March Megaload News

Recent Megaload News:

Thursday night Omega Morgan/GE megaload #3 was blocked on Reserve Street in Missoula, Montana by about 80 protesters.  To-date OM #3 has been trudging along for no fewer than 34 days.  

Missoula women arrested during megaload protest, Missoulian, 3/21/14

The women...joined members of Indian Peoples Action, Northern Rockies Rising Tide and the Blue Skies Campaign in...bringing the shipment to a stop for about 20 minutes...  Indian People's Action... released a statement saying, “We are standing in solidarity with our cousins of the Nez Perce tribe, the Umatilla, and the cousins to the north whose lives are being drastically affected by the destructive nature of the needless extraction of tar sands. This is leaving the land uninhabitable and our people with no place to go.”...  Read more.

Keystone XL in the News:

On April 22nd, a group of ranchers, farmers and tribal communities from along the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline route, called the Cowboy Indian Alliance, will ride into Washington DC...  On April 27th, thousands...will join them to stand together for a final message that the Keystone XL pipeline and the tar sands must be rejected...  See more and join the march here.

'Cowboy Indian Alliance' will ride to D.C. for 'Reject And Protect' Keystone XL Protest, Brianna Elliott, Huffington Post, 3/11/14...  

This rally gives a voice to the communities that would be most impacted by Keystone XL, and their message is clear -- to protect land, water and climate now and for future generations. The Keystone XL would cross several rivers and the Ogallala Aquifer, which would put wildlife, public water supplies and croplands in danger if a spill were to occur...  Activists have mounted increasing pressure on the Obama administration to reject the project, delivering over two million comments on March 7 following a series of mass arrests in front of the White House...  Read more.

Another firm that evaluated Keystone for State Department had ties to TransCanada, Huffington Post, 3/13/14...  The contractor that evaluated greenhouse gas emissions for the State Department's Keystone XL report is the latest company to come under fire for its ties to TransCanada, the prospective builder of the controversial pipeline...  Read more.

Our Megaload Story on This American Land

This week our local megaload story made news on This American Land:  Megaloads blocked from Wild and Scenic River Route. 

This American Land is a leading conservation news magazine program seen on public television stations nationwide.   

Photo by Roger Inghram

In other news, Exxon Mobil CEO sues to keep hydraulic fracking away from his Texas ranch while encouraging fracking in other places, highlighting the hypocrisy surrounding the oil and gas industry.  Read more.

 

 

 

Megaload Tar Sands Boondoggle

Megaload Tar Sands Boondoggle 

by Jim Fetter

(Printed here with cartoonist's permission.)

Otter's blast at Judge Winmill: He's not one of us 

 Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman, 2/13/14

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter says U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill is out of touch with Idaho values, including freedom and the marketplace...  Otter “urged people to understand their votes matter in coming elections because public officials are responsible for appointing judges like Idaho U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, who he said might not share Idaho’s values”...  It’s not every day a governor questions the values of an Idaho federal judge...  Among Winmill’s notable cases:...  delaying megaload transports over U.S. Highway 12 and ordering the U.S. Forest Service to assess environmental impacts...  Read more.

RCCI Withdrawals Mega-Load Appeal

 On Thursday, October 24th Resources Conservation Company International (RCCI) withdrew both its emergency motion for a stay pending appeal and its full appeal on behalf of General Electric!
Judge Winmill's ruling that the Forest Service must issue a Closure Order to all Omega Morgan mega-load shipments until the agency has conducted a review of impacts to the area and consulted with the Nez Perce Tribe now stands unchallenged!
Two years ago, ExxonMobil's attempt to transport mega-loads on Highway 12 failed in the face of fierce opposition, and now GE has folded.
The message is clear – US Highway 12 is not open to mega-loads.
  A huge thank you Idaho Rivers United, the Nez Perce Tribe and Advocates for the West; as well as to all the many brave citizens who live, work and recreate along the Clearwater-Lochsa and let their voices be heard!

Here's another opportunity to speak out in favor of protecting the beautiful Wild and Scenic Lochsa River.  
In 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act into law, he said:
"In the past 50 years, we have learned -- all too slowly, I think -- to prize and protect ... precious gifts.  Because we have, our own children and grandchildren will come to know and come to love the great forests and the wild rivers that we have protected and left to them. ... An unspoiled river is a very rare thing in this Nation today. Their flow and vitality have been harnessed by dams and too often they have been turned into open sewers by communities and by industries. It makes us all very fearful that all rivers will go this way unless somebody acts now to try to balance our river development."
 Tell the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect the Wild and Scenic Lochsa-Clearwater from industrialization by multinational tar sands corporations!

