Please note that all
links to the news stories below were accurate and working at the
time of posting and archiving, however, the Guardian
has no control on the length of time that a respective news
source will continue to maintain any story in its own archives,
so be advised that you may encounter non-working links - Bill
McKee - Editor.
Guest
Opinion: Sensible solutions needed to protect
homes from wildfires The
U.S. Forest Service and the National Park
Service have been suppressing forest fires for
over 100 years, allowing a major backlog of
unburned fuels to accumulate. The
Forest Service has also logged vast areas of our
public lands, drying out the forest, favoring
small, highly flammable trees and removing the
old, fire-resistant stands.
The 6,000-acre Purdy fire, which burned in 2001
near Bozeman entirely in roaded, logged-over
forest, showed that logged forests burn quite as
easily, if not more so, than unlogged forests. Meanwhile
the Forest Service built thousands of miles of
roads into remote areas, allowing access for
people, who start fires both intentionally and
by accident.
[The
official party line from the FS is that the
components of the forest's troubles today are:
1) years of fire suppression (which everyone
acknowledges is part of the problem) and 2) a
major reduction in forest logging caused mainly
by environmentalists and excessive environmental
regulation. However, independent research, such
as seen in several of the reports above, has
consistently shown that too
much logging (and the associated roading) of the
wrong type (commercial extraction projects)
- is the actual other major component of the
forest's current situation, not too little
logging.
The FS is simply quite dishonest when it
understandably fails to acknowledge its own
complicity in designing and allowing
unconscionable timber deforestation projects for
most of the last century. The
FS itself and its own poorly designed and
administered logging projects are the biggest
culprits in the current troubles with the
national forests.
Entire layers of current FS management must be
removed and replaced - most of the old time
'resource managers' and decision makers within
this bureaucracy are simply incorrigible and
absolutely unfit to be in positions of trust
with the nation's forests. The simple but
uncomfortable (for the FS management) truth is
that the nation's forests and the country would
be very much better off without most of them. We
continue to advocate paid early retirement for
most all FS management in order to get them out
quickly and minimize the continued damage to our
national forests while a new generation of
environmentally conscious, conservation minded
replacements are installed within the FS
bureaucracy. The replacements should be tasked
to work closely with private environmental and
conservationists on policies, methods, and means
to preserve what's left of our national
forests - Ed.]
Group seeks to spike Montana initiative A group that
includes Avista Corp. Friday asked a Montana
court to remove from the November ballot an
initiative that could lead to a state takeover
of hydroelectric projects
Saturday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +47F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was just +80F. The PR
area had showers again for the third afternoon
in a row. We recorded
1/8" (same as the previous day) of rain (0.125") from scattered
showers throughout the Painted Rocks area during the last 24 hour
period ending at 6AM. Daily local min-max temp & precip
charts may be seen on our PR Temp
& Precip Data page
Friday,
19-Jul-2002
PM
local interest weather update: Strong
thunderstorm cells passed over the Painted Rocks
area late this afternoon and early this evening.
The accompanying heavy rain and high winds
resulted in downed trees and several downed
power lines south of the Hughes Creek road and
West Fork road intersection. Ravalli
County Electric repair personnel were onsite
following the storm and have indicated that they
will continue working to restore power for
several affected customers this evening.
The late afternoon/early evening's heavy rains
have resulted in very darkened water flow from
the fire burn sediment areas in Chicken Creek
downstream into the West Fork. Tonight
both streams are continuing to flow quite
darkened with sediment loaded water.
On
thinning ice Alaska glaciers
making biggest contribution to sea level change
No
charges filed; fire victims irate The
decision infuriated White Mountain residents who
were burned out by the last month's "Rodeo-Chediski"
fire, and Apaches concerned about unequal
justice because charges were filed against a
tribal member who set the Rodeo half of the
blaze
Another slurry bomber crashes
An air tanker crashed Thursday while
working to control a 1,200-acre wildfire burning
near Rocky Mountain National Park, killing the
two people on board, aviation officials said
Land-Swap
Deal Under Fire Government
appraisers and a watchdog group say a proposed
$36 million land exchange between the U.S.
