Federal judge approves expansion of Smoky Canyon phosphate mine into Idaho roadless area

October 13th, 2009 Consent decree will allow reopening NV mineCARSON CITY, Nev. — The owner of a northeast Nevada gold mine has signed a consent decree with state environmental regulators that will allow it to resume operations.

October 6th, 2009 Woman killed by garage door made fake 9-1-1 callBOISE, Idaho — An Idaho woman who died after being pinned under a garage door at the paramedic building where she used to work first lured emergency workers away with a fake 9-1-1 call. KTVB-TV reports that 35-year-old Melissa Farris of Caldwell told dispatchers late last Thursday that a car had driven off a road.

October 6th, 2009 Kennecott Utah Copper discovers molybdenum depositSALT LAKE CITY — Kennecott Utah Copper says it has discovered a huge deposit of molybdenum (ma-LIB-DE'-nem) beneath its Bingham Canyon Mine. The company says it's unclear whether it will be feasible to develop a mine to extract the deposit, which is estimated at 500 million tons.

September 17th, 2009 Judge approves Star Tribune reorganizationNEW YORK — A federal judge in New York has cleared the Star Tribune of Minneapolis to emerge from bankruptcy protection by the end of the month. As anticipated, Judge Robert D.

September 1st, 2009 Idaho's wolf hunt on for nowBOISE, Idaho — The first legal wolf hunt in decades in the lower 48 states is off to a slow start. Hunters in Idaho could begin shooting wolves just before sunrise Tuesday in select hunting districts in the central and northern mountains.

August 25th, 2009 6 juvenile wolves found dead in IdahoBOISE, Idaho — Idaho officials say six juvenile wolves were found decomposing on U.S. Forest Service land.

August 21st, 2009 Groups try to block Idaho, Montana wolf huntsMISSOULA, Mont. — Conservation groups are asking a federal judge in Missoula to block fall wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana.

August 13th, 2009 Obama asks court to block forest road buildingWASHINGTON — The Obama administration says it will defend a 2001 rule imposed by President Bill Clinton that blocked road construction and other development on tens of millions of acres of remote national forests. The administration's decision was contained in court papers filed Thursday in a case in Wyoming that could help settle the fate of remote federal forests.

August 8th, 2009 Monsanto rounds up support, dissent for Idaho mineSODA SPRINGS, Idaho —As it races to replenish phosphate supplies for its weed-killing cash machine Roundup, Monsanto Co. insists its history of polluting southeastern Idaho's high country shouldn't prevent it from digging fresh open pits here.

August 6th, 2009 Court blocks road construction in national forestsWASHINGTON — A federal appeals court Wednesday blocked road construction in at least 40 million acres of pristine national forests. The decision by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals reinstates most of a 2001 rule put in place by President Bill Clinton just before he left office that prohibited commercial logging, mining and other development on about 58 million acres of national forest in 38 states and Puerto Rico.

August 6th, 2009 Judge approves Smoky Canyon Mine expansionBOISE, Idaho — An environmental group promises to appeal a federal ruling that on Tuesday approved the expansion of a phosphate mine into a roadless area near Yellowstone National Park. In his decision, U.S.

July 13th, 2009 EPA writing rules for hardrock mine cleanupsDENVER — The Environmental Protection Agency, complying with a court order, will develop a rule to guarantee companies that mine everything from copper to uranium will pay for needed environmental cleanup, not taxpayers. The announcement on Monday comes in the wake of a federal judge's order in February requiring the EPA to close loopholes that allow some companies to get out of paying for such costly cleanups when they file bankruptcy.

June 26th, 2009 APNewsBreak: EPA says Monsanto mine violates lawBOISE, Idaho — Federal regulators said Thursday an Idaho mine that Monsanto Co. depends on to make its Roundup weed killer has violated federal and state water quality laws almost since it opened, sending selenium and other heavy metals into the region's waterways.

June 17th, 2009 Career forester named US Forest Service chiefWASHINGTON — Montana forester Tom Tidwell is the new head of the U.S. Forest Service.

May 29th, 2009 Obama moves to curb road-building in forestsWASHINGTON — The Obama administration is ordering a one-year moratorium on most road-building and other development on about 50 million acres of remote national forests. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack issued a directive Thursday reinstating for one year most of a Clinton-era ban against new road construction and development in national forests.