Posted: Friday, September 5, 2008 12:00 am
Groups file notice of lawsuit
CHEYENNE - A coalition of environmental groups says it plans to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over a policy that allows the agency to provide Endangered Species Act protections for only portions of a specie's range.
The groups filed their 60-day notice of intent to sue Thursday with the Department of Interior, a requirement of the Endangered Species Act.
They say the lawsuit was prompted by the government's July decision to remove protections for the Preble's meadow jumping mouse in Wyoming, while maintaining protections in Colorado.
The environmentalists argue the policy creates a greater risk of extinction for the Preble's mouse.
A Fish and Wildlife Service says the policy in question allows biologists to more accurately target those areas where a species most needs protection.
Council strips mayor's power
GILLETTE - The Gillette City Council is moving to strip Mayor Duane Evenson of his powers to appoint city officials.
Evenson cast the lone dissenting vote on Tuesday as the council approved an ordinance to give the council itself powers to appoint the city administrator, city attorney and municipal judges. The ordinance now must be published for two weeks and will go into effect 60 days after that.
The council first moved to trim Evenson's powers in July. Councilors proposed the change saying that the mayor had withheld pay raises for personal reasons and was unable to work with people who disagreed with him.
No cause yet in plane crash
CHEYENNE - A preliminary report into a fatal plane crash in southwestern Wyoming confirms that one of the pilots was on a solo instructional flight while the other was descending to land when their planes collided in midair.
The two single-engine planes crashed about five miles northwest of the Rock Springs-Sweetwater County Airport on Aug. 10, killing all three people aboard the two planes.
National Transportation Safety Board investigator Georgia Struhsaker says her investigation is ongoing and the cause of the crash won't be released for several months.
Killed in the crash were 54-year-old student pilot Dave Knezovich of Rock Springs, 67-year-old Ralph Otto of Wilmette, Ill., and 67-year-old C. Michael Downey of Columbus, Ohio.
UP sets shipment record
OMAHA, Neb. - Union Pacific set another company record last month by hauling 18.7 million tons of coal out of northeast Wyoming's Powder River Basin.
The Omaha, Neb., based railroad says it brought 1,190 full coal trains out of Wyoming in August. The railroad's previous best came in July when it moved 1,174 coal trains out of Wyoming.
Through the first eight months of 2008, Union Pacific moved 476 more coal trains out of Wyoming than it did in 2007. That represents a 6 percent increase.
UP vice president Doug Glass says the coal shipping records demonstrate that investment in the lines coming out the Powder River Basin is paying off with higher capacity. Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp. share ownership of that line.