Here's the weekly news digest from Greg Giuisti:
Groups oppose listing of frogs, toads under ESA, Kate Campbell
Ag Alert, July 10, 201
An outpouring of comments on proposed listing under the federal Endangered Species Act of two California frog species and the Yosemite toad has prompted reopening of the public comment period. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said listing the species for protection could include designating about 1.8 million acres in 17 California counties as critical habitat and restrict grazing and recreation activities on public land.....
CA Sierra Club rips energy source that’s cut emissions: natural gas, Chris Reed
Cal Watchdog, July 8, 2013
A visit to the California Sierra Club’s priorities page illustrates one of the funniest and most ironic public-policy developments of our time. The club’s top three priorities are getting California “Beyond Coal,” “Beyond Oil” and “Beyond Natural Gas.” All fossil fuels are evil, you see. But it is the gigantic boom in natural gas — not the....
Quincy Library Group contemplates its future, Debra Moore, Plumas County News, 7/8/2013
Though Congress has not yet renewed the Herger-Feinstein Quincy Library Group Forest Recovery Act, and the prospect seems unlikely, the legislation’s influence will be felt for years to come. Many of the timber harvest projects developed under the Quincy Library Group model are in the Forest Service pipeline, but perhaps even more critical is its legacy. .....
California’s Market for Hard-to-Verify Carbon Offsets Could Let Industry Pollute as Usual, Maureen Nandini Mitra and Michael Stoll, Earth Island Journal
San Francisco Public Press, Jul 8 2013
Timber, dairy and chemical companies line up to sell credits to biggest emitters
One hot day this spring John Buckley scrambled up a dusty slope of a patch of deforested land in the middle of California’s Stanislaus National Forest in the Sierra Nevada, five miles west of Yosemite National Park, and surveyed the bleak landscape: 20 acres of blackened tree stumps and the shriveled remains of undergrowth. On neighboring ridges, similar brown expanses dotted the green forest canopy. .....
'One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire' campaign U.S. Forest Service Sierra Star, July 8, 2013
The U.S. Forest Service and other land management agencies have a new fire safety campaign in California. The ‘One Less Spark, One Less Wildfire’ campaign is designed to provide constant reminders during this fire season to reduce the numbers of human-caused vehicle and equipment wildfires throughout the state......
Biomass company excited to be headquartered in Sacramento, Mark Glover, Merced Sun Star, July 7, 2013
Situated amid homes in a quiet, leafy section of midtown Sacramento is the headquarters of one of the nation's leading biomass energy firms. "We're probably No. 4 or 5 in the country right now, but we want to be the largest," says Hugh Smith, president and CEO of Greenleaf Power LLC. Given what Greenleaf has done in short order in the comparatively young biomass power industry, Smith's words don't come off as an idle boast......
Wildfire Season So Far: Tragic, Destructive And Below Average, Howard Berkes
Capitol Public Radio, July 3, 2013
So far during the 2013 wildfire season, more than 800 homes and businesses have burned to the ground, nearly 1.6 million acres were scorched and over 23,000 blazes have required suppression. And two dozen firefighters have died. But as dramatic as it's been, the season has yet to kick into high gear. It may seem like wildfire Armageddon out there, given the tragic deaths of 24 wildland firefighters this year, more than 800 homes and businesses burned to the ground, nearly 1.6 million acres scorched and over 23,000 blazes requiring
suppression......