New Poll Reveals Public Lands of High Importance to Western Voters

Yellow Stone National Park, Wyoming
Photo Courtesy Latham Jenkins

A bipartisan team, Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Mertz & Associates together with Public Opinion Strategies, surveyed 2,400 registered voters in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Montana in January. The poll was designed to gauge Western voters' preferences regarding congressional candidates' environmental stances.

Fewer than 20 percent of respondents said that a congressional candidate's position on air, land, and water conservation was inconsequential to their voting decisions. Those polled also demonstrated that they are more likely to vote for candidates willing to protect nature and public lands. However, the majority of people surveyed are in favor of energy development.

The poll found strong agreement that the closure of national parks last fall economically hurt Western communities. This correlated to the poll's finding that voters are more likely to support candidates who increase public land protections.

"Westerners believe there's a time and place for everything and that there are some places that are so important they ought to be protected permanently," poll director Lori Weigel said. 

Delays Concerning Protecting Wolverines in the West

Photo of a Wolverine
Photo Courtesy of Marie Hale

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (US FWS) is delaying its decisions on whether to protect wolverines under the Endangered Species Act. The agency was expected to release a ruling by next Tuesday regarding the status of the wolves. Instead, the US FWS announced it would delay its decision until August 4th.

The delayed decision comes during disputes over the soundness of the science that would be used to make the decision. Specific concerns take issue with the impacts of climate change on the wolverines' snow-covered habitat.

The delay corresponds to the trend of western states slowing the process of Endangered Species listing. However, there are fewer than 300 wolverines in the lower 48 states and are located in remote locations from Washington state to Colorado.

For more information about the history and threats facing the wolverine, visit the US FWS website here.

Colorado Forest Health Survey Released

Colorado Forests

Every year, the US Forest Service, in coordination with Colorado State Forest Service perform an Aerial Health Survey. The survey monitors insect and disease-caused tree mortality and damage across Colorado forests.

This year's survey was released just yesterday. The study showed that the spread of the mountain pine beetle epidemic has slowed dramatically. The survey revealed that 97,000 acres had pine beetle activity in 2013. The first signs of outbreak were in 1996; to date, 3.4 million acres have been infested. The new report highlights the lowest acreage of active infestation observed in 15 years.

However, the spruce beetle outbreak continues to expand by 216,000 new acres of forestland in 2013. The first signs of spruce beetle in Colorado was also in 1996; more than 1.1 million acres have been affected to date.

Dan Jirón, Regional Forester for the Rocky Mountain Region of the US Forest Service shared in a statement: “Through our collaborative efforts we are improving the health of our public lands. Our continuing work on the land, together with other agencies, partners and the wood products industry will allow for the treatment of more acres in need of restoration at an increased pace.”

Mike Lester, State Forester and Director of the CSFS stated, “Bark beetles and other forest health concerns don’t recognize property boundaries, so it’s critical for land managers and private landowners to work together to address forest management across federal, state and private lands."


For more information about the Annual Aerial Forest Health Survey in Colorado, visit the US Forest Service Press Release.

For information directed at private landowners to help manage for healthier forests, visit the Colorado State Forest Service website.

Adjunct Professor William Brady Discusses Oil Spills Resulting from Train Derailments

William Brady

William J. Brady, an adjunct professor of Environmental and Natural Resources Law, currently teaching Law of Hazardous Waste and Toxic Substances, was interviewed for the national broadcast of Al Jazeera America News regarding the rash of oil spills from train derailments in the US and Canada, which have spiked dramatically this past year.

During the interview, Professor Brady provided commentary about potential environmental and health impacts, and compared the relative safety of moving oil by rail (99.99% safe) with both the undetected, and at times open and obvious, spillage from recent releases of oil from pipelines, as has occurred recently in Arkansas, Michigan and Texas.

He pointed out that both processes, while not without risk, are heavily regulated and provide a relatively safe method of transport for the oil industry.  Given increased production from fracking and subsequent transport fate, however, the number of spill incidents may be expected to increase marginally, perhaps necessitating rerouting of trains away from densely populated areas and greater emphasis on railroad safety measures, also heavily regulated by DOT.

