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.
Note:
"The road closures that have been in effect
on Woods Creek Road #5669 and Salmon-Challis NF
Road #044 west of Woods Creek Pass are now
lifted. Access is now open to Reynolds
Lake Trailhead and Horse Creek Hot Springs and
Campground ..."
Saturday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +35F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was another Fall-like +76F. We recorded
no precipitation 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
"The
killer fires in our history started on private
land, and the worst of these disasters came amid
the slash and dry tinder left by commercial
lumbering..."
"Slash fires in the 19th century killed
1,500 people in the Peshtigo fire in Michigan
and Wisconsin and 400 around Hinckley, Minn.
Eighty people died in the great Montana fire of
1910. There
was scarcely an acre of the fire zone visited by
President Bush in Arizona in June that had not
been cut for timber at least once. The nice big
trees that lumber companies want are not the
problem. Brush is the problem, and slash from
logging."
"Real
remedies, of course, will cost money up front
and be preventive — never an easy sell with
the public. We will have to pay people to get
out of harm's way. Meanwhile, we should stop
subsidizing and encouraging new people to settle
in fire zones. And we should enroll an army of
young people to restore health to our fire-prone
landscape by thinning small trees, cutting and
removing brush, initiating controlled burning
and restoring grasslands. We'll eventually come
to this as Western communities face ever greater
threats to life from fire. Why not do it now?
..."
Roger
Kennedy is former director of the National Park
Service and director emeritus of the National
Museum of American History
[The
points in this article should sound quite
familiar to you regular PR Guardian readers.
We've been saying the same things for the last
few years. Further we think that most any
thinking person can see that the self-interested
FS bureaucracy, related 'fire' businesses, and
the timber industry have no real interest in
ever correcting the current situation as that
would be contrary to their organizational,
political, and financial interests - Ed.]
Plum
Creek gets jump on foes
Plum Creek Timber Co. has filed a federal
lawsuit asking a judge to uphold its
conservation plan with the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service
Firefighters
corral blaze near border "...An
incident command team was expected to return
management of the fire to the Salmon-Challis
National Forest Friday, Bassler said.
Suppression costs are $990,000, she said
..." [the
cause of the Cathedral Rock fire is said to be
under investigation
- it's simply our conjecture at this point, but
we wouldn't be at all surprised if it was later
determined to be a citizen caused ignition,
nor would we be surprised if the citizen was
associated
with the local fire district - Ed.]
The
outflow at Painted Rocks dam was increased
yesterday by DNRC personnel from 252.4 CFS to
approximately 325 CFS.
Huntin'
News
FWP OKs tenfold boost in permits for Sun River
elk "The
state wildlife commission has approved a tenfold
increase in elk permits in one district along
the Rocky Mountain Front in an effort to reduce
the Sun River elk herd. The Montana Fish,
Wildlife and Parks Commission on Thursday
boosted hunting permits in district 442 to 400,
up from 40 last season..."
[hmmm, seems as though the wolves didn't get all
the elk after all! Someone ought to let Rep.
Denny Rehberg know about this because he's quite
convinced that the elk population is in serious
decline due to severe wolf predation- Ed.]
Man
found guilty of mutilating antelope A man
pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges and
wildlife violations for running down a pronghorn
antelope with an all-terrain vehicle, mutilating
and then killing the animal.
Friday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +33F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was another Fall-like +66F. We recorded
only a trace amount of rainfall 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
12 noon:
Salmon, ID—The Cathedral Rock Fire, which
started on August 1, is 100 percent contained.
The 333-acre blaze is burning in the Bitterroot
Mountain Range along the stateline between Idaho
and Montana. Fire activity yesterday was limited
to smoldering as crews completed the fireline
and continued mopping up the burn area.
Novak:
Clinton Cooked Government Books? "...Starting
in 1999, as the report by Commerce's Bureau of
Economic Analysis makes clear, before-tax
business profits were overstated by a factor of
10 percent. As the presidential election drew
closer, that discrepancy skyrocketed to nearly
30 percent. The bogus figures gave the U.S.
electorate a false picture of a thriving
economy, allowing Clinton's would-be successor
Al Gore to campaign as the rightful heir to
"the longest economic boom in American
history" when in fact the economy had been
heading into the tank for two years..."
