Environment

Inside Zoo Boise, there’s an exhibit called the Zoo Farm.  You put a quarter in what looks like a gumball machine. Out comes  food pellets so you can feed the goats and sheep. 

All those quarters go to conservation to protect animals in the wild.  Since 2007, Zoo Boise has made wildlife conservation part of its mission, raising $1 million dollars for conservation projects. The Zoo celebrates this milestone Saturday at Boise State University. 

A plan by the federal government to end protection for gray wolves received mixed reactions from environmental groups to ranchers. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has drafted a plan to remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the lower 48 states. That would leave the states in charge of wolf management.

The federal government is preparing to stop protecting gray wolves in the lower 48 states, according to a draft document. The plan is drawing criticism from environmental groups.

The impending decision isn’t a complete surprise. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had announced its intentions earlier this year to propose a blanket delisting of wolves as a ‘threatened’ or ‘endangered’ species.

The Peregrine Fund’s American Kestrel Partnership launched its 2013 KestrelCams today.  Already the breeding pair has laid one egg. 

Last year, we told you about the project's kickoff in Boise to sign up citizen scientists to build nest boxes for these dwindling birds.  

Today marks the next step in a 1,000 mile proposed power line that would cross most of southern Idaho.  Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power want to build the Gateway West Transmission Line to add power capacity.

More than half of Idaho’s land is considered public. These are lands that are managed by federal agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service.  We ride horses, hike, camp and play on these lands. It’s part of what makes Idaho a great place to live.

Dam removal on the Elwha River in Washington has been temporarily halted because massive amounts of sediment released from above the dams have clogged one of the city’s water treatment facilities.

One of the two dams on the Elwha has been completely removed. That’s released about 20 percent of the 34 million cubic yards of sediment stored up behind both dams.

But the muck, silt and debris been clogging the intake system at the Elwha Water Facility. The facility provides drinking water to Port Angeles as well as two nearby fish hatcheries and the nearby paper producer.

A coalition of tribal leaders and politicians gathered in Seattle Monday to announce the formation of a new group that opposes coal exports in the Northwest.

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn and State Representative Reuven Carlyle were among a group of Washington politicians and tribal leaders who announced the creation of the Leadership Alliance Against Coal. The group says it will work to “raise awareness about the damaging economic, cultural and health impacts of coal trains and coal exports”.