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the state of
Utah is a "rip-off" for the federal
government
Local
fire note: Men and equipment
(including helicopters) from the BNF worked on a
small blaze (only several acres) near the top of
the Woods Creek drainage yesterday afternoon.
Rainfall aided the firefighters and a planned
fire retardant air drop was cancelled - control
was expected to be achieved quickly - we'll have
an update on the status later today as the
information becomes available.
Friday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +56F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was +87F. We recorded
1/8" of rain (0.125") from scattered
showers throughout the Painted Rocks area during the last 24 hour
period ending at 6AM. Daily local min-max temp & precip
charts may be seen on our PR Temp
& Precip Data page
Thursday,
18-Jul-2002
State
officials want Bush to act on global warming Attorneys
general from 11 states criticized President Bush
Wednesday for failing to adopt a comprehensive
policy to combat global warming, urging he
"rethink" his response to climate
change and enact a cap on greenhouse gases
Judge
rules against Callihan in breach of contract suit Forest
Tech owner Gary Callihan was sued recently in
Ravalli County District Court for an alleged
breach of contract with an employee, Chris Seeley,
who lent Callihan's spin-off corporation Montana
BioEnergy $30,000 last August
Darby celebrates timber town past with Loggers Day [rumor
has it that the festivities will start with
muffler-less logging trucks driving recklessly at
high speeds through local neighborhoods between 4
AM and 5 AM and that the Logger Day marshal (the
BNF Forest Supervisor) will be on-site to grant
exemptions or 'changes' to any timber sale
anywhere for any reason - Have a good time! - Ed.]
Log
Nebraska! Drought
creates hopper paradise Their numbers swelled by
the drought, grasshoppers and Mormon crickets are ravaging crops and
pastures across the West in what could be the biggest such infestation
since World War II
Thursday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +49F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was +87F. We recorded
3/16" of rain (0.1875") from scattered
showers throughout the Painted Rocks area during the last 24 hour
period ending at 6AM. Daily local min-max temp & precip
charts may be seen on our PR Temp
& Precip Data page
Wednesday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +52F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was +88F. No measurable
precipitation was recorded throughout the
immediate Painted Rocks area during the last 24 hour
period ending at 6AM. Daily local min-max temp & precip
charts may be seen on our PR Temp
& Precip Data page
Tuesday,
16-Jul-2002
Lost
in the Forest How the
Forest Service's misdirection, mismanagement,
and mischief squanders your tax dollars
A
No-Account System You think WorldCom
is bad? Wait till you see Social Security
Tuesday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +52F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was +88F. Generally
less than 0.1" of rain fell in scattered
showers throughout the Painted Rocks area during the last 24 hour
period ending at 6AM. Daily local min-max temp & precip
charts may be seen on our PR Temp
& Precip Data page
Monday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +55F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was +94F. No
measurable amount of precipitation was recorded in the Painted Rocks area during the last 24 hour
period ending at 6AM. Daily local min-max temp & precip
charts may be seen on our PR Temp
& Precip Data page
Sunday,
14-Jul-2002
Logging
and wildfire: How to reduce
fire risk in nation’s forests matter of intense debate
Grazing
bill stirs up controversy Conservation
groups sounded alarms Thursday about a move in Congress
to
allow renewal of grazing permits without environmental
reviews
Waterton
expansion gathers support "...
Glacier's cousin could soon be growing up. An
effort to more than double the size of Waterton
Lakes National Park in Canada is gathering
steam-and American support."
Sunday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +52F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was +98F. No
measurable amount of precipitation was recorded in the Painted Rocks area during the last 24 hour
period ending at 6AM. Daily local min-max temp & precip
charts may be seen on our PR Temp
& Precip Data page
Friday
& Saturday, 12-13-Jul-2002
Continued
very warm temperatures throughout
the West and Montana.
