tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74632722963646531712024-02-06T22:39:17.957-08:00FightingGoliathHighway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.comBlogger86125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-62404283897767207622014-04-22T10:24:00.004-07:002014-04-22T10:24:59.917-07:00Goliath Staggered<blockquote class="yiv5665325180webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2544" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2549" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">During his Saturday book signing at And Books Too in Clarkston WA, author Steve Bunk spoke about his motives for writing <i id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2550">Goliath Staggered</i>.
He explained that what the anti-megaload fighters in Montana and Idaho
have done during the past 4 years serves as a blueprint to other people
taking on the challenge of climate change-related issues. In other
words, through the book he aims to display what local people have done as a
stellar example to others.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2548">
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2543" style="text-align: center;">
<b><span class="yiv5665325180Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2547" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">There are two more opportunities to meet Steve and discuss his book:</span></b></div>
</blockquote>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><i><b></b></i></span></span><div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2538" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="yiv5665325180Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2541" style="font-size: x-large;">Tonight, Tuesday April 22nd, 7 p.m.</span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2538" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="yiv5665325180Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2541" style="font-size: x-large;"> at <a href="http://www.factandfictionbooks.com/" target="_blank">Fact & Fiction</a> in downtown <b>Missoula</b></span><b> </b></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2538" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Should be a rousing conversation!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="yiv5665325180webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2535" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv5665325180webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2537" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2536">
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5665325180webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2534" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2533">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="yiv5665325180Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2531">Tomorrow, Wednesday April 23rd, 7 p.m.</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5665325180webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2535" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv5665325180webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2534" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2533">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span class="yiv5665325180Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2531"> <a href="http://www.bookpeopleofmoscow.com/" target="_blank">Bookpeople</a> in <b>Moscow</b></span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5665325180webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2535" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv5665325180webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2534" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2533">
<span style="font-size: large;"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2532"><span class="yiv5665325180Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2531"> </span></b><span class="yiv5665325180Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2531">You're invited to join the discussion!</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</div>
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<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1398186922412_2530">
<br /></div>
</div>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-210403687118189132014-04-14T09:49:00.005-07:002014-04-14T10:01:44.439-07:00Megaload Book launch in Clarkston<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="yiv3720981839Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14148" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">This Saturday come to <b>And Books Too! </b>in Clarkston, WA for the launch of Steve Bunk's new book:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="yiv3720981839Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14148" style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"><span class="yiv3720981839Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14148" style="font-family: Times; font-size: x-large;"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14147"><i id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14146">"Goliath Staggered"</i></b></span> </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14132" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="yiv3720981839Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14139" style="font-size: large;">Meet the author, </span><br />
<span class="yiv3720981839Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14139" style="font-size: large;">plus join in the Q&A with Lin & Borg. </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14132" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="yiv3720981839Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14139" style="font-size: large;">Just head
across the Lewiston-to-Clarkston bridge on</span><span class="yiv3720981839Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14135" style="font-size: large;"> U.S. Hwy 12</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzG-AOeMd0JwL0Fo4987W-Sf9A32NOgMHBrYu9mR77T238LLlKmJAmI___ojqs9oGfKpl6PQTRd1OooIKzOh4DnTfbANG_ob30whi6Yuwgf5XUdsZJoxVY9KSoF1HluiQZLzlJQAL0GP3S/s1600/megabook.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzG-AOeMd0JwL0Fo4987W-Sf9A32NOgMHBrYu9mR77T238LLlKmJAmI___ojqs9oGfKpl6PQTRd1OooIKzOh4DnTfbANG_ob30whi6Yuwgf5XUdsZJoxVY9KSoF1HluiQZLzlJQAL0GP3S/s1600/megabook.jpeg" height="400" width="302" /></a><span class="yiv3720981839Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14139" style="font-size: large;"> </span></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14133" style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-HU9Lop6mPlgljbGZTzb143mRtOSgWq4bNSSk0356IAsaNdFo8K8_KlrcJioR_lZSzKgMRIjhEqf-3p4gRm4Dy5G4Lwtaerl_ocW2N-bDR2Uu3JCeY2nEX2HMT_WIZER5IPAcdVUJPLE/s1600/Goliath-Staggered-front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14132">
<span class="yiv3720981839Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397491858170_14135"><br /></span></div>
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Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-6797618255132835872014-04-09T11:26:00.003-07:002014-04-09T11:26:44.071-07:00America's Most Endangered Rivers 2014<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> American Rivers protects wild rivers, restores damaged rivers, and
conserves clean water for people and nature. Since 1973, American
Rivers has protected and restored more than 150,000 miles of rivers
through advocacy efforts, on-the-ground projects, and an annual <a href="http://www.americanrivers.org/endangered-rivers/2014-report/clearwater-lochsa%20" target="_blank">America's Most Endangered Rivers</a> campaign. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUWzhZ35kvtnZnSP9UKEuoWnS7YXfm89ZYBsWMCXCRx9SUmXuXwCuxJST5ZY2f7-AUqTlpyvKxLHGyDQULUwMBTau4js9OVN0EGqLDsBzSwCm0Tudz2My4m0tM7HNWrV9_3PEbHlDXcqAG/s1600/river+012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUWzhZ35kvtnZnSP9UKEuoWnS7YXfm89ZYBsWMCXCRx9SUmXuXwCuxJST5ZY2f7-AUqTlpyvKxLHGyDQULUwMBTau4js9OVN0EGqLDsBzSwCm0Tudz2My4m0tM7HNWrV9_3PEbHlDXcqAG/s1600/river+012.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> This
morning river conservation organization </span><span style="font-size: large;">brought our efforts to protect the Wild and Scenic corridor to even greater national attention by announcing
the designation of the Lochsa and Middle Fork Clearwater rivers as
among America's Most Endangered Rivers. This designation shines "a
national spotlight on the threat that megaload shipments bound for the
Canadian tar sands pose to the rivers' unique Wild and Scenic
character." Further, <a href="http://www.americanrivers.org/about/" target="_blank">American Rivers</a> and its partners urge the US
Forest Service to stop industrialization of the Lochsa-Clearwater U.S.12
corridor by banning megaload transports.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUsoStMhiC7KltgMzFdF1bBSV9pW06C0_yC8qsaGfcercoHzpmNnMpJKySD2V_MpGnQnErYph24YGMWxw6SVf_EeFCImYs-EY6lWIFJDAVO8ithx7wSa9vjUXORC0BxCpnOMDj5HGXLaa/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaUsoStMhiC7KltgMzFdF1bBSV9pW06C0_yC8qsaGfcercoHzpmNnMpJKySD2V_MpGnQnErYph24YGMWxw6SVf_EeFCImYs-EY6lWIFJDAVO8ithx7wSa9vjUXORC0BxCpnOMDj5HGXLaa/s1600/004.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">You can help protect our rivers by personally writing to Tom Tidwell, the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service <span class="yiv0787866374Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397063619612_6400" style="font-family: Helvetica;"><a href="mailto:ttidwell@fs.fed.us" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397063619612_6399" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ttidwell@fs.fed.us</a> </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">Or respond to the <a href="http://act.americanrivers.org/page/speakout/mer-clearwater-lochsa?js=false%20" target="_blank">Take Action</a> call via the American Rivers website</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
<span style="font-size: large;">American
Rivers protects wild rivers, restores damaged rivers, and conserves
clean water for people and nature. Since 1973, American Rivers has
protected and restored more than 150,000 miles of rivers through
advocacy efforts, on-the-ground projects, and an annual America’s Most
Endangered Rivers® campaign. - See more at:
http://www.americanrivers.org/about/#sthash.9TuJgBJo.dpuf</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Thank you!</span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica;"> </span></span><br /><br />
<br /><br />
<b> </b><blockquote class="yiv0787866374webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397063619612_6410" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv0787866374webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397063619612_6409" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397063619612_6408">
<b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397063619612_6407"><div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1397063619612_6406" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 14px;">
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
The
Wild and Scenic rivers’ coldwater fisheries, scenery, and whitewater
are threatened by industrialization that would bring huge megaloads
bound for Canadian tar sands onto narrow roads beside the rivers. - See
more at:
http://www.americanrivers.org/endangered-rivers/#sthash.z6qPowII.dpuf</div>
</div>
</b></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div id="stcpDiv" style="left: -1988px; position: absolute; top: -1999px;">
The
Wild and Scenic rivers’ coldwater fisheries, scenery, and whitewater
are threatened by industrialization that would bring huge megaloads
bound for Canadian tar sands onto narrow roads beside the rivers. - See
more at:
http://www.americanrivers.org/endangered-rivers/#sthash.z6qPowII.dpuf</div>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-27895673376305030352014-04-08T09:29:00.001-07:002014-04-08T09:29:44.282-07:00USFS Report<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7338" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7322" style="font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Times; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv2613519654webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7328" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7327">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7335">
<span class="yiv2613519654Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7341"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7340">As
the Nez Perce Tribe & Idaho Rivers United vs. the US Forest Service
megaload case slowly proceeds, this afternoon the USFS released a
report titled</b></span><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7334"><span class="yiv2613519654Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7333"> "Perceived
Values of the Middle Fork Clearwater and Lochsa River Corridor
Potentially Affected by Certain Over-Legal Truck Traffic."</span> </b> (That is, by <i>megaload</i> traffic.)<b> You'll find the report <a href="http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/nezperceclearwater/home/?cid=STELPRD3795513" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a></b>.</div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7326">
<br /></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv2613519654webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7321" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv2613519654webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7320" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-color: initial; border-left-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-top-style: none; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 40px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7319">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1396973493662_7318">
Although
the top-of-page headline includes the word "study," the USFS notes:
"This paper is not an impact study..." You may recall that on 9/12/13
(5.5 months ago), Federal Judge B. Lynn Winmill ordered the USFS to
conduct a "corridor review" and consult with the Nez Perce Tribe -- a
consultation yet to commence. </div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