Overall, both rail and pipelines have good safety records. Spills from rail cars occur more frequently than from pipelines but tend to be smaller. Pipelines can also be built to avoid population centers and fragile ecosystems, while crude-carrying trains frequently travel through large cities. Most of the crude currently being moved by rail is light crude from the Bakken region, not tar-sands oil from Canada.

Tar-sands oil is heavier and more expensive to move by rail, but energy companies in the Bakken region embrace rail since it is more flexible than pipelines. North Dakota produces nearly a million barrels of oil a day, a majority of it shipped by rail.  Recent meetings with government regulators and railroad representatives on proposed rail safety measures have resulted in agreement in principle to impose further regulations, such as rerouting of train shipments, as well as speed reduction, through less populous areas.  

To watch the video of Professor Brady's interview, follow this link. (Coming Soon)

For more information about this topic, read this Wall Street Journal article.

Colorado Bureau of Land Management Gets New Acting Director

Map of Colorado BLM Regions
Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has had a few changes of directors in the last year. Helen Hankins retired on September 30th of last year, after 42 years with the BLM. She was replaced by John Mehlhoff in October.

Mehlhoff will be taking a position in the federal Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR). The ONRR handles royalty payments from the production of oil and gas operations on federal land. Mehlhoff will become the program director of coordination, enforcement, valuation and appeals.

The new temporary director will be Ruth Welch. She is currently the director of the BLM's National Operations Center in Lakewood. The Operations Center handles the agency's human resources and IT operations. The BLM's new acting director will take over the position in February.

The BLM is responsible for 8.3 million acres of the pubic lands within Colorado, as well as 27 million acres of mineral estate. The Director of the Colorado BLM will need to manage Colorado's resources and open spaces that contribute to the quality of life in Colorado.

Colorado Counties Declared a Disaster Area by the USDA

Drought Conditions in Colorado,
1/16/14 US Drought Monitor

On Wednesday of this week, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) listed counties in 11 states as primary natural disaster areas due to extreme drought. The majority of states affected by the drought are located in the west, with a few exceptions (Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Hawaii). The western states listed as disaster include: Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Utah, Idaho, and California.

Farmers in these states have been struggling to sustain crop yields which puts them at financial risk. The listing ensures that eligible farmers can apply for low-interest, emergency loans from the USDA. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack shared in a statement, "[The] USDA stands with you and your communities when severe weather and natural disasters threaten to disrupt your livelihood." The USDA wants to guarantee that farming and agriculture remain an economic force in the U.S.

The past few weeks have seen record storm and snow falls for the east coast. However, a ridge of high pressure has been preventing storms from reaching the Pacific coast and providing them with needed moisture. These weather patterns are causing the droughts to persist and intensify, the U.S. Drought Monitor explains.

Poor snowpack is threatening states dependent on major rivers in the west. The dry conditions could also lead to an active fire season.

For more information, visit the USDA Drought and Disaster Assistance website.

Rayme Ortega, MRLS 2008, Discusses Her Current Work

Rayme Ortega (formerly Maldonado) graduated from the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program in 2008 with her Master of Resources Law Studies (MRLS) degree.

Rayme stated, "The MRLS degree I earned from DU gave me the advantage of entering the job force with working knowledge of the legal system. The program helped familiarize me with many different natural resource and environmental laws and laid the ground work for which I am able to interact with entities from other agencies with confidence."

She recently began working for the U.S. Customs and Boarder Protection (CBP) agency as an Agriculture Specialist. The CBP detects and prevents terrorists from entering the United States and is responsible for enforcing laws relevant to boarder crossing, and facilitates the efficient flow of legitimate trade and travel.

Rayme described her position at the CBP: 
 "As an Agriculture Specialist I am trained to serve as an expert and technical consultant in the areas of inspection, intelligence, analysis, examination and law enforcement activities related to the importation of agricultural/commercial commodities and conveyances at the various ports of entry. 

I apply a wide range of federal, state and local laws and agency regulations when determining the admissibility of agriculture commodities while preventing the introduction of harmful pests, diseases and potential agro-terrorism into the United States." 

Rayme shared her compliments of the Environmental and Natural Resources Law and Policy Program, "I am most thankful for the degree I earned from The Sturm College of Law and would recommend it to anyone trying to get an edge on the competition."

Congratulations to Rayme! We wish her continued success in her position with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.