 (Paradise Road). The County Road 136 junction is located just north of the town Boulder. Turn at the first left past the Wyoming Game and Fish Department access sign. Continue on this gravel road 0.2 miles to the river.
The Wyoming Game and Fish Department continues to work to provide additional public access for hunting and fishing throughout the state. These new public access areas will give boaters several new options for floating the New Fork River. To learn more about these and other public access points in the Pinedale area, please contact the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s Pinedale Regional Office at 307-367-4353.
|
Business
Directory
|