</div>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-12862644555013524282014-03-17T12:21:00.000-07:002014-03-17T12:21:25.347-07:00March Megaload News<span style="color: #922590;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: Times;"><i><b>Recent Megaload News:</b></i></span></span></span><br />
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2236">
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="yiv7365052104webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2102" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2234">
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. </div>
<blockquote class="yiv7365052104webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2230" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2229">
<span class="yiv7365052104Apple-style-span" style="color: #922590;"><b>Missoula women arrested during megaload protest</b></span>, Missoulian, 3/21/14</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv7365052104webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2101" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv7365052104webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2100" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2099">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2098">
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 <a href="http://missoulian.com/news/local/missoula-women-arrested-during-megaload-protest/article_5fb3164e-ab75-11e3-9dfe-001a4bcf887a.html" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2256" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">more</a>.</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div>
<span class="yiv7365052104Apple-style-span" style="color: #922590; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><b><i>Keystone XL in the News:</i></b></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<blockquote class="yiv7365052104webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2254" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2293">
<span class="yiv7365052104Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2292" style="color: #922590;"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2291">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..</b></span>. 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 <a href="http://rejectandprotect.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2253">
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv7365052104webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2245" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv7365052104webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2248" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2247">
<span class="yiv7365052104Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2251" style="color: #922590;"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2250">'Cowboy Indian Alliance' will ride to D.C. for 'Reject And Protect' Keystone XL Protest</b></span>, Brianna Elliott, Huffington Post, 3/11/14... </div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv7365052104webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2244" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2243">
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv7365052104webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2294" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv7365052104webkit-indent-blockquote" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
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 <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/11/cowboy-indian-alliance-reject-and-protect_n_4942733.html?utm_hp_ref=green" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">more</a>.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv7365052104webkit-indent-blockquote" style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span class="yiv7365052104Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2297" style="color: #922590;"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2296">Another firm that evaluated Keystone for State Department had ties to TransCanada</b></span>, 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 <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/13/keystone-state-department-conflict-of-interest_n_4951943.html" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1395081332183_2300" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">more</a>.</blockquote>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-44216753815410823692014-02-25T13:28:00.000-08:002014-02-25T13:28:18.346-08:00Our Megaload Story on This American Land<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">This week our local megaload story made news on This American Land: <a href="http://www.thisamericanland.org/news/reports-from-the-edge-megaloads-blocked-from-wild-scenic-river-route#.UwvOkYWOjy0" target="_blank">Megaloads blocked from Wild and Scenic River Route.</a></span><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.thisamericanland.org/reports-from-the-edge" target="_blank">This American Land</a> is a leading conservation news magazine program seen on public television stations nationwide. </span></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50Hm3l2cEF0r-dOMEFwn9gIQEZT_CAbTBRt_G6cQSDUu5JWX3PAIokuZKFBBxto3Ife65GJaOgdTqW-vyyL5FQBLzvkw1TraM-2KSdmp_mTU9OyxJ4ViaVy4cAhmGM-wEzZp8IqGrB8yr/s1600/Beauty-of-the-Lochsa-cropped(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj50Hm3l2cEF0r-dOMEFwn9gIQEZT_CAbTBRt_G6cQSDUu5JWX3PAIokuZKFBBxto3Ife65GJaOgdTqW-vyyL5FQBLzvkw1TraM-2KSdmp_mTU9OyxJ4ViaVy4cAhmGM-wEzZp8IqGrB8yr/s1600/Beauty-of-the-Lochsa-cropped(1).jpg" height="286" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by Roger Inghram</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: large;">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. <a href="http://blog.seattlepi.com/candacewhiting/2014/02/21/exxon-mobil-ceo-sues-to-keep-fracking-project-away-from-his-property-but-supports-fracking-elsewhere/" target="_blank">Read more</a>. </span></span></span></h5>
<h5>
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></h5>
<h5>
</h5>
<h5>
<br /></h5>
<h5>
</h5>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-46568816859842015032014-02-17T10:26:00.000-08:002014-02-17T10:32:57.991-08:00Megaload Tar Sands Boondoggle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHExJznZQyuEfQnDRPi5lyqNZaRH2Af0qLldLxuUq3Kivf77t4iHRbK9ihJTRlNqqhzxUjNwl4BCouP_httqrLVBXJJJbwXpwMqorwdSq30FLTQg7LyMY40GQpQP3lAckjrnzbZHqfQmC6/s1600/Megaload+tar+sands+cartoon.copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<blockquote class="yiv5608641782webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1392659910082_5279" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<b><span class="yiv5608641782Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1392659910082_5278" style="font-size: x-large;">Megaload Tar Sands Boondoggle</span> </b></blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5608641782webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1392659910082_5279" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">by Jim Fetter </span><span class="yiv5608641782Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1392659910082_5280"></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5608641782webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1392659910082_5279" style="border: medium none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="yiv5608641782Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1392659910082_5280">(Printed here with cartoonist's permission.)</span></span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.fightinggoliath.org/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHExJznZQyuEfQnDRPi5lyqNZaRH2Af0qLldLxuUq3Kivf77t4iHRbK9ihJTRlNqqhzxUjNwl4BCouP_httqrLVBXJJJbwXpwMqorwdSq30FLTQg7LyMY40GQpQP3lAckjrnzbZHqfQmC6/s1600/Megaload+tar+sands+cartoon.copy.jpg" height="640" width="428" /></a></div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1392659910082_5261" style="text-align: center;">
<span class="yiv5608641782Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1392659910082_5260" style="color: #8f3ffc; font-size: large;"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1392659910082_5259">Otter's blast at Judge Winmill: He's not one of us</b></span> </div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1392659910082_5261" style="text-align: center;">
Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman, 2/13/14</div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1392659910082_5300" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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 <a href="http://blogs.idahostatesman.com/otters-blast-at-judge-winmill-hes-not-one-of-us/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=otters-blast-at-judge-winmill-hes-not-one-of-us" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1392659910082_5299" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">more</a>.</div>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-22586130987101202042013-10-25T18:02:00.002-07:002013-10-25T18:02:50.995-07:00RCCI Withdrawals Mega-Load Appeal<div class="yiv9835233274p1" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4627" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4636" style="color: dimgrey;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4635"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4634"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: black;">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!</span></span><span style="color: black;"><br />
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!<br />
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. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: dimgrey;"><span style="color: black;"><strong id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4638">The message is clear – US Highway 12 is <em>not</em> open to mega-loads.</strong><br />
A huge thank you <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?AdvocatesfortheWest/97da56f576/7b98d26e1b/f84fa2744e" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Idaho Rivers United</a>, the <a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?AdvocatesfortheWest/97da56f576/7b98d26e1b/08c10d9bd2" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4639" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Nez Perce Tribe</a> and <a href="https://www.advocateswest.org/donate/" target="_blank">Advocates for the West</a>; as well as to all the many brave citizens who live, work and recreate
along the Clearwater-Lochsa and let their voices be heard! </span></span></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIkIUdWYnF0oCuZ2hNbkPWy_eFGAO68NL0hzL0IhMP895KOC5aNkK5IrNgMWWdEkPzF9UE_Du8N-3pu5EPXf2pT5HKfaQR04Tpcvnh4bgrPacCVsddNxbVjO58A9Tp3XPKwD9sCWqtAKs6/s1600/102313_0912%5B01%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIkIUdWYnF0oCuZ2hNbkPWy_eFGAO68NL0hzL0IhMP895KOC5aNkK5IrNgMWWdEkPzF9UE_Du8N-3pu5EPXf2pT5HKfaQR04Tpcvnh4bgrPacCVsddNxbVjO58A9Tp3XPKwD9sCWqtAKs6/s320/102313_0912%5B01%5D.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="yiv9835233274p1" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4627" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4636"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4635"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4634">Here's another opportunity to speak out in favor of protecting the beautiful Wild and Scenic Lochsa River. </span></span></span><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4636" style="color: dimgrey;"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4635"><span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4634"><strong id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_4640"></strong></span></span></span></span><span class="yiv3543460546Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_5124" style="border-collapse: separate; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><br />In 1968, when President Lyndon Johnson signed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act into law, he said:</span></span></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span class="yiv3543460546Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_5124" style="border-collapse: separate; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /><em id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_5145">"In
the past 50 years, we have learned -- all too slowly, I think -- to
prize and protect ... precious gifts.</em></span><span class="yiv3543460546Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_5124" style="border-collapse: separate; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><em id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_5145"> 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."</em><br /> </span><span class="yiv3543460546Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_5124" style="border-collapse: separate; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><strong id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_5140"><a href="http://action.sierraclub.org/site/R?i=XoCL4KK24m1dfRhTaqnl8g" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1382725854967_5139" rel="nofollow" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Tell
the U.S. Department of Agriculture to protect the Wild and Scenic
Lochsa-Clearwater from industrialization by multinational tar sands
corporations!</a></strong></span></span></span></div>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-13141416730082100832013-10-11T12:32:00.002-07:002013-10-11T12:46:16.942-07:00Motions for Reconsideration Denied<div style="text-align: center;">
Judge Winmill has denied GE subsidiary RCCI & USFS motions for reconsideration.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.fightinggoliath.org/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7XJrbnnTA8nravM20IHxbn_JRoRmSaIr__OlokTnfnLsVYDBRlt3T_TyST7XsGDH3eTTJJweEcboqSDfPVVIkDkWXubZsk3WjjxbhYO1myB3v5frk0-FRDTv7pzeDdJ3FxKVig6ImBLU/s320/Lochsa.autumn.6in.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div align="center">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.fightinggoliath.org/" target="_blank">The Lochsa in Autumn</a></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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. </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;">Read the story, <a href="http://missoulian.com/news/local/judge-again-says-no-to-megaloads-on-highway/article_83d50254-31e9-11e3-b882-001a4bcf887a.html" target="_blank"><em>Judge again says no to megaloads on Highway 12</em></a>, in the Missoulian</span></h1>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Thanks and congratulations to the Nez Perce Tribe, Idaho Rivers United and legal team at Advocates for the West. Thanks also to <a href="http://www.friendsoftheclearwater.org/" target="_blank">Friends of the Clearwater</a>, 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. </div>