Motions for Reconsideration Denied

Judge Winmill has denied GE subsidiary RCCI & USFS motions for reconsideration.



The Lochsa in Autumn

This means that the order for the USFS closure of U.S. to Omega Morgan megaloads HOLDS.  Judge Winmill's ruling is a win for the Nez Perce Tribe & Idaho Rivers United as well as the rest of us. 

Read the story, Judge again says no to megaloads on Highway 12, in the Missoulian

Thanks and congratulations to the Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho Rivers United and legal team at Advocates for the West.  Thanks also to Friends of the Clearwater, side-by-side steadfast anti-megaload fighters for the past 4 years, as well as all of you who have done what you can to protect the Wild and Scenic Lochsa and Clearwater Rivers.

A Win for Wild and Scenic Highway 12 in Court

Judge Winmill has granted the Nez Perce Tribe & Idaho Rivers United's requested preliminary injunction and ordered the Forest Service to issue a close of Highway 12 to Omega Morgan's megaloads until the corridor study and tribal consultation are complete.  Read the decision here.

Beautiful Lochsa Corridor

Photo by Roger Inghram

A message from Advocates for the West about the ruling:

Chief US District Judge Winmill rejected the Forest Service's claim that they had authority "to review but not enforce" scenic values protected in the Clearwater/Lochsa Wild and Scenic corridor. As we argued, the court agreed that the Forest Service's position was "obviously...an erroneous reading of the Court's [February 2013] decision."

The decision goes on to say that by allowing an initial General Electric mega-load to pass through Hwy 12 on the week of August 5th, the Forest Service ignored its own rules on oversized loads within the Wild and Scenic River corridor and willingly chose to abdicate their statutory responsibilities.

And, in response to the Nez Perce Tribe's involvement in the case, Judge Winmill's decision states: "The Court also finds that they [Nez Perce Tribe] are likely to suffer irreparable harm if no injunction is issued. The plaintiffs are not seeking damages; they are seeking to preserve their Treaty rights along with cultural and intrinsic values that have no price tag."

The decision also addresses defendant Resources Conservation Company International's (RCCI) claim that their company stands to lose over $5 million if they are not allowed passage through Hwy 12. The Court places the blame of that loss squarely on the defendant, stating: "RCCI decided...to proceed before the Forest Service could complete its corridor study and consultation with the Tribe. In other words, RCCI knowingly put its loads into a position where the company would incur $5 million in losses if it must wait for the Forest Service review."

The court injunction will not affect normal traffic on Hwy 12 at all; it only closes the route to mega-loads. This is a truly incredible victory for all of us. The Court's decision sends a clear message that we will not be bullied by corporate Goliaths such as GE, Omega Morgan, and ExxonMobil.

Permission for Megaloads Ignored Nez Perce Treaty Rights

Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/09/08/2748910/permission-for-megaloads-ignored.html#storylink=cp

". . .This road along the Nez Perce trail is incomparable in its beauty, as well as its cultural value to the Nez Perce people. Its historical and cultural importance to the U.S. public is extraordinary. People who travel this route can feel its immense intrinsic value; the state of Idaho touts the unique nature and appeal of this corridor for tourism and recreation.

However, some Canadian and outside interests look at this route and see dollar signs in transport savings — for them. We are told of the wonderful opportunities of commerce this will bring.

The Nez Perce Tribe knows better. We have heard similar promises before. The travel of more than 1,000 of these megaloads, as is rumored, through one of the most pristine and spectacular areas in America is not genuine commerce. It is your Wall Street neighbor driving across your lawn, so that he can get to work five minutes faster and make a little more money — for him.*

The tribe has made its position on this issue known to the United States and the state of Idaho. The tribe has been ignored by the outside interests who will reap profits at the expense of the region’s resources. This exclusion led to frustration that spilled over into acts of civil disobedience so the tribal voice was heard. The tribe refuses to be excluded any longer. A hearing on the issue is scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday in U.S. District Court, Boise. ..."

Read the full article written by Silas C. Whitman, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, in the Idaho Statesman.

If you'll be in Boise on Monday, September 9th please consider attending the Nez Perce Tribe Rally 
on the west steps of the State Capitol at 1pm 
as well as the megaload injunction hearing at 4:30 p.m.
at the Federal Courthouse, 550 W. Fort Street, Boise

*Emphasis on this statement added for the purpose of this blog and is not printed this way in the Idaho Statesman.