“With no disrespect to the eagle, I’ve
always thought that the horse should be our national
emblem.”
—Singer Willie Nelson, arguing
against the slaughter of horses for human consumption
Interior’s fuzzy science. If it were up to
many U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists, the Endangered
Species Act would now protect the Gunnison’s prairie dog, the
Gunnison sage grouse, the white-tailed prairie dog and a host of
other critters. But none of those species made the list, thanks in
part to Department of Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary Julie
MacDonald, who tinkered with or ignored agency biologists’
findings. Documents obtained in October by conservation groups
reveal MacDonald’s interference with her own scientific
advisers. MacDonald, a Bush appointee whose background is in
engineering, not biology, “edited” her scientists’ reports,
adding or deleting phrases to reverse the meaning of their
recommendations. In a document recommending protection of the
Gunnison sage grouse, she injected doubt regarding the
grouse’s designation as a species, despite almost universal
agreement in the scientific community that it is a distinct
species.
Water scales may finally be in
balance. More than a decade in the making, the Platte
River Cooperative Agreement is almost ready to come to life.
Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne signed the three-state agreement
divvying up Platte River water in late September. Colorado and
Nebraska have also approved it, and Wyoming is expected to sign
soon. The river provides drinking water for more than 3 million
people, irrigates 2 million acres of farmland, and provides a vital
migration stopover for birds in Nebraska. The $317 million
agreement tries to balance these needs while restoring habitat for
several threatened and endangered species. It calls for the
acquisition of 10,000 acres of wildlife habitat in Nebraska and for
flows to be increased by 130,000 to 150,000 acre-feet during
critical times. Groundwater irrigators along the river will be
hardest hit — they can’t drill any new wells, and must
reduce their groundwater usage to 1997 levels. The Interior
Department will pay $157 million of the total and the states will
pony up the rest.
Going great guns in
Glacier? In 2004, an avalanche blocked a section of
railroad tracks running through the southern edge of
Montana’s Glacier National Park for 29 hours. That prompted
Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad to propose shelling
slide-prone slopes within the park, as is done to manage avalanches
along highways throughout the West. But park officials worry that
the use of explosives would endanger park visitors and alter the
natural role of avalanches. Instead, they want the railroad to
build new snowsheds and upgrade existing ones; the sheds are both
more effective against avalanches and have less impact on the park.
Railroad representatives say the expense — estimated at $110
million — would be prohibitive, but few take that claim
seriously. According to Steve Thompson of the National Parks
Conservation Association, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, which had
$13 billion in revenue last year, can, and should, cover the costs
as a normal part of doing business in the mountains. In October,
the draft environmental impact statement for the plan was released,
listing snowsheds, not explosives, as the preferred alternative.
The park will take public comment on the plan until Dec. 22.
Biodiesel isn’t just
old French fry oil anymore. The country’s largest
biodiesel refinery is being built in western Washington. Upon
completion in mid-2007, the Imperium Renewables Inc. plant will
produce up to 100 million gallons of fuel each year from soybean,
canola and other crops. That amount exceeds last year’s
nationwide production total of 75 million gallons, and is enough to
replace up to 10 percent of the state’s conventional diesel
supply. Until Washington farmers can produce enough feedstock for
the $60 million plant, it will import palm oil from Malaysia.
Nationally, biodiesel production is likely to hit the 150 million
gallon mark by the end of 2006, and half of it will come from the
dozen major biodiesel plants already operating in the West.
Imperium and other producers hope to cash in on the rapidly
expanding interest in alternative fuels and the new laws promoting
them, including a Washington statute requiring that by 2008 all
diesel fuel sold in the state contain at least 2 percent biodiesel.
A Border Fence or a Border Band-Aid?
A fence — sort of — President Bush
signed a bill in October authorizing 700 miles of fencing to be
built along the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s the only federal
immigration bill passed during a year of congressional debate on
the subject.
Critics on both sides of the debate question
the bill’s effectiveness: It will leave some 1,300 miles of
border unfenced, and it doesn’t contain enforcement measures.
Nor does it help foreign workers enter the country legally.
But the fence may never be built, anyway. The
double-layer steel fencing will cost between $2 billion and $7
billion, and so far, only $1.2 billion has been appropriated.
Whether Congress will pony up more money after the mid-term
elections remains to be seen.
Did you hear a pop?
The housing bubble,
particularly in the West, is showing signs of deflating or even
bursting.
1:127 Ratio of
foreclosures to households in Colorado in the third quarter of
2006.
1st, 2nd Foreclosure
rate rank, nationally, of Colorado and Nevada respectively.
23.8 Percentage drop in
existing home sales in the West between September 2005 and
September 2006.
$332,000 Median home price in the West in September 2006 — 4.3 percent
lower than a year earlier.
-9.7 Percentage median home prices are
expected to drop in Stockton, Calif., in the coming year. Six
cities in central California, two in Nevada, and one in Arizona are
among the 10 cities with the highest projected drops in home
prices.
$390,138,000 Total
amount spent nationwide on constructing new, single-family homes in
September 2006
-12.8 Percentage drop in new home construction from the same period last
year.
Sources: Realtytrac.com, the
National Association of Realtors, U.S. Department of Commerce, and
CNNMoney.com
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Two weeks in the West.
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