<br />Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-56159667788770859312013-09-13T11:57:00.000-07:002013-09-13T11:57:55.294-07:00A Win for Wild and Scenic Highway 12 in Court<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">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 <a href="https://www.advocateswest.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/9-13-13-Court-Decision.pdf" target="_blank">decision here</a>.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagMAYlMNe3M5QO2jxFiPhxjMv6BpmFfWQ45tupGQyrGEBsRiHrR-EpGUCZPvss6Dn33pV4NRmpq8tH1Vf-e8UFOp-jXsda5COa9FNCCP3zVRODlxXSX6YgV_EytBqkXlJkT2kU_WSId5X/s1600/Beauty-of-the-Lochsa-cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhagMAYlMNe3M5QO2jxFiPhxjMv6BpmFfWQ45tupGQyrGEBsRiHrR-EpGUCZPvss6Dn33pV4NRmpq8tH1Vf-e8UFOp-jXsda5COa9FNCCP3zVRODlxXSX6YgV_EytBqkXlJkT2kU_WSId5X/s1600/Beauty-of-the-Lochsa-cropped.jpg" height="286" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Beautiful Lochsa Corridor </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Photo by Roger Inghram</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379094170061_2843" style="color: #424242; font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, 'DejaVu Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">A message from Advocates for the West about the ruling:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379094170061_2843" style="color: #424242; font-family: Verdana, Tahoma, 'DejaVu Sans', sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br />
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 <a href="https://www.advocateswest.org/case/idaho-rivers-united-v-united-states-forest-service/" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1379094170061_3375" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Court's [February 2013] decision</a>."<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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."<br />
<br />
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."<br />
<br />
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. </span></div>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-20159496839918931672013-09-08T13:05:00.000-07:002013-09-08T13:08:12.628-07:00Permission for Megaloads Ignored Nez Perce Treaty Rights <div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="color: black; font: 10pt sans-serif; height: 1px; overflow: hidden; text-align: center; text-transform: none; width: 1px;">
<br />
Read more here: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/09/08/2748910/permission-for-megaloads-ignored.html#storylink=cp</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">". . .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.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">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.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">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. <b><i>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.* </i></b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">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. ..."</span><br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/09/08/2748910/permission-for-megaloads-ignored.html" target="_blank">Read the full article</a> written by Silas C. Whitman, chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee, in the Idaho Statesman.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you'll be in Boise on Monday, September 9th please consider attending the Nez Perce Tribe Rally </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">on the west steps of the State Capitol at 1pm </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;">as well as the </span>megaload injunction hearing at 4:30 p.m.<br />
at the Federal Courthouse, 550 W. Fort Street, Boise</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">*Emphasis on this statement added for the purpose of this blog and is not printed this way in the Idaho Statesman.</span> </span></span></div>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-33362461815670025912013-09-05T15:26:00.001-07:002013-09-05T15:26:25.842-07:00Sign the Stop the Megaloads Petition <div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="ttp://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-the-megaloads?source=s.fwd&r_by=8725992" target="_blank"><i>Stop the Megaloads</i> Petition</a></span><br />
Created by Ciarra Green. </span></div>
<a href="http://www.fightinggoliath.org/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie6dlEWkSoNaSoCl8UEp3jnkiUj8aDlYyrqGfj0mP-GDPv84X_OYkSOSj9iVHFIA87EtuuVrCHjbF7FLpz62zcTDJqnLUfGi34yC1Z7A8q272K0qhIwRlLoBQNeYR_HyYFn2zWN6rwdYtp/s320/river+008.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Here's what she has to say: </span>The megaloads are manufactured outside the US, are shipped to the Inland
Northwest, and then transported via highways through Idaho and Montana
to the Alberta Tar Sands. The Alberta Tar Sands have destroyed the
resources of the First Nations people of Canada. We cannot support or
allow this injustice to continue.<br />Our land in the US is worth protecting! Here are the top 20 reasons US Hwy 12 is worth protecting:<br /><br />1. Runs through the Nez Perces' ancient homeland.<br />2.The Nez Perce National Historic Park is located here, including the headquarters and museum<br />3. Nationally designated the Northwest Passage Scenic Byway.<br />4. Nationally designated 1 of the nation's 27 All-American Roads.<br />5. Crosses and parallels for 80+ miles the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.<br />6. Crosses and parallels for 80+ miles the Nez Perce National Historic Trail.<br />7. Runs for 70+ miles beside 2 nationally designated Wild and Scenic Rivers, the Middle Fork
of the Clearwater and the Lochsa, and provides access to a 3rd, the Selway River.<br />8. Travels beside and provides access to the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness, one of the nation's most cherished wilderness areas.<br />9. National & International - renown of the Lochsa River for its world-class spring whitewater run.<br />10. Named by Motorcycle Magazine as the #1 recreational motorcycle route in the nation (many curves, much beauty).<br />11. Comprises a segment of the nationally recognized TransAmerica Bicycle Route.<br />12. Bisects the old growth Bernard Devoto Cedar Grove.<br />13. Crosses the Pacific Coast Disjunct Area, which includes rare plants for Idaho environs.<br />14.
Lies within yards of USFS campgrounds, dispersed campsites, USFS and
Nat'l Park Service interpretive sites, beaches and picnic sites.<br />15.
Provides access to suspension bridges and dozens of trails used by
hunters, fishers and wilderness trekkers and horseback riders, including
access to the Idaho Bicentennial Trail and the Lochsa River Historical
Trail.<br />16. Provides access to the Lochsa Historical Ranger Station,
the McBeth House, historical churches, Big Eddy Marina at Dworshak
Reservoir, and Spalding Park.<br />17. Runs alongside streams providing habitat of vital importance to salmon, steelhead, eel, bass and trout fisheries.<br />18. Runs through the wild habitats of a myriad of birds and other wildlife.<br />19.
Runs for miles as a narrow, winding, shoulderless roadway within feet
of rivers that provide domestic water supplies for 3 towns: Kamiah,
Orofino and Lewiston.<br />20. Provides both an access route and a
destination for travelers/tourists and recreationists who spend millions
of dollars annually at over 150 small businesses, Lewiston to Lolo
Pass, as part of the single growing industry of the corridor communities
which comprise an economically depressed region of Idaho.<br /><br />
Please sign the petition to Rick Brazell, US Forest Service, Skip
Brandt, Idaho County Commissioners Office, Doug Havens, Nez Perce County
Commissioners Office, Greg Johnson, Lewis County Commissioners Office,
Don Ebert, Clearwater County Commissioners Office, The Idaho State
House, The Idaho State Senate, Governor Butch Otter, The United States
House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Barack
Obama, which says:<br />
<br />
"I urge the US Forest Service to enforce its jurisdiction over megaload
shipments across the Nez Perce-Clearwater National Forest. The
scientific process should be adhered to before the authorization of
transport is allowed; This would include a complete assessment of the
possible impacts from megaload transportation through the pristine
scenic corridor, including tribal lands, recreation areas, historical
sites, and other indispensable lands. The environmental and public
welfare injustices will have long lasting effects that cannot be
repaired through financial settlements."
<br />
<br />
Will you sign the petition too? Click here to add your name:
<br />
<a href="ttp://petitions.moveon.org/sign/stop-the-megaloads?source=s.fwd&r_by=8725992" target="_blank"><i>Stop the Megaloads</i> Petition</a><br />
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-32888066553262706432013-09-03T18:13:00.000-07:002013-09-03T18:13:21.063-07:00Mega-Letters to the Editor<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" style="color: #6b2bb3;"><span style="color: black;"></span><br /></span></span><span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6201" style="line-height: 15px;"><span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6200" style="color: #6b2bb3;"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6199">Balance Needed in Megaload Debate</b></span></span><span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;">, by Syringa resident Owen Fiore</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6191" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6198">
<span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><br /></span></div>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6197" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6196">
<span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6195" style="line-height: 15px;"><span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6194" style="line-height: normal;">Idaho
County Commissioner...Jim Chmelik claims not to understand the Nez
Perce Tribe's opposition to the "Megaloads"... His emphasis on the
alledged economic advantages of this "over-the-top" level of commerce
fails to take into account our Idaho environment, applicable federal law
and the clear opposition of many Idahoans to destruction of the Highway
12 Wild & Scenic corridor.</span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6193" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6192">
<span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 15px;"><span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><br /></span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6190" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6189">
Mr.
Chmelik should look to his duty to represent fairly all his
constituents...rather than...capitulating to the unreasonable demands of
commercial Big Oil interests and their transport companies. In
addition, Commissioner Chmelik claims that the State's road easement is
absolute; but this is far from the truth. The easement always has been,
and remains, subject to Federal laws for protection of the environment,
including the Wild & Scenic Corridor Act. Therefore, Idaho Rivers
United and the Nez Perce Tribe are seeking an injunction to force the
U.S. Forest Service to fully exercise its already determined
jurisdiction to review and to regulate commerce over Highway 12.</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6210" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6209">
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6212" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6211">
None
of the opponents of the Megaloads threat to Highway 12 opposes the
ordinary and reasonable highway commerce that travels this road every
day without concern or opposition. But...Highway 12 was never intended
to be used for the "high, wide, heavy and intrusive" travel represented
by the Megaloads... It would be helpful if our politicians would do more
than merely support the Megaloads, especially since the economic
benefits to Idaho County must be offset by consideration of the loss of
tourism, damage to the environment we love and enjoy, and undue
interference with the relative peace and quiet which brought us here.</div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6213">
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
<span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6215" style="color: #6a2bb3;"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6214">Making closed-door deals</b></span>, by Peck resident Win Green<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6218" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6217" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6216">
All
the buzz and controversy about megaloads has captured the attention of
many... Big business claims it will lose millions of dollars if it
cannot use U.S.Highway 12. Well,...when any private company makes
business decisions that smack of closed-door agreements with state
politicians, leaving most citizens out, they do so at their own peril.
The citizens of north central Idaho owe absolutely nothing to these
guys. Under the ruse of creating jobs and economic growth, they pretend
to be helping us. It appears they have even hoodwinked many of our
local politicians... short-sighted people would destroy what many enjoy
here.</div>
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6219">
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
<span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6221" style="color: #6b2ab3;"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6220">Standing up to megaloads</b></span>, by Kamiah resident Ken Jones</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6222" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6224" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6223" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
...
I would like to praise the Nez Perce Tribal Council, the Friends of the
Clearwater, and all tribal members who stood up to the megaloads. Also
those individuals that wrote letters opposing the megaloads... When I
read letters supporting the megaloads, it makes me sick... Many of them
only see money as the solution to everything, including destroying the
beauty of scenic drives and the environmental sensitivity of the
area.... I hope the Nez Perce Tribe will continue its efforts to stop
the megaloads and prove we have say and rights on our reservation...
It's obvious the...Tribe has plenty of support.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></blockquote>
<span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6226" style="color: #6c2bb3;"><b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6225">Pity General Electric</b></span>, by Orofino resident Jill Lynch<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6227" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6228" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
...poor,
poor General Electric... That megacoporation will lose a few million
bucks if it can't push its megaloads through the U.S. Highway 12
corridor against the court ruling... What a cruel, unfair and so
unpredictable limit to face on the way to jamming its megapower up our
noses or other unmentionable parts. It should have planned another
route until it knew the new rules... threatening that our "lights will
be turned off" sounds like a kid who isn't allowed to eat all the candy
before dinner. Meals, gasoline (mostly profit for oil companies) and
temporary jobs for police won't make or break the local economy. I've
seen no local permanent jobs in the projections... Commercial use does
not mean commercial abuse...</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6229" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></blockquote>
<span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" style="color: #702bb3;"><b>We protest</b></span>, by Moscow resident Sam Finch<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6230" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
Protesting
the status quo is progress. Anti-progress is letting foreighn state
corporations, Gov...Otter and international oil interests violate
federal law to use our country's wild and scenic rivers as a doormat...
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was designed to protect the shrinking
number of free-flowing rivers in our country... We do not protest
megaloads because we want to close Highway 12 to every car and end
commerce... We protest to protect wild and scenic rivers for the
benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations... We protest
our country's excessive use of fossil fuels... We protest to uphold the
Nez Perce Tribe's rights...</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<br /></blockquote>
<span class="yiv5666444541Apple-style-span" style="color: #6a2ab3;"><b>Megaloads: Force companies to be honest about their intentions</b></span>, by Tucson, Arizona, resident Lori Scott</blockquote>
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6418" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv5666444541webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6417" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6416">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6415">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6414">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6413">
<div class="yiv5666444541" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6412" style="margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<div class="yiv5666444541" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6411" style="margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<div class="yiv5666444541" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6410" style="float: none; margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px; width: auto;">
<div class="yiv5666444541" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6409" style="margin: 0px; outline-width: 0px; padding: 0px;">
While
visiting relatives in Missoula, I noticed that the megaload of a
supposedly water purification unit was passing through. I decided
to...take a photo... When we tried to get closer to show the scale of
the load
next to a human being, a security person appeared, and shouted, “Don’t
step off the pavement! That’s raw sewage there!“<br />
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1378255929169_6408">
As I looked
around for signs of this...I could only conclude that raw
sewage is also being trucked through Montana on these beautiful but
narrow roads, or the oil companies are once again manipulating the truth
about their activities. I hope that the media and a small but
vocal group of protesters can at least force them to be honest about
their intentions and to treat inquiring citizens as just that, people
who want to protect the land they love.</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-58960138406934919822013-08-31T14:32:00.000-07:002013-08-31T14:32:13.663-07:00General Electric Files to Intervene in Federal Megaloads Court Case<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><div style="padding-top: 10px;">
<span class="news_title" id="title_lbl"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="news_date" id="date_lbl">8/27/2013</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><br /></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.idahorivers.org/images/news/Press%20Release%20-%20GE%20petitions%20to%20intervene%20in%20megaloads%20case.pdf" target="_blank">Press Release - GE petitions to intervene in megaloads case.pdf</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><div style="padding-bottom: 10px; padding-right: 50px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span class="news_text" id="text_lbl">BOISE
— General Electric, the fourth largest corporation in the world, has
petitioned to intervene in a federal lawsuit filed by Idaho Rivers
United and the Nez Perce Tribe. The suit seeks to protect the
Lochsa-Clearwater Wild and Scenic River corridor from transport of
enormous industrial megaloads bound for the tar sands of northern
Alberta.<br /><br />“GE’s intervention shows how desperately the oil
industry and their contractors want to convert one of America’s first
Wild and Scenic River corridors into an industrial highway,” said IRU
Conservation Director Kevin Lewis. “We need to have this discussion.
They need to know the Lochsa-Clearwater is a national treasure, not an
industrial corridor.”<br /><br />Citing “significant financial impact” and
the potential to suffer “millions of dollars in lost revenue,” General
Electric’s attorneys filed in federal court Monday, Aug. 26. The court
scheduled a hearing for Sept. 9 at 4 p.m. at the federal courthouse in
Boise.<br /><br />Though GE is citing potential financial losses, the
company has known its shipments would meet resistance since at least
last April, long before it barged megaloads up the lower Snake River and
equipped them for transport through the Wild and Scenic corridor. In an
<a href="http://www.idahorivers.org/pdf/advocatesletter_omegamorgan.pdf" target="_blank">April 4 letter</a><a href="http://www.idahorivers.org/pdf/advocatesletter_omegamorgan.pdf" target="_blank">, </a>IRU’s attorney, Laird Lucas, relayed to industrial shipper Omega Morgan
that use of Highway 12 violated multiple legal authorities and would be
strongly opposed.<br /><br />“Resistance to mega-load shipments on Idaho’s
Highway 12 remains strong, both among local citizens and among the many
organizations committed to protecting the route,” Lucas wrote. “The
strength of this opposition can increase both the time necessary to
transport equipment on Highway 12 and the cost of this transport.”<br /><br />Still,
Omega Morgan moved two GE-owned loads up the lower Snake River and
trucked one through the Nez Perce Tribe’s reservation and the Wild and
Scenic corridor, where the company met significant tribal and citizen
resistance.<br /><br />“They set themselves up for this,” Lewis said. “They
created this conflict. This is a place that’s not for sale. It doesn’t
have a price.”<br /><br />Filed Aug. 8 during the shipment of GE’s first
load, the IRU and Nez Perce Tribe lawsuit seeks an injunction to protect
one of the first Wild and Scenic River segments in the nation. It
charges that the U.S. Forest Service’s failure to stop the megaload from
entering the Wild and Scenic corridor was “arbitrary, capricious, (and)
an abuse of discretion.” The injunction would prevent megaloads while
the Forest Service implements regulations to protect the corridor.<br /><br />“It’s obvious the Forest Service ought to be joining us and not GE,” Lewis said. <br /><br />Since
the fall of 2008, the oil industry and a specialized group of shipping
companies have been working to convert U.S. Highway 12 into an
industrial high-and-wide corridor that prioritizes the transport of
megaloads over other uses of the highway. And they’ve been doing so in
flagrant violation of all applicable legal authorities.<br /><br />“To be
clear, IRU is not anti-corporate. Some of our best supporters are large
and responsible corporations like AIRE and Patagonia,” Lewis said. “But
this is a clear example of the world’s largest companies exploiting
local highways, a federally protected river corridor, a tribal homeland
and local residents to further their corporate profits. And they’re
doing it at the expense of a spiritual, scenic and recreational national
treasure.”<br /><br />Omega Morgan has agreed not to attempt moving another
megaload, already being stored at the Port of Wilma near Lewiston,
until Sept. 18.</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-34646448099748161352013-08-25T21:13:00.000-07:002013-08-25T21:13:24.516-07:00 VIDEO PROOF THAT ITD & THE OIL COMAPNIES ARE LYING ABOUT MEGALOAD DELAYS<blockquote class="yiv1648874044webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1377370123963_5960" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div id="yui_3_7_2_1_1377370123963_5959">
<b id="yui_3_7_2_1_1377370123963_6009"><span class="yiv1648874044Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1377370123963_6008" style="color: #6e2ab1;"></span></b> </div>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/ClHhIsEK-9Y" width="420"></iframe>
</div>
<blockquote class="yiv1648874044webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1377370123963_5960" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<blockquote class="yiv1648874044webkit-indent-blockquote" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1377370123963_5964" style="border: currentColor; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
ITD states that in order to receive a permit "<span class="yiv1648874044Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1377370123963_5963" style="font-size: 17px;">Over-legal
loads are limited to 15-minute traffic delays." Anyone who's had the misfortune of being stuck behind or in front of one of these megaloads as they block the highway in both directions knows the wait in many places is much longer than 15 minutes. Now, a revealing video, taken from a steep hillside above
U.S.12's Fish Creek Bridge during early August's Omega Morgan megaload
transport, provides proof of ITD's -- and Omega Morgan's -- lie. </span></div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: center;">
The embedded video, "Megaload Through Clearwater Country" documents
29 minutes of a 1-hour-25-minute traffic blockage caused by Omega
Morgan, clocked by a citizen timer, witnessed by approximately 75
on-site protesters.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Video footage by Roger and Janice Inghram</span> </div>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-88010992564701030862013-08-11T09:48:00.000-07:002013-08-11T09:48:40.093-07:00Megaload Creates Delay and Protest in the Wild and Scenic Corridor<div style="text-align: center;">
Thursday night, as the enroute
Omega Morgan megaload crawled up Hwy.12 alongside the Wild and Scenic Middlefork
Clearwater and Lochsa Rivers, approx. 75 people protested for over an hour at Fish Creek, Hwy.12 Milepost
120. <br /><a href="http://www.fightinggoliath.org/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilxUMWsyw9OA9eWwOkWSrshGERx8CkeIAWRdC00PGECHNYPYBRGGLrwPpASA7HOD-fN6Ad5V5ZoE4ia2uEhp1dZC9FSoQH6vpTuA61UC-C6BnxL3U7hdWGGDAatYuJ-Jm8z-QVJf6WHJBg/s320/FishCreekProtest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
At Fish Creek,
as per its ITD-approved transport plan, Omega Morgan was required to
cross Fish Creek Bridge by unhitching the transport's trucks and using a
pull-cable. By unhitching the trucks, the 644,000 lb. transport was
reduced in weight to a point that ITD had determined would not likely
damage or break the bridge. The Fish Creek bridge is listed as a 'bridge of concern.' </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
All
traffic was blocked for 1 hour 20 minutes during the staging and
crossing, while the actual crossing took 43 minutes. All was observed
by the protesters, including 4 NPTEC members and Idaho Rivers United
Director Bill Sedivy, and recorded by a Fighting Goliath video camera.<br /><br />In
part because of its overnighting at Syringa, the transport was in the
Lochsa-Clearwater Wild & Scenic corridor for 30 hours. It's actual
travel time was 13 hours. You will recall that 1 of the 3 criteria that
would trigger USFS review of megaload permits is that a transport not
"require more than 12 hours to traverse US Highway 12 between MP 74 and
174." However, ITD issued Omega Morgan a permit for
the load regardless of the USFS criteria, and Omega Morgan pushed its
way into the corridor with complete disregard for the criteria and
Federal law.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />Early Friday morning, as the transport navigated up the mountainside miles to Lolo Pass, it blocked all traffic, including several commercial trucks and a total of 20+ vehicles, for 40 minutes before crossing into Montana at 7:52 a.m</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.fightinggoliath.org/" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4bL4bldax1GiofY-56bPpGDALiGkwePUOLdG0-NSrI-w-heIVFr0QHCtYsYPzSVfZpCg3D7pEB28DKmIq2FbQydina6Lcf1VhPcevyb2VTfUb-IE3XZ_UkuZp00ice1C4dujeuVdptwb1/s320/009.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Idaho Rivers United & the Nez Perce Tribe File New Lawsuit Against the U.S. Forest Service</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span class="news_text" id="text_lbl">The lawsuit charges that the U.S.
