U.S. Department of the Interior - Radio News Service

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Interior Radio Department News Service - 2006 Stories

The Interior Department Radio News/Podcast Service features stories and event actualities about land, water, and resources for download to your newscasts or just informative listening to find out what's happening in the BLM, FWS, NPS, USGS, BOR, MMS, OSM and the BIA. This is a free service of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Feedback on usage is welcome at Interior_News@ios.doi.gov

Audio News Release PSAs Press Release Podcasts

12/27/2006	Interior Secretary Kempthorne Announces Proposal to List Polar Bears
12/14/2006	DOI Signs Agreement with Oil and Gas Companies on 1998/1999 Leases
12/08/2006	MMS Bills Major Oil Company for $32 Million
12/01/2006	Campaign Targets Methamphetamine Abuse in Indian Country
11/30/2006	Minerals Management Service Launches Hurricane Web Site
11/28/2006	New Study Measures Restrictions on Oil and Gas Development on Federal Lands
11/21/2006	New Guidelines Announced to Prevent Bird Electrocutions on Power Lines
11/15/2006	Interior Department Approves Oil Shale Projects on Public Lands
11/07/2006	Fees Waived for Veterans and Members of Armed Forces on Veterans Day
11/06/2006	November is National American Indian Heritage Month
10/24/2006	Court Approves San Joaquin River Settlement Ending 18 Year Litigation>
10/18/2006	Colorado River Storage Project Act Turns 50
09/08/2006	Interior Department Hosts National Dialogue on Children and Nature
08/15/2006	Idaho Wind Energy Project Gets Final Approval
08/09/2006	Cooperative Conservation Listening Sessions Begin in Spokane
08/02/2006	Northern Aplomado Falcons to be Reintroduced to New Mexico
07/31/2006	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Waterfowl Hunting Seasons Similar To Last Year
07/27/2006	Secretary Kempthorne, Vice President Cheney Observe Korean War Armistice
07/19/2006	Secretary Kempthorne says Interior will do its Part for Domestic Energy Production
07/12/2006	BLM Publishes New Grazing Regulations to Improve Management of Public Lands Grazing
07/10/2006	Secretary Kempthorne Announces $1.3 Million in Grants for Water Conservation Projects in the West
06/29/2006	Deputy Secretary Scarlett Testifies How Interior Department And Partners Work To Help Prevent Wildland Fires
06/20/2006	Secretary Kempthorne Addresses National Congress of American Indians
06/19/2006	Proposed Park Management Policies Will Assure Legacy of Conservation
06/14/2006	Fire Potential High as Season Gets Under Way
06/12/2006	Secretary Kempthorne Addresses the Western Governors Association
06/05/2006	Interior Secretary Kempthorne Goes Fishing With Kids to Celebrate National Fishing and Boating Week
05/22/2006	Tribes Receive $8 Million in Grants from Fish and Wildlife Service
05/15/2006	USGS Briefs Congress on Reducing Risk from Earthquakes
05/05/2006	MMS Updates Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Damage
04/19/2006	Southeastern States Vulnerable According to 2006 Fire Season Outlook
04/04/2006	"Save the Mustangs" Fund to Distribute $200,000 for Long-Term Care of Horses
03/30/2006	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Report Shows Gains in U.S. Wetlands
03/20/2006	USDA, DOI and HHS Spotlight Interagency Readiness Plans to Expand Screening for Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza in Migratory Birds
03/16/2006	Secretary Norton Proposes Removal of Gray Wolves in Western Great from List of Threatened and Endangered Species
03/10/2006	Secretary Norton Announces Departure from Interior
02/23/2006	2/23/2006: NASA Technology Joins USGS Science to Fight Tamarisk
02/17/2006	MMS takes Five Year Plan to U.S. Senate
02/10/2006	Minerals Management Service Issues Draft Proposed 5-Year Plan for Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program
02/07/2006	Budget Emphasizes Core Commitments, Strategic Priorities and Fiscal Prudence
02/02/2006	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces Intent to Remove Rocky Mountain Gray Wolves from Endangered Species List
01/30/2006	Surveillance Key to Avian Influenza Interagency Strategic Plan
01/25/2006	Interior Secretary Recognizes Employees for Hurricane Response
01/18/2006	BLM Announces Results of Review of Oil Shale Research Nominations
01/13/2006	National Park Service Commemorates Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
01/06/2006	Idaho to Implement Wolf Management Plan for most of State

1/6/2006: Idaho to Implement Wolf Management Plan for most of State

Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne today signed a Memorandum of Agreement transferring most of the responsibility for managing gray wolves in central Idaho from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to state wildlife officials. The service will still be responsible for managing gray wolves on tribal lands and north of interstate 90 according to Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Paul Hoffman.

North of interstate 90 the wolves are still classified as endangered there and there is a proposed rule out now to provide permits to Idaho that will facilitate their ability to manage wolves north of I-90 as well.

Secretary Norton commended the state of Idaho for their dedication and professionalism in developing a wolf management plan that commits to maintaining wolf population levels above recovery goals while assuring the necessary flexibility to protect public safety, property, pets and livestock. Hoffman says the plan, approved by the Service, is in anticipation of removal of wolves in the northern Rockies from the list of threatened and endangered species protected under the Endangered Species Act.

I think what we're trying to do here is we're trying to recognize the good work that the Idaho fish and game department has done in managing wolves and developing a management plan that has been deemed acceptable by the Fish and Wildlife Service and their demonstrated capacity to manage wolves well into the future and sustain those populations at or above recovery goals.

Under the terms of the agreement, Idaho will assume many of the Service's wolf management duties. These include implementing control actions for problem wolves, relocating wolves to avoid human conflicts, taking wolves for scientific and other purposes, and many other functions related to the experimental, non-essential population.

The way wildlife management is supposed to work in the real world is states are responsible for their wildlife, unless they are determined to be endangered or threatened under the endangered species act and then the federal government is responsible for managing them through the Fish and Wildlife Service. Once recovered, we want to restore management back to the states because that's where management should be.

Populations of wolves in Idaho have flourished since the Service introduced them in the state in 1995. In 2004, there were at least 422 wolves in Idaho, including 27 breeding pairs, nearly three times the recovery goal.

1/13/2006: National Park Service Commemorates Birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The National Park Service commemorated that 77th birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a ceremony in the Sidney Yates Auditorium located in the Department of the Interior in Washington D.C.

Interior Secretary Gale Norton addressed an audience of children from several schools in the district about the civil rights leader and the role the National Park Service plays in preserving his legacy.

"60 Percent of our parks and special places in the National Park Service interpret some aspect of American history. These places allow people from all over the world to explore and learn about America's heritage and cultural diversity. More than 49 historic sites around the country document the civil rights movement preserving this important period of American history. From the home of the abolitionist Frederick Douglas, to Sojourner Truth and the Underground Railroad, to the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr., all of these sites, managed by the National Park Service enliven the study of history."

The theme for this year's celebration, In the Spirit of Unity and Service - Remember! Celebrate! Act! reiterates the importance of Dr. King's legacy.

"Regardless of race, creed or color, we can honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy by following his example of caring about, and trying to improve America's future. It is up to today's generations to continue the work that remains to be done to make the dream a reality. The dreamer may be gone, but his dreams can live on in each of us."

The children were treated to an excerpt from Dr. King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech which he made from the steps of the Lincoln memorial on August 28th, 1963.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last

In 2003 the National Park Service placed a plaque on the Lincoln memorial on the spot where Dr. King stood to deliver the speech.

1/18/2006: BLM Announces Results of Review of Oil Shale Research Nominations

"As I indicated, the resource potential here is staggering. But we've got a lot to learn about the resource and the processes for developing it and making it available in the market place."

Bureau of Land Management Director Kathleen Clark has announced eight applicants whose proposals for oil shale research, development and demonstration will go on for further consideration via the NEPA process.

"This all part of the energy policy act that was passed by congress and it compliments our commitment to increase domestic energy production and move forward on the agenda of becoming energy independent."

Getting the bituminous material called kerogen out of the ground is not yet an exact science, Director Clarke says the research, development and demonstration projects will make sure we understand how that's done.

"These eight had to meet all of the criteria that were laid out in the federal register notice. They demonstrated an ability to advance knowledge of oil shale recovery, which is critical; we want to make sure we understand how this ought to be done. They have economic viability. They showed that they had capital and means to get in and make this work and they also demonstrated the ability to manage environmental issues responsibly."

The BLM has also initiated a programmatic EIS (PEIS) to support development of commercial oil shale and tar sands leasing on public lands, as the Energy Policy Act of 2005 requires. Information about the PEIS is available on the project Website: http://ostseis.anl.gov. To the extent possible, information available from the RD&D leasing program will be incorporated into the PEIS.

1/25/2006: Interior Secretary Recognizes Employees for Hurricane Response

When three hurricanes staggered the Gulf Coast beginning late last August, Department of the Interior employees from all bureaus and offices immediately sprang into action. Wednesday the Herculean efforts of more than 100 individuals were recognized by Interior Secretary Gale Norton in a ceremony in Washington D.C.

“I am delighted and impressed to hear about the initiative, common sense, and ‘get it done’ attitude that our employees displayed. Our skill set was often very well suited to tasks that needed to get done.”

Secretary Norton personally experienced the devastation when she visited the Gulf coast and New Orleans. She said watching it on television wasn’t the same as seeing it first hand. In one instance she described seeing an amusement park under water.

“And for some reason, seeing that devastated park, it really brought home to me the extent of the change in lives that people were enduring. There was something about seeing the Ferris wheel and the roller coaster rising up out of the flood waters that highlighted the great loss the city had experienced. Perhaps it was the loss of joy, the feeling that children would not be playing at that park anytime soon. That all sense of normalcy had been stolen away and would be a long time in coming back.”

In all, more than 6,000 employees participated in some capacity of relief and restoration efforts and most important rescuing thousands of residents from the flood waters.

“I’m humbled by what you have done and what you continue to do. To our heroes, I speak on behalf of President Bush and all of your colleagues at the Department of the Interior, indeed on behalf of all Americans; we honor your courage, your dedication and your sacrifice. With grateful hearts we salute you.”

1/30/2006: Surveillance Key to Avian Influenza Interagency Strategic Plan

In a capital hill briefing hosted by the House Committee on Science, officials from the Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Geological Survey and Fish and Wildlife Service outlined their Interagency Strategic Plan for early detection of Bird Flu in North America.

USGS Associate Director for Biology Susan Haseltine emphasized that the plan relies on surveillance and detection.

“We don’t have this disease in North America, but given its rate of spread, we may get it. And so the government has prepared a response plan which prepares us for it and a big part of that plan is surveillance and detection in wildlife and people and agricultural species and so that’s what we want to emphasize today.”

The Fish and Wildlife Service will play a key role in watching out for the H5N1 virus. FWS Director Dale Hall says the plan will have three parts.

“In 2006, the Fish and Wildlife Service will focus on implementing three strategies of the draft agency plan; surveillance and sampling of live apparently healthy stocks, sampling birds taken by sport hunters and investigating occurrences of sick and dead birds.”

Monitoring bird movement through North American flyways especially during migration will be a first line of defense beginning with Alaska says Hall.

“Alaska lies at a crossroads of several bird migration pathways that could potentially allow the movement of the Asian H5N1 virus from Asia to North America.”

Migrating birds naturally carry a number of diseases. Hall says dead birds are not uncommon in the wild but will definitely get more attention as the service monitors for the highly pathogenic avian influenza.

“And it is important to point out here that natural bird mortality outbreaks of diseases happen every year and we deal with them on a regular basis. We always respond to them. So it’s not unusual to see some events. We will be specifically looking though to see if H5N1 is ever the causative agent of one of those.”

For its part, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will be monitoring domestic bird populations for the virus.

2/2/2006: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces Intent to Remove Rocky Mountain Gray Wolves from Endangered Species List

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking that outlines the agency's intent to remove gray wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains from the Federal list of threatened and endangered species. H. Dale Hall, Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, says that after nearly 20 years of collaborative conservation efforts by a host of states, tribes, and private organizations the gray wolf population has flourished, exceeding recovery goals each year since 2002.

"The future of the Endangered Species Act demands that we recognize success when it occurs and get species off the list when they've met their recovery goals. While wolf restoration was made possible by the endangered species act, we believe that management of a recovered wolf population is best conducted by tribal and state fish and wildlife agencies. With hundreds of trained professional managers, educators, wardens and biologists, state wildlife agencies already have a strong working relationship with local landowners and the ability to quickly deal with conflicts."

The advance notice of proposed rulemaking is being issued in order to give the public time to review and comment on the Service's proposed strategy of designating and proposing to delist a distinct population segment (DPS) of wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains

"By going through the year-long process of establishing the northern rocky mountain wolf DPS, and by announcing our intent to do so now, the service can save time and resources once Wyoming modifies their state law and develops a plan we can approve."

If this advanced notice of proposed rulemaking were implemented, wolves outside the boundaries of the DPS in other parts of the country would continue to be listed as endangered. In making the announcement, FWS Director Hall emphasized that any future rulemaking on a delisting decision for Rocky Mountain wolves is still contingent on the State of Wyoming implementing a Service-approved state law and wolf management plan, as required under the Endangered Species Act.

"Secretary Norton has already signed agreements transferring most of the day to day management of wolves to the states of Idaho and Montana, something that we cannot do in Wyoming until there is an approved state management plan. As I said before, we're willing to work with Wyoming and look forward to the day when wolves in the entire northern Rocky Mountains are removed from the endangered species list."

Consistent with regulatory requirements, the Department of Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have previously transferred much of the Federal management responsibilities to the States of Montana and Idaho. The two States now implement control actions for problem wolves, monitor wolf packs, coordinate research, conduct public information programs and take wolves for scientific and other purposes in accordance with federal regulations.

2/7/2006: Budget Emphasizes Core Commitments, Strategic Priorities and Fiscal Prudence

Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced the department's 2007 budget request this week in a briefing at the Main Interior Building. The budget underscores Interior's strategic missions and improves performance in high priority Administration initiatives while showing fiscal restraint to help the President reduce the deficit. Secretary Norton said this budget will enable Interior to fulfill its key responsibilities.

"Key among our goals for 2007 are our efforts to enhance America's energy supply through responsible energy development, preserve our nation's historic and cultural heritage, advance trust reform and expand opportunities for cooperative conservation."

In keeping with the President's Energy Policy Act, the budget for Interior's energy programs increased to $467.5 million. The money encourages the development of unconventional and renewable energy resources with $3.8 million in increases set aside for oil shale development.

"Oil shale in-place resources in Colorado, Wyoming and Utah represent the largest known concentrations in the world. Although the fact that this technology is still in the research and development phase, and this makes comparison somewhat speculative, this amount could be four times the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia. The Energy Policy Act directs us to have a commercial leasing program by 2008. Our 2007 budget includes a three million dollar increase to accelerate implementation of an oil shale development program."

The budget increased for management of Indian trust programs as Interior continues to reform management of its trust obligations to Tribes and individual Indians, to continue historical accounting efforts for trust funds, and to reduce the growing costs of maintaining a substantial number of fractionated interests of Indian lands.

"The 2007 budget will invest an additional $537 million dollars in trust programs, a net program increase of $30 million dollars over our 2006 appropriation. In 2007 Interior will continue historical accounting for individual Indian money accounts and we will continue work on tribal accounting."

Other areas of focus for the budget request include $2 billion for the Fish and Wildlife Service for wetlands restoration, grants and much more. $322 million in the budget will assure the continued success of cooperative conservation and Water 2025 got a $9.6 million dollar increase to $14.5 million.

2/10/2006: Minerals Management Service Issues Draft Proposed 5-Year Plan for Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program

The Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS) has released for comment a proposal in draft form that discusses MMS's 2007-2012 Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) leasing plan, which is currently in development. Overall, the draft program proposes a total of 21 OCS lease sales in seven of the 26 OCS planning areas, some of which are also included in the current 5-year program for 2002-2007. MMS Director Johnnie Burton says public comment is an important step in the process.