Thursday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +41F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was a Fall-like +66F. We recorded
0.125" of precipitation 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,
07-Aug-2002
From: Alan Woodmansey [Alan.Woodmansey@fhwa.dot.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, August 06, 2002 5:01 PM
Subject: Painted Rocks Lake Road Closures begin tomorrow,
Wednesday, August 7th
The West Fork Bitterroot River Road project contractor, Pumco, informed us today that full road closures will begin tomorrow, Wednesday, August 7th. Pumco will begin large-scale earthmoving. Closure times are: 8am-10am, 12pm-2pm, and 4pm-5:30pm weekdays (except Friday has only 8am-10am and 12pm-2pm closure periods). During all other times between 7am-5:30pm Monday-Thursday and 7am-3:30 pm Friday, flaggers will let cars through as much as they can, but expect up to 15-minute delays.
Please refer your questions, comments, or concerns to Alan Woodmansey at (406) 821-9932 or alan.woodmansey@fhwa.dot.gov Drive Safe!
Salmon, ID - Official update for 7-Aug:
Firefighters continue to take advantage of the
cooler weather conditions over the Cathedral
Rock Fire located on the Idaho and Montana
border. Lower temperatures and higher
humidity have subdued fire behavior aiding crews
in their efforts. With no increase in
acreage since Saturday, the 333-acre fire is now
75 percent contained.
Several local Painted
Rocks residents and visitors to our area have
commented to this editor that it looks like
there's sure a lot of excess equipment and
people down there at the CR fire camp.
We're certainly not prepared to say that yet but
we will be developing information as we can to
see whether or not that's a fair assessment of
this operation.
1130AM update: today's CR fire report notes that
several pieces of equipment and personnel assets
are being released from this fire - Ed.
Panel: Environmentalists Didn't Cause Wildfires
"...Gov. Jane Hull and U.S. Sens. John
McCain and Jon Kyl, all Republicans, had blamed
much of the massive Rodeo-Chediski fire's
devastation in the Show Low area on
environmentalists' legal challenges to timber
sales and prescribed burns. The fire, which
burned nearly 469,000 acres in eastern Arizona,
was the largest wildfire in state history.
However, panelists said the catastrophic
wildfires are due more to poor forest management
policies, with roots in the 19th century, that
curtailed clear-cutting and prescribed burns in
national forests. The group gathered in Tucson
for an ecological conference and on Monday
presented a list of fire management conclusions
... They warned, however, that harvesting should
be limited to thick stands of small trees and
should not include old-growth trees."
Togwotee
road rebuild study comes up short Fremont
County and Dubois officials have criticized a
draft environmental study of a road project
involving Togwotee Pass as ignoring local
economic concerns. Local officials are also
irked that the Forest Service's recently
released draft environmental impact statement
makes no mention of a time frame.
[Thank
you Guardian readers .... over 32,000 hits in July 2002
- Ed.]
Wednesday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +42F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was a Fall-like +68F. We recorded
no precipitation 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,
06-Aug-2002
Wounded
undersheriff leaves hospital Missoula
County Undersheriff Mike Dominick, who
accidentally shot himself in the leg Saturday
morning, was released from St. Patrick Hospital
on Monday and is recuperating at home. Dominick,
45, shot himself in the thigh while holstering
his 9mm handgun after firing 12 rounds during
the Montana Law Enforcement Combat Pistol
Championships and Governor's 20.
Salmon,
ID
The 333-acre Cathedral Rock Fire is now 50
percent contained. If favorable weather
continues as predicted, fire managers anticipate
containing the fire on Wednesday, August 7.
Road
closures are in effect closing the Woods Creek
Road #5669 in Montana from the junction with the
West Fork Road to the pass to provide for public
safety because the road is being used by fire
personnel to access the fire. Access is
now open to Salmon-Challis NF road #065 allowing
access to the Horse Creek Hot Springs and
Campground. However, because of the
fire’s location, access to the Reynolds Lake
Trailhead west of Woods Creek Pass remains
closed.
Tuesday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +50F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was +75F. We recorded 0.05" of rain 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,
05-Aug-2002
Forest
Service Can't Produce List of Thinning ProjectsRep.
Tom Udall, D-N.M., is chastising the U.S. Forest
Service because it has been unable to produce a
list of forest-thinning projects it said were
being appealed by environmental groups
Crews battle border blaze
"The fire started Thursday on the boundary
of the Salmon-Challis and Bitterroot national
forests, near Cathedral Rock and Woods Creek
Pass. No private residences or structures were
immediately threatened, officials said Sunday
... They said an incident command post was set
up at Pepperbox Ranch in Montana to gain crews
quick access to the fire ..."