Forest Service’s failure to stop a megaload from entering the river
corridor was “arbitrary, capricious, (and) an abuse of discretion.” <a href="http://www.idahorivers.org/news/?id=372" target="_blank">Read the full press release</a></span></div>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-30586128429877294532013-08-08T14:10:00.001-07:002013-08-08T14:10:49.503-07:00Nez Perce Tribe Protests Illegal Megaload Shipments
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26ocOazuUKe92k57yrO9F81qCpWOISrJ84eXj4Q6XXIEIvbJExtct1KJThW1ElS4-Nd5xKaiELyfmMmXCQxhVJZiCP1eltYYeG19FR7W1xme1wRXECqMTk8BjCVNI2FgM-NY80rUEMAdx/s1600/NPblockade.CanoeCamp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj26ocOazuUKe92k57yrO9F81qCpWOISrJ84eXj4Q6XXIEIvbJExtct1KJThW1ElS4-Nd5xKaiELyfmMmXCQxhVJZiCP1eltYYeG19FR7W1xme1wRXECqMTk8BjCVNI2FgM-NY80rUEMAdx/s1600/NPblockade.CanoeCamp.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<strong>Night 1:</strong><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Approximately 150+ blockaders participated on the first
night of the Omega Morgan transport.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
megaload transport had launched about 45 minutes late, at 10:45. As it
approached the reservation boundary at about 12:40, the blockaders walked out
onto the pavement to block the highway. The blockaders held back the
megaload convoy for almost 2 hours. The megaload, whose target for the
night was Hwy.12 Milepost 38.8, only managed to travel 3 more miles west of the
blockade. It's total miles, 11 miles, was 27.8 miles short of its
target.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
Every member of the Nez Perce Tribe Executive Committee and
several other people were arrested. Others were forcefully removed by
police from the blockade and taken to the sidelines. Some were threatened
with mace.</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<strong>Night 2:</strong> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
More than 100 Nez Perces and others had created a 2 1/2-hour
human road block that, for a second night, halted the Omega Morgan megaload.
As the megaload eventually became able to inch forward, the blockaders
became a moving roadblock tightly bottlenecking the transport, moving with it,
and preventing it from gaining even modest speed. The number of police
officers at the scene was estimated to be double that of last night, perhaps as
many as 40, and about a half dozen people were arrested.<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
The Nez Perces staged tonight's blockade at Hwy.12
Milepost 11, below the legendary Ant & Yellowjacket rock archway perched
above the highway about 2 miles upriver from the transport's launch point. The
site is 1 of 38 Nez Perce National Historical Park sites strung along a 4-state
route. One concern of the Nez Perces and other anti-megaload activists
has been the effect of ground vibrations created by transports as immensely
heavy as the Omega Morgan megaload. Complete with load, trailer, trucks,
etc., the transport weighs 644,000 pounds, and ground vibrations theoretically
over time could loosen rock and cliff structures alongside and above Hwy.12.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Ant & Yellow Jacket</span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxyb5iFdQjPHN5pZ_IIuMUBHPbzIadmXpVUjA5yzoeQx0ghr5Jm7I9MB1PJoDTr7ev7oBt7fcsVvTTsZYBdji3QZyIohvY53zvu7gZI3zOkhCL2Yu5JcZC8l_S8AuvimbYtRlbbphpOKDq/s1600/Ant-Yellow-Jacket-Rock-Formation_-w302-h0-p0-q75-F-----S1-c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxyb5iFdQjPHN5pZ_IIuMUBHPbzIadmXpVUjA5yzoeQx0ghr5Jm7I9MB1PJoDTr7ev7oBt7fcsVvTTsZYBdji3QZyIohvY53zvu7gZI3zOkhCL2Yu5JcZC8l_S8AuvimbYtRlbbphpOKDq/s1600/Ant-Yellow-Jacket-Rock-Formation_-w302-h0-p0-q75-F-----S1-c.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
picture from <a href="http://nwpassagescenicbyway.org/#/home/ant-yellow-jacket.html" target="_blank">Nez Perce Historical Park</a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<strong>Night 3:</strong> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
As the megaload left Mile 38.8 below Orofino, for the third night, the Nez Perces blockaded it. More police officers preceded the megaload than the previous 2 nights, and they aggressively drove their vehicles towards the blockade in an attempt to force the blockaders into retreating. When the Nez Perces held their ground, officers approached on foot, shouted "get off the road," and physically pushed some of the protesters toward the roadside. Yet the Nez Perces remained in a group and gradually began to move backwards, intentionally slowly, as the police vehicles and megaload convoy were relegated to following at a snail's pace for a mile or two through the Riverside area of Orofino.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
The Omega Morgan megaload reached Hwy. 12 Milepost 90,
Syringa, last night, within the <span class="yshortcuts">Clearwater National
Forest</span> and the Wild & Scenic Middlefork corridor. They did
that by breaking the stipulations of their permit & filed travel plan.
Instead of stopping regularly to let traffic pass, as required, they held
all cars traveling east hostage behind 2 Idaho State Police vehicles, who led
what was at one point 40+ personal vehicles and forced them to travel at 0-17
mph speeds for 51.2 miles. In other words, corporate Canada 'owned' and
controlled your highway last night, aided by state police.<span style="font-family: "Arial Unicode MS";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQfuW3bP_0bajZVvQz6HO5yOTS8ecH4biKI_CG9Eomog8xAeFzzmGHI9RiOO-ObuGAyrvviud_0RxxUQwyg8WA9dt80XQZv9jfSFXIP8gb_EV0fgJxJ_pMwVwAF4M8Ks8GEaG9zajgT0H/s1600/OmegaMorgan.NoStops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQfuW3bP_0bajZVvQz6HO5yOTS8ecH4biKI_CG9Eomog8xAeFzzmGHI9RiOO-ObuGAyrvviud_0RxxUQwyg8WA9dt80XQZv9jfSFXIP8gb_EV0fgJxJ_pMwVwAF4M8Ks8GEaG9zajgT0H/s1600/OmegaMorgan.NoStops.jpg" /></a><br />
According to their plan, Omega Morgan's target destination had been the Kooskia
kiosk station. However, apparently they felt they would be beyond more
Nez Perce blockades if they could get farther up the highway. They are
parked in a large private lot owned by Terry & Becky Jackson. Terry
is the person who -- for pay -- lifts the tram cable that crosses the highway
at Milepost 83 so megaloads can pass under it.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</div>
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-70793196259671568682013-08-08T13:39:00.001-07:002013-08-08T13:39:24.659-07:00Idaho Officials Disregard Nez Perce Tribe and U.S Forest Service in Attempts to Please Multi-National Corporations<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/Jf6jqBoTZtY" width="560"></iframe>
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf6jqBoTZtY" target="_blank">Links to this video and more from the Nez Perce Tribal Council</a> </div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
ITD’s recently issued permits to megaload transporter Omega
Morgan come after the recent court ruling, requiring Forest Service oversight
of megaload traffic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The USFS District
Manager, Rick Brazell warned the heavy-haul company that the agency does not
authorize the shipment through the Nez Perce Clearwater National Forests.</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">Brazell also accused the company
of ignoring language in the state permit outlining Forest Service and Federal
Highway Administration jurisdiction.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Nez Perce Tribe also opposes
this megaload shipment through their reservation and ancestral homelands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The tribe is shocked by Omega Morgan’s audacity," Nez Perce
Tribal Chairman Silas Whitman said in a news release Monday. “The company has
apparently decided it does not need to wait for Forest Service review or tribal
consultation to move General Electric’s loads."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><a href="http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/nez-perce-briefly-block-megaload-passage-on-highway/article_81ee40a4-fe8b-11e2-bccf-001a4bcf887a.html" target="_blank">Read More<o:p></o:p></a></span><br />
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 100%px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><div style="padding-top: 10px;">
<span class="news_title" id="title_lbl">Idaho Rivers United Press Release 8-8-13</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.blogger.com/null" id="link_lbl"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="http://www.idahorivers.org/images/news/Release%20-%20Megaload%20enters%20Wild%20&%20Scenic%20corridor.pdf" id="pdf_lbl">Release - Megaload enters Wild & Scenic corridor.pdf</a></td></tr>
<tr><td><div style="padding-bottom: 10px; padding-right: 50px; padding-top: 10px;">
<span class="news_text" id="text_lbl">BOISE
— An unauthorized megaload traveling Highway 12 in north Idaho barreled
through the Nez Perce Reservation last night and entered U.S. Forest
Service land and the Wild and Scenic River corridor. It finally stopped
at Syringa near Milepost 90, 16 miles into the Wild and Scenic River
corridor.<br /><br />“This is a sad day for Idaho. The Idaho Transportation
Department, Omega Morgan and their Canadian clients have blatantly
disregarded the wishes and regulations of the Forest Service and the
wishes and requests of the Nez Perce Tribe,” said IRU Executive Director
Bill Sedivy.<br /><br />IRU Conservation Director Kevin Lewis said IRU is pursuing legal options.<br /><br />“The
Nez Perce Tribe has done an excellent job protesting this load’s
shipment across the reservation, and now the load has entered public
land and the Wild and Scenic River corridor,” he said. “This is a clear
violation of the U.S. Forest Service’s order denying shipment across
public land. We are consulting with our attorneys this morning and plan
to proceed to protect the tribe’s homeland and our Wild and Scenic
Rivers.”</span></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><!--[if !supportEmptyParas]--> <!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span><br />
Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-91347224138945713852013-02-18T11:11:00.003-08:002013-02-18T11:17:41.308-08:00Highway 12: A Timeline<span style="color: black; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;">After the recent victory for Highway 12's Wild and Scenic corridor in a Boise courtroom, we thought it would be a good time to present a timeline of Highway 12 from it's creation to the present:</span><br />