"The public has three places in the process where they can comment; 45 days, 60 days, 90 days. So there's plenty of opportunity for folks to be heard. It's a very well laid out process that gives everybody a chance to say their piece."

Current presidential withdrawals or congressional moratoria have placed more than 85 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf around the lower 48 states off limits to energy development. However, the states of Virginia and Alaska have requested the MMS to study the potential for oil and gas development off their coasts.

"The state of Virginia, through their legislative activities in this last year, essentially told us that they are interested in learning more. So we kept them in the plan so we can continue to dialogue with them, we can get more comments, we can study more. There's another area that's similarly situated in Alaska, it's in the north Aleutian basin. Again the state has shown some interest in continuing the dialogue. So those two areas cannot be drilled unless someone takes action and that means Congress and the President for Virginia and in Alaska it's the President."

Under the contemplated revision, a portion of the "Sale 181" area offshore Louisiana, as well as a deepwater area to the south, would be included in the central planning area and could be considered for future oil and gas development. The proposed leasing would not interfere with military readiness or training or pose an environmental risk to Florida.

"On this new plan that we are working on for the years 2007 to 2012, because of the price of energy today, particularly natural gas, it makes eminent sense to consider that area that was held back in 2001 but that may be offered for leasing in 2007.""

The offshore energy industry has compiled an "outstanding safety record" Burton said, that allows development of these resources without significant risk to the environment and cited last year's hurricanes as evidence of that.

"This is an area where we feel the environmental concerns should be minimal. Number one, we have seen that drilling off-shore has been very safe and very controlled. The hurricanes have shown that. Even though there has been a lot of destruction there has been no major oil spills, something you could have expected maybe. Some folks may have expected to see some real massive pollution, it hasn't happened."

The request for comments on the draft proposed program and notice of intent to prepare an associated environmental impact statement was submitted for publication in the Federal Register February 8, 2006.

2/17/2006: MMS takes Five Year Plan to U.S. Senate

In testimony before the Senate Energy Committee, Minerals Management Service Director Johnnie Burton outlined the agencies five year plan that is now in the Federal Registry for public comment. The plan would expand drilling in an area called Lease Sale 181 by approximately two million acres, but Burton says would still keep drilling far from the Florida coast.

"It is 100 miles from the coast of Alabama and the panhandle coast of Florida and it's over 250 miles from the western coast of Florida."

Director Burton told the senate panel that the proposed leasing would not pose any environmental risk to Florida or interfere with military readiness or training. The MMS works closely with the Department of Defense on all oil and gas leasing on the outer continental shelf.

"For this draft proposed plan I personally participated in about three different meetings at the Pentagon. So we do consult, we work together, we have an M.O.U. Once we agree to a set of mitigation with the Department of Defense, then those go into the term of our lease, so when the lessees get their lease, they know exactly what they can and cannot do."

Two senate bills have been introduced in efforts to come up with a bi-partisan compromise on the matter. Burton said the area has huge potential for natural gas and oil resources. Based on a 2003 interim update, the portion of the Sale 181 area east of the area currently available for lease has a potential of 930 million barrels of oil and 6.03 trillion cubic feet of gas. Burton said that these were conservative estimates.

"What has happened historically, is once an area is open and developed, we find out there is a lot more. Deep water Gulf of Mexico did not hold any interest from anybody until about 12, 15 years ago when the technology started allowing deeper and deeper drilling. And now the deep Gulf of Mexico is producing 67 percent of the oil produced in the gulf"

2/23/2006: NASA Technology Joins USGS Science to Fight Tamarisk

The U.S. Geological Survey and National Aeronautics and Space Administration have developed an Invasive Species Forecasting System (or ISFS), that can produce habitat suitability and distribution prediction maps for tamarisk in the continental United States. Dr. Jim Tate, science advisor to Interior Secretary Gale Norton, points out that such high tech tools are needed to combat tamarisk.

"It has taken over so much of our land that it is beyond the means of ordinary weed control techniques and management to really manage this burgeoning problem."

The ISFS is an outgrowth of Team Tamarisk, a Cooperative Conservation initiative that brought together hundreds of land managers and scientists in the spring of 2004 to work with Southwestern communities on a collaborative approach to tamarisk control. Because the tamarisk's long roots tap into underground aquifers, its groundwater -absorbing qualities may add to the severity of the drought in the western states Dr. Tate said.

"It interferes with our ability to manage water. For example, we could let water out of a dam and expect it to show up at somebody's irrigation head gate, but to find that it never gets there. Because, the Tamarisk actually slows the water enough that it has more time to infiltrate into the soil and grow more Tamarisk if you will."

The next project for Team Tamarisk will be an economic study detailing the financial toll the invasive plant has taken on states and the federal government, estimated to be hundreds of millions. A toll Dr. Tate hopes could be offset by use of the tamarisk as biomass.

"The economic projections of not only what the costs of having Tamarisk present are, but also the costs of trying to eliminate it and restore it. And if we add to that the concept that we could potentially use the material that we obtain, it could greatly affect our economics."

Tamarisk, a large shrub, was introduced to the western United States in the early 1800s as ornamental vegetation and for wind and erosion control. It has since spread and can be found in the West from Minnesota to California and from Mexico to Canada. Dr. Tate suggests the plant could be used as a feedstock for biofuel.

"It's rich in oils and carbohydrates. We pretty much know how to make biofuels out of oils and carbohydrates. We might have to do a little bit of research to figure out exactly what oils are in Tamarisk. So there's plenty of material there for potential conversion to biofuels if we know a little bit about the chemistry that we don't know right now."