Monday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +51F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was +77F. 1/16"
(0.0625") of rain was recorded in 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
Enviros
challenge air permit The Montana
Environmental Information Center has filed a
lawsuit to make the state revoke the air quality
permit it issued for a proposed $350 million,
500-megawatt generating plant here
Senators vow to ease U.S. rules to snuff forest
fires [subtitled
- "sombody oughta do somethin, even if its
wrong (and if we can get more political
contributions from the timber companies, too,
that doesn't hurt either) ! - Ed.]
Fight
Fire With Logging
? Forestry
experts have long known that commercial logging
increases the risk of forest fire. So why,
critics are asking, does the Bush
administration's new fire prevention plan ignore
that fact ?
[it's a jobs program, folks ... it will actually
make things worse as valuable good large trees
are removed along with smaller trees - Ed.]
Reforming the Fire Service by
Randal O’Toole The
Thoreau InstituteAbstract "...But
is the story about hazardous fuels true? Thoreau
Institute researcher Randal O'Toole spent a year
reviewing data about scores of recent fires and
couldn't find any evidence that hazardous fuels
are responsible for those fires, firefighter
fatalities, or increased fire suppression costs.
Instead, droughts are the cause of the fires,
new technologies and an aging workforce are the
causes of increased firefighter fatalities, and
perverse incentives to waste money are the main
cause of increased firefighting costs.Nor is it true that
a scientifically managed program of prescribed
fire will reduce future fires and firefighting
costs in the West. Unlike the Southeast, where
most forests are ecologically adapted to
frequent, low-intensity fires, most forests of
the West are adapted to infrequent,
high-intensity fires. The West has always had
big fires and it always will have them.This means that the
$2.9 billion a year that Congress is dumping on
federal fire programs is mostly wasted.
Naturally, the Forest Service perpetuates the
hazardous fuels myth so that it can get those
funds. But the long-term solution to fire
problems is to spend less money, not more..."
[I
highly recommend that you take time to download
and read and study the full text of this report (in either
format). - Ed.]
Feds
to rethink cutthroat status
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will take a
second look at whether westslope cutthroat trout
warrant threatened species status, rather than
appeal a judge's ruling that centered on genetic
purity, a federal fisheries biologist said
Thursday
The
first release of Painted Rocks contract water
this year was made on Thursday, 01-Aug-2002.
The amount of contract water for this first
release is 150 CFS. 100 CFS is for
irrigation use and 50 CFS is for
in-stream/fisheries use. Outflow at Painted
Rocks dam was adjusted by DNRC personnel on
01-Aug-2002 from 159.1 CFS to 270 CFS.
Friday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +49F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was +86F. There was no
measurable amount of precipitation in 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
Thursday,
01-Aug-2002
Forest
Service ignored city's offer
to fight fire Within
hours of learning the Hayman fire had ignited
near Lake George on June 8, Colorado Springs
firefighters offered three city fire engines.
The U.S. Forest Service didn't call them until
four days later. In the meantime, fire
commanders had pleaded for more engines as the
fire burned homes and raged through the forest.
The offer to help, contained in Forest Service
dispatch logs released this week, underscores
The Gazette's previous report that local
resources weren't tapped for the Hayman's
initial attack.
[hmm, first the FS starts it and then they won't
ask for assistance ... what are the real
intentions of the mostly incompetent
'management' of this bloated agency? The
full story of the Hayman fire as it unfolds
through investigative reporters will likely
prove to be the keystone of a massive set of
changes and reorganization at the Forest
Circus. Unlike rural Montana where the FS
pays off timber and fire interests, in Colorado
those interests carry little influence and the
truth about FS malfeasance will come out. - Ed.]
The
first release this year of contract water from
Painted Rocks lake is scheduled for today -
Thursday, 01-Aug-2002. Outflow from the dam will
be increased by 150 CFS around 10:30 to 11:30 AM
this morning by DNRC personnel. A DNRC spokesman
indicates that the water level downstream of the
dam is expected to rise by about 1/2 foot as a
result of the outflow adjustment. Outflow
following the adjustment is expected to be in
the 265-270 CFS range.
Disease
expected in state State
health and livestock officials warned Wednesday
that West Nile virus is coming to Montana and
urged precautions to prevent against the
mosquito-borne illness
EIS
writer accused of conflicts The
environmental consulting firm that prepared an
environmental analysis of proposed coalbed
methane development on federal land in northeast
Wyoming has a conflict of interest and should
not have been selected for the job, conservation
groups say
Thursday
The local overnight low temperature last night was +35F and
yesterday's afternoon high temp was +75F. There was no
measurable amount of precipitation in 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
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.