<em><span style="color: #262fc9; font-family: Times; font-size: medium;"><strong></strong></span></em><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>1961-1962: </strong>U.S. Highway 12 was built and paved through Idaho and into Montana.</span></span><br />
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1361140917309_7538"><strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></strong></span><br />
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>1968:</strong> With passage of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, eight of the nation's most pristine rivers were designated <i><strong>Wild & Scenic</strong></i>. Among them were three Idaho rivers: the Selway & Lochsa, which join to form the third, the Middlefork Clearwater. For about 90 miles, the latter two -- Lochsa and MF Clearwater -- flow immediately alongside Hwy.12, and at Milepost 97, the Selway flows in from the southeast.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"></span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1361140917309_7575"><strong></strong></span></span><br />
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>1995:</strong> The USFS, which has jurisdiction over these three rivers and the wild corridors through which they run granted a highway management easement to the Idaho Department of Transportation. Many residents, fearful that ITD would ignore Wild & Scenic protection mandates, spoke against the easement. In 1997, some revisions were written into the easement. Five small stretches of the highway were inadvertently, or otherwise, left out and remain left out today.</span></span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><br /></span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><strong></strong></span></span><br />
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><strong>2008-2010:</strong></span> <span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><strong>"</strong>Improvements" were made</span>on Highway 12, including the widening and rock filling of some turnouts, projects partially paid for by Exxon Mobil/Imperial Oil.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"></span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><strong></strong></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><strong>2010, spring:</strong> ITD and Exxon/Imperial made public a proposal to ship 200+ tarsands modules on U.S.12. Following consultations with Idaho Rivers United and </span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1361140917309_7585">Friends of the Clearwater</span></span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1361140917309_7592"><span style="font-size: x-small;">, The Rural People of Highway 12 Fighting Goliath was launched, and in Montana, NoShipmentsNetwork and All Against the Haul, among others, had entered the fray. Numerous organizations and hundreds of individuals joined the anti-megaload fight, and Advocates for the West lawyer Natalie Havlina and director Laird</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;">Lucas began documenting developments. An Idaho District Court win involving ConocoPhillips' shipments, followed by a Supreme Court appeal, two unsuccessful contested cases (but that caused significant and costly time delays for the corporations), a court case win in Montana that stopped Exxon/Imperial in its tracks, protests, monitorings, comments and letters, and so much more. And then ...</span></span><br />
<div>
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><strong></strong></span> </div>
<div>
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>2011, March:</strong> IRU filed its lawsuit against the USFS & FHWA.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"></span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><strong></strong></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>2012, December:</strong> The Nez Perce Tribe filed a motion for amicus status in the case.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"></span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><strong></strong></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>2013, Feb. 6th:</strong> Advocates for the West's Laird Lucas presented final arguments before U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill, and Tribal lawyer Michael Lopez argued for amicus status.</span></span></div>
<div>
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"></span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><strong></strong></span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>2013, Feb. 7th:</strong> Judge Winmill ruled in IRU's favor. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span"></span><strong></strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Now:</strong> <span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span">With the IRU win secured, all of us must remain engaged in order to ensure that </span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span">the USFS does step up </span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span">to protect the Wild & Scenic Lochsa--Middlefork Clearwater </span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span">corridor from the kind </span><span class="yiv289668696Apple-style-span" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1361140917309_7602">of industrialization megaload transports would bring.</span></span></div>
<strong></strong><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<strong> Recent Articles about case:</strong><br />
<strong></strong><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong> </strong> </span><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?AdvocatesfortheWest/b92c3be627/7b98d26e1b/9b61fae398/oid=2810685" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1361140917309_6506" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1361141556_2"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Mega-Myth About Mega-Loads</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><a href="http://equities.com/" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1361141556_0"><span style="font-size: x-small;">equities.com</span></span></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">: </span><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?AdvocatesfortheWest/b92c3be627/7b98d26e1b/d26d3e6ac4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1361141556_1"><span style="font-size: x-small;">If not industrial corridor's demise, something close</span></span></a><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /><strong id="yui_3_7_2_1_1361140917309_6500"> </strong> </span><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?AdvocatesfortheWest/b92c3be627/7b98d26e1b/a2cb03c6a3" id="yui_3_7_2_1_1361140917309_6501" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1361141556_3"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Judge Sides with Conservationists in Mega-Load Case</span></span></a><br />
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<br />Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-12386572227546052292012-06-13T20:11:00.000-07:002012-06-13T20:11:08.749-07:00Megaloads & Highway 12: A 2012 UpdateThe first half of 2012 has seen positive developments for the safety of Highway 12 and the protection of the Wild and Scenic River Corridors of the Clearwater and Lochsa Rivers. In February, Montana District Judge Ray Dayton ruled in favor of the plaintiffs (Missoula County, et.al) and remanded the issue to MDT stating further environmental review was needed. According to a 2/18/12 Missoulian article, in his decision, Dayton wrote: "Without first determining the scope of the project, i.e. whether the turnouts will be permanent or temporary, MDT could not meaningfully assess impacts associated with the KMTP."... "MDT therefore violated the Montana Environmental Policy Act and its implementing regulations." Judge Dayton also ruled that MDT needs to review Imperial Oil's use of alternative routes to transport reconfigured modules. <a href="http://missoulian.com/news/local/district-judge-sends-kearl-megaloads-back-to-mdt-for-environmental/article_ce88a7ce-59f0-11e1-8fad-001871e3ce6c.html">(<b>Read more</b>)</a>
In early March, ruling on dismissal motions, Idaho Federal Judge Winmill upheld most of Idaho Rivers United's suit against the USFS & FHWA. In the ongoing case, IRU is pursuing allegations that the 2 federal agencies should have used their authority under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to block state action permitting the transformation of the Wild & Scenic Lochsa-Clearwater U.S. Highway 12 corridor into a megaload truck route.
In a 3-10-11 press release, IRU stated it’s reasons for the lawsuit:
"The Middle Fork of the Clearwater and its tributary, the Lochsa, were among the first rivers protected under the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act in 1968. Idaho Sen. Frank Church championed the act, which also included among its first designations the Selway and Middle Fork of the Salmon rivers." The Clearwater and Lochsa rivers were singled out for designation because of their scenic, recreational, cultural, historic and other unique values.
“These rivers represent the embodiment of what the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act was meant to protect,” said IRU Conservation Director Kevin Lewis. “These rivers anchor cathedral-like forests that inspire awe, reflection and reverence. They are recreational Edens for fishermen, campers, hikers, hunters, bicyclists, history buffs, whitewater kayakers and rafters.
“We have a responsibility to protect the Clearwater and Lochsa — the way we see them now and enjoy them now — for our children and for their children. The Forest Service shares that responsibility and should be leading the charge for protection.”
(<a href="http://www.idahorivers.org/news/?id=211
"><b>Read more</b></a>.)
Mid-2012 is a good time to reflect on the brief history of Megaloads on Highway 12.
Just like the assurance from our Governor’s office that, “the shipper could delay traffic and close a small section of U.S. 12 for up to 15 minutes at a time for each load, and do this no more than two times over the entire route for each load" was false. So too were the statements of Imperial Oil saying that these loads could not be broken down into smaller shipments, or that the modules could only be made in South Korea and that the only shipping route available was Highway 12.
We know now for certain that the modules can be broken down, they can be made in Alberta among other places, there are numerous other routes available and the delays from these types of loads are multiple and longer than 15 minutes.