3/10/2006:Secretary Norton Announces Departure from Interior

Norton Era Emphasizes Cooperative Conservation and
Responsible Energy Development

After five years of leading cooperative conservation efforts and responsible energy development, Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton announced Friday that she will leave the President's Cabinet at the end of March. In the past year, Norton completed nearly all of the goals that she had set out to accomplish. The achievements of the Department of the Interior were many during her tenure, but Secretary Norton acknowledges there is always more work to do.

"I'm very proud of what the people in this department have accomplished over the last five years. I think we have made a big difference in securing water supplies for the West by resolving some issues that had been in conflict for 75 years. We have made great progress with cooperative conservation with $2 billion dollars going into locally based conservation activities during my tenure."

During the past five years, the Interior Department has made reality the Secretary's philosophy of the Four C's; Communication, Cooperation and Consultation, all in the service of Conservation. The result has been greater involvement at all levels of decision making.

"It was very important to me that we give people in local communities a much better role in the federal decisions that affect them. We put in place regulations for the first time that give local governments the opportunity to participate as cooperating agencies in land use decisions. That means that when we do our land management plans, they have the opportunity to be at the table as we are making decisions."

One-third of the oil, natural gas and coal produced in the United States comes from resources managed by the Department of the Interior. Secretary Norton implemented the President's 2001 National Energy Policy that called for increased environmentally responsible energy production, and is implementing the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that includes innovative environmental protection practices to protect wildlife and landscapes and reducing the footprint of energy development.

"We've worked hard to put in place best management practices that are the ways in which oil and gas can be developed while still protecting wildlife and other resources. We have increased the manpower in these areas so we can meet the energy needs of Americans but also so that we can increase the inspections and monitoring to be sure that we are regulating oil and gas activities appropriately."

Another area of strong focus and success for the Secretary has been to catalog and tackle a backlog of maintenance in our National Parks ensuring they'll be enjoyed by future generations.

"We have 6,000 projects that are either underway or completed to maintain and restore our National Parks. We have invested in taking care of natural resources at our parks through the natural resource challenge that focuses on the natural ecosystem of the parks and we have increased the funding for that. We achieved an increase in highway bill funding going to the National Parks. When we took office a very large part of the problem in parks were lack of road maintenance."

Secretary Norton used Cooperative Conservation to bring people face to face to focus on what they have in common, producing partnerships that showed great results on the landscape.

"We've seen so many times that people with diverse perspectives, when they sit down and they talk their way through a problem, they can find common solutions, I'm very encouraged by that. We've been working in so many ways to encourage that with the seed money through our grant programs, with empowering and facilitating our employees using a problem solving approach, trying to build better relationships with state wildlife agencies, local governments. I believe that it is having an impact. It's something that occurs acre by acre. It may not register on the broader radar screen but it really has an impact on the ground where it matters."

During the worst five years of drought in the past five centuries, Secretary Norton addressed areas of potential crises and negotiated historic water agreements that will help supply water to millions of Americans for decades to come. The Western states came to agreements through steadfast facilitation by the department over issues that had been in dispute for more than 75 years.

"I recognized the importance of states finding their own solutions but that the federal government might have to impose a solution if the states could not reach their own consensus. It had been rewarding to see how much the states have been willing to come together to solve problems. I also have to say that having the worst drought in 500 years has gotten peoples attention on that issue in a way that has not happened in many years. I need to give credit to Bennett Raley, John Keys and Mark Limbaugh who have been my leadership team on that and who really understand water issues and have many years of experience in that area and helped me carry forward my vision for that."

In a letter to Present Bush, Secretary Norton said "Now I feel it is time for me to leave this mountain you gave me to climb, catch my breath, then set my sights on new goals to achieve in the private sector. Hopefully, my husband and I will end up closer to the mountains we love in the West."

Norton is the first woman to serve as the Secretary of the Interior. She is the 48th Interior Secretary and has been in office longer than all but six of her predecessors. Norton was sworn in as Secretary on January 31, 2001. After winning re-election, President Bush asked Secretary Norton to continue serving in his Administration.

3/16/2006: Secretary Norton Proposes Removal of Gray Wolves in Western Great from List of Threatened and Endangered Species

Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced last week that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed removing gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes region from the federal list of threatened and endangered species. The Secretary said cooperative conservation helped the gray wolves in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan recover from the threat of extinction.

"We commend all of our partners, the states, the tribes, the conservation organizations and the public for their dedicated efforts to ensure that the wolf is an enduring part of the landscape in the upper Midwest. Our proposal to de-list the gray wolf indicates our confidence that those who will assume management of the species will safeguard its long-term survival."

In addition to the de-listing proposal, the Service also proposes to designate gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes region as a distinct population segment (DPS) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Service's current proposal, if finalized, would also remove ESA regulation of critical habitat for the gray wolf in Michigan and Minnesota, and eliminate special rules for wolf management in Minnesota, as they are no longer required.

"Working with state and tribal wildlife officials and empowering their conservation programs is one of the keys to making the endangered species act work as it was intended. Today wolf populations in the core recovery states of the western Great Lakes population; Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin, have exceeded recovery numbers. State management plans are in place to ensure long-term viability. In Minnesota alone there are more than 3,000 wolves. Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin each support more than 400. We have exceeded recovery goals for wolf numbers in these states and have done so for several years."

The gray wolf is an important part of the eco-system in the Western Great Lakes, affecting the behavior of both animals and plants.

