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GOLD MINE ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT
US lawmakers want answers about Idaho gold mine process
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Lawmakers who oversee appropriations for the U.S. Forest Service have sent a letter requesting the agency revoke its decision allowing a Canadian company to write a key environmental report on proposed open-pit gold mines in central Idaho. Top Democrats on the House Appropriations Subcommittee sent the letter Monday. The lawmakers also want all records leading to the Forest Service giving British Columbia-based Midas Gold authority to write the document. Internal Forest Service documents indicate the company received that authority after the Trump administration became involved. The document deals with the potential effect the mines would have on protected salmon, steelhead and bull trout.
BOND ELECTIONS-RESTRICTIONS
Legislation would limit rerunning failed Idaho bond votes
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Bond elections that fail won't be allowed before voters again for a minimum of 11 months under proposed legislation that's heading to the full House. The House State Affairs Committee voted 12-3 Monday to OK the measure brought forward by Republican Rep. Heather Scott. Backers of the legislation say taxing districts should only get one shot a year at asking voters to approve bonds. Those opposed say taxing districts typically communicate with voters to find out why a bond failed and make changes the voters want before trying again. The legislation has particular significance for school districts that currently can run bond elections four times a year.
MISSING KIDS-MOM FOUND
Mom of 2 missing kids found in Hawaii with new husband
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Police say the mother of two missing children has been found in Hawaii, along with her new husband, but the children still have not been located. Seventeen-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua “JJ” Vallow have been missing since September. The Kauai Police Department announced Sunday that Lori Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell were contacted in Kauai on Saturday, where they had been staying for an unknown period of time. The couple's car was searched and Lori Vallow has been ordered to bring her children to an Idaho Department of Health and Welfare office by Thursday or risk being found in contempt of court.
HEALTH AND WELFARE-BUDGET
Idaho Health and Welfare seeks $3.7 billion overall budget
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare is seeking an additional $70 million from the general fund and $300 million overall that includes federal money for an 8.7% increase in next year's budget. Director Dave Jeppesen on Monday told the Legislature's budget-setting committee that the large increase is due to Medicaid expansion. His request would boost the agency's budget to about $930 million from general funds. The agency would also receive about $330 million in dedicated funds from such things as fees and licenses plus another $2.4 billion from the federal government for an overall budget of about $3.7 billion.
IDAHO ELK HUNT-BACKLASH
Idaho wildlife officials criticized for elk hunt
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Officials at the Idaho Department of Fish and Game are being criticized for taking part in a research project that led to the killing of 206 elk across southern Idaho from Pocatello to Nampa. The hunting and fishing group Idaho For Wildlife recently posted photos of butchered elk quarters stacked on pallets online, drawing attention to the hunt that happened between July and October of 2019. Mike McDonald, regional wildlife manager for the agency’s Magic Valley region, told the Idaho Statesman that the elk represent less than 1% of the population in the area. He says the kill was part of a University of Idaho graduate student's research on deterring elk, which are causing significant damage to private landowners who then file claims with the state.
PUBLIC LAND ACCESS
US land agency seeks to ID public parcels that lack access
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — U.S. land managers say they will release by mid-March a priority list of federal lands that need but don’t have public access. U.S. Bureau of Land Management officials want people to nominate lands where the public could legally hunt, fish or pursue other recreational purposes, except the lands have no or limited access. The agency manages 383,000 square miles of land, primarily in western states. A representative of the National Wildlife Federation says the public access initiative is laudable but must be considered in the context of Trump’s broad rollbacks of environmental rules.
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