Back in late 2009 I’d never heard of the tar sands, the plight of Alberta steelworkers or large scale international trucking companies like Mammomet. All I knew was that the plan to ship loads that big on Highway 12 was more than crazy – it was dangerous. Instead of seeking local input or honestly responding to citizens concerns Exxon/Imperial went on a PR campaign trying to make this an <i>environment vs. jobs </i>issue in order to avoid having an honest discussion about the real costs involved with creating a permanent high and wide corridor through North Central Idaho. There are similar tactics being used right now with the Keystone XL pipeline. Instead of a rational discussion of the pros and cons of having a pipeline of the heavier tar sands oil stretching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, a PR campaign was launched identifying Big Oil as "job creators" and pipeline opponents as "job haters"and sticky-taping pipeline construction to lowering gas prices. Is the rush to get the pipeline built really about the handful of American jobs it would create or the billions of dollars Exxon will make if they have a pipeline that goes directly to the Gulf Coast and the International Oil markets? Will the XL guarantee lower gas prices? Some evidence suggests otherwise.... <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2012/0309/Inside-the-Keystone-pipeline-How-much-would-it-really-help-US-consumers"><b>read</b></a>Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-56925460883897145412011-12-23T12:09:00.000-08:002011-12-26T16:17:42.707-08:00Megaload Accidents: Public Safety at Risk - A Year in ReviewLikely you've learned of the Imperial/Exxon megaload-and-van crash that occurred Dec. 6th on U.S. Hwy. 95 south of Moscow ID. <a href="http://www.klewtv.com/news/Megaload-accident-135213138.html#idc-container">(KLEWTV article</a>). In response to that crash and other megaload-related incidents, citizens are raising questions of safety. The public has reason for concern because those incidents are adding up:<br /><br />ConocoPhillips' megaload cliff collision at U.S.12 Milepost 52 and resulting 1-hour highway closure. <a href="http://www.krem.com/news/local/New-plan-required-after-megaload-causes-long-delay-115300374.html">(article)</a><br /><br />Imperial/Exxon's "test module" collision with a large tree branch in Lewiston and its collision with a guy wire at U.S.12 Milepost 46.5 resulting in a 5-hour electrical outage for hundreds of people and 1-hour highway closure. <a href="http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_4ba1f8a4-654c-11e0-82d1-001cc4c002e0.html">(article)</a><br /><br />Nickel Bros. Nov. 1st-2nd unreported megaload's unsuccessful attempt to regain access to Highway 12 from the Kooskia kiosk parking area at Milepost 73.9, which resulted in Nickel Bros.' having to put the load on blocks and repair the damaged dolly transporter. <br /><br />A Ryash Transport incident on Highway 200 in Montana involving a motorhome whose side mirror was scraped off and whose passengers' safety was compromised by a megaload. <a href="http://missoulian.com/news/local/motor-home-has-close-call-with-oversized-load-on-highway/article_a11cb2e2-d44b-11e0-b6d4-001cc4c002e0.html">(article)</a> <br /><br />A Nickel Bros. megaload incident on Highway 287 in Montana involving a heart attack victim traveling to the ER who was forced to wait for the megaload <a href="http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/gyrobase/megaloads/Content?oid=1508790&mode=print">(article</a>). (This megaload had first traveled U.S.12 through Idaho.)<br /><br />Crash #1 on U.S.95 involving an Imperial/Exxon convoy and private driver Frank Bybee, who says the lack of a flagger with a "stop" sign and the presence of bright blinding convoy lights were factors in the accident in which he ran into a car "I couldn't see" that was moving slowly towards the convoy.<br /><br />Crash #2 on U.S.95 involving an Imperial/Exxon megaload whose driver mistakenly moved forward and crashed into the van of private driver James Irquidez. The van was totaled and Irquidez notes that he was nearly killed. (<a href="http://lmtribune.com/northwest/article_c3bf2d3f-a260-5163-a921-0e8326d3e54f.html">LMT article & photo</a>, <a href="http://missoulian.com/news/local/idaho-suspends-megaload-shipments-after-crash/article_3857d8aa-22b0-11e1-b807-0019bb2963f4.html">AP article</a>, <a href="http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/megaload-driver-cited-for-inattentive-driving-in-idaho/article_258226ac-265e-11e1-8ffb-001871e3ce6c.html">AP followup article</a>)<br /><br />Multiple citizen-driver accounts describing confusion caused by the "unsafe" traffic control management procedures of megaload convoys on U.S.12, accounts given in sworn testimony, legal affadavits, and video and monitoring reports admitted into evidence during the contested case hearings, as well as numerous less formal accounts.<br /><br />On U.S. Highway 12, we are now facing megaload shipments with no ISP escorts. The recent 8 Nickel Bros. shipments traveled sans ISP. The Selway Corp (Stevensville MT to Snoqualmie WA) megaload shipment is scheduled to run tonight with no ISP escorts. The 40-60 proposed Harvest Energy megaload shipments may be being planned minus ISP escorts. With incidents stacking up and actual crashes occurring, citizens are asking why ITD's mandate to first and foremost ensure public safety is not, in turn, mandating ISP escorts for all megaload convoy travel.<br /><br />The necessity of ISP escorts was a focal point of the contested case hearing regarding Imperial/Exxon's megaload shipments. In his Conclusions, hearing officer Duff McKee confirmed the need to use ISP escorts, and ITD Director Brian Ness adopted those Conclusions as his own in his final order to allow the Imperial/Exxon shipments to go forward. <br /><br />Of course, there is also the larger looming question: If -- even when accompanied by ISP escorts -- the megaload convoys are causing incidents, some of which endanger lives, can megaload travel on Idaho's highways ever be safe?Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-23563574689720871192011-11-14T07:48:00.000-08:002011-11-14T14:46:01.162-08:00Current Events<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8Lxz5F4kfaRzk8De8roKx94nlFLzo1TSqJFz_N755B-2izW0Vj_uh6dWKRN9kFOSwgR_yAeyYMt02t6lk4z7Kx8IjnFukvc5fFfEGDUFsVbBdnYg2NKv8qc12BVbJ-bBY4Dv5phM7NSq/s1600/securedownload.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM8Lxz5F4kfaRzk8De8roKx94nlFLzo1TSqJFz_N755B-2izW0Vj_uh6dWKRN9kFOSwgR_yAeyYMt02t6lk4z7Kx8IjnFukvc5fFfEGDUFsVbBdnYg2NKv8qc12BVbJ-bBY4Dv5phM7NSq/s400/securedownload.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5674891455290967058" /></a><br />A lot has happened in the past month related to Megaloads and Highway 12. Imperial/Exxon will not, for the time being, pursue any more permits for megaloads to travel on U.S.12. <br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/04/imperial-oil-megaloads-shipments_n_1076987.html">Read the story</a>and watch the video "Toxic Alberta" on Huff Post. <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/11/opponents_force_imperial_oil_t.html">Read the story </a>at the Oregonian.<br /><br /> While this is good news for residents & travelers, the fact that Imperial still speaks of wanting in the future to use U.S.12 and that other companies, too, want to turn this route into a permanent high and wide corridor is unsettling. Especially in the face of the numerous risks these types of loads pose to the residents of the local communities they pass through. <br /><br />Here are a few stories about recent problems with megaloads:<br />1.) A woman being rushed to the emergency room is delayed by megaloads--<strong>Megaloads; The long night</strong>, <em>by Alex Sakariassen, Missoula Independent.</em> Augusta residents Lorna and Pete Scott took to Highway 287 shortly after midnight on Oct. 6. Lorna's mother was suffering an apparent heart attack. The family decided to drive her to the Teton Medical Center, in Choteau. But the normally 25-minute drive lasted nearly an hour—due to an oversized industrial shipment..."There was nothing we could do," Lorna says. "We couldn't see a patrol car. We could see nothing but flashing lights, and many of them, in front of us."<br />... the Scotts discovered it was an oversized load. It belonged to Nickel Bros., a Washington-based company transporting machinery through Montana along the same route proposed for industrial shipment by Exxon Mobil subsidiary Imperial Oil.... Scott says she saw no flaggers...<br /><br />Her incident was an isolated one, but it does underscore the public safety concerns voiced by megaload detractors over a year ago, when Imperial Oil first announced its Kearl Module Transportation Project. MDT has repeatedly stated that turnouts would be constructed to allow the megaloads to comply with state law, which forbids traffic delays of more than 10 minutes. However, the turnouts were proposed as part of Imperial Oil's beleaguered KMTP and have yet to be constructed between Augusta and Choteau.... <ahref="http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/gyrobase/megaloads/Content?oid=1508790&mode=print">Read more</a>.<br /><br />2.) Injury accident results from confusion over megaload transportation--<strong>Two injured in U.S.95 collision</strong>, <em>Moscow-Pullman Daily News, 11/10/11</em>Two Idaho men were released from the hospital following a rear-end collision Tuesday night near Viola on U.S. Highway 95 that law enforcement claims occurred when one driver stopped to talk with a flagger awaiting Imperial Oil shipments bound for the Idaho/Montana border.<br />.... Shawn Dewitt, 36, of Princeton, stopped his vehicle on the highway to investigate flashing lights belonging to a flagger awaiting three shipments of refinery equipment and ask how he should proceed.<br />Idaho State Police Capt. Lonnie Richardson said Dewitt voluntarily stopped to talk to the flagger around 11 p.m., and had not been requested to do so. Dewitt's vehicle was then struck from behind by a vehicle driven by Frank Bybee, 33, of Desmet...<br /> Subcribers, <a href="http://dnews.com/local/article_0fd8316f-be33-5e85-a145-d975e987627b.html?cbst=56">read more</a>.<br /><br />If you'd like to see for yourself how confusing these megaload shipments are please <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehstxkkO6aQ&feature=related">watch this video</a>.<br /><br />One of the major concerns local residents have about megaloads is accidents. Highway 12 is a notoriously dangerous highway with a long history of semi-truck accidents, many causing major spills into the Wild & Scenic Lochsa River. The most recent one took place on Saturday. <br /><br /><strong>Fuel tanker crashes on Highway 12</strong>, <em>by Eric Barker, Lewiston Tribune, 11/13/11</em>LOWELL - A multi-agency response team worked to mop up a fuel spill along U.S. Highway 12 and the Lochsa Wild and Scenic River Corridor following a one- vehicle traffic accident Saturday.... about 10 miles east of Wilderness Gateway Campground... No fuel was detected in the river....<br />... driver Marco D. Williamson of Florence, Mont., failed to negotiate a curve.... drifted left, over corrected and the pup trailer whipped across the snow covered road and hit the guard rail ... before coming to rest on its side in the ... ditch.... [carrying] 2,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 1,700 gallons of gasoline. HazMat workers pumped some... gasoline out of the wrecked trailer .... "We don't know how much diesel is out" ... "We are offloading gasoline so all 1,700 gallons are not on the ground."