"Having them a permanent fixture in the north woods Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan, means that there will be healthier more resilient eco-systems with the presence of wolves. The areas that were recently re-colonized by wolves offer an opportunity to learn about how a top predator affects plants and animals within the entire eco-system."

More information on gray wolf recovery and the Service's proposal to delist gray wolves in the Western Great Lakes DPS can be found at http://www.fws.gov/midwest/wolf

3/20/2006: USDA, DOI and HHS Spotlight Interagency Readiness Plans to Expand Screening for Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza in Migratory Birds

Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Secretary of the Interior Gale A. Norton, and Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt today unveiled an enhanced national framework for early detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in wild migratory birds in the United States. This readiness plan and system builds on, significantly expands and unifies ongoing efforts among federal, state, regional and local wildlife agencies. Secretary Norton described the five specific strategies for early detection of the virus in wild migratory birds.

"Testing wild birds that are sick or have died, sample testing of live wild birds, sample testing of hunter killed birds, monitoring and testing of sentinel animals and testing of environmental samples."

Since the summer of 2005, the Department of Interior has carried out more than 1,700 tests on samples from more than 1,100 migratory birds. There have been 22 avian influenza isolates identified, but none have been highly pathogenic. Secretary Norton says if the H5N1 virus is found, such findings will be called "presumptive" until further study can take place.

"We anticipate that presumptive H5N1 results may be announced 20 to 100 times this year. But those initial tests do not tell us whether it is highly pathogenic or whether it is of the low pathogen variety. We will not know that information until tests are completed that take another five to ten days to perform."

All three Secretaries noted that the media will be relied upon to play an important role in educating the public without causing panic. Secretary Norton said that while this is a challenge we may be facing soon, it is still a disease of birds, not humans.

"The discovery of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus in migratory birds in Alaska or in other parts of North America will not be a reason for panic. It will not signal the beginning of a pandemic. Based on the spread of this virus in Asia, Europe and into Africa, we expect it to show up in North America at some point, possibly this year. The Interagency Surveillance Strategy is designed to help us find the disease as soon as possible after it enters North America and then take the appropriate steps to protect public health."

Additional information about avian flu and security relating to domestic poultry, wild bird monitoring and research, as well as pandemic planning nationwide is available at the U.S. government's comprehensive website for pandemic preparedness at http://www.pandemicflu.gov.

3/30/2006: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Report Shows Gains in U.S. Wetlands

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a report that shows a net gain in America's nonagricultural and agricultural wetlands for the first time since the Service began compiling data in 1954. At a press conference in Washington, D.C., Interior Secretary Gale Norton was joined by Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns to announce that approximately 191,800 acres of wetlands were gained between 1998 and 2004, bringing the nation's total wetlands acreage to 107.7 million acres, or 5 percent of the land area of the lower 48 states.

"This report is good news, not just for biologist; we depend on wetlands as the nurseries of life," Secretary Norton said.

The Status and Trends report, completed and released five years ahead of its Congressional mandate, shows success in President Bush's initiative to move wetlands conservation beyond "no net loss." Secretary Norton says cooperative conservation helped contribute to this milestone.

"Since 2001, 16 million acres of wetlands and associated upland habitat have been restored protected and enhanced through the North American Wetlands Conservation Act grants. Under our coastal program, nearly 65,000 acres of coastal wetlands, 12,300 acres of native grasslands and 659 miles of streams have been restored and conserved since 2001. The program also assisted communities and non-governmental organizations to protect more than 735,000 acres of wetlands and native grasslands as well as nearly 118 miles of streams and streamside habitat."

The announcement was made jointly with the Department of Agriculture because farmers and ranchers have become leaders in wetlands conservation through USDA programs according to Agriculture Secretary Johanns.

"USDA's Wetlands Reserve Program has encouraged farmers and ranchers to stop cultivating areas that were once wetlands and make them wetlands again. Last year USDA reported a net annual gain of 33,000 acres of private wetlands from 1997 to 2001. From 2001 to 2003, we doubled that."

The net gain was achieved because increases in shallow-pond-type wetlands offset the continued, but smaller, losses in swamp and marshland type wetlands. This report shows a loss of 523,500 acres of swamp and marsh wetlands and a gain of 715,300 acres of shallow-water wetlands. Secretary Norton points out that achievements in quality have also been made that are not noted in this report.

"Frankly, many of the projects we work on are not even captured by this change in trends. If we do what we often do and start with something that is a pond that does not have high quality as wetland or is a wetland of low value, when we work to enhance those wetlands, that doesn't show up on this because its not a change from a non-wetland to a wetland."

The report does not reflect the wetlands losses suffered along the Gulf Coast during the 2005 hurricane season. For more details on the report, visit, http://wetlandsfws.er.usgs.gov/status_trends/national_reports/trends_2005_report.pdf

4/4/2006: "Save the Mustangs" Fund to Distribute $200,000 for Long-Term Care of Horses

The Bureau of Land Management, Take Pride in America®, and Ford Motor Company has announced that more than $200,000 raised for the "Save the Mustangs" fund is ready for distribution to eligible wild horse and equine rescue groups to help place thousands of mustangs into private, long-term care. Jeff Rawson is the chief of BLM's Wild Horse and Burro program.

"What the Save the Mustangs Fund will do is after purchasing the animals; they can submit their request into the Save the Mustangs Fund for the assistance of a hundred dollars per animal that they purchase from us. This is being offered to horse rescue groups. The majority of these groups, what they're doing is taking the animals and will then look for other people to take them, adopt them and provide good homes for them."

