Environment

Water Specialists Tracking Changes To Wood River Valley Aquifer Over Time

By • Oct 18, 2018
Erin Murray
Idaho Water Science Center

Hydrologists with the U.S. Geological Survey are working with the Idaho Department of Water Resources to track the amount of water under the Wood River Valley.

 


The 'One-Two Punch' That Put Utah And Colorado In Exceptional Drought

By Erik Neumann • Oct 17, 2018

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert declared a state-wide drought emergency this week. It’s one of two states in our region that were especially hard-hit this year.

New Job For The Navy? Exporting Mountain West Coal

By • Oct 17, 2018

 

Calling it a matter of national security, the Trump administration wants to export coal to Asia through military bases along the West Coast. Companies are currently blocked from using ports in California and Washington State.

Idaho Wildlife Commissioner Resigns After Sharing Controversial Hunting Photos

By • Oct 16, 2018

 


An Idaho wildlife commissioner resigned and apologized Monday for emailing controversial photos from his recent African safari trip.

Grizzly Conflicts Often High In Fall, Says US Fish And Wildlife

By • Oct 15, 2018

Eleven grizzly bears in the Greater Yellowstone ecosystem have been euthanized since the beginning of September in a "particularly bad month" for grizzly conflicts, the Powell Tribune in Wyoming reports.

That rate may be normal for the fall.

Air Force Extends War Games Public Comment Period

By Roam Yocham • Oct 15, 2018
Matt Hintsa / Flickr Creative Commons

The U.S. Air Force is giving Idahoans more time to comment on up to 160 proposed war game flights over nine cities, including Boise.

Second Woman To Head U.S. Forest Service Has Deep Background In The West

By • Oct 12, 2018

Vicki Christiansen was sworn in this morning as Chief of the U.S. Forest Service. She’s only the second female to serve in this role in its 113-year history.

Western States Seeing First Snowfall Of Season

By • Oct 11, 2018
John Sellers / Loveland Ski Area

Areas all across the Mountain West, from Colorado's Front Range to Eastern Idaho, have seen their first real snowfall of the 2018-2019 season in the last week.

Mitigating The Impact of Climate Change On Idaho Agriculture

By • Oct 9, 2018
Joy Pruitt / The Center for Public Integrity

Tuesday, the Northwest Climate Conference will be held in Boise. Kate Gordon is an analyst at the Paulson Institute and will speak about how climate change affects economic growth, including its impacts in Idaho.

Idaho Study Shows Global Raptor Population In Trouble

By • Oct 8, 2018
Munir Virani / The Peregrine Fund

A study by the Boise-based Peregrine Fund shows that many of the world's raptor species are in trouble. The research shows that more than half of the world's birds of prey species have declining populations.

Forest Service Advances Changes To Sage Grouse Protections

By • Oct 6, 2018

The U.S. Forest Service advanced changes to sage grouse protections in five Western states that environmental groups say are part of the Trump administration's efforts favoring industry but that push the imperiled bird closer to extinction.

Idaho's Future After The Expiration Of The Land Water Conservation Fund

By • Oct 3, 2018
Flickr user Loco Steve

Congress failed to renew the Land Water Conservation Fund and the federal program that has provided funds to aid land and water conservation since 1965 has expired. Idaho Matters looks at the impact on Idaho's landscape.

The Northwest Climate Conference Addresses Climate Change In Idaho

By • Oct 3, 2018
INCIWEB

 The Northwest Climate Conference and Idaho Public Television are presenting founding director of the Risky Business Project, Kate Gordon, to discuss the impact of climate change in Idaho and the economic benefits of combating global warming.

Oil Shale Mine In Utah Could Set Precedent In The West

By • Oct 3, 2018
Department of Interior

The nation’s first commercial oil-shale mine could be built here in our region. The Bureau of Land Management issued a decision that allows a mine in Utah’s Uinta Valley to move forward.

DOI Policy Will Increase Transparency, Officals Say. Conservationists Are Dubious

By • Oct 3, 2018
USFWS

The Department of Interior just released a new science policy that it says will increase transparency. But conservationists are concerned. 

Trump Administration Uses Inevitability of Climate Change To Burn More Fossil Fuels

By • Oct 2, 2018

In recent years, President Trump has dismissed climate change as a hoax.

“I think it’s a big scam for a lot of people to make a lot of money,” he said on Fox News in 2015.

But a recent report by the U.S. Department of Transportation predicts global temperature will rise seven degrees by 2100. That’s catastrophic.

New Study Says BLM Lands Bring Money & Jobs To Idaho

By • Oct 2, 2018
Ranch Seeker / Flickr

A new study says wildlife-related activities on Bureau of Land Management land brings in millions of dollars to western states. 

The study found things like hunting, fishing and wildlife watching on BLM land brings in more than $3 billion in total economic output to 12 western states including Idaho.

Idaho Colleges Get Grant To Study Trout, Sagebrush

By • Oct 1, 2018
Frankie Barnhill / Boise State Public Radio

A new $20 million grant will help three of the state’s top universities study how trout and sagebrush are adapting to changing environmental conditions. 


Land Fund Expires With No Action From Congress

By • Oct 1, 2018
Bureau of Land Management

An important but little-known public lands fund expired this weekend. 

Utah Tree Fossil Sets Paleontology Record Back 15 Million Years

By Erik Neumann • Sep 28, 2018

A paper published this week reports that a recent fossil discovery in Central Utah is changing what researchers know about the emergence of large flowering trees both here in the Mountain West, and around the world.

Boise National Forest Managers Plan To Burn 2,600 Acres This Fall

By • Sep 27, 2018
Greg Harness / Flickr Creative Commons

Prescribed burning is an important tool in a wildland firefighter’s toolbox. Crews will go out and light fires in areas that maybe haven’t burned naturally in decades.

 

Wildfires May Be Dangerous For Humans, But They Help Elk

By • Sep 26, 2018

Wildfires in the West can destroy homes and create a lot of really nasty smoke. But a new study from the University of Montana says it also helps grow some really great food for elk.

Wildfire Smoke Has Some Idaho Potato Farmers Concerned

By • Sep 25, 2018

Some Idaho potato farmers are worried heavy wildfire smoke may have damaged their crops.

 

Young Idaho Grizzly Gets New Home In Texas

By • Sep 25, 2018
Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks via AP

A young grizzly bear found eating human food and hanging around people was trapped by Idaho Fish and Game and taken to a Texas wildlife sanctuary. The yearling was spending time in the Flat Rock and Coffee Pots campgrounds and near Mack's Inn in Eastern Idaho.

Public Lands Day Takes On New Significance

By • Sep 24, 2018
Courtesy Backcountry Hunters and Anglers

Public lands are a big deal in the mountain west. Conservationists across our region are celebrating these lands all this month.

 

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