...<br />Officials from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Clearwater National Forest, Idaho Transportation Department, Nez Perce Tribe and a private HazMat company were on hand...<br />The Lochsa River is a blue-ribbon cutthroat trout stream and home to protected bull trout, wild steelhead and chinook salmon... <br />The highway along Lochsa-Middle Fork Clearwater...has been the location of several large fuel spills. Last year, ...a fuel tanker spilled 7,500 gallons of diesel.... In 2005, a three-vehicle accident spilled 1,600 gallons of diesel... Crashes in 2002 and 2003 each spilled thousands of gallons. In 2003, a tanker crashed and spilled 6,300 gallons.... A year earlier, a tanker crash spilled an estimated 6,000 gallons of diesel directly into the Clearwater River near Syringa. Several downriver communities temporarily halted pumping drinking water from the river until the escaped fuel had dissipated. Subscribers, <a href="http://lmtribune.com/northwest/article_f71b3f75-3f05-5285-88ba-710576b31196.html?cbst=5">read more</a> photo taken by Vickie Garcia & Walt BaileyHighway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-60379751789282482912011-10-13T10:09:00.001-07:002011-10-13T11:52:17.981-07:00New Articles & Food for Thought<em>From today's Lewiston Tribune...</em> <br /><strong>Imperial Oil undecided about Highway 12 route; Recent court ruling in Montana allows shipments</strong>, by Elaine Williams<br />Imperial Oil appears to have no immediate plans to begin using U.S. Highway 12 for megaloads, in spite of recent court decision in Montana that opens the route for shortened shipments that could still take up two lanes of traffic.... Judge Ray Dayton of the District Court in Missoula County ruled the oil company can transport oversized loads from Lolo Pass at the Idaho border on two-lane highways, but only to Missoula, where they would take an interstate highway to Canada, said Dave Ohler, acting legal counsel for the Montana Department of Transportation....<br />Dayton's ...[ruling] allows use of U.S.12 and U.S.Highway 93 to Missoula since, unlike the Missoula to Canada section, no new turnouts would be needed for Imperial Oil to comply with Montana's rule that limits traffic delays to 10 minutes. Dayton retained the restriction on the part of the proposed two-lane highway route from Missoula to Canada pending another court proceeding scheduled for January, Ohler said....<br />Still, taking U.S.12 and U.S.93 might have advantages for Imperial Oil. It would allow the cargo bound for a processing plant at the Kearl Oil Sands in Alberta, Canada to bypass Moscow. The extra-big hauls are routinely encountering protests in Moscow...<br />But Imperial Oil doesn't appear to be rushing to take advantage of Dayton's loosening of the original injunction. As of Wednesday, the transportation departments in Idaho and Montana hadn't received the paperwork they would require before Imperial Oil could be moving loads on U.S.12.<br />At the same time, the port of Lewiston hadn't been notified of any new arrivals belonging to Imperial Oil. ... Subscribers, <a href="http://lmtribune.com/northwest/article_f4431059-d2b8-538a-aa1c-2a72fbccb693.html?cbst=70">read more</a>.<br /><br /><em>We read the above article with some skepticism. The reporter's explanation of Dayton's ruling isn't precisely correct -- Dayton didn't rule that "the oil company can transport oversized loads...." As we understand it, Dayton ruled that MDT could consider 32-J permits for the reduced-size Imperial/Exxon loads. Also -- as we all have learned -- information coming from Imperial/Exxon spokespeople may not be true. So while the above article pulls out some details regarding the meaning of Dayton's ruling and indicates Imperial/Exxon isn't at the moment hot to hit the road using U.S.12, we are not drawing any firm conclusions.</em><br /><em><br />Now, this food for thought</em>...<br /><strong>Corporations are not people: We hold these truths to be self-evident…</strong>by Michael Nagler and Stephanie Van Hook | October 11, 2011, 2:11 pm <br /><br />When is a Person not a Person?<br />Psychologists for Social Responsibility (PSR) recently answered this absurd question with the obvious and embarrassing answer: when it’s a corporation. According to PSR's statement, in case anyone is confused, a human being:<br />is a complex organism with capacities for joy and pain, reflection, and the compassionate appreciation of others. Mature persons are expected to display reasoned judgment, and are personally responsible for their own actions (our emphasis). Human beings live, breath, think, experience emotions, and internalize values such as empathy and caring for others. Like all sentient beings, they suffer, and die.<br />....<a href="http://wagingnonviolence.org/2011/10/corporations-are-not-people-we-hold-these-truths-to-be-self-evident/">Read more</a><br /><br /><em>Remember when getting a crane to retrieve a fallen megaload on U.S.12 would be quick & easy? Now we have...</em><em>CONOCOPHILLIPS & THE "GIANT" CRANE...</em><br /><br /><strong>Giant crane to install megaload coker drums at Billings refinery</strong>; by Tom Lutey, Billings Gazette<br />BILLINGS - This winter, the tallest thing on the Billings horizon won't be First Interstate Bank. It will be one of the world's largest cranes with a 500-foot boom swinging two large pieces of oil refinery equipment into place.<br />"It's a Mammoet PTC ringer crane, 1,600-metric-ton capacity," said Brady Hobza, project engineer ... the fourth largest crane in the world." It is a megacrane special ordered to install two, 350-ton coker drums that earlier this year eclipsed two-way traffic on Montana backroads... <br />... more than 100 semitrailers ... will haul [the crane's] pieces here in a couple months ... <a href="http://missoulian.com/news/local/article_ebf1dc82-ed75-11e0-9fd3-001cc4c002e0.html<br />">Read more</a><br /><br /><em>IMPERIAL/EXXON</em>:<br /><strong>Moscow wants reimbursement for megaload policing costs</strong> posted by Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise @ the Spokesman-REview, from an Associated Press story, 10/11/11<br />Moscow (Idaho) officials want a company transporting oil equipment for ExxonMobil to pay $12,800 for police services... from July to September. The city plans to submit weekly reimbursement requests to Mammoet... <a href="http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/boise/">Read more</a> (On page, scroll down.)<br /><br /><br />Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-62793716692123512392011-10-07T10:56:00.000-07:002011-10-07T14:38:04.583-07:00Latest Highway 12 Megaload News<span style="font-weight:bold;">Montana judge okays modifications to megaload injunction but denies dissolving the injunction</span>...<br />Yesterday afternoon, in the Missoula County vs MDT case, Montana Judge Ray Dayton issued a "Memorandum and Order Granting Imperial Oil's Application to Modify Preliminary Injunction and Denying its Application to Dissolve Preliminary Injunction." <br />The "modification" allows MDT to review and process 32-J permit applications from Imperial/Exxon to transport modified KMTP loads over Highways 12 and 93 in order to access the interstate system. The "modified KMTP loads" are those that have been reduced in size, such as those currently sitting at the Port of Lewiston.<br />You may recall that the Missoula County vs MDT case has to do with the environmental reviews related to Imperial/Exxon's construction of turnouts. In his memorandum, the judge notes, "no new turnouts would be constructed or are necessary."<br />With Idaho poised to issue Hwy. 12 permits, the above is obviously bad news. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Megaload info pages... and "subscriptions"... ITD abandons its responsibility...</span><br />Apparently ITD has decided that informing the public about road-blocking megaload transport schedules on Highways 12 or 95 is outside ITD's role. According to the following 10/5/11 press release, ITD has asked Nickel Bros/Weyerhaeuser and Imperial/Exxon to inform the public, and the public has to "subscribe" in order to receive updates. <br />10/5/2011<br />Contact: Adam Rush, ITD Public Involvement Coordinator<br />BOISE – Travel schedules for over legal shipments on U.S. 12, U.S. 95 and Interstate 90 are now available online for ExxonMobil/Mammoet and Weyerhaeuser/Nickel Bros shipments.... The webpages will be updated 24 hours in advance of a shipment by Exxon or Weyerhaeuser....<br />In the past, such issuance of corporate updates has been erratic at best, seldom timely. The "Privacy Policy" at the Nickel site simply says they won't share your email address, but the Imperial/Exxon site's "Privacy Statement" speaks of their gathering info from your computer, using your personal information to, among other things, "market products and services," and "storing some information on your computer." Typical perhaps, but...<br /><br />The main point is that ITD, which has often been unsure of when megaload shipments will occur, appears to have entirely abandoned its role in informing its public.<br /><br />E<span style="font-weight:bold;">conomy; Lolo Hot Springs feels the heat</span>, by Matthew Frank, Missoula Independent, 10/6/11<br />The recession has been relatively kind to Montana's tourism industry, though Brent Olson might say otherwise. On Sept. 19, Olson, the owner of Lolo Hot Springs, a year-round resort on Highway 12 between Lolo and the Montana-Idaho border, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.<br />"Our business has dropped off probably about a third of what it used to be," says Olson, a Las Vegas-based real estate investor. ... he doesn't think Imperial Oil's gigantic test module, which has been parked in front of the nearby Lodge at Lolo Hot Springs for about six months, has helped any. The lodge has been compensated for the inconvenience; the resort hasn't.... Read more: <a href="http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/economy/Content?oid=1503338 ">http://missoulanews.bigskypress.com/missoula/economy/Content?oid=1503338 </a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Two megaload protesters released on bond after Thursday-night arrest</span>, Lewiston Tribune, 10/7/11<br />MOSCOW - Two megaload protesters face maximum penalties of one year in jail and $1,000 fines after being arrested and jailed Thursday night on one misdemeanor charge each of obstructing and resisting an officer.<br />Zachary E. Johnson, 33, and Aaron T. Malgren, 22, both of Moscow, posted $500 bonds early Friday morning and were released from the Latah County Jail...<br />Both men, according to citations, allegedly rode bicycles on the roadway as three megaloads destined for oil fields in Canada rolled through town. Read more:<a href=" http://lmtribune.com/article_a07641c2-f102-11e0-afd2-001a4bcf6878.html"> http://lmtribune.com/article_a07641c2-f102-11e0-afd2-001a4bcf6878.html</a>Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7463272296364653171.post-51240764776736816302011-09-25T22:12:00.001-07:002011-09-25T22:14:08.295-07:00Here's the Link<span style="font-weight:bold;">The American 'allergy' to global warming: Why?</span><br /><br /><a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CLIMATE_THE_DISCONNECT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-25-00-54-14">http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CLIMATE_THE_DISCONNECT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-09-25-00-54-14</a>Highway12http://www.blogger.com/profile/09702563282351510759noreply@blogger.com0