October 6, 2010 -- In the Rockies today, water and wolves are again in the news.
In Wyoming, New Hampshire-based Cate Street Capital's Red Desert Water Reclamation facility near Rawlins begins production today.
The plant will treat 20,000 gallons of discharge water from oil and gas operations in a 100-mile radius of the plant each day.
CleanRunner, a subsidiary of Cate Street Capital that developed the technology used to clean the water, said additional plants in Wyoming are planned over the next year and a half.
The sustainability of the region's water supply is the focus of a new study funded by the National Science Foundation in the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene corridor in Washington and Idaho.
Scientists from the University of Idaho and Washington State University will conduct the two-year, $150,000 study, which will include the Rathdrum Prairie aquifer.
Wolves in Montana were the focus of a listening session held by U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg in Hamilton on Tuesday, where outfitters and ranchers expressed their anger about how the predators have affected their livelihoods.
Tomorrow the Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks Commission will consider a plan to apply for a special permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that would allow wolves to be hunted in the West Fork of the Bitterroot to help elk numbers recover.
The five-year permit is an option under Section 10(j) of the Endangered Species Act, which allows states with management plans in place to conduct special hunts in regions where wolves have adversely affected ungulate populations.
http://www.headwatersnews.org/stories/2010/10/20101006.phtml