We recorded +99F for a high on Thursday,
+98F for a high on Friday,
another day in the high 90's is predicted
for Saturday in the Painted Rocks area.
Our regular news section will resume on Sunday.
Thursday,
11-Jul-2002
the
beat goes on ...... Report
accuses Forest Service of mismanagement National
forests in 16 states -- mainly in the West --
have a road maintenance backlog of more than
$100 million each, even as taxpayers provide
more than $100 million in annual subsidies to
the timber industry to build new roads for
logging, a watchdog group says. In a report set
for release Thursday, Taxpayers for Common Sense
outlined what it calls
"out-of-control" subsidies by the U.S.
Forest Service to the timber industry
Bush
took oil firm’s loans as director President
Bush received two low-interest loans in the
1980s from a Texas oil company where he was a
director, a practice he asked companies to end
as part of his proposal to discourage corporate
wrongdoing, according to published reports ...
Bush received the loans from Harken, where he
was a director in the 1980s. White House
communications director Dan Bartlett told the
Post the loans were for $96,000 in 1986 for
80,000 shares, and $84,375 in 1988 for 25,000
shares. Harken didn't require Bush to repay the
principal for eight years and charged 5 percent
annual interest, The New York Times
reported..."
How
we talk about wildfire shows
we still don't get it "Consider
that members of the White Mountain Apache tribe
last fall wanted to conduct a prescribed burn on
a piece of their reservation in Hop Canyon
outside Show Low. Residents of pine-swaddled
Show Low subdivisions protested, saying they
didn't want to be bothered by smoke. The tribe
canceled. The Rodeo wildfire swept through the
canyon recently, generating far more heat and
smoke and devastation than the controlled burn
would have. Had the tribe been allowed to
conduct its burn last fall, it would have
significantly slowed the Rodeo fire's advance on
Show Low and probably saved a forest."
[note: controlled burning - not logging! - Ed.]
Temperatures
indicate more global warming Global
temperatures posted another sharp increase
during the first half of the year --- adding to
signs that the Earth is in the midst of the
warmest decade since weather records were first
kept in 1867.
Wednesday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +44F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was +93F. No
measurable amount of precipitation was recorded in the Painted Rocks area during the last 24 hour
period ending at 6AM. Daily local min-max temp & precip
charts may be seen on our PR Temp
& Precip Data page
News Archives
In order to
keep the news page loading time short, we regularly archive the stories appearing on
this page. You can see other News, Links, & Commentary stories by selecting the
appropriate available archive period in the table below.
In
accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in the
stories above is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit
research and educational purposes only.
About
the Painted Rocks Guardian's
News, Links, & Commentary Section
It is
a daily look at environmentally related stories from
around the country, many of which are illustrative of the high
level of incompetence (and worse) existing within most of the
government entities currently charged with administering our
nation's parks, forests, other public lands, waterways, and
airsheds. As you read these news stories from many
different sources, you will note that almost all environmental
protection/preservation efforts and programs to save our
nation's public treasures originate from private environmental
organizations, often times via court order, and NOT through the
respective governmental agencies with primary administration
responsibilities. Most of these governmental entities (e.g., the
Forest Service) have become top heavy with many levels of career
bureaucrats who, instead of protecting and preserving the
nation's priceless resources, are 'busy' catering to
consumptive/extractive industry interests in the course of
administering politically designed social welfare employment
programs and wealth redistributionist grant programs. While the
current system is almost hopelessly corrupt at many levels, it
is being increasingly understood as such by the general public.
Increased general public awareness of the problem is necessary
to trigger environmentally informed political actions that will eventually
save the nation's public treasures. Effective solutions to
the current situation will most likely involve the
deconstruction of several bureaucratic agencies as they exist
today with a functional redesign that will shift major policy
development and administrative direction authority into the
hands of environmental groups/organizations (as contrasted with
agency hand-picked and selected 'citizen groups' dominated by
consumptionists) and out of the hands of self-interested
bureaucrats and extractive industry interests.
- Bill
McKee - Editor.
