APRIL 13, 2007

Greatest Good Showings Will Commemorate Earth Day: Between April 18 and 23, The Greatest Good: A Forest Service Centennial Film will be shown over 700 times in cities ranging from New York (NY) and Los Angeles (CA) to Butte (MT) and Juneau (AK) to recognize Earth Day. People are urged to check local Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) listings for nearby times and stations. In the first year of PBS broadcasting, the Greatest Good aired over 7,800 times on 560 stations in 48 states. Produced in 2005, this documentary brings together national organizations, renowned historians, political activists, and major corporations to share their perspectives on one hundred years of conservation and the prospects for the future.

Record of Decision Released for Northern San Juan Basin Coalbed Methane Project: On April 4, the San Juan Public Lands Center (CO), a combined Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Service First Office, issued a Record of Decision (ROD) for additional gas well drilling on federal lands and for federal minerals in the Northern San Juan Basin of southwestern Colorado. The joint BLM/Forest Service decision sets the stage for drilling up to 127 new well pads and associated roads and pipelines in a 125,000-acre analysis area north of the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in La Plata and Archuleta counties. The ROD brings to a close more than five years of analysis on the effects of drilling in the Northern San Juan Basin, including portions of the HD Mountains near Bayfield, Colorado.

Forest Service Supports Grizzly Bear Delisting: Intermountain Regional Forester Jack Troyer, acting on behalf of the Northern and Rocky Mountain regional foresters, affirmed the decision to amend six forest management plans following the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to remove Yellowstone grizzly bears from the threatened species list. The decision by Troyer complies with the laws, regulations and policies of the Forest Service. Upon delisting, the Forest Service and Park Service will manage grizzly bear habitat, while the states of Idaho, Wyoming and Montana will manage the bear populations outside national parks.

Congressman Oberstar to Visit Cass Lake, Minnesota: On April 12-13, Congressman Oberstar will be in Cass Lake, Minnesota for the grand opening of the Cass Lake Tourism Information Center, a joint partnership of the Minnesota Department of Transportation, the Forest Service, the Cass Lake Chamber of Commerce, the City of Cass Lake, and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. He will also receive updates on other area transportation projects such as the Cass Lake Streetscape, meet with the Cass Lake Mayor and Leech Lake Tribal Chair, tour the Bemidji Potlatch Mill, and discuss full funding to implement national forest plans.

Chippewa National Forest to Release Off Road Vehicle Road Travel Assessment:

On April 13, the Chippewa National Forest (MN) proposes to distribute an Off Road Vehicle Road Travel Environmental Assessment (EA) to the public for review and comment. This analysis culminates a year of public involvement in partnership with the MN Department of Natural Resources and three local counties. A decision is expected by May. The MN Department of Natural Resources will also be issuing a motorized use decision on seven state forests and lands within the forest this spring.

Murder on the Monongahela NF: On March 31, a murder occurred on the Monongahela National Forest (WV). The accused is in custody. An investigation by West Virginia State Police is ongoing.

Centennial Green Finale in Milwaukee: On April 4, a finale performance of “Centennial Green: The Over and Under Story of the Forest Service in Song” was filmed by Milwaukee Public Television at the historic Pabst Theater. Forest Service film makers for “The Greatest Good,” Steve Dunsky and Dave Steinke, are working with Milwaukee Public Television to produce a film from the performance for airing on public television and the production of a DVD. The Big Top Chautauqua performers from northern Wisconsin wrote original songs to commemorate the Forest Service Centennial and performed this show in 2005-2006. Wisconsin’s Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton and Deputy Regional Forester Skip Starkey welcomed the audience. Other state officials, Forest Service partners, retirees, employees, and their families were among the 800 attendees.

Biologist Earned Elk Foundation Recognition: In February, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation awarded its 2007 Elk Country Achievement Award for individual accomplishment to Craig Grother, wildlife biologist on the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forests (CO) Norwood and Ouray Ranger Districts. Over the past 18 years, Grother has developed approximately 51 partnership agreements valued at over $360,000 to improve wildlife habitat on the forest, many of which were with the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.

Ranger District Hosted Open House for Volunteers: On April 17, the Boulder Ranger District of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and Pawnee National Grassland (CO) hosted an open house to recognize contributions from past and present volunteers. Last year 1,320 volunteers contributed 45,241 hours of service to the District, which equals the work of 25 full-time employees at a value of over $835,000. In addition, many volunteer groups bring grant or other funding to help finance projects.

