HUNTING — The Fish and Wildlife Service may allow hunting on Hanford Reach National Monument land near Rattlesnake Mountain to cull a herd of elk damaging nearby wheat fields.

Over several years, managers hope to reduce the heard of about 700 elk to about 350.

But area Indian tribes are balking at the proposal, as reported by Northwest Public Radio.

See the agency's draft plan. Deadline to comment is Dec. 30.

The Tri-City Herald reports the Fish and Wildlife Service is accepting public comment this month on the proposed elk hunt that would take place next fall.

The hunt would be limited to 10 hunters a day and would be managed by the state Fish and Wildlife Department and the Yakama Nation.

The Energy Department opposed an elk hunt in 2005 but is not opposing the current proposal because cleanup work has been completed in the area.

BIG GAME — We don't think of elk as being creatures game for hot weather, but the elk enjoying the sanctuary of the near-desert conditions on the Handford Nuclear Reservation are doing just fine, thank you.

RICHLAND, Wash. — Plans are moving forward for construction of a $41 million museum at Richland that would tell the history of the Hanford nuclear reservation in World War II and the Cold War.

The Corps of Engineers has approved the environmental review and a sublease for the site of the Hanford Reach Interpretive Center at Richland.

The Tri-City Herald reports proponents still need to raise about $15 million for the museum. It also would feature information about the area’s Ice Age floods.

Here are two new books about a crucial and controversial issue in our region:

•  “Atomic Frontier Days: Hanford and the American West” (University of Washington Press, $24.95), by John M. Findlay and Bruce Hevly. The authors tell the complex and fascinating story of Hanford’s atomic legacy. It was a vast area of sagebrush which was converted overnight during World War II to a super-secret federal bomb-building facility. Our region is still dealing with many Hanford-related issues today – environmental, political and socialOne reviewer has already called it “a must-read for anyone interested and concerned about this nation’s nuclear legacy.” Both authors are history professors at the University of Washington. Findlay specializes in the Northwest and the American West, and Hevly specializes in the history of science and technology. They “offer perspective on today’s controversies,” according to the publisher. It was just released this month and you can find it at local bookstores, online or here. .
• “Made in Hanford: The Bomb That Changed the World” (Washington State University Press, $22.95) by Hill Williams. Williams, a former science writer for the Seattle Times, is particularly well-suited to this subject. His father was editor of the Pasco Herald during World War II – and one of the few people in on part of the secret. Williams went on to write about Hanford and other nuclear issues for the Seattle Times. He also had access to the personal diaries of one of Hanford’s key figures. The book combines his personal story with detailed scientific and historic research. You should be able to find it at local bookstores and online or at wsupress.wsu.edu.

Shannon Rhodes’ losing battle to prove that Hanford radiation emissions caused her spreading thyroid cancer spanned two trials and ended in federal court six years ago. Now, her life has ended as well – cut short by complications from metastasized thyroid cancer. Rhodes, a Coeur d’Alene artist and writer, died May 15 at her winter home in Green Valley, Ariz. She was 69. … Rhodes was born in Spokane in 1941 and grew up near Colfax, where she lived on a farm. She was exposed to radioactive iodine-131 emissions from Hanford in the final years of World War II and the early years of the Cold War, according to a claim filed against the private contractors who ran Hanford for the governmentKaren Dorn Steele, SR senior correspondent. More here.

Question: Do you personally know any downwinders affected by Hanford radiation emissions?

An inspector general’s audit says the U.S. Department of Energy wasted $25 million because it didn’t ship certain radioactive wastes from Hanford, Wash. to Idaho for processing, in part because Hanford workers protested that the move would shift jobs to Idaho; Tri-City Herald reporter Annette Cary reports that the Idaho National Laboratory has equipment to compact the waste that Hanford lacked./Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise

An inspector general’s audit says the U.S. Department of Energy is spending an extra $25 million because it didn’t ship certain radioactive wastes from Hanford to Idaho for processing, in part because Hanford workers protested that the move would shift jobs to Idaho; click below to read the full story from reporter Annette Cary of the Tri-City Herald.