In letters being sent this week to more than 300 non-profit wild horse and equine rescue organizations, the BLM is urging the groups to buy saleable wild horses and to apply for financial assistance from the Save the Mustangs fund to help them in providing for the horses' long-term care. BLM Director Kathleen Clarke hopes more partners will step up as Ford has.

"We just are excited to have these partnerships develop, we're grateful for Ford Motor Company and stepping up to the plate and helping raise the money to support these animals and we need good partners. We want to provide good long term care for these horses, allow these animals to live out their lives in dignity with the assurance that they'll be cared for."

The BLM has determined that the public rangelands under its jurisdiction can support a free-roaming population of 28,000 wild horses and burros. Most horses removed from the range go through an adoption program. Those that do not meet adoption requirements or are passed over are then offered up for sale with buyers meeting requirements that guarantee that the horse will be properly cared for. Justin Hall of Take Pride in America says their involvement in the programs makes sense because their charter is to protect America's icons.

"One or our charters from the Take Pride in America program is to protect the historical and cultural icons of America. BLM, when the partnered with Ford on this, brought Take Pride in America in to help with the process of finding a correct means to get donations into the hands of individuals that would provide care for these horses."

More than 8,000 horses are available for sale. For further information about the sales program, see www.blm.gov; for adoption information, see www.wildhorseandburro.blm.gov.)

4/19/2006: Southeastern States Vulnerable According to 2006 Fire Season Outlook

The National Interagency Fire Center has issued their fire season forecast for 2006. A mega-drought continues for much of the west and Rick Ochoa of predictive services says that while parts of the Sierra Nevada and northern Rockies have improved thanks to a good snow pack, overall conditions are pointing toward a busy firefighting season.

"I think its worse overall this year, I mean we're way off to a very fast start. Over two million acres burned so far this year. We have much more areas of concern this year, so I would say overall a more severe fire season nationally."

Texas and Okalahoma have already suffered the loss of homes and livestock in fires that took two million acres. But as Ochoa points out, southeastern states will also be an area of concern.

"A new area that's developing are the areas along the east coast down into Florida and the Gulf coast. Those areas have been very dry this winter and spring and so we're seeing escalating fire activity in those areas. So that's one thing we'll be looking for the next several weeks in those areas. And then later on, probably into the May and June time frame, we see fire activity picking up in the southwest and also in the lower elevations of the great basin like Nevada, Utah and Idaho."

During fire season the NIFC receives hourly input from the National Weather Service and is constantly moving firefighters and other assets to areas where conditions are predicted to produce fire. Meanwhile, fuels reduction has been a year round prevention effort through the Healthy Forest Initiative..

"The Healthy Forest Initiative has really progressed very well across the country. A lot of areas are making very good progress in treating hazardous fuels. We have seen areas where we have treated those areas and reduced the fire risk in those areas. So yes, we are working very aggressively on that, we know we have a lot of work to do still on that. But we're making a lot of good progress."

Statistics on the NIFC Web site show that in 2005 more than 58,000 fires were attributed to being caused by people for a total of more than one and a half million acres lost. Ochoa says public cooperation is needed to prevent these types of fires.

"We know we're going to have a very busy fire season, we know we're going to have dry lighting and things like that. We're going to need the cooperation of the public of being extra careful this year with fire especially in the west, take a look around their properties and try and make their homes as fire safe as possible. There's a great Web site called firewise.org where they can go and see the very simple things they can do to really make their homes much safer."

The Web site www.firewise.org has information for homeowners living in the wildland/urban interface to increase the survivability of there homes in case of a major wildfire.

5/5/2006: MMS Updates Hurricanes Katrina and Rita Damage

Minerals Management Service (MMS) has released an update of the assessment of damage to offshore oil and gas infrastructure caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Just over 20 percent of oil production is still shut in while nearly 13 percent of natural gas production is off line. MMS Gulf of Mexico Regional Director Chris Oynes says pipeline damage is still the main problem.

"There's some 33 thousand miles of pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico, a huge portion of that has had to be checked because of the path of the hurricanes. Right now there's an extreme shortage of the resources, divers, supply boats, crew boats, all of those kinds of things to complete the total underwater assessment of the pipeline."

As more pipelines are assessed, industry reports show the number of pipelines damaged has increased from an original report of 183 to 457. While the industry works to repair damage to pipelines and platforms, Oynes says that the MMS and industry have collaborated to improve hurricane safety particularly in regard to mobile offshore drilling units.

"We're going to be better off; we're going to be more protected this year because a number of steps were taken. A task force was put together dealing with mobile offshore drilling units and there was a lot of trouble with those in the last hurricane season and the task force, that MMS proposed in the first place, came up with some additional guidelines of how these anchoring mechanisms would be better off and how they would be more sturdy. And once the industry group that MMS was involved with came up with all these guidelines, MMS turned around then and issued that as a regulatory guidance that is in effect right now."

MMS has also revised the number of platforms destroyed from 115 down to 113. As operators work to rebuild or replace damaged structures, MMS is there every step of the way to insure safe operation and safety of the environment.

"The MMS role is first of all to look at what is the structural damage to a producing facility from the hurricane. And then as the companies propose to repair that, we're involved in the review of the repair proposals to make sure we're going to have a structurally sound system."

Despite the damage left in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, there was no loss of life as operators were evacuated quickly, some with help from MMS contracted helicopters and no major oil spills occurred thanks to federally required safety valves below the platforms.

