On the same day that Washington eliminated its tourism promotion funding and shut down its state tourism office, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, in her new role as chair of the Western Governors Association, announced that her initiative for the year will be a “Get Out…
Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire, in her new role as chair of the Western Governors Association, has announced that her initiative for the year will be a "Get Out West" campaign, promoting outdoor recreation, conservation, tourism and volunteerism. Ironically, the move comes just as her state…
Former Gov. Bill Ritter of Colorado told the Western Governors Association that states can set the tone for both private-sector and public-sector moves into industrial energy efficiency. He quoted from the association's newly published report on the topic: "A governor's leadership within a state is…
Among the panelists addressing industrial energy efficiency at the Western Governors Association today is Don Sturtevant, energy manager for Simplot Corp., the company where Idaho Gov. Butch Otter worked for 30 years. "When I was there, it took 27,000 BTUs to make one pound of…
Click below for an article from AP reporter Nick Geranios on this morning's discussion of wildfire and forest health at the Western Governors Association meeting in Coeur d'Alene; now, moving into its afternoon agenda, the governors are beginning a session in reducing energy demand by…
Jane Lubchenco, administrator of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is at the Western Governors Association today to sign a memorandum of understanding on making crucial weather and climate science information more broadly available to the states and others in the west. "I think…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter formally nominated Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire as the incoming chairman of the Western Governors Association, and the nomination was approved unanimously amid a round of applause. Otter then nominated Utah Gov. Gary Herbert to be vice-chairman of the group, and that…
Gary Doer, Canadian ambassador to the United States, told the Western Governors Association today that western premiers and governors "share a vision" of land management. "Our wildlife does not require 'Real ID' to get across our border," he said to chuckles. "You know that Canada…
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber said there's long been a struggle to get funding for management efforts on federal lands like thinning and prescribed burns, and Washington, D.C. doesn't seem to recognize that spending up-front on management could save money on fighting devastating wildfires. Washington Congressman…
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter asked about addressing "checkerboard" land ownership among federal, state and private lands, and Washington Congressman Doc Hastings noted that changing that takes "literally an act of Congress" any time federal land is transferred, but said he's open to ways to streamline…
David Groeschl, administrator of the Idaho Forestry and Fire Division, described the "forest asset management program" that Idaho is following on its state trust lands that are part of the state's endowment to the Western Governors Association, and offered it as a model for forest…
Harris Sherman, undersecretary of agriculture for natural resources and the environment, said this is the wettest year in the last 117 years. Yet, he said, "We are having the driest period on record in many parts of the country, while we are having the greatest…
Washington Congressman Doc Hastings, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, told the Western Governors Association this morning that more timber harvesting is needed on federal lands, and states need more control. "I think if you have a greater opportunity to manage the land within…
Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber invited Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to share an update on the wildfires in her state to open this morning's Western Governors Association panel on forest health. "We now have the largest fire in our history in the state of Arizona," Brewer…
Forest health is the first topic for the Western Governors Association this morning. "We have had some problems in being able to afford to do things that we need to do in order to have healthy forests and manage healthy forests," Idaho Gov. Butch Otter…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