Two Northern Research Station Scientists co-authored new book. A recently published volume, Technical Guide to Forest Wildlife Management in New England (University of Vermont Press), authored by Richard deGraaf and Mariko Yamasaki of the Northern Research Station, along with William B. Leak and Anna M. Lester, provide solutions to enhance the value of northeastern forests for wildlife. This book, targeted toward land-management professionals, is the third and final volume of the northeastern wildlife guides. Its companion volumes include the recently published revision of New England Wildlife: Habitat, Natural History and Distribution and Landowner's Guide to Wildlife Habitat; Forest Management for the New England Region.

Alleged Arsonist to Return to Court: On April 9, the man accused of starting the Esperanza Fire as well as several others in the area, pleaded not guilty in Superior Court. The Judge ordered him to return to the court on May 11 for the next hearing. No date has been set for the trial. It has not yet been decided whether capital punishment will be sought in the case.

AND IN THE MEDIA…..

Environmental News Service: On Monday, April 9, 2007, Environmental News Service ran an article titled Bush Appeals Against Reinstatement of Roadless Rule. The Bush administration today filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the court’s February 7, 2007 judgment that affirmed the status of legal protections for inventoried roadless areas in national forests. The notice of appeal, signed by U.S. Justice Department attorney Barclay Samford, was filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco. It gave no grounds for the appeal nor was the reasoning behind the appeal stated. On September 20, 2006, Judge Elizabeth Laporte, Magistrate for the U.S. District Court for Northern California, ruled that the administration illegally repealed the Roadless Rule, issued in the final weeks of the Clinton administration that protected 58.5 million acres of inventoried roadless areas from road-building, logging, mining and other development. The judge set aside the Bush administration’s 2005 State Petitions Rule, which required state governors to present plans for their roadless areas to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for approval. She reinstated the 2001 Roadless Rule nationwide, except in the Tongass National Forest. On November 29, 2006, Judge Laporte issued an injunction halting all activities inconsistent with the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule. In her injunction, Judge Laporte stated that because the 2001 rule had been repealed illegally, all projects in roadless areas inconsistent with that rule are also illegal and must be halted. On February 6, 2007 Judge Laporte issued her final injunction, clarifying that the injunction extended to oil and gas drilling permits as well as leases issued since May 2005. This final judgment also enjoined the U.S. Forest Service from taking any further action contrary to the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule.

Associated Press: On Tuesday, April 10, 2007, the Associated Press ran an article titled National forests to plan for grizzly bear delisting. Six national forests in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho will change their management plans to support removing grizzly bears from the endangered species list, U.S. Forest Service officials say. The agency is amending resource management plans for the Beaverhead-Deerlodge, Bridger-Teton, Caribou-Targhee, Custer, Gallatin and Shoshone National Forests, intermountain regional forester Jack Troyer said. The amendments will take effect starting in May. Troyer said the six forests would follow a conservation strategy outlining the habitat standards, guidelines and monitoring that are important for sustaining a recovered grizzly bear population. Forest plans would emphasize monitoring critical food sources, reducing conflicts with livestock grazing, and maintaining current road and motorized trail miles inside the primary conservation area.

Associated Press: On Tuesday, April 10, 2007, the Associated Press Ran an article titled Libby man sentenced for planting pipe bomb in government truck. A Libby man was sentenced to three years in federal prison for planning a pipe bomb in a U.S. Forest Service vehicle last year in an apparent suicide attempt. Stephen Young, 56, also received three years of supervised release at his sentencing Friday in U.S. District Court in Missoula. He had pleaded guilty to possession of an unregistered destructive device. Young, a former certified blaster for the Forest Service, admitted to building the bomb and planting it June 1 in an agency pickup truck at a Kootenai National Forest ranger station in Trout Creek, investigators said. He said he intended to kill himself, and planted the bomb in his government vehicle so his family could collect on his life insurance. Young removed the pipe bomb after a seasonal employee told him she had to move his truck. He later reported finding a suspicious device in his vehicle's empty parking space, and the bomb was detonated by the Missoula County Bomb Squad the next day. Investigators connected Young to the incident after finding three pieces of electrical tape on a pipe in his vehicle's exhaust system.

PERSONNEL NEWS

PATTY MOORE has accepted the Budget Analyst position in the Washington Office under Business Operations.

IN THE NEAR FUTURE

THE CHIEF AND THE DEPUTY CHIEF FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT will participate in the Conference of the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) in Washington, D.C. ….the DEPUTY CHIEF FOR BUSINESS OPERATIONS will travel to Grey Towers for the National Policy Seminar opening with the Senior Leader Program Class…

People, Places and Things is compiled from input by field units and Washington Office staffs as well as from news articles, newsletters and other sources.