"Each these wells that's out there in the federal area has a requirement to have a sub-sea safety valve in the well bore. And all of those well bores were put in place and held, so none of the wells we're polluting from the hurricanes."

Oynes says that predictions from NOAA show this could be another rough hurricane season, but lessons learned from 2005 will speed up recovery if needed.

"I would applaud a lot of positive steps by the industry themselves. I know several of the large companies have stock-piled some replacement equipment, whether it be pipes and valves and compressors and what not, so that they have that material already ordered and in a stockpile so that if there is damage they will be able to return things to production much faster than they were say last year."

5/15/2006: USGS Briefs Congress on Reducing Risk from Earthquakes

In a briefing sponsored by the House Science Committee, the USGS and representatives from Pacific Gas and Electric Company and the City of Los Angeles spoke about the concept of putting risk reduction into action to help reduce loss from earthquakes. The USGS plays a primary role in monitoring and assessing seismic activity, but more importantly, according to David Applegate, USGS senior science advisor for earthquake and geologic hazards, is the research that helps responders in the aftermath of an earthquake.

"That's really a critical time is making sure that emergency managers have the best information possible and the most rich and robust information possible about the event, so they know where shaking was most intense, where they need to focus their response, what things may be damaged, and basically just in a time when, especially with a large event there's going to be a lot of potential chaos, to make sure that they have what they need to respond effectively."

Earthquake science has come a long way in the 100 years since the San Francisco quake of 1906, but according to Applegate, for all the research in identifying where earthquakes are likely to occur they are not yet predictable.

"We do not have an early warning at this point for earthquakes. It's one of the things that really sets it apart from a lot of other hazards because it does strike without warning as opposed to a hurricane where you may get a couple of days or a tornado where you make get 15 minutes ahead of time. So a lot of it is focused, a lot of our work is focused, on making sure that as soon as the event happens, within seconds to minutes, that that information is getting to the key responders."

The USGS operates a global seismic network of 128 monitoring stations around the world. Earthquakes can trigger a natural disaster called tsunami as it did in the Indian Ocean in December 2004. USGS is set up to quickly get earthquake information to the National Atmospheric Administration so that they can issue a tsunami warning.

"NOAA, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, has the responsibility for tsunami warnings but the USGS role is with that trigger. Making sure that we get from our global seismographic network globally as well as our advanced national seismic system domestically, that we get that seismic data to the warning centers that NOAA operates because there is a case where, between the time of the trigger and the time the waves hit, there is a window to provide advance warning."

The guests, Lloyd Cluff from the geoscience department of Pacific Gas and Electric and Ellis Stanly the head of Emergency Preparedness for the city of Los Angeles discussed how infrastructure is improving to survive an earthquake. USGS is providing them with several useful products to help mitigate hazards. Many of the products integrate maps of cities with seismic information to give accurate estimates of a population's exposure to an earthquake.

"It's come a long way from just saying yes, 'Yep an earthquake happened and this is how big it was,' to shifting towards products that are the kind of information that people need. For example; we're very pleased with a product called PAGER or Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response, that takes our shaking information, combines that with population databases and provide for example, aid agencies with a very quick picture of whether this has been a humanitarian disaster, what's the scope of the mobilization that's needed, and this is a critical tool to speed the response to those who need it."

The USGS is the nation's largest water, earth, and biological science and civilian mapping agency. This bureau of the Department of the Interior collects, monitors, analyzes, and provides scientific understanding about natural resource conditions, issues, and provides impartial scientific information to resource managers, planners and other customers.

5/22/2006: Tribes Receive $8 Million in Grants from Fish and Wildlife Service

Acting Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett has announced the latest recipients of grants under the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program and the Tribal Wildlife Grant Program. The Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Dale Hall, says the grants cover a wide range of efforts.

"26 different tribes got funding this year in 16 different states; everything from reintroduction of endangered mussels in the Peoria tribe in Oklahoma Spring and then black bear population management and research, and then spawning grounds up in Washington. The gamut of issues we face in the Fish and Wildlife Service everyday, well tribes face those too."

The funds will restore fish and wildlife resources that are important to Native American culture and heritage. Hall points out that the money is mutually beneficial to the tribes and the species in their care.

"A lot of these tribal grants are critical to those fish and wildlife programs that they have on the reservations in Indian country because very few tribes have real operational monies to go out and do anything. And yet, man they hold a tremendous amount of natural resource habitat in this country, millions of acres. We need them there with all of us to help manage the resource because natural resources don't know where a boundary line is."

Indian tribes have a controlling interest in more than 52 million acres of tribal trust lands with an additional 40 million acres held by Alaska Native corporations. Director Hall says the money is well-spent because it goes directly to the land.

"These funds awarded under the Tribal Wildlife Grants and the Tribal Landowner Incentive Program go almost totally straight to the ground to help them actually move dirt or plant trees or do whatever they need to do, but it goes out on the landscape."

Since 2003, the Service has put more than $38 million to work through the two competitive programs. Hall says flexibility is a hallmark of the grant programs in helping tribes meet their conservation goals.

"I think all of these grants are success stories. All of these grants have some real value to them and our tribal partners are just fantastic. When they get a grant they make it happen."

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06/05/2006: Interior Secretary Kempthorne Goes Fishing With Kids to Celebrate National Fishing and Boating Week
	STORY: Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne went fishing Monday with more than 300 elementary school students in the pond at Constitution Gardens on the National Mall. The event marked the kick off of the sixth National Fishing and Boating Week. (text)	:55