High court OKs rule limiting roads in national forests

The Supreme Court upheld on Monday the "roadless rule," which limits road building and timber harvesting on 45 million acres of undeveloped national forest land. The state of Wyoming and the Colorado Mining Association challenged the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, saying it "unfairly jeopardized multiple industries and hampered economic development," notes Amy O'Donoghue of the Deseret News in Salt Lake City.

The rule was upheld by the 9th and 10th circuit courts of appeals, and the Supreme Court refused to hear the case. Supporters of the rule said the court's move resolved "what has been a decade of uncertainly over management of inventoried roadless areas," O'Donoghue writes.

"Sound roadless conservation policies safeguard big-game habitat security, productive trout and salmon fisheries and our sporting traditions," said Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership Center for Western Lands director Joel Webster told the reporter. "The 2001 roadless rule remains a strong mechanism for conserving America’s outdoor heritage." (Read more)

Budget cuts have put strain on national parks, and seem likely to put even more

National parks have been struggling for more than a decade against a tide of federal budget cuts that have left them short-staffed and with little money for upkeep and repairs. Construction and maintenance projects have been put on hold, and Juliet Eilperin of The Washington Post reports "the signs of strain" are starting to show at parks across the country. (Photo: Gettysburg National Military Park)

Chatham Manor, the 241-year-old Georgian house that was a Union headquarters near Fredericksburg, Va., during the Civil War, is marred by overgrown gardens and a greenhouse with broken windows and rotting wood frames. The 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway, which stretches from Virginia to North Carolina, has a $385 million backlog of projects and hasn't been able to fill 75 positions since 2003. New Mexico's Bandelier National Monument doesn't have money to hire someone to protect its archeological ruins.

Eilperin reports parks have been pulling from maintenance and acquisition budgets to run day-to-day operations for years. National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis told Eilperin his employees have been "entrepreneurial" in finding ways around budget cuts, but are "kind of running out of ideas at some point here." Park managers say they are scared about next year's federal budget and what might happen if a budget deal isn't reached by January. The current proposal from the House Appropriations Committee would cut 218 full-time jobs or 763 seasonal employees at the parks. (Read more)

New EPA rules for Four Corners power plant could reduce air pollution at national parks

The Environmental Protection Agency issued its final rule aimed at reducing emissions at the largest single source of haze-causing pollution in the U.S., the Four Corners Power Plant in northwestern New Mexico. The agency says plant operators can either reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by upgrading five generators at the plant or permanently shut down three and install pollution controls on the two others.

Either move would cut emissions that can limit visibility at several Western national parks by 80 to 87 percent, reports Felicia Fonseca of The Associated Press. Regional EPA Administrator Jared Blumenfeld said reducing emissions is a "commonsense approach" that will improve air quality at parks that are "crucial to the economy of Four Corners." Arizona Public Service plans to close three units and install pollution controls. The plant provides electricity to about 300,000 homes in New Mexico, Arizona and Texas.

The EPA has long considered whether the Four Corners plant and another on the Navajo Reservation would need upgrades, Fonseca reports. Under the APS's proposal to shutter three generators, it would install $290 million in pollution controls, and spokesman Damon Gross said the Navajo, local economy, customers and the environment would all benefit. However, the Navajo fear a loss of about $9 million a year in coal royalties that would come if three generators are shut down. (Read more)