Culled out

The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation’s oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters.

This announcement comes at the time when the situation supposedly still is “fluid” and the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force still hasn’t issued its final report on zoning uses of these waters.

To Read Full Story Click Here:

To read previous Hot topic story click here Business Leaders Applaud Effort To Require Disclosure of Taxpayer Subsidies to Lawyers Who Sue Government Bipartisan Legislation Introduced in Congress Yesterday “A Small But Important Step Toward Long-Overdue Legal Reform” WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 4, 2010) — Wealthy activist groups that sue the government and then force taxpayers to pick up the tab for their attorneys’ fees would now have those taxpayer subsidies disclosed to the public under legislation jointly introduced by Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. House this week. The Western Business Roundtable applauded the bipartisan measure, called the “Open Equal Access to Justice Act of 2010,” which was jointly introduced today by U.S. Reps. Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-SD) and Rob Bishop (R-UT). “The bill would further President Obama’s commitment to greater ‘transparency’ in government by giving taxpayers more information on how their tax dollars are being spent,” said Jim Sims, President and CEO of the Western Business Roundtable.  “There are few government programs that can’t be improved by shining the disinfecting light of public disclosure on how taxpayer funds are spent, and the Equal Access to Justice Act is clearly one of them.” The original intent of the Equal Access To Justice Act (EAJA), enacted in 1980, was to help individuals and organizations with limited means seek judicial redress from the federal government by allowing them to recover the legal fees and expenses when they sue the government and win.  However, in recent years, a small handful of wealthy activist organizations have “milked” the program for many millions of dollars, according to government spending watchdog groups. While there is no official government accounting of how many taxpayer dollars go to fund these lawsuits, a recent study led by Karen Budd-Falen, a Wyoming attorney, found that, over the past 15 years, more than a dozen environmental groups have brought over 1,500 federal cases in 17 states and the District of Columbia and collected more than $37 million in taxpayer dollars through EAJA or other similar laws. “The Equal Access to Justice Act is a good example of a well-intentioned program that has been badly abused,” Sims said.  “In many ways, it has helped to fuel the modern ‘environmental litigation industry.’  A very good case can be made that these tax dollars are funding some of the most effective job-killing efforts in America today.” “At a minimum, this use of tax dollars should be subjected to the disinfecting light of public disclosure, which is what this bill does,” he added. The proposed legislation would not bar continued reimbursements to individual and groups under the EAJA, but would instead: Reinstate and consolidate tracking and reporting requirements of EAJA payments under the Department of Justice (DoJ).   Require the DoJ to issue an annual, online report to Congress regarding the amount of fees and other expenses awarded during the preceding fiscal year.   Ensure that the report provided to Congress be made available to the public online and include:   the name of the party seeking the award of fees;   the agency to which the application for the award is made;   the name of the administrative judges involved in the case; and   the hourly fees of all attorneys and expert witnesses.   Request that the Comptroller General commence an audit of past actions taken under the Equal Access to Justice Act. Once complete, the audit must be reported to Congress. “We are pleased to see Congress taking steps towards ending the abuse of this law,” Sims said. “Representatives Cynthia Lummis, Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, Rob Bishop and the others pushing this legislation are heroes of the taxpayers for their work on this issue.” #  #  # Contact:  Michelle Hindmarch Western Business Roundtable 303-577-4611 michelle@wbrt.org About the Roundtable: The Western Business Roundtable is a unique organization comprised of CEOs and senior executives of organizations doing business in the Western United States.  Founded more than 35 years ago, the Western Business Roundtable is a activist coalition of companies and associations doing business both in the U.S. and abroad.  Our members are involved in industry as varied as agricultural products, accounting, chemicals, coal, construction and construction materials, conventional and renewable energy production, energy services, engineering services, environmental services, financial services, Internet technologies, manufacturing, mining, nuclear power, oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, pipelines, telecommunications, and public and investor-owned utilities.

]]> http://balanceduse.org/news/equal-access-justice-act-hot-topic-update/feed/ 0 http://balanceduse.org/news/sage-grouse-listed/ http://balanceduse.org/news/sage-grouse-listed/#comments Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:51:28 +0000 StacyBragg http://balanceduse.org/?p=736

Energy groups relieved sage grouse won’t be listed

 An Interior Department announcement Friday that it won’t list sage grouse as an endangered or threatened species opens the way for continued development of the West’s wind energy and oil and gas industries.

Those industries will still face scrutiny in sage grouse habitat but much less so than if the bird were listed.

For Full Story click here:

Tester Bill discussion in Deerlodge for the public.

 Sen. Jon Tester says U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will be in Deerlodge Saturday May 6, 2010 at 10:00 am at the Powell County Community Center to discuss the Tester S-1470 Forest Jobs  Restoration Act/ Wilderness Bill.

Public input is welcome

Location of the Community Center is at 416 Cottonwood Ave. click here for map

Bill would limit national monuments in Montana

 Montana’s congressman has introduced a bill that would require congressional approval before the president could create any more national monuments within the state.

The bill by Republican Denny Rehberg was introduced in the U.S. House Thursday. It was prompted by a leaked Department of Interior memo that listed 14 sites in nine states under consideration to become national monuments. The president can designate national monuments through the federal Antiquities Act.

To read Full Story Click here:

New regional forester discusses agency challenges

The new forester for the U.S. Forest Service’s northern region says the agency is facing several challenges, including beetle-killed pine trees and snow-free watersheds.

Leslie Weldon was named to succeed Thomas Tidwell in the post last year, overseeing 15 national forests and 4 national grasslands in Montana, Idaho and North Dakota. Tidwell became Forest Service chief last June.

For Full story Click Here:

Forest studies Crooked Creek Plan

Climbing along the eastern shoulder of Big Pryor Mountain, Crooked Creek Road has been scorched by fire and washed out by rain.

Under an environmental assessment now under review, the Beartooth Ranger District is proposing to repair about five miles of the road that has been the most heavily damaged.

For Full story Click Here:

To read Environmental Assessment (EA) and How To Comment click here: 

Forest revamps anti-fire project

A fuel reduction project northeast of Ashland that was pulled last year after a threatened lawsuit has been repackaged with another one for public review, but it still doesn’t answer the environmental group’s concerns.

The Beaver Creek landscape management project could treat about 14,000 acres on public lands in southeastern Montana. The area is popular with deer, elk and turkey hunters because it’s such a large tract of public land in a sea of private property in southeastern Montana. The Custer National Forest’s Whitetail rental cabin and Holiday Springs Campground also lie within the project’s boundaries, 17 miles east of Ashland and north of Highway 212.

To Read Full Story Click Here:

Judge grants weeklong extension on sage grouse finding

 A judge in Boise, Idaho, has extended the deadline for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to submit an endangered species finding for the greater sage grouse.

The deadline had been Friday. Attorneys for Fish and Wildlife requested a one-week extension after agency Director Sam Hamilton died last weekend.

To Read full Story Click Here:

Group sues over pine tree petition

An environmental group has sued seeking federal protection for a high-elevation pine tree devastated in some places in the Rocky Mountains by beetle infestations and fungus.

The Natural Resources Defense Council petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in December 2008 to list the whitebark pine as endangered. An initial finding on the petition was due within 90 days.

To Read Full